June 15, 2025 - #633 - read online - Free Version
Welcome to Brain Food, a weekly newsletter offering timeless wisdom in an accelerating world.
Tiny Thoughts
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The lesson isn't avoiding failure. It's refusing to let failure define the outcome.
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Writing is the process by which you realize that you do not understand what you are talking about.
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The entire self-help industry in one sentence: Do what makes mornings exciting and nights peaceful.
Will this make me excited to wake up? Will this let me sleep in peace?
Everything that fails both tests is noise.
Insights
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Warren Buffett on what most people don't understand:
“You don’t have to do exceptional things to get exceptional results.”
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Marabeth Quin on perspective:
“The day I decided that my life was magical, there was suddenly magic all around me.”
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Strauss Zelnick on blame:
“'I know there's been a lot of talk about what went wrong last week. I know everyone's been at least somewhat focused on who's to blame. I want you to know that I've searched long and hard and finally discovered who's responsible.' I paused. 'I am.' One could see varying looks of surprise and relief around the table. I continued, 'I'm the chairman and it's my fault when things go wrong. Now, having gotten that out of the way, let's try to figure out how to fix this and learn from what happened, so we don't repeat it.'
It's tempting to criticize others, especially when someone else actually did do something wrong. It's also unproductive and unkind. If someone repeatedly makes mistakes, he or she is in the wrong job. But firing someone won't solve an immediate problem - and sometimes making mistakes is a necessary adjunct to trying new things: without the freedom to fail, many people won't take an appropriate risk.”
The Knowledge Project
"If one of your employees were quitting, how hard would you work to keep them?"
Reed Hastings, founder and former co-CEO of Netflix, used this question to create the famous keeper test that helped build his company into a $500 billion giant. Now retired, he has bought a ski resort where he's applying the same cultural principles.
In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover:
- Hiring: No tricks. He tests candidates over dinner, watches how they treat wait-staff, and lets their performance speak for itself
- Firing: No improvement plans. If you wouldn't fight to keep someone, "write the check and raise the talent bar"
- Netflix: The $100M House of Cards gamble, and the culture deck that scared some away while attracting the right people
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