Hemang Champaneria

Being a good human

• Kindness is a business skill

  Kindness is not softness, and it is not the same as being liked. It is a practical skill that makes it cheaper to tell the truth early.

• On leading by listening

  The people closest to a problem usually see it first. Listening is not a pause before the work of leading. It is the work.

• On community

  Community is built in ordinary ways: keeping a promise, noticing who needs a hand, and giving time.

Notes for young entrepreneurs

• What I’d tell myself at 22 about money

  Money is not mainly about how much you can make. It is about not getting surprised, and about the gap between what comes in and what goes out.

• How to treat the people who work with you

  The people who work with you are not a cost to be squeezed. They are the work, and how you treat them is the culture, whether you write it down or not.

• On keeping a small operation steady

  Most small operations strain when the ordinary work is sloppy. A few simple habits do more than a complicated plan.

• On making time for real work

  It is easy to stay busy and still postpone the work that matters. Real work needs unbroken time, and a decision to protect it.