AI Summary
5 min readInfo Diets, OG Content Creators, and 7-Year Lifespans
The Remote-First Operating Principle
Julian Smith, New York Times bestselling author and founder who has raised roughly a quarter billion dollars, is clear about one boundary: he will not run an in-person company again. After building Breather—an office space technology company that required daily physical presence—he knew his next business would be remote-first. "If they want me to return to the office, I would legitimately not be a CEO again."
The challenge is that remote work requires a different kind of cultural infrastructure. Smith's solution: hire "Silicon Valley oriented" leaders who can teach non-Silicon Valley people how to think like Silicon Valley people. The idea is that culture gets absorbed through leadership, not geography. His team has gathered regionally and globally to build cohesion, but the core operating principle is results-orientation and talent-first hiring, regardless of location or native language.
The Information Diet as a Competitive Advantage
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Introduction and Macro Context** - Julian Smith is introduced; the conversation opens with the state of the VC market and the shift from B2B to B2C.
- 2 (01:20) **Remote-First Hiring Philosophy** - Julian explains why he chose remote from the start, despite his previous company being an in-person office business.
- 3 (03:35) **Silicon Valley Culture as a Multiplier** - The discussion shifts to how Silicon Valley thinking accelerates productivity and quality.
- 4 (05:45) **Info Diets and Absorbing Silicon Valley DNA** - The host suggests curating podcasts and Twitter feeds as a cheap way to absorb SV culture.
- 5 (10:53) **The Irreplaceable Value of Network** - Julian argues that while content is cheap, building a real network requires in-person effort and time.
- 6 (13:48) **Two Paths to Building Influence** - The host contrasts getting on a plane to meet people vs. creating high-quality content to attract them.
- 7 (15:16) **Engine vs. Fuel: The Content Machine** - Julian explains the difference between being the engine (mechanics) and the fuel (content), and the burnout risk of being both.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Today Greg is joined by Julien Smith, the CEO of Practice, bestselling author of The Flinch, and executive coach. In this episode, Greg and Julien talk about the podcasts, books, and x/twitter feeds that entrepreneurs should be reading and following. They also explore why you should think of your life in seven-year increments.
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LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
Production Team:
https://www.bigoceanpodcasting.com
Julien Smith
https://twitter.com/julien
http://juliensmith.com/
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro
7:27 - The Silicon Valley info diet
13:47 - The network multiplier of high quality content
20:35 - How to play the content long-game
30:56 - Think of you life in 7-year increments
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