ego

I would rather have more of an ego than less.

I believe that if you apply ego the right way – in that it encourages you to back what you say (be more smart, confident, etc.) – it can be a huge help.

The issue comes at balancing what might tip someone over the edge in perceiving you as overly confident, too egoistic, etc.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't mind someone conventionally “overconfident,” as long as he or she has reason to embrace that feeling.

We should all aim to combine intelligence with ego.

The people I try to be more like are those who have very immediate reactions to something I say – as if their opinion automatically comes out. I really admire people like that.

Divesh, one of the ICONIQ founders, talks about embracing a low-ego mindset. I'll qualify this. We do not want to scare someone we're talking to for the first time or so (it's hard to judge them, how they receive certain things, etc.). However, the best investors are objectively critical. To be able to critique and pick 1 out of 10 stereotypically amazing companies, you must have an ego.

In the end, ego isn’t the enemy. It’s the calibration that matters. The best people I’ve met have enough ego to trust their judgment, but enough humility to question it. That tension is what produces real insight, and it’s what I will try to cultivate myself.