Tag: Decision Making

Hell Yeah or No

Four words. This is the simplest and most useful decision making concept I have come across. I reflect on it regularly and it helps me to say “no” with more conviction.

If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say “no”.

When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than “Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!” — then say “no.”

When you say no to most things, you leave room in your life to really throw yourself completely into that rare thing that makes you say “HELL YEAH!”

Source: Derek Sivers

Both Warren Buffett and Bill Gates agree that “focus” is the single most important success factor.

Steve Jobs famously said: “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things.”

I hope you find this idea as useful as I do. “Hell Yes, or No!”

(Image by andeecollard)

Posted on by Remo Uherek

What I learned from Sam Zemurray, America’s Banana King

My learnings from The Fish That Ate The Whale about Sam Zemurray:

  • Fire people who can’t get the job done, and replace them by people who can.
  • Fast decisions. Don’t nibble. Get things done.
  • Get your hands dirty. Work hard. Go out to the fields with the machete. “We are here, they are there.”
  • Make gold out of other peoples trash (Sam did this with ripe bananas)
  • Invent things. Be innovative. The company missed to invent the banana box, because Sam was not there anymore. When Sam was there, they were the innovation leader.
  • Founder led companies are stronger than companies where the founding generation has already passed away.
  • Get creative with your solutions! E.g. Sam double purchased land that was owned by two different parties. His opponents hired lawyers. Sam just purchased it twice and got it done. (Effective vs. efficient)
  • Never complain. Just play the hand you are dealt.
  • Want to replace current management? Get enough proxies and fire the board.
  • Listen to the people on the front lines. They have the best information. Go to the docks. Talk to people (scuttlebutt method).
  • Companies have a lifecycle. Even the most innovative, most profitable or most powerful companies fade away. What are the characteristics of companies that survive for hundreds of years? They need to keep reinventing themselves. A young generation needs to take over and rebuild the business.
  • Keep a low profile. Don’t attract too much attention. Be a doer, not an attention seeker.
  • Give anonymously. If you don’t, you are not giving, you are trading (e.g. for status or reputation).

What have you learned? Let me know on Twitter.

(Thank you for recommending the book, Brent Beshore.)


Posted on by Remo Uherek