1 Quote 1 Thought

Hi, troublemakers! 👋

Here’s a powerful quote I’ve highlighted this week, along with a thought for you to reflect this weekend.

Take care and unwind!
Tom

1 Quote

Authors ofCEO Excellence about success odds:

“Knowing just how low the odds of success are, the best CEOs apply boldness to each of the three dimensions of direction setting—vision, strategy, and resource allocation.”

1 Thought

• Yes, the success odds are low — according to the latest Carta.com report, startup death rates spike from 55 companies shut down in Q3 2019 to 212 companies in Q3 2023.

• Therefore, the idea of being bold makes sense. There’s a lot to gain and not much to lose.

• However , as a founder (human), it’s reasonable to think of a counterbalance. While most VCs want founders to go all-in (a sick expectation), I prefer the barbell strategy introduced by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in Antifragile. Quoting the author, “The strategy involves extreme risk aversion on one side and extreme risk-loving on the other, rather than just the ‘medium’ or the beastly ‘moderate’ risk attitude that is actually a sucker game (because medium risks can be subjected to huge measurement errors). "

• This bimodal approach is worth applying in the private area (e.g., financial safety) but also when considering your company strategy. I’ll write more about it someday.