Reid Hoffman is probably most known for co-founding the professional networking site Linkedin. He is also a partner in the venture capital firm Greylock Partners, on the board of Microsoft, an investor in Airbnb, and was a key executive in the development of PayPal.

Beyond his impressive career resume, he is generous in sharing his entrepreneurial wisdom through authoring several books and producing a podcast, Masters of Scale.

I listened to Reid Hoffman’s guest appearance on The Knowledge Project podcast (one of my favourite podcasts). Reid is a treasure trove of insight around strategy and making better decisions. 

I have summarised my key takeaways, which can help you make better career decisions.

1. You have tons of potential

“People have tons of potential that they usually don’t realise. Potential in capabilities. Potential in quality of person and character, in terms of being able to make the world better, and be more compassionate.” 

Reid Hoffman

You probably don’t give yourself credit for all your untapped potential. You have accumulated many skills and tons of knowledge over your lifetime. But more than this, Reid touches on character, which is often overlooked when thinking about potential.

What is unique to your character that allows you to make a special contribution to this world?

2. Work with people who you can learn from

Too often, people get stuck in dead-end jobs where they are just checking off boxes and not learning anything new. It becomes dull and monotonous.

Tony Robbins says, “if you’re not growing, you’re dying”.

Don’t waste time working with uninspiring people who teach you nothing. Life is too short for that.

Seek out leaders who inspire you. People you can learn from. Over time they will push you to be better.

3. Become an “explicit learner”

Learn things in a way that you can teach and add value to other people. 

This simple mindset shift from just “learner” to “explicit learner” means that you will:

• End up learning more yourself
• Get better at distilling and communicating ideas
• Form your own perspectives on those ideas

You effectively move from consumer to creator. Remember to keep things simple, though. You add massive value and become indispensable. 

4. It’s generally better to make decisions faster

While strategising is good, don’t succumb to constant overthinking and procrastination. The person who takes action has an advantage, even if they fail. 

Ask yourself:

What would I need right now to make this decision now?

If I make this decision fast, can I recover if it is catastrophic or expensive?

If so, then we should seek a higher degree of certainty or evidence.

5. Think of regrets in terms of opportunity costs

Reid is often asked what he regrets. They expect the answer to be, “Oh, I shouldn’t have invested in this company that failed”, but no, “actually, the more important thing is you missed Company Y”. 

His regrets are opportunity costs, i.e. what company didn’t you invest in and missed out on the upside? 

People often don’t consider the possibilities related to opportunity costs. 

I’m sure you are at the crossroads of some big decisions right now, maybe changing careers, starting a business, or moving cities. It’s easy to get caught up in the fears and risks of what could go wrong, e.g. the business fails. 

But what about all the things that could go right? 

Are you seriously considering them? 

Things are often much more nuanced than a simple success versus failure. 

Sometimes, we fail, but we learn vital lessons that prepare us for future success. Or maybe you are “succeeding” now on some metric, but you are miserable.

Consider all possibilities. 

6. Think of opportunity costs one to five years out

Regarding the thing you are thinking of doing:

Would this path make you happy if looking back from 1, 3, or 5 years from the future?

Sometimes we get carried away on a path that other people want for us, but we intrinsically know it won’t make us happy.

Also ask: 

“Do I have some room for serendipity, growth and learning?”

Reid Hoffman

These factors add so much meaning to our work.

7. Each week, create room for something broader than your usual work commitments

It’s essential to have broad interests outside of work, and these things can unexpectedly provide insight and creative breakthroughs for our job.

Reid used the examples:

• It could be taking a meeting a friend recommended
• Glancing at a book for an hour.
• Listening to a poetry podcast 

“That little bit of experimentation opens up not just your creativity and mindset, but also what you might be thinking about as your opportunity and landscape.”

Reid Hoffman

Expand your horizons. This helps you form your unique perspective.

8. People are overly concerned about having options

We often fall into the trap of thinking we need to keep our options open. We don’t want to be locked down. However, nothing great comes without some commitment. It takes effort, dedication, and discipline to move the needle forward.

As a child, Reid learnt this from his father: 

“One of the difficult things about making decisions is that it reduces opportunity in the short term, but that’s the only thing that creates great opportunity in the long term.”

If you don’t make decisions now (“keeping your options open”), you may miss out on creating significant opportunities in the future. The path unfolds as you walk, and once you get in deeper, you will see new possibilities you cannot imagine now.

9. Find ways to use the things you have been thinking about your whole life

Can you think of a topic you are deeply passionate about but have never really spoken about publicly? Maybe you have so much to give on this topic, but you have no idea how you could integrate it somehow into the work you already do.  

For example, Reid was invited to do a commencement speech. He could have easily talked solely about his technology and investing achievements. Instead, he based his speech on the topic of “friendship”, as that was something he had been thinking deeply about for a long time.

Spend time thinking about what matters to you so that you are prepared when a future opportunity arises. 

10. Conscious positioning for the future

What are the things that are important for your career future?

Pay careful attention to these things, and capitalise on opportunities when they arise.

For example, Reid had a great tech job which he left earlier than he would have planned because the opportunity came up to team with a founder in the “social products” space where he really wanted to be, so he dove in. 

Be conscious about your future path:

• Talk about it with people you know and people in the industry.
• Go out to lunch with interesting people who can help inform you about this possibility. 

11. Establish connections early with key people

If you are building something, make those key connections early. Build trust in advance before seeking advice, financing, etc.

You can’t just walk in the door one day when you need something. Build trust and relationships first. 

12. Develop a theory of the game

In whatever you are pursuing, develop a “theory of the game”, like understanding how a board game works.

There are existing rules and norms for your desired career path.

• How do things work there?
• How could I set myself up to succeed in that framework?

13. How to consume books

Reading is a great way to expand your knowledge on new topics related to your career. 

Some books are better suited to physical reading and notetaking in the margins.

Others are better suited to audiobooks and getting in the flow of the story rather than active notetaking.

Learn this difference and what works for you to get more out of the books you read. 

I personally prefer autobiographies and history books on audio (particularly if narrated by the author). Whereas more “how-to” non-fiction books are better suited in physical or kindle format so that I can highlight, take notes and break down frameworks. 

14. Take a break when stressed

“Very rarely does getting stressed help you on anything.” 

Reid Hoffman

Stress can be catastrophic to the quality of your work. Or a public outburst of anger may ruin customer and team relationships. 

Practice getting better at noticing when your stress levels are rising. And have ways to dampen them down.

Reschedule meetings where possible and take a day off. Slow down, go for a hike, read science fiction, and get a massage.

What works for you?

Thanks for reading. I go deep into topics like this around building a fulfilling career in my free weekly newsletter, “The Looking Glass”. It’s a short but impactful read. Sign up here.