Billionaire Memo

A memo format

Single Quotes

Direct quotes from billionaire-authored books with exact page citations.

← Every memo
Ref. 269 · Single Quotes

The Andy Grove Line Michael Dell Put at the Front of His Book — and Lived Twice

Play Nice But Win

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 267 · Single Quotes

Charlie Munger’s Blunt Advice for Anyone Afraid to Think Differently

Poor Charlie's Almanack

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 268 · Single Quotes

How John D. Rockefeller Turned Market Chaos Into a Lifelong Advantage

Random Reminiscences of Men and Events

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 107 · Single Quotes

Donald Trump’s One Rule for Thinking That Separates Winners from Everyone Else

The Art of the Deal

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 119 · Single Quotes

How Ray Dalio Turned 50 Years of Debt Cycles Into a System That Beat the 2008 Crisis

Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 72 · Single Quotes

Howard Schultz’s Favorite Quote About Commitment — And Why It Explains Everything He Built

Onward

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 106 · Single Quotes

Howard Schultz’s Favorite Quote on Commitment — And Why It Unlocks Everything

Onward

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 232 · Single Quotes

Howard Schultz’s Favorite Quote on Commitment — And Why It Unlocks Everything Else

Onward

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 70 · Single Quotes

Howard Schultz’s Quiet Leadership Rule: ‘We’ Before ‘I’

Onward

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 133 · Single Quotes

John Doerr’s Blunt Test for Whether Someone Actually Wants to Succeed

Measure What Matters

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 227 · Single Quotes

John Doerr’s Parting Lesson: Why It Always Takes a Team to Win

Measure What Matters, Continuous Performance Management: OKRs and CFRs

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 204 · Single Quotes

John Doerr’s Closing Conviction: The Mantra Behind One of Silicon Valley’s Most Influential Books

Measure What Matters

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 118 · Single Quotes

Mark Cuban’s Definition of Rest — And Why It Has Nothing to Do With Relaxing

How to Win at the Sport of Business, Lessons Learned: My First Business

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 166 · Single Quotes

Mark Cuban’s 7x24x365 Rule: Why He Treats Business Like the Final Shot of a Championship Game

How to Win at the Sport of Business, Lessons Learned: My First Business

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 255 · Single Quotes

Mark Cuban’s Definition of Relaxing Will Make You Rethink Every Idle Moment

How to Win at the Sport of Business, Lessons Learned: My First Business

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 189 · Single Quotes

Mark Cuban’s Simple Test for Whether You’re Serious About Business

How to Win at the Sport of Business, Lessons Learned: My First Business

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 73 · Single Quotes

Oprah Winfrey’s Quiet Principle for Getting Through the Hardest Days

What I Know for Sure

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 170 · Single Quotes

Oprah Winfrey’s Quiet Operating Principle: Everything You Put Out Comes Back

What I Know for Sure

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 180 · Single Quotes

Phil Knight Had No Master Plan — And That’s Why Nike Exists

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 75 · Single Quotes

Phil Knight Didn’t Plan to Build Nike — He Just Didn’t Plan Too Far Ahead

Shoe Dog

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 187 · Single Quotes

Phil Knight Never Had a Master Plan — And That’s Exactly Why Nike Exists

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 234 · Single Quotes

Phil Knight’s Obsession With Factories: The Insight That Built Nike’s Edge

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 248 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Simple Rule for Never Making a Decision He Regrets

Principles: Life and Work

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 199 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Uncomfortable Truth: Every System You Trust Will Eventually Fail

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 66 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Two-Part Test Before Making Any Decision

Principles: Life and Work

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 116 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Warning: No Empire Lasts Forever — Yet Everyone Is Surprised When They Fall

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 83 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Warning: No Empire, Currency, or System Lasts Forever — Yet We’re Always Surprised

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 161 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Warning: The Three Signs a Nation — or a Business — Is About to Fall

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 155 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Warning: The Three Forces That Have Collapsed Every Empire in History

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 252 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Warning: The Pattern Every Empire Ignores Until It’s Too Late

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 122 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Warning: Why Nations Fall the Same Way Companies Do

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 182 · Single Quotes

Reed Hastings’ Real Achievement Wasn’t Reinventing Television — It Was Reinventing How Companies Treat People

No Rules Rules

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 130 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s One-Word Rule for Building a Billion-Dollar Empire

Screw It, Let's Do It, Just Do It!

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 262 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s Simple Rule for a Life Worth Living

Losing My Virginity

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 186 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s One-Word Rule for Building a Multi-Billion Dollar Empire

Screw It, Let's Do It

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 171 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s Simple Test for Knowing When to Actually Worry About Failure

The Virgin Way

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 79 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s Two-Word Philosophy That Built a $5 Billion Empire

Like a Virgin

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 140 · Single Quotes

Sam Walton’s Most Unwanted Title — And What It Cost Him

Made in America

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 94 · Single Quotes

Sam Walton’s Secret Weapon: He Never Forgot Where He Came From

Made in America

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 202 · Single Quotes

Sam Zell Built a Real Estate Empire by Saying What Everyone Else Was Too Polite to Say

Am I Being Too Subtle?

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 210 · Single Quotes

Sam Zell’s Business Card Is a Cartoon — And It Tells You Everything About How He Operates

Am I Being Too Subtle?

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 254 · Single Quotes

Sam Zell’s One-Line Philosophy That Explains Every Deal He Ever Made

Am I Being Too Subtle?

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 214 · Single Quotes

Sam Zell’s One Rule for Staying Honest in Business: Never Be Too Subtle

Am I Being Too Subtle?

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 177 · Single Quotes

Stephen Schwarzman’s Definition of Character — It’s Not What Happens to You

What It Takes

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 90 · Single Quotes

Stephen Schwarzman’s Quiet Rule for Achieving Excellence: Follow Enthusiasm, Not Prestige

What It Takes

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 188 · Single Quotes

The Decision Filter Every Ambitious Person Should Be Using

Pour Your Heart Into It

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 74 · Single Quotes

The Decision Filter That Changes Everything: Make Every Choice Based on Who You Want to Become

Pour Your Heart Into It

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 153 · Single Quotes

The George Patton Rule for Reading People Instantly

Tribe of Mentors

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 78 · Single Quotes

The Management Formula Behind Google, Intel, and a Dozen Other Giants

Measure What Matters

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 93 · Single Quotes

The One Sentence That Explains Why Some People Can Persuade Anyone

The One Sentence Persuasion Course

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 136 · Single Quotes

The Question That Stopped Oprah Cold — And Launched Her Most Defining Work

What I Know for Sure

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 86 · Single Quotes

The Question That Stopped Oprah Cold — And Sparked a Career-Defining Search for Truth

What I Know for Sure

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 76 · Single Quotes

The Rabbi’s Question That Cuts Through Every Business Dilemma

Tribe of Mentors

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 213 · Single Quotes

The Ray Dalio Principle That Turns Every Setback Into a Gift

Principles: Life and Work

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 152 · Single Quotes

The Surprising Thing Michael Dell Learned From His Customers That No Competitor Could Copy

Direct from Dell

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 230 · Single Quotes

The Uncomfortable Truth Behind Every Business That Refuses to Track Its Numbers

Measure What Matters

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 246 · Single Quotes

Trump’s Unsettling Truth: The Smartest Person in the Room Often Loses

The Art of the Deal

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 258 · Single Quotes

Trump’s Uncomfortable Truth: The Best Business Minds Aren’t Made in a Classroom

The Art of the Deal

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 249 · Single Quotes

Warren Buffett’s Four-Word Rule That Separates Price From Value

Tools of Titans

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 185 · Single Quotes

Warren Buffett’s Honest Confession: Why Getting Bigger Made Winning Harder

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letters

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 105 · Single Quotes

Warren Buffett’s Most Honest Admission: The Year Even Inspector Clouseau Could Have Done Better

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter 1999

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 160 · Single Quotes

Warren Buffett’s Secret Persuasion Weapon: Admitting He Was Wrong First

Berkshire Shareholder Letters

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 231 · Single Quotes

Warren Buffett’s Worst Year: How He Faced Failure Without Flinching

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter 1999

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 206 · Single Quotes

Warren Buffett’s Worst Year: How He Faced Failure With Radical Honesty

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter 1999

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 169 · Single Quotes

Warren Buffett’s Worst Year: How He Faced Failure With Brutal Honesty

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter 1999

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 129 · Single Quotes

Why Jeff Bezos Says You Can’t Innovate Without a Long Time Horizon

Invent and Wander

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 203 · Single Quotes

Why Phil Knight Says He Feels Sorry for People Who Always Knew What They Wanted

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 228 · Single Quotes

Why Phil Knight Says He Feels Sorry for People Who Always Knew What They Wanted to Be

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 99 · Single Quotes

Why Ray Dalio Spent Decades Mapping Every Major Debt Crisis in History

Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 135 · Single Quotes

Why Ray Dalio Spent Years Mapping Every Major Debt Crisis in History

Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 162 · Single Quotes

Why Reed Hastings Believes a Great Workplace Isn’t About Perks — It’s About People

No Rules Rules

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 250 · Single Quotes

Why Richard Branson Banned the Word ‘Can’t’ — And Built an Empire Because of It

Screw It, Let's Do It

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 125 · Single Quotes

Why Ray Dalio Studied Every Major Debt Crisis of the Last 100 Years — And What He Found

Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 97 · Single Quotes

Why Stephen Schwarzman Tells Future Leaders to Welcome Failure

What It Takes

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 263 · Single Quotes

Why Stephen Schwarzman Tells His Scholars to Embrace Failure First

What It Takes

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 251 · Single Quotes

Why Warren Buffett Confesses His Mistakes Before Bragging About His Wins

Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letters

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 253 · Single Quotes

Why Richard Branson Calls Himself ‘Dr Yes’ — And What It Cost Him to Forget It

Screw It, Let's Do It

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 64 · Single Quotes

5 Steps Ray Dalio Built to Diagnose Any Failure and Never Repeat It

Principles

Power reserve 4 min
Ref. 62 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s Two-Word Philosophy That Built an Empire: Just Do It

Screw It, Let's Do It

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 10 · Single Quotes

Howard Schultz’s Case for Showing Up Every Single Day — Even When It Doesn’t Feel Like It Matters

Pour Your Heart Into It

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 29 · Single Quotes

J. Paul Getty’s Quiet Blueprint for Wealth: Serve Many People

How to Be Rich

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 49 · Single Quotes

J. Paul Getty’s Three-Part Formula for a Good Life

J. Paul Getty

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 60 · Single Quotes

J. Paul Getty’s Unvarnished Truth About a Life Spent in the Arena

As I See It

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 26 · Single Quotes

Mark Cuban’s Relentless Rule: Why He Never Really Stops Working

How to Win at the Sport of Business, Lessons Learned: My First Business

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 7 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Most Underrated Skill: Knowing What You Don’t Know

Principles: Life and Work, Introduction

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 6 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Most Underrated Confession — And Why It’s the Key to Everything He Built

Ray Dalio

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 5 · Single Quotes

Ray Dalio’s Self-Taught Superpower: Why Figuring Things Out Beats Knowing Things

Principles: Life and Work, The Ultimate Boon: 1995-2010

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 48 · Single Quotes

Reed Hastings’ Counterintuitive Formula: More Freedom, Fewer Rules, Better Results

No Rules Rules

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 44 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s Case Against Overthinking — And the One Move That Beats It

Screw It, Let's Do It

Power reserve 3 min
Ref. 11 · Single Quotes

Richard Branson’s One Rule for Getting Anything Done

Richard Branson

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 50 · Single Quotes

Stephen Schwarzman’s Single Decision That Eliminates the Need for Willpower

What It Takes

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 27 · Single Quotes

Why Marc Benioff Says the CEO Can’t Be the Only One Making the Hard Calls

Trailblazer, Prologue

Power reserve 2 min
Ref. 1 · Single Quotes

The Cowards Never Started and the Weak Died Along the Way

Shoe Dog

Power reserve 1 min

Wound automatically, every Tuesday

One memo a week from the manufacture: the passage as written, the chapter it lives in, and what it is worth to whatever you are building.

Lifetime guarantee · Stop any Tuesday