1. Extreme focus. At PayPal, Peter Thiel required everyone to be tasked with exactly one priority. He would refuse to discuss anything else with you except what was currently assigned as your #1 initiative. This was extended to your annual review: Identify your single most valuable contribution to the company. Lesson: Focus on one thing– put your effort behind one unique idea. 2. Long-term vision, short-term goals. Thiel's long-term vision for PayPal was to become "the Microsoft of payments, the financial operating system of the world." Having this high-level view was the tangible objective for employees to rally around. But he put in place attainable short-term goals via achievable milestones. Lesson: Focus on the sprints but maintain the strategic vision of the marathon. 3. Be genuinely intellectually curious. Many mafia members didn't have a formal engineering background. Yet each had a strong sense of the technology and direction PayPal was heading. Learning in non-traditional ways by chasing your curiosity often leads to the most favourable outcome. Lesson: Combine hyper-focus with a genuine curiosity for lifelong learning. 4. Dedication to individual accomplishment. Teams were almost considered socialist institutions at PayPal. Many of the company's great innovations were driven by one person who conscripted others to support, adopt and implement the new idea. Lesson: Avoid imposing on others' time by removing unnecessary meetings 5. Vigorous debate. Almost every important issue had champions and critics. These were normally resolved by a vigorous debate that could be very intense. Implement agreed upon decision making frameworks to avoid making noise just for the sake of making noise. Lesson: Be able to articulate and defend your strategy or product in a succinct, compelling manner with thoughtful analysis.