No Excuses

Another Revelstoke helitrip in the bag, the author heads home to work.

I love this story about what George Soros said to Byron Wein: 

'The trouble with you, Byron, is that you go to work every day, and you think that because you go to work every day you should do something.

I don’t go to work every day. I only go to work on the days that make sense to go to work...And I really do something on that day.”

Mountain Guides don’t go to work every day.  They go to work when the weather is good, the route is in condition and the client is psyched.  The rest of the time, they study and plan and train for the next adventure.

Venture Capitalists don’t go to work every day either.  They go to work when they agree with their entrepreneurs that the market is big and ripe for a new entrant.  The rest of the time they study and read and talk to people they know and respect about what the future might look like.

Venture capitalists and Mountain Guides don’t get paid by the hour.  We get paid for our skill and judgement in making good decisions under conditions of uncertainty, and we get a bonus for a good outcome. 

In the case of Mountain Guides, it’s a big tip. 

With VCs, it’s a carried interest check.

If you try hard on the days you work, if you use all your experience and all your talent to make something happen and it doesn’t work out, that’s just the way it goes.  Even when measured against the best ideas and the best people, luck and timing matter a lot in Venture Capital and Mountain Guiding.

While there’s often a good outcome in our business, there are no guarantees - VCs and Guides get paid for trying.

No excuses.