If you build a workflow that requires more than half of their brain, they’re going to mess up. The best workflows can be done while driving in the 2-minute gaps between chat support responses from the corner of the couch with Dora the Explorer playing at top volume in the background.

Hiring the right people is only one ingredient to elite operations. Excellence is also about preventing the circumstances that leave room for mistakes. The procedures for putting down the CAUTION WET FLOOR signs that prevent the slip-and-falls of history. 

When is it appropriate to send the “Is now still good?” message? It’s not like they’re going to see it. If they were attentive they’d be in the meeting and this wouldn’t be happening to you.

That's what leadership looks like: Putting aside your own experiences and recognizing when it isn't about you. Because, as we explained in that meeting, bias has no place in the workplace.

For my whole career I’ve been surrounded by brilliant people with access to capital who know how to turn ideas into money. I always thought there was some magic to it. That they knew something I didn’t. But these days, I’m discovering something. If I don’t tell these brilliant people that I’m not their peer, they don’t notice.