Investing in Opportunity Costs

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Comments

Transcript

Episode notes

Opportunity cost is the underappreciated aspect of decision making. It is important to consider the opportunities missed rather than just focusing on the failures. Opportunity cost is difficult to think about because it deals with possibilities and the changing landscape of actions. When considering opportunity costs in personal life, one should think about the long-term impact and whether the path chosen will bring happiness and fulfillment. Allowing room for serendipity, discovery, curiosity, and learning opens up the opportunity landscape. Engaging in activities outside of work commitments broadens creativity and mindset, leading to the discovery of massive changes.

Few figures have shaped the way we think about business over the past 20 years more than Reid Hoffman. The co-founder of LinkedIn and former PayPal executive is also a wildly successful venture capitalist, author and podcaster, but he didn’t get to his place as a Silicon Valley giant without making plenty of crucial decisions. On this episode Hoffman discusses lessons learned from decades spent as a hands-on operator and investor, including what he knows about scaling that others miss, the three principles of decision making, how to constantly evolve your learning pattern, and why the best leaders adapt to the crisis at hand. Hoffman is perhaps best known for co-founding the professional networking site LinkedIn, which he started in 2003 and later sold for a reported $26.2 billion to Microsoft in 2016. Prior to founding LinkedIn, Hoffman was one of the first employees at PayPal, where he served as an executive vice president. He is also a partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners, an investor in Airbnb, the author of a series of successful business books including Masters of Scale, and the host of the podcast of the same name.

Want to hear the entire episode with Reid Hoffman? Become a member today! Members get early access, hand-edited transcripts, member-only episodes, and so much more.

Learn more here: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our Brain Food newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish