What David Senra Learned Studying 400+ Founders
the best founders kind of um they don't really rest on their laurels.
顶尖创始人不会躺在功劳簿上。
They don't like sleep on wins.
他们不会沉浸在胜利里。
They essentially do something great.
他们做成一件大事。
They celebrate for like a day and then back to it.
他们庆祝一天，然后继续干。
So like I just did Tony Zoo of Door Dash who I think you guys were investors in.
我刚做了DoorDash的Tony Xu，我记得你们投过。
He's like we got so much more to do.
他说我们还有很多事要做。
He's like okay we had a something good happened.
他说刚有件好事。
Like let's go out to dinner.
那就出去吃顿饭。
And by the time the dinner before the dinner is over, I'm thinking of the 17 things that are not going right.
结果晚饭还没吃完，我已在想17件不顺的事。
That's why it's great.
所以才这么棒。
Okay, today we have David Center on the show.
好，今天请到David Senra。
I've been a huge fan of his pod for a long time.
我喜欢他的播客很久了。
He basically goes way down the rabbit hole on great founders from Jesus of Nazareth all the way up to Jensen Hang.
他会深挖伟大创始人，从拿撒勒的耶稣一直讲到Jensen Huang。
very very very deep down those rabbit holes.
挖得非常非常非常深。
So what I wanted to know is what do all the great founders have in common and how do we apply that today's founders?
所以我想知道伟大创始人有何共性以及如何用于今天的创始人？
How do we apply that to picking the best founders and how do we apply that to coaching my best CEOs?
怎么用它选出最优秀的创始人又怎么用它辅导我最优秀的CEO？
I hope you like the episode.
希望你喜欢这期节目。
You have gone very deep on a lot of founders, a lot of CEOs, a lot of successful people from Jesus of Nazareth to Jensen Hang.
你深入研究了很多创始人，很多CEO，很多成功人士，从拿撒勒的耶稣到Jensen Huang。
What's the one thing they have in common?
他们唯一的共性是什么？
If I had to distill every single thing down to one word, it just be like focus.
如果把一切浓缩成一个词，那就是专注。
They're just unbelievably focused compared to not only the average person.
他们的专注程度远超普通人且高得惊人。
It's almost like they're a different species.
简直像另一个物种。
But I would even say to like today's founders, they are just much more focused and less distracted and like not really looking around at what other people are doing.
即便和今天的创始人相比，他们也专注得多且不易分心更不关心别人在做什么。
They kind of don't really care how other people are doing what they're doing.
他们根本不在意别人怎么做事。
The way I put this is like there's a maximum for this is like mute the world and then build your own.
我的格言是屏蔽世界然后构建自己的世界。
Yeah.
对。
And so let me give an example of this.
我举个例子。
This this isn't out on my new show yet, but I just spent several hours with Dana White.
新节目还没上线，但我刚和Dana White聊了几小时。
I call him the founder of the UFC, even though I was like,"Oh, they bought the company."
我叫他UFC创始人，虽说“哦，他们买了公司。”
Yeah.
对。
And Dana, first of all, it's one of my favorite conversations I ever had.
先说 Dana，这是我最喜欢的一次对谈。
We had so much fun.
我们聊得特别开心。
But when he tells the story of the UFC where it's like, you know, he's 19 years old, he's a Bellman in a hotel in Boston and he's self-described loser.
但他讲起 UFC 的故事时说，他当时19岁，在波士顿一家酒店当门童，自称是个失败者。
He's just like,"I'm just a loser.
他就说：“我就是个失败者。
I have nothing going on, but I'm obsessed with fighting."
我一事无成，但我痴迷格斗。”
At that time, it's boxing.
当时流行的是拳击。
He's a huge boxing fan.
他是个狂热拳击迷。
And he has this idea.
然后他有了个想法。
He's like,"I should just move to Vegas to fight capital of the world and try to just work in the industry."
他说：“我该搬到世界格斗之都拉斯维加斯，想办法进这个行业。”
Now he's trying to build the world's biggest combat organization.
这时他想打造全球最大的格斗组织。
But he's just like,"I just need to work in this industry."
但他只想：“我得进这个行业。”
And he was like going back and forth.
然后他一直犹豫不决。
He said,"This is stupid."
他说：“这样太蠢了。”
He goes,"I'm a Bellman.
他说：“我是个门童。
I could be a Bellman at 35.
我35岁还能当门童。
This doesn't work out.
就算没成功。
I could be a Bellman at 35.
我35岁还能当门童。
I could be a Bellman when I'm 50.
我50岁也还能当门童。
So I have nothing.
所以我一无所有。
I have no wife, no kids."
没妻子，也没孩子。”
And he just goes starts working in the industry, taking a job he can get.
然后他就入了行，什么工作能找到就做什么。
Starts promoting, excuse me, managing fighters.
开始推广，抱歉，是管理拳手。
Then starts managing this weird thing called MMA.
后来开始管理一种叫 MMA 的怪东西。
and these fighters for this thing called UFC which is nothing.
还有这个叫 UFC、当时一文不名的赛事里的拳手。
They're in front of tiny crowds.
他们只在寥寥观众面前比赛。
There's no money and so he's on the phone because he's a rep in two fighters and one of the fighters is owed money by the UFC and he's like dude like you need to pay him like and the guy screams at him the owner.
根本没钱。后来他作为两名拳手的经纪人打电话，其中一名拳手还被 UFC 欠着钱。他说，兄弟，你得付钱。结果老板冲他大吼。
He's like there's no [ __ ] money.
他说，根本就没［ __ ］钱。
There's no money.
没钱。
So Dana hangs up calls the Fertitta brothers who their father built a casino.
Dana 挂断，打给赌场世家的 Fertitta 兄弟。
He's like I think we could buy this whole thing.
他说，我觉得我们能把整个公司买下来。
And what you realize is he's a missionary founder.
你会发现，他是使命型创始人。
I think the best founders are missionary.
我觉得最优秀的创始人都是使命型的。
Like if you go back and look at Jensen or Steve Jobs or Bezos or any of these people, Elon missionary.
回头看看 Jensen、Steve Jobs、Bezos、Elon，哪个不是使命型。
And he's like, I think we could buy this thing.
他说，我觉得我们能买下来。
They buy it for 2 million.
他们花了200万买下它。
Takes him like six years.
他花了差不多6年。
He's making no money.
他一分钱没赚。
They're just they're losing money.
他们一直在亏钱。
They have to dump another $40 million into it until it's profitable.
他们又砸了4000万美元，才终于盈利。
And then he tells this whole story.
然后他讲完了整个故事。
So I'll get to the end because he's still been running it for 26 years.
我直接说结局吧，因为他已经经营了26年。
And now they just did, you know, almost an eight billion dollar deal for their TV rights at a time where, you know, he's making no money for the first six years.
如今他们刚签下近80亿美元的电视转播权协议，而最初6年，他一分钱没赚。
The first time he makes money, they write on the board the compensation for the partners and he can't believe.
他第一次赚钱时，董事会写下合伙人的报酬，他简直不敢相信。
He's like,"Oh my god, I'm going to make a million dollars."
他说：“天啊，我能赚100万美元。”
He thought he was rich.
他觉得自己发财了。
I can't even tell you what he told me he makes now.
他现在赚多少，我都没法告诉你。
He told me off camera, it's just it would blow your mind.
他私下告诉我的，数目绝对超乎想象。
And the reason I bring this up is because I talked to him.
我提这事，是因为我和他聊过。
He's like,"I've never read a single book about business.
他说：“我从没读过一本商业书。
I've never listened to a single podcast about business.
我也从没听过一期商业播客。
All I did was like I'm the fan."
我做的只是当个粉丝。”
So like when we bought the company, I never sold tickets, didn't have know anything about production.
买下公司时，我不会卖票，也完全不懂制作。
He's just like I just made what I wanted to see.
他说，我只是做了自己想看的东西。
And so that's mute the world and build your own.
所以就是屏蔽世界，打造自己的天地。
His entire world is his business and then anything doing outside he doesn't care about.
他的全部世界就是生意，外界发生什么他都不在乎。
He's just unbelievably focused.
他就是专注得难以置信。
I thought you were gonna say the word obsession.
我还以为你会说“痴迷”。
Is it the same thing?
是一回事吗？
I think they're they're like closely related.
我觉得两者关系非常密切。
I think if you are intensely focused on something I I don't know anybody that's intensely focused on something that's not that you wouldn't call obsessed.
我觉得，极度专注于一件事的人，都会被称为痴迷，我想不到例外。
Yeah.
对。
And but I think focus the difference between focus and obsession is you're focus
但我觉得，专注和痴迷的区别在于，专注是
Steve Jobs say focus is saying no.
Steve Jobs：专注就是拒绝。
Yeah.
对。
Like Johnny IVive has this great interview that he did with Vanity Fair a few years ago and you know he's just like one of the things he's like Steve was the most remarkably focused person
Jony Ive 几年前接受《名利场》采访时说过一句很精彩的话，他说，Steve 是我见过最专注的人
I've ever come across and one time you know we were talking about this and he's like well how many things have you said no to and he's like well and Johnny he's like I said no to this and I said no to that he's like Steve's like no no you didn't want to do that focus is saying no to a good idea
有一次我们聊到这件事，他问我：“你拒绝过多少事？”我说：“我拒绝了这个，也拒绝了那个。”Steve 却说：“不，不，你本来就不想做那些事。专注，是拒绝一个你真的很想做的好点子
that you really want to do
也要拒绝
in because it distracts you from a great idea
因为它会让你偏离真正绝妙的点子。
where does this come from like you've looked at their childhood hoods.
这种特质从何而来？你研究过他们的童年。
Is there something that happened early to them?
他们小时候经历过什么吗？