Interview with A16Z Founder: How to Liberate Personal Productivity through Systematic Learning

In the venture capital ecosystem, we can always see new technological changes and new business models bringing various new forms of startups from time to time. In contrast, the venture capital industry seems somewhat "conservative", but from another perspective, it is also due to the significant challenges behind breaking through innovations in this industry. If we were to rank the innovative power of the venture capital industry, A16Z would definitely be at the top, as A16Z's unique philosophy and approach have always been a barometer for new forms in the industry.

In 2011, Marc Andreessen, co-founder of A16Z, published an article titled "Software is Eating the World" in The Wall Street Journal, which attracted widespread attention. In his dual role as an investor and technology expert, he interpreted the larger context of the technology industry and concluded that "software and internet companies are a fantastic opportunity." During that time, Marc captured a number of outstanding internet companies such as Facebook, Groupon, Skype, Twitter, and Zynga.

In the past few days, the debate about Web 3.0 among Tesla founder Elon Musk, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong, and Marc Andreessen has once again become the most talked-about topic on Twitter. Before co-founding A16Z, Marc co-founded the pioneering browser Netscape, and during the era of internet technology development, Marc Andreessen is undoubtedly one of the most influential and talked-about super individuals.

Today's shared content comes from the in-depth dialogue between Marc Andreessen and Sriram Krishna, the host of The Good Time Show. At the same time, Sriam is also a partner at A16Z. Marc shared his latest thoughts on personal productivity, scheduling, reading habits, and learning optimization. I read this content in the second half of last year, and my feeling after reading it was that this article won't give you an epiphany immediately, but after experiencing and pondering over it slowly, you'll find that the content is a rational return that respects common sense. I suggest everyone can bookmark it first and then read it periodically.

At the beginning of this month, I visited an outstanding senior in the investment industry and asked a question—what is the competitive advantage worth continuously building if you want to truly navigate through cycles in investment? The senior's answer was to always maintain a keen awareness of frontline business. Just as Marc mentioned in this conversation, venture capital is very "close to the actual frontline" work. Investors should not think about distancing themselves from daily affairs. You need to truly understand what is happening. You must stay closely in touch with what is happening in the market, understand these technologies, and know what these entrepreneurs are doing. My admiration for Marc lies in the fact that since founding Netscape nearly thirty years ago, Marc has always been at the forefront of technological innovation and business development, and this is inseparable from the personal productivity system he has built, with a large amount of high-density information input and a strong belief in technology as a driving force.

In order to provide you with a better reading experience, certain adjustments have been made in this article without affecting the content. You can also choose the content you are more interested in directly from the dialogue directory. We sincerely hope you can help share and recommend our content, and we wish it can bring you inspiration. Let's get started, Enjoy!

Dialogue Directory

1. Personal Productivity

2. The Value of Open Time and Empowerment

3. Objectives and Systems

4. Process, Result, and Stake

5. Books and Reading

6. Learning and Perspectives

7. Progress and Driving Force

( About Personal Productivity

Sriram: Over ten years ago, you published the famous "Pmarca Personal Productivity Guide" on your personal blog. So, what is the 2020 version of the "Marc Andreessen Personal Productivity Guide" like?

Marc: I basically made a complete 180° adjustment to the guidelines from 13-14 years ago. Many of these adjustments were simply because I founded A16Z and wanted to continue to grow and strengthen it. Currently, we have a large number of companies in our portfolio, and there is a lot of investment work going on at any given point in time. My co-founders and I at A16Z need to handle very high-intensity matters, so we need a more structured way of life. This guideline is the most organized I've tried so far.

For me, a typical day is strictly following the schedule. I will do my best to complete the "programming calendar" guidelines.

Sriram: Tell me about your day.

Marc: My schedule is mostly organized by the week. One day of the week determines a lot of things. Mondays and Fridays have very specific schedules because we operate at the pace of a venture capital firm. Monday feels like an all-day "marathon" because most of the real teamwork happens on Mondays. Fridays are scheduled similarly to Mondays. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are much more flexible, usually involving more meetings, board meetings, entrepreneurial consultations, etc. I work according to this schedule from Monday to Friday, and I finally understand why people have the concept of weekends. I’m doing my best to carve out some rest time for Saturday and Sunday.

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Sriram: In your previous post, you mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger('s open schedule and talked about the benefits of having unstructured time during the day and the flexibility it brings you.

Marc: I think Arnold was in "entrepreneur mode" during that interview. At that time, he was involved in many startup projects and explored many new businesses. I believe that if you are an entrepreneur in a state of heavy innovation, flexible time is definitely beneficial.

When I was programming in my early years, I was just as busy as he is. I basically only did one thing until I was exhausted. Then I would get up the next morning and continue. I never had a real schedule. I just knew what I was doing. In a way, it's the same as not having a timetable. But if you have to deal with things that involve organizational operations or customer service, you will face challenges. It depends on how we view our work. If part of your job involves handling a lot of calls or emails, you need to respond in a timely manner and not keep people waiting too long. Maybe some people can respond immediately, but I don’t know how to do that.

Sriram: Was there a moment when you decided to change your old system? Was it when you started the company?

Marc: Yes, to be honest, we started right away when we founded the company in 2009. The establishment of the company was just an opportunity to initiate change. One of our company's values is to respect the people we work with, and doing so includes — we will never drop the ball. We ensure prompt responses, and we have established a service level agreement )SLA( that allows us to respond within a specific timeframe. As the saying goes at JPMorgan, "Conducting first-class business in a first-class way." If you contact us, you will definitely receive a response. We commit to what we say we will do. We find it necessary to establish a system for this.

I believe that venture capital is a job that is very "close to the actual front line." Investors should not think about distancing themselves from daily affairs. You need to really understand what is happening. You must stay closely in touch with what is happening in the market, understand these technologies, and know what these entrepreneurs are doing. Moreover, you must constantly communicate with many people, so a more structured approach to work is essential.

Sriram: What do you think when you wake up on Monday morning or Sunday night and see your schedule?

Marc: I was thinking, "God, I am organized! I have a plan!" Without this, I would panic the moment I wake up.

Basically, everything is scheduled. Sleeping is on the schedule, and free time is on the schedule too. Free time is important; it's like a pressure relief valve. As long as you know you have enough time to rest, you can work hard for a long time. But I found that if you don't schedule enough free time, you become dissatisfied with your schedule. When I was younger, I really didn't have the concept of 'shutting down.' However, as you age, your body starts to rebel. And it's clear that if you have a family, having only a work system is definitely not a good choice.

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) The Value of Open Time and Empowerment

Sriram: I find it interesting that your schedule allocates a lot of open time. We often talk about how some of the most interesting and influential people in the world tend to have plenty of open time. This is in stark contrast to the schedules of corporate executives who plan their time in 30-minute increments from 8 AM to 7 PM.

Marc: We have all worked with executives whose schedules are filled with multiple tasks. For such executives, you often find these three points.

1. They never have time to really think. And it turns out that thinking is a very important thing.

2. They find it difficult to adapt to changes in the environment. In the venture capital industry, you will encounter many problems and need to handle numerous emergencies. Just like those classic movie scenes, when faced with a huge crisis, someone shouts to their secretary, "Cancel my schedule!". Well, if your schedule has a certain degree of flexibility, maybe you won't need to do that.

3. You may have noticed that managers who are "controlled" by this schedule may ultimately become micromanagers. You may have seen some of these people overwhelmed by work. The good news is that they are well aware of everything in the organization. The bad news is that they have become bottlenecks in the work process. The extreme form of this situation is that there is always a long line outside their office. I have worked with a few such people. The waiting line extends along the corridor as people wait to go in and see him. They are also the bottlenecks of the organization. Working in such organizations can be demoralizing, which is essentially the opposite of empowerment.

Sriram: The topic related to this is empowerment. For many people like this, letting go is difficult. Empowerment is often a cliché. It's easier said than done. So, if you want to carve out some open time in your schedule, what would you do? How would you actually express, "I'm not going to do this," "I will say no," or "I plan to let someone else do this"?

Marc: My management style is that I don't directly manage anyone.

Sriram: For me, you are an unusual conversation partner because you are not the traditional CEO who manages a large organization.

Marc: Exactly. So this will certainly be different, at least to some extent it is different. I don't have the pressure of traditional CEOs who handle various matters one-on-one, nor do I bear all the management responsibilities. I am involved in a lot of the company's management work, but these are all things we discuss in internal meetings. Then we choose outstanding talents to manage these teams. At certain times, all we need to do is figure out which tasks don't need to be done and can be delegated to others.

Sriram: Now let's talk about the screenshot you sent me. Every executive must have their own check-in system. Your time is limited, and there are a bunch of projects that require your attention. What does the system you use look like?

Marc: So, in simple terms, there are two types of project situations. Apple has a concept called Directly Responsible Individual ( D.R.I.; directly responsible individual ). For any project, I try to determine the DRI, who is responsible for delivering the project. If it's me, then the project will show up on my calendar once it's completed. If it doesn't show up on the calendar, it means it hasn't been completed yet. The weekly check-in is for all projects that others are responsible for. For example, you might have a company that is raising funds or doing a big deal. I don't necessarily have to ask the entrepreneur or CEO every day, but I at least want to be regularly updated on the latest situation; I don't want to be completely in the dark about how things are progressing.

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