Sam Altman: “Clarity of thinking, speed, and quality of execution are all linked”

Sam explains that he uses writing as a tool to think clearly:

“I think of writing as externalized thinking. If I have a very hard problem or if I feel a little bit confused about something, I have not found anything better to do than sit down and make myself write it out… it is a super powerful thinking tool.”

One reason clear thinking is important, Sam argues, is because it’s crucial for clear communication:

“If you know what you’re going to do, and if you’ve figured out how to reduce that to the essence of why it’s a good idea and what the priorities going to be, then communicating that clearly is not so hard. But getting clear about the actual idea is really hard. I think unclear communication is a symptom of unfocused thinking.”

Napoleon famously said, “The secret of war lies in the communications.” Sam believes refrains on the importance of clear communication like this are so common because “clarity, speed, and quality of execution are all linked.”

Full video: David Perell “Sam Altman – OpenAI Founder Reveals His Writing System“ (Sep 2024)