There’s a shockingly large stack of magazines on my coffee table that need to be read. I love magazines. We won’t revisit that.
Last night I spent some time reading the March issue of Inc. (sister to the other business magazine I subscribe to: Fast Company).
Here are so of my (infamous) highlights and annotations:
– “If you have a good idea, 99% of people will tell you why it’s no good or how it’s been done before or why else you’re going to fall flat on your face. You’ve just got to say, “Screw it; just do it” and get on with it. If you fail, pick yourself up and try another one. If you have enough determination, you will succeed more likely than not because of all you learned those times you didn’t.” –Richard Branson
– It’s always better to do business with people who respect you. When you go around begging favors, it doesn’t get you far. – Daymond John
– Mick Jagger […] keeps doing what he does …] because he has to. Performing defines him. He has to do it in order to feel alive. […] Enthusiasm has to do with the way you feel about something that happens outside you. Passion comes from within. – Norm Brodsky
– When business owners face pressure to reduce prices, I usually advise them not to discount but to add services instead. –Norm Brodsky
– Everyone that reports to me has to be much better at doing his or her job than I could ever be. […] Every time we have a discussion about work, I learn something. […] Hiring people smarter than yourself is the long-term answer to your micromanagement problem. – Phil Libin
– Roughly 2/3 of executives only consider one option when making decisions. […] It’s easy to rig that decision to what your gut tells you. […] There’s so much information that it’s easy to build a case for what we wanted to do all along. […] There should be attention paid to disconfirming information. Attention to alternate ways to frame the problem. Attention to what will happen if things go unexpectedly well or poorly. –Chip & Dan Heath