From Optimism To Teamwork And The Superpower Of Incentives: The 17 Things That OpenAI's Sam Altman Wishes Someone Told Him

Ahead of the holidays, OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman took time to reflect on things he wished were said to him but weren't and that he had to discover on his own.

What Happened: Altman reflected upon the learnings he has accrued so far, and listed out the things that he was not told by anyone until he realized them himself.

"Hope this is useful for people who spend the holidays thinking about what to go work on in 2024; always one of my favorite times of year," Altman said.

hope this is useful for people who spend the holidays thinking about what to go work on in 2024; always one of my favorite times of year

— Sam Altman (@sama) December 21, 2023

In his post, Altman briefly mentions the 17 aspects of professional life he has learned.

This includes things that an individual must include in their own lives, as well as ideas needed while building a company as well as a team.

See Also: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Had A Wobble, Says 2023 ‘Has Been A Crazy Year’

On an individual front, Altman says people need to be optimistic, obsessed and have self-belief and conviction to get things off the ground.

Altman also stresses the need to communicate clearly and concisely – the clearer the thoughts, the more concise your communication becomes.

This seems on point, too – after all, Altman discovered its importance after being suddenly fired from the company he co-founded in a palace coup before being brought back by Microsoft Corp. MSFT.

Altman On Getting Things Done On A Broader Level

On a broader, company-wide level, Altman thinks that teamwork is among the more important aspects that must be stressed.

"Cohesive teams, the right combination of calmness and urgency, and unreasonable commitment are how things get finished," he said.

He also advocates for people to look at the longer-term goals instead of the short-term ones. While long-term goals might seem difficult to understand and track, Altman says it gets easier with practice and time.

Apart from this, Altman also talks about fighting "bull****" and encouraging others to do it, too. He also values taking a small number of high-conviction bets since the payoff makes them worth it in case those bets succeed.

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