PRINCIPAL-AGENT PROBLEM The smaller the company, the more everyone feels like a principal. The less you feel like an agent, the better the job you're going to do. The more closely you can tie someone's compensation to the exact value they're creating, the more you turn them into a principal, and the less you turn them into an agent.

Recommended Books (3): - Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli - The Compleat Strategyst: Being a Primer on the Theory of Games of Strategy by J.D. Williams - The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert Axelrod. - The Book of Life by Jiddu Krishnamurti - Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti by Jiddu Krishnamurti - Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Recommended Books (2): - Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe - Thinking Physics: Understandable Practical Reality by Lewis Carroll Epstein - The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant - The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age by James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg - Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger by Charlie Munger (edited by Peter Kaufman) - Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity by Carlo Rovelli

Recommended Books (1): - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari - The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World by David Deutsch - Skin in the Game by Nassim Taleb - The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophieal and Practioal Aphoriame by Nassim Taleb - Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher by Richard Feynman

All benefts in life come thom com und interest, whether in money, relationships, love, health, activities, or habits. lonly want to be around people I know I'm going to be around for the rest of my life. I only want to work on things I know have long-term payout.

Value your time. It is all you have. It's more important than your money. It's more important than your friends. It is more important than anything. Your time is all you have. Do not waste your time. This doesn't mean you can't relax. As long as you're doing what you want, it's not a waste of your time. But if you're not spending your time doing what you want, and you're not earning, and you're not learning--what the heck are you doing?

Related to the skill of reading are the skills of mathematics and persuasion. Both skills help you to navigate through the real world. Having the skill of persuasion is important because if you can influence your fellow human beings, you can get a lot done. I think persuasion is an actual skill. So you can learn it, and it's not that hard to do so.