According to Jeff Bezos, the number one sign of intelligence isn't that you get every call right. It's that you have the intellectual humility and respect for truth required to admit when you were wrong. That's why the Amazon boss looks to hire those who can speak thoughtfully about having changed their minds. 

If he's looking to add a few new members to the team based on this criteria, a recent Twitter thread should provide plenty of leads. 

It was kicked off by VC Hunter Walk, who asked his more than 200,000 followers to share something they believed ten years ago that they no longer believe today. 

The resulting discussion was both a fascinating window into the thinking of startup insiders and a perfect demonstrated of the Bezos's principle that the cleverest people are constantly evolving their opinions. 

A big oops on social media 

Among the most common missed calls shared by Walk's followers was a failure to understand earlier the possible negative condequences of social media, which the 2016 election and its ugly aftermath have so clearly demonstrated. 

Former Twitter executive and Obama White House Chief Digital Officer Jason Goldman, for instance, recalled that back in the day he believed "that it makes sense to err on the side of a permissive content policy." Today, he's changed his mind. 

He wasn't the only one expressing reservations about the products he helped build. Kevin Fox, who designed the interface for Gmail at Google chimed in with similar sentiments. 

Founder Bill Morein was more specific about his misunderstanding of social media. 

Rethinking workaholism 

Aside from regrets around social media's unintended consequences, the other big theme that emerged was the need to take a hard look at hustle culture. Many startup veterans confessed to previous workaholism and claimed to have since changed their ways. 

Former WeWork executive Dave Fano, Beeswax CEO Ari Paparo, and several others tweeted about mending their control freak ways and learning to delegate. 

Others focused, like Walk, on the anxiety and constant striving that used to keep them from enjoying the journey. Now, they claim, they savor their successes along the way. 

Meanwhile, a third group shared how they had rethought their early beliefs about the need to work crazy hours when you're building a startup. 

Braid these three threads together and they create a holistic sense of some the startup community rethinking not just work-life balance, but their definition of success as a whole. Maybe that's just age leading to wisdom for many individuals. Maybe it's a sign that hustle culture itself is starting to crumble. You be the judge. 

These two clusters of responses were the most common, but the long thread offered all sorts of other missed calls and personal transformations, from predictions that rents would go down in San Francisco (whoops) to reformed news junkies who have now sworn off the daily headlines. 

Check it out if you're in the market for a reminder that the more you're willing to say "I was wrong" the faster you learn. 

Published on: Oct 31, 2019
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