Thread by @shreyas

”It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.”
—A Wise Person

What we learn in school & must unlearn in business & life:
(1/10)

1/
In school:
If X is true then the opposite of X must be false.

In business & life:
If X is a good idea, the opposite of X can also be a good idea.

(h/t Rory Sutherland)

2/
In school:
Teacher provides a rubric, you follow the rubric to a tee, you deserve an A.

In business & life:
Most of the time, there is no rubric.

3/
In school:
If you do X amount of work, you'll get clear feedback in the form of a score/grade in N days.

In business & life:
The highest ROI work usually requires years of commitment without any clear reward.

And then, once the work has compounded enough, BIG payoff (maybe).

4/
In school:
Usually you get one shot to do well. A small mistake can stay on your permanent record (e.g. making a couple of errors in the quant section of your GRE or similar).

In business & life:
Much greater tolerance for mistakes. Just be sure to avoid the fatal kind.

5/
In school:
Following rules is good. Breaking rules is bad and will get you in trouble.

In business & life:
There are no rules.

Creativity often arises from breaking supposed “rules”. Creativity enables outsized returns.

There *are* laws. Don’t break those.

6/
In school:
The main relationship to manage is the one with authority figures (teachers, the principal,...)

In business & life:
The main relationship to manage is with family, peers, friends,... Just fixating on authority figures will make many people unhappy (incl. yourself).

7/
In school:
Relationships are short-lived (a quarter, a semester, a year, etc.) Fine to be transactional.

In business & life:
You’ll run into the same people over & over again.

Try not to burn bridges for the small stuff.

Be respectful, trustworthy, a person of integrity.

8/
In school:
Education is viewed as a means to an end (need to get good grade→get into good college→get a good job→..)

In business & life:
There is no end to education.

Curiosity, love of learning, enjoying your chosen work is important for success in business & joy in life

9/
In school:
Someone else structures your time (for the most part). You get rewarded for complying with that structure.

In business & life:
The higher the stakes, the looser the structure.

You have the freedom AND the responsibility to use your time well.

10/
In school:
The words "simple" & "easy" are synonymous.

In business & life:
Simple is not always easy.
Life is simple & so is business.
But neither is easy.

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https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1338757977000398848