Jeff Bezos

We mostly survive by being social animals. And being cordial and cooperative. And that's really important. And so there's a, you know, science is all about truth telling. It's actually a very formal mechanism for trying to tell the truth. And even in science, you find that it's hard to tell the truth, right?

We mostly survive by being social animals. And being cordial and cooperative. And that's really important. And so there's a, you know, science is all about truth telling. It's actually a very formal mechanism for trying to tell the truth. And even in science, you find that it's hard to tell the truth, right?

We mostly survive by being social animals. And being cordial and cooperative. And that's really important. And so there's a, you know, science is all about truth telling. It's actually a very formal mechanism for trying to tell the truth. And even in science, you find that it's hard to tell the truth, right?

Even, you know, you're supposed to have hypothesis and test it and find data and reject the hypothesis and so on. It's not easy.

Even, you know, you're supposed to have hypothesis and test it and find data and reject the hypothesis and so on. It's not easy.

Even, you know, you're supposed to have hypothesis and test it and find data and reject the hypothesis and so on. It's not easy.

And that's true inside companies too. And so you want to set up your culture so that the most junior person can overrule the most senior person if they have data. And that really is about trying to, you know, there are little things you can do. So, for example, in every meeting that I attend, I always speak last.

And that's true inside companies too. And so you want to set up your culture so that the most junior person can overrule the most senior person if they have data. And that really is about trying to, you know, there are little things you can do. So, for example, in every meeting that I attend, I always speak last.

And that's true inside companies too. And so you want to set up your culture so that the most junior person can overrule the most senior person if they have data. And that really is about trying to, you know, there are little things you can do. So, for example, in every meeting that I attend, I always speak last.

And I know from experience that, you know, if I speak first, even very strong-willed, highly intelligent, high judgment people participants in that meeting will wonder, well, if Jeff thinks that I came in this meeting thinking one thing, but maybe I'm not right. And so you can do little things like if you're the most senior person in the room, go last, but everybody else go first.

And I know from experience that, you know, if I speak first, even very strong-willed, highly intelligent, high judgment people participants in that meeting will wonder, well, if Jeff thinks that I came in this meeting thinking one thing, but maybe I'm not right. And so you can do little things like if you're the most senior person in the room, go last, but everybody else go first.

And I know from experience that, you know, if I speak first, even very strong-willed, highly intelligent, high judgment people participants in that meeting will wonder, well, if Jeff thinks that I came in this meeting thinking one thing, but maybe I'm not right. And so you can do little things like if you're the most senior person in the room, go last, but everybody else go first.

In fact, ideally let's try to have the most junior person go first. And the second try to go in order of seniority. Um, so that you can hear everyone's opinion in a kind of unfiltered way, because we really do, we actually literally change our opinions. If somebody who you really respect says something, it makes you change your mind a little.

In fact, ideally let's try to have the most junior person go first. And the second try to go in order of seniority. Um, so that you can hear everyone's opinion in a kind of unfiltered way, because we really do, we actually literally change our opinions. If somebody who you really respect says something, it makes you change your mind a little.

In fact, ideally let's try to have the most junior person go first. And the second try to go in order of seniority. Um, so that you can hear everyone's opinion in a kind of unfiltered way, because we really do, we actually literally change our opinions. If somebody who you really respect says something, it makes you change your mind a little.

Yes, and sometimes it can even, by the way, a lot of our most powerful truths turn out to be hunches. They turn out to be based on anecdotes. They're intuition-based. And sometimes you don't even have strong data. But you may know the person well enough to trust their judgment. You may feel yourself leaning in. It may resonate with a set of anecdotes you have.

Yes, and sometimes it can even, by the way, a lot of our most powerful truths turn out to be hunches. They turn out to be based on anecdotes. They're intuition-based. And sometimes you don't even have strong data. But you may know the person well enough to trust their judgment. You may feel yourself leaning in. It may resonate with a set of anecdotes you have.

Yes, and sometimes it can even, by the way, a lot of our most powerful truths turn out to be hunches. They turn out to be based on anecdotes. They're intuition-based. And sometimes you don't even have strong data. But you may know the person well enough to trust their judgment. You may feel yourself leaning in. It may resonate with a set of anecdotes you have.

And then you may be able to say, you know, something about that feels right. Let's go collect some data on that. Let's try to see if we can actually know whether it's right. But for now, let's not disregard it because it feels right. You can also fight inherent bias. There's an optimism bias.

And then you may be able to say, you know, something about that feels right. Let's go collect some data on that. Let's try to see if we can actually know whether it's right. But for now, let's not disregard it because it feels right. You can also fight inherent bias. There's an optimism bias.