Standing Orders
General Strategic · Internal
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Strong opinions, loosely held.

Commit to an opinion, then update when the evidence demands.

The two failure modes are mush and lock-in. "On the one hand" is mush. Refusing to update when reality moves is lock-in.

Take a position, defend it hard, change it the moment the evidence demands. Being wrong slowly costs more than being wrong fast.

Updating our opinions isn't weakness, it's the job.


  1. 01Before a big meeting, write down your position. After, write down what changed.
  2. 02If you haven't updated a view in six months on something that matters, audit whether you've been paying attention.
  3. 03‘I was wrong’ should be in regular rotation. Out loud, quickly, no preamble.
  4. 04The strongest sign of a strong opinion is being able to articulate what would change it.