Fred Smith
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
He developed a habit that would drive every major decision good and bad for the next decade.
He read for about four hours a day, every day, newspapers, magazines, books on management, journals on technology, and histories of American commerce.
Particularly information about change, he explained, because from change comes opportunity.
Reading is such a cheat code for outliers.
Charlie Munger put it best when he said, In my whole life, I have known no wise person who didn't read all the time.
Smith took this further.
He didn't just read, he synthesized the ideas.
The common trait of people who supposedly have vision is that they spend a lot of time reading and gathering information, and then they synthesize it until they come up with an idea.
This constant intake of information convinced Smith that Federal Express needed to evolve or die.
The information about the package is important as the package itself, he kept saying.
His executives thought he meant better tracking, but he meant something bigger.
Not only was he a reader, but he was a master at time management because he was constantly reading and working.
He was in the weeds of everything.
He knew all the details, and this allowed him to process information almost immediately.
You never had to wait around for him to decide.
The lesson here is powerful.
Always be learning.
Always be in the details.