Embrace Ideas, But Trust Your Instincts

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Successful leadership involves acknowledging that great ideas can come from anywhere within an organization, not solely from the top. Personal experiences, such as learning from failures like the Tribe social network, highlight the importance of distinguishing between effective instincts and less valuable ideas. Entrepreneurs should recognize that their instincts may be correct most of the time, but their ideas may not be as reliable. This understanding fosters a mindset where one is willing to experiment with ideas, recognize failures swiftly, and separate those failures from their innate instincts. A proactive approach to testing and discarding ideas without fear can help sustain an entrepreneur's winning instincts.

Google doesn’t tell its employees how to innovate; it manages their inventive chaos. Their secret? Mix free-flowing ideas with disciplined decision-making.

In this week's All-Star Episode, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt shares his strategies to manage chaos. CEO of Google from 2001-2015, and now the co-founder of Schmidt Futures, Schmidt reveals the hidden secret in Google’s famous “20% time” policy, their approach to hiring smart creatives, and the parallels between leading Google and piloting small airplanes. Plus, the decision he made to support a crazy idea that he was certain would bankrupt the company.

"All-Star Episodes" are part of a special series designed to center some of the most timely — and timeless — business wisdom in the Masters of Scale feed. These episodes best encapsulate the kind of transformative, unconventional insights you hear in the series. Have an idea for an All-Star Episode from our library? Let us know at hello@mastersofscale.com.

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