The following is a summary of Zero to One: Notes on Startups or How to Build the Future. I do not claim to own any of the book's original work, the following is simply a bulleted summarization with a few direct quotes. All copyrights and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Chapter 10 -The Mechanics of Mafia:

• No company has a culture, every company is a culture
• Beyond Professionalism:
  • Many think that working with people you hate is necessary for making money
  • If you aren't making lasting relationships with your co-workers, you haven’t invested your time well
  • People have to be excited to work with one another
• Recruiting Conspirators:
  • A core skill every company needs
  • Need skilled people who will fit nicely with the whole team
  • Should be asking yourself: “Why does the company need this nth employee”
  • Truly talented individuals don’t need to work for your company
    • If they are actually talented, they'll have many options
    • People that are hired should be very invested in your mission and not swayed by stock options or ridiculous perks (silicon valley is famous for these)
• Do One Thing:
  • “On the inside, every individual should be sharply distinguished by her work”
  • Thiel says: “The best thing I did as a manager at PayPal was to make every person in the company responsible for doing just one thing”
    • People know they would be evaluated by only that one thing
    • Reduces conflict as people aren’t fighting to do one thing

  If you've liked this summary, I highly recommend you get the full book here: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future < Previous Chapter | Overview | Next Chapter > - Alec Kriebel