"The 10Xers share Level 5 leaders’ most important trait: they’re incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is first and foremost for the cause, for the company, for the work, not themselves. Whereas [our previous book] Good to Great focused heavily on the humility aspect of Level 5 leaders, this work highlights their sheer ferocity of will.
Sometimes the 10Xers painted their causes in fairly grand terms, even while avoiding any sense of personal grandiosity. Gordon Moore, CEO of Intel from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, maintained a low profile, despite being the primary company builder during Intel’s early growth. Moore nonetheless saw Intel’s purpose in gigantic terms, recognizing how microelectronics would revolutionize nearly every aspect of society. In 1973, only five years into Intel’s history, Moore said, “We are really the revolutionaries in the world today—not the kids with the long hair and beards who were wrecking the schools a few years ago.” Gordon Moore led with an understated personality, yet built a great company that would play a catalytic role in revolutionizing the way civilization works.
To focus on Gordon Moore’s understated personality, or Lewis’s and Kelleher’s outsized personalities, would miss the point.
The central question is, “What are you in it for?” 10X leaders can be bland or colorful, uncharismatic or magnetic, understated or flamboyant, normal to the point of dull, or just flat-out weird—none of this really matters, as long as they’re passionately driven for a cause beyond themselves.
Every 10Xer we studied aimed for much more than just “becoming successful.” They didn’t define themselves by money. They didn’t define themselves by fame. They didn’t define themselves by power. They defined themselves by impact and contribution and purpose."
"Let's first look at what we did not find about 10Xers relative to their less successful comparisons: They're not more creative. They're not more visionary. They're not more charismatic. They're not more ambitious. They're not more blessed by luck. They're not more risk-seeking. They're not more heroic. And they're not more prone to making big, bold moves. To be clear, we're not saying that 10Xers lacked creative intensity, ferocious ambition, or the courage to bet big. They displayed all these traits, but so did their less successful comparisons.
So then, how did the 10Xers distinguish themselves? First, they embrace a paradox of control and noncontrol. On the one hand, 10Xers understand that they face continuous uncertainty and that they cannot control, and cannot accurately predict, significant aspects of the world around them. On the other hand, they reject the idea that forces outside their control or chance events will determine their results; they accept full responsibility for their own fate.
10Xers then bring this idea to life by a triad of core behaviors: fanatic discipline, empirical creativity, and productive paranoia. And they all led their teams with a surprising method of self-control in an out-of-control world."
"Fanatic discipline: 10Xers display extreme consistency of action – consistency with values, goals,
performance standards, and methods. They are utterly relentless, monomaniacal, and unbending in their focus on their quests."
"Empirical creativity: when faced with uncertainty, 10Xers do not look primarily to other people, conventional wisdom, authority figures, or peers for direction; they look primarily to empirical evidence. They rely upon direct observation, practical experimentation, and direct engagement with tangible evidence. They make their bold, creative moves from a sound empirical base."
"Productive paranoia: 10Xers maintain hypervigilance, staying highly attuned to threats and changes in their environment, even when – especially when – all’s going well. They assume conditions will turn against them, at perhaps the worst possible moment. They channel their fear and worry into action, preparing, developing contingency plans, building buffers and maintaining large margins of safety."
“Discipline, in essence, is consistency of action—consistency with values, consistency with long-term goals, consistency with performance standards, consistency of method, consistency over time. Discipline is not the same as regimentation. Discipline is not the same as measurement. Discipline is not the same as hierarchical obedience or adherence to bureaucratic rules. True discipline requires the independence of mind to reject pressures to conform in ways incompatible with values, performance standards, and long-term aspirations. For a 10Xer, the only legitimate form of discipline is self-discipline, having the inner will to do whatever it takes to create a great outcome, no matter how difficult."
"Faith in the endgame helps you live through the months or years of buildup"
