Choose the action that helps someone grow.

When outcomes are ambiguous, default to the choice that most develops the people involved—founders, teammates, students. Long-term outcomes often hinge more on growth than correctness.

Bias toward reversibility.

Act decisively when decisions can be reversed. Slow down or seek counsel when actions carry irreversible second- or third-order effects. This is especially vital in talent, capital allocation, and trust.

Step in when others hesitate—then step aside.

Default to action in moments of stall. But once momentum is restored and others are thriving, pull back. Empowerment is the end state of leadership, not its shadow.

Don’t scale what isn’t ethically stable.

Before you invest, amplify, or promote a system, ask whether it internalizes its externalities. Never accelerate harm through abstraction.

Default to small, true signals.

Ignore hype. Look for authenticity in effort, not aesthetics—in code, not pitch—in tension, not polish.

Truth is only as strong as its reception.

When communicating hard truths, clarity alone is insufficient. Ask: will they hear it? Adjust delivery to meet the listener with dignity and help them act on what they now see.

When in doubt, co-decide.

If stakes are high and the path is murky, don’t default to individual judgment. Bring in a sounding board. Insight often co-arises in dialogue.

If someone disagrees in good faith, stay curious.

Don’t defend the decision—interrogate the assumption. Assume the other sees something you don’t. That’s how complex systems reveal their hidden contours.

Use principles, not preference, to resolve impasses.

When tension arises, surface the underlying principle. If it can’t be named, the decision likely rests on bias or emotion, not rigor. Wait.

Performance under pressure matters—but lift others first.

Don’t optimize for your own clarity or decisiveness. The highest leverage move is often enabling someone else to rise.

Don’t Only Tell The Truth – Make Sure People Hear The Truth.

Honesty develops the trust that things are as we say. But people have their own preconceptions, biases, and expectations. Exploiting these biases breaks trust. Deception breaks trust. We need to develop trust with employees, owners, investors, CEOs, service providers, the media, and the public.

Take The Long View.

Our products mature in 10-15 years. We need our investors, CEOs, employees, owners, to join our journey. Short-term gains do not guarantee long-term success.

Share Know-how Over Knowledge.

If available, sharing practical know-how and first-hand experience is better than second-hand or academic knowledge.

Always Be Learning.

Our products, our ecosystem, and our investors constantly evolve. We must adapt to survive. That means constant learning, a hunger to be curious.

Let Ideas Lead, Even When People Challenge.

Over the decades we formed great friendships. But not everyone we meet becomes a friend. Some people will rub us the wrong way. That’s OK. But it is still worth listening to and understanding their ideas, their beliefs, and their values. Every human being knows something you don’t and can teach you something. If you have not discovered it yet, then you have not yet listened long enough.

Collaboration Means Giving And Taking Leadership.

We must make decisions to move forward. But the venture capital industry is small, and our own firm’s human capital growth — new people, their skills, and their talents — is slow. We must actively provide and share insights and know-how to help make more right decisions, faster. And we have to seek out insights and know-how from everywhere — all our colleagues, mentors, CEOs, peers, investors, and friends.

Be Ok With Bad News.

A lot of things fail or go sideways. That’s OK, and it is the nature of venture capital. Take it as an opportunity to learn. Life is not fair.

Celebrate Small Wins.

Venture capital is a long game. Our minds should be lifted to higher goals. But it takes a lot of right steps and right actions to get there. At the end of a journey, every single step was important.