The story is not the mission statement; the story does not have to be succinct. It is the story. Companies can take as long as they need to tell it, … - Ben Horowitz

A company without a story is usually a company without a strategy.

At a macro level, everybody views the world through her own personal prism. When interviewing candidates, it’s helpful to watch for small distinctions that indicate whether they view the world through the “me” prism or the “team” prism.

This the real world, homie, school finished They done stole your dreams, you dunno who did it.” — KANYE WEST, “GORGEOUS

Andy explained that humans, particularly those who build things, only listen to leading indicators of good news. For example, if a CEO hears that engagement for her application increased an incremental 25 percent beyond the normal growth rate one month, she will be off to the races hiring more engineers to keep up with the impending tidal wave of demand. On the other hand, if engagement decreases 25 percent, she will be equally intense and urgent in explaining it away: “The site was slow that month, there were four holidays, and we made a UI change that caused all the problems. For gosh sakes, let’s not panic!