“When you think about being contrarian, you have to think about - how is it that smart people will disagree with me, disagree with me ...from a position of intelligence, and there is something that I know that they don't know, that will actually in fact play out to be true.” PeopleThinkingKnowsPlayFactsPositionSmartBeing TrueDisagreeSmart People Author:Reid Hoffman
“This is classic when you begin thinking about what is a great founder is, you navigate what is apparent paradoxes.” ThinkingClassicParadoxFoundersNavigate Author:Reid Hoffman
“You should have an investment thesis that essentially says why you think this is potentially a good idea.” ThinkingShouldIdeasShould HaveInvestmentGood IdeasThesis Author:Reid Hoffman
“Part of what being a great founder is, is being both able to hold the belief, to think about where it is you want to be doing and want to be going, but also be smart enough that you are essentially listening to criticism, negative feedback, competitive entries.” ThinkingWantEnoughAbleBeliefListeningSmartNegativeCriticismFoundersFeedbackEntryBeing SmartNegative Feedback Author:Reid Hoffman
“When I'm raising money, this fundraising, I'm thinking about the next fundraising. I'm thinking how I'm set up for it.” ThinkingNextFundraisingRaising Money Author:Reid Hoffman
“The challenge when you think about product distribution is: how are you competing for potential customers or potential members time?” ThinkingChallengesProductsMembersCustomersCompetingDistribution Author:Reid Hoffman
“One of the challenges in networking is everybody thinks it's making cold calls to strangers. Actually, it's the people who already have strong trust relationships with you, who know you're dedicated, smart, a team player, who can help you.” PeopleThinkingKnowsHelpingStrongChallengesPlayerTeamColdSmartStrangerDedicatedNetworkingTeam Player Author:Reid Hoffman
“One of the things is when you think, "Wait, I'm fearful of retaliation, I'm fearful of oppression because of someone who is going into a public office, who might be vengeful for their own personal reasons, that's actually not a reason to hide - that's a reason to step up, right?"This is part of what we learned from the 1920s.” ThinkingReasonMightWaitingStepsOfficeOppressionFearfulStep UpPublic OfficeRetaliationVengeful Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think Hillary [Clinton] has [woken up to the plight of the middle class] and is working toward it in a democratic process.” ThinkingProcessClassMiddleDemocraticClintonMiddle ClassPlightDemocratic Process Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think Hillary [Clinton] hears the anger in a broad swath of the American people, and she says, "OK, how do I help create a future that's good for you?"” PeopleThinkingHelpingClintonBroads Author:Reid Hoffman
“My greatest influences are actually probably a set of different teachers. And these teachers, most prominently at my high school, but also a few others, helped kind of instill in me, thinking thoughts about how life is meaningful in terms of how we all kind of live in a network of people and how you interact with those people is part of what makes life essentially meaningful and then kind of concepts to think about, how do you add value to other people's lives? How do they add value to yours? And how do you kind of form a community together in the network?” PeopleThinkingKindDifferentSchoolTogetherFormLife IsValuesTermCommunityTeacherInfluenceHigh SchoolConceptsAddMeaningfulAll KindsInstill Author:Reid Hoffman
“I don't normally think of like most successful moments, because like most entrepreneurs, I tend to think that however how high of a mountain I've climbed, I'm always looking at the next mountain to climb.” ThinkingMomentsNextSuccessfulMountainEntrepreneurClimbs Author:Reid Hoffman
“Managing risk is a key variable, frankly, all aspects of life, business is just one of them, and one of the things that most people do in terms of managing risk, that's actually bad thinking, is they think they can manage risk to zero. Everything has some risk to it. You know, you drive your car down the street, a drunk driver may hit you. So what you're doing is you're actually trying to get to an acceptable level of risk.” PeopleThinkingKnowsTryingMayTermLevelsRiskStreetsCarKeysAspectManageDrunkJust OneDriversZeroAcceptableVariablesAspects Of Life Author:Reid Hoffman
“Well, well-run companies always have a focus on growth and the two lines, which includes profit. The key thing during, I think, tough times, is to make sure that you've covered the basis for when something, you know, essentially things taking longer, bad luck, adversity, other kinds of circumstances may occur. Make sure that you can monitor to win, it's potentially, you know, something is going to go wrong, monitor early enough, and then take appropriate action to essentially counteract that or shift your strategy or plan, even if in fact something is not working out as well as it is.” IfsThinkingKnowsWellsKindMayTwoEnoughFactsRunningActionWinningGrowthLinesCompanyFocusPlansKeysCircumstancesToughBasesAdversityLuckStrategyProfitWork OutAppropriateCoveredTough TimesBad LuckKey Things Author:Reid Hoffman
“When thinking about how to deploy kind of professional and social networking into your business, it's really not a question of if, it's a question of when. And the reason is, just think about the fact that those businesses that adopt new technologies to operate efficiently and use them to get a competitive edge are the businesses that in fact, you know, it becomes one more competitive advantage. Whether it's a fax machine or a mobile phone or a new way of doing financing or any of these things, you know, these are key things to do.” IfsThinkingKnowsWayKindReasonFactsUseSocialTechnologyKeysAdvantageMachinesPhonesEdgesThings To DoNew WaysMobileNetworkingSocial NetworkingNew TechnologySocial NetworkFinancingCompetitive AdvantageMobile PhonesKey ThingsFaxFax Machines Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think we realized the depth of frustration through the current political process. So we said, "OK, we know there's a serious problem here, we know we need to work on it," and now it's "Oh, we need to work on it a lot faster."” ThinkingKnowsNeedsSaidProblemPoliticalProcessSeriousDepthCurrentsFasterFrustration Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think I knew how frightened people were [when Donald Trump was elected], and I think I knew that people were worried about their future. I don't think I realized that they would be willing to risk kind of a 1920s Germany in order to blow it all up, not realizing that we've accomplished a lot as Americans, and we want to keep the good things and revolutionize the new things.” PeopleThinkingWantKindWould BeOrderRealizingRiskWillingTrumpGood ThingsBlowI RealizedWorriedGermanyAccomplishedFrightenedNew Things Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think most of [people] are not very well educated themselves to understand the Winston Churchill line - democracy is the worst of all governments until you consider all the other ones.” PeopleThinkingWellsGovernmentLinesDemocracyWorstEducatedWell Educated Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think the right way to do this is just to step up and do it, so I actually think we'll see more of that over the next coming weeks, because I think they'll say, "We'd like to be good for business and quiet on politics, but this is too urgent, it is too much of a key crisis in who we are going to become as Americans. We can risk too much, and so we have to step forward." And I think you will see more and more people stepping forward, like Howard Schultz, Steve Case and other folks, in order to try to make a difference in this [Donald Trump] election.” PeopleThinkingWayTryingOrderNextDifferencesStepsCasesToo MuchRiskWeekKeysTrumpQuietElectionCrisisFolksBe GoodWho We AreMaking A DifferenceRight WayUrgentStep UpSteps Forward Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think the boarding schools are like miniature versions of "Lord of the Flies."” ThinkingSchoolLord Author:Reid Hoffman
“What I think Peter Thiel imagines is that Donald Trump has a policy, that Trump has an idea of what to do. haven't heard any of those ideas. All I hear is sloganeering, vitriol, personal attacks.” ThinkingImaginePolicy Author:Reid Hoffman
“I think the randomness by Donald Trump's governing, by tweeting, sloganeering, attacking, will create great chaos in the entire market. I think people will have difficulties in predicting the future. I think capital will recede.” PeopleThinkingDifficultyChaosRandomness Author:Reid Hoffman
“I actually think we need to put our energies, as entrepreneurs, as technology inventors, as government, to being much more inclusive. I think the key thing is actually working together.” ThinkingTogetherEnergyTechnologyEntrepreneurWorking TogetherInventor Author:Reid Hoffman
“At Silicon Valley, I'm extremely sympathetic to the revolutionary response. I not only agree with it emotionally. I agree with it practically. And the only thing I disagree with is, I don't think Donald Trump is that. Trump is blow it up for no good reason at all. You want to actually do revolution with a target, with an idea, with building a new system.” ThinkingReasonBuildingRevolutionAgreeResponseBlowRevolutionaryDisagreeSympathetic Author:Reid Hoffman
“I actually think every individual is now an entrepreneur, whether they recognize it or not.” ThinkingIndividualEntrepreneur Author:Reid Hoffman
“A product needs to be sufficiently innovative to distinguish itself from the pack, but not so forward thinking as to alienate the user.” ThinkingNeedsProductsUsersPacksInnovativeForward Thinking Author:Reid Hoffman
“Innovation comes from long-term thinking and iterative execution.” ThinkingLongTermInnovationLong TermExecution Author:Reid Hoffman
