That's a terrific quote. In my humble experience some VCs prefer to have that type of dialog about the 'real' business issues in private, in a small group. what's your view on that?
Jeffrey McManus
· 1 year ago
Another vote for thinking tactically while shaving (and in the morning general) and thinking strategically (and out of the box) at night.
Bill Davenport
· 1 year ago
Enjoying the quotes. On this one though I'd say that what I think about when I'm shaving (which isn't every day) is not cutting myself. But more broadly speaking at the start of the day I'm thinking about what has to happen that day -- my view would be that I tend to think more about the challenges and opportunities in the evenings. But I also think the #'s are important for startups -- too many good companies killed by overspend/too high burn rates.
fredwilson
· 1 year ago
Ha!
peteonrails
· 1 year ago
Yeah. Good point. I hadn't actually thought this through, but I do my most creative work late at night. After I've had a chance to get all of the pressing matters off my plate. A quick review of my source control repository shows me that my skunkworks projects all have commits after midnight, while my sanctioned/funded projects all get committed to during the day. Hm.
Adrian Monck
· 1 year ago
I hate to say it but the General never seems to have met a platitude he didn't like.
Tyler
· 1 year ago
+1
loupaglia
· 1 year ago
no, keep them coming please Fred. They are great. Probably not conversation starters in many cases.
On this one, pretty insightful to ask, "okay, don't tell me what is on the spreadsheet or the plan that I can read in front of me, tell me what you are really thinking about".
Camilo Telles
· 1 year ago
I bought the book because of your quotes. Keep it coming...
Nik
· 1 year ago
I like it...I was also planning on getting the book... I didnt see an Smartlink about the book
Robert
· 1 year ago
> Am I the only one enjoying them?
Absolutely not!
I am not a VC nor a board member of a start up, but I find Doriot's quotes applicable to any project in life, personal or professional.
Re: this quote, there will always be people that focus too much on the facts and people that focus too much on what they feel.
Finding the right formula is not easy, as each decision you take may benefit from a different balance between both.
I personaly feel more confortable dealing with facts than feelings, so learning to use and understand both styles equally is a skill I'm still developing.
Thanks for posting a quote every day.
jonathanpberger
· 1 year ago
Keep the Doriot coming. They're less something to discuss and more something to chew on. I'm enjoying them as a business-y counterpoint to Cynical-C's Daily Dose of Ingersoll.
Beth
· 1 year ago
Love 'em. Just ordered the book last night.
peteonrails
· 1 year ago
I don't plan to read the book. But I will enjoy it vicariously through the quotes. I enjoy them. Please keep them coming.
Gabe Selig
· 1 year ago
The quotes are super, keep them coming for they serve as a reminder of what is mission critical!
Adam Kalsey
· 1 year ago
The quotes are interesting, but what I'd really love is some analysis of what's behind them. A short quote standing alone is just empty calories. Maybe I should tackle that.
WayneMulligan
· 1 year ago
Definitely keep them coming -- favorite to date:
"A team made up of the younger generation, with courage and inventiveness, together with older men of wisdom and experience, should bring success. "
-Wayne
jdelong
· 1 year ago
Highlight of my day actually...keep 'em coming.
doke01
· 1 year ago
I like them..keep them coming. They are making me think about the things that I am doing and pushing me back to the right way on issues I have forgotten about. Plus, some nice new ways of looking at things in there (or old but new to me..actually).
Dave Martin
· 1 year ago
Fred, the quotes are killer. Keep em coming. Thanks. Cheers
andyswan
· 1 year ago
My thoughts when shaving:
"Fuck Andy why don't you just shave every day like everyone else instead of waiting a week and making this so damn hard."
"Should I be leaving the water running like this? Is some fishy dying right now or is that just nonsense?"
"Oh man I hope I have aftershave....do I have aftershave?"
"I wonder how people reacted to the first guy that shaved....I mean, that had to have been kinda weird.....metrosexual before metros? Wild."
"OK....almost done....I hope I didn't miss any spots. That always sucks. What's that...blood? BLOOD? CO@^# S(@&#@ M@)&*#@ F)(@*#$# I've got to start doing this everyday and start thinking strategery like the General recommends!"
PLAmusic
· 1 year ago
Keep 'em coming!! Great insight!! You've now added one more book to my already long list of books I need to read ... Oh well ... So many books ... So little time!!
jill
· 1 year ago
This way we don't have to buy the book.... or read it!
CrankyKate
· 1 year ago
Keep them coming Fred - somehow, they just seem more appropriate to absorb and noodle on than to talk about.
fredwilson
· 1 year ago
That's clearly the message I am getting which is comforting
Why are you cranky?
Krassen Dimitrov
· 1 year ago
That's two "yay"s in a row from female monikers... which reminds me of this funny episode: We were at a party when the hostess decided to liven things up by playing this game where everyone had to say what they envy in the opposite sex (yeah, I know, it is debatable that this would liven up a party, but bear with me) So, anyway, my turn comes and I say "oh, that's easy, they don't have to shave in the morning". To which every girl in the room just jumped on me and started lashing. It turns out, the perception was that we guys have it, in fact, TOO EASY in the shaving department... Cheers,
greenskeptic
· 1 year ago
Keep 'em coming. What I think about while shaving: Is five blades REALLY better than one? I mean, REALLY?!
Pierre
· 1 year ago
I can honestly say that yes, 5 titanium blades are better.
Do it.
Noah
· 1 year ago
Keep the quotes coming, please!
Karthick
· 1 year ago
No, we too enjoy. Keep them coming.
Pierre
· 1 year ago
They are fantastic Fred. Keep them coming.
As a matter of fact, they would be cool to have on the sidebar. "Quotes from The General"
I think they cause most of us to have more introspective moments instead of spurring us to add to the conversation.
For instance, the quote above brought to mind all the things I thought about while shaving today. They were mostly cool projects and features that we are working on that might be too early stage to put in a board presentation if I had to give one today... but, when executed the way we envision them, they will become stars that shine when itemized.
I never looked at those "shaving thoughts" in this context before. But he's right, those shaving thoughts truly count when a business is new because when you are lathered up you are only going to think about what's exciting or maybe about a fire that needs extinguishing... or that you need a new razor.
Aruni
· 1 year ago
I like the quotes. As someone mentioned, I feel like they are more things to think about than comment on. When I was shaving this morning (not my face of course) I was thinking about it being my daughter's last day at her home care and how we will miss the wonderful ladies who have taken care of her for the last couple of years. How it takes someone really special to love and teach and care for little kids. I was then thinking about ways to create a cost-effective (i.e., cheap) way to implement a viral, tell-a-friend marketing campaign. Oh and then I thought about 50+ other things I had to do and wondered how taking one path of the fork in the career/entrepreneurial bumpy road I am now facing will pan out.
Alexis Madrigal
· 1 year ago
Maybe I need to start shaving more often.
seemsArtless
· 1 year ago
This is great. It really cuts to the point - a focus on the numbers can exclude so many important issues.
Joe Andrieu
· 1 year ago
Not at all. This is a moment worth remembering every once in a while.
Aneel
· 1 year ago
Another vote to keep'em coming.
Paul
· 1 year ago
Hey Fred,
Just purchased the book from Amazon. Keep them coming, as we get the insights of two VCs for one!
Paul
Aaron Gregory
· 1 year ago
Just wanted to put my vote in for keeping the quotes. A good quote doesn't give the reader much to argue with, just a kind of a zen-silence (which can be hard to differentiate from empty ampitheater-silence).
fredwilson
· 1 year ago
I am almost done with the book and have run out of quotes I want to blog
All Comments
On this one, pretty insightful to ask, "okay, don't tell me what is on the spreadsheet or the plan that I can read in front of me, tell me what you are really thinking about".
Absolutely not!
I am not a VC nor a board member of a start up, but I find Doriot's quotes applicable to any project in life, personal or professional.
Re: this quote, there will always be people that focus too much on the facts and people that focus too much on what they feel.
Finding the right formula is not easy, as each decision you take may benefit from a different balance between both.
I personaly feel more confortable dealing with facts than feelings, so learning to use and understand both styles equally is a skill I'm still developing.
Thanks for posting a quote every day.
"A team made up of the younger generation, with courage and inventiveness, together with older men of wisdom and experience, should bring success. "
-Wayne
"Fuck Andy why don't you just shave every day like everyone else instead of waiting a week and making this so damn hard."
"Should I be leaving the water running like this? Is some fishy dying right now or is that just nonsense?"
"Oh man I hope I have aftershave....do I have aftershave?"
"I wonder how people reacted to the first guy that shaved....I mean, that had to have been kinda weird.....metrosexual before metros? Wild."
"OK....almost done....I hope I didn't miss any spots. That always sucks. What's that...blood? BLOOD? CO@^# S(@&#@ M@)&*#@ F)(@*#$# I've got to start doing this everyday and start thinking strategery like the General recommends!"
Why are you cranky?
We were at a party when the hostess decided to liven things up by playing this game where everyone had to say what they envy in the opposite sex (yeah, I know, it is debatable that this would liven up a party, but bear with me)
So, anyway, my turn comes and I say "oh, that's easy, they don't have to shave in the morning". To which every girl in the room just jumped on me and started lashing. It turns out, the perception was that we guys have it, in fact, TOO EASY in the shaving department...
Cheers,
Do it.
As a matter of fact, they would be cool to have on the sidebar. "Quotes from The General"
I think they cause most of us to have more introspective moments instead of spurring us to add to the conversation.
For instance, the quote above brought to mind all the things I thought about while shaving today. They were mostly cool projects and features that we are working on that might be too early stage to put in a board presentation if I had to give one today... but, when executed the way we envision them, they will become stars that shine when itemized.
I never looked at those "shaving thoughts" in this context before. But he's right, those shaving thoughts truly count when a business is new because when you are lathered up you are only going to think about what's exciting or maybe about a fire that needs extinguishing... or that you need a new razor.
Just purchased the book from Amazon. Keep them coming, as we get the insights of two VCs for one!
Paul
I blog a quote or two every day on fredwilson.vc
fred