Reid wrote a post on LinkedIn about risk, which has already been shared over 3000 times and received over 900 likes and comments. The opening graf: Risk tends to get a bad rap. We associate it with things like losing money in the stock market, or riding a motorcycle without a helmet. But risk isn’t…
In commemoration of a year in print, we created a visual summary of The Start-Up of You. The last year has continued to demonstrate how work and careers need a new entrepreneurial mindset for everyone — not just entrepreneurs. We hope you enjoy this and share it with your network. Start-up of You, Visual Summary…
Our constant engagement with technology has introduced an additional way to map social networks. Instead of relying on what you say, you can now analyze what you do. Consider the following questions: When you call your friends and leave a voicemail, which ones call you back right away and which ones seemingly take forever? Do…
Technology companies sometimes keep the beta test phase label on software for a time after the official launch to stress that the product is not finished so much as ready for the next batch of improvements. Jeff Bezos, founder/CEO of Amazon concludes every annual letter to shareholders by reminding readers, as he did in his…
In Reid’s latest LinkedIn post, he explains why relationships matter to your career. But beyond being good for your career, there is at least one other benefit: friends keep you alive. Several studies have shown that, all else equal, you have a better chance of beating a disease if you enjoy the support of friends.…
We’ve been pleased with the strong uptake of The Start-Up of You among students and faculty. Several schools have adopted the book into their First-Year Experience and Common Reading Programs. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders and we’re delighted to be able to help shape the way they think about launching their careers. That is why…
Last July, Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha announced The Start-Up of You Student Fellowship. This exclusive online network was created to recognize and connect the most entrepreneurial student leaders in the world and empower them to do more. Each of them has shown a remarkable dedication to improving themselves, their networks, and their communities. We…
As we talk about in the chapter “It Takes a Network,” a good way to strengthen your network is to make an introduction between two people who would benefit from knowing each other. When you introduce two people, you’re in a unique situation: 1. You’re at an informational advantage: You know both parties, and usually…
In The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he writes about a question the psychologist Carol Dweck asks her students: When you think of Thomas Edison, she asks them, what do you see? “He’s standing in a white coat in a lab-type room,” comes the average reply. “He’s leaning over a light bulb. Suddenly, it works!”…
Awesome career opportunities are not always so obviously awesome. Nassim Taleb made this point in The Black Swan: Many people do not realize they are getting a lucky break in life when they get it. If a big publisher (or a big art dealer or a movie executive or a hotshot banker or a big…