Wes Kao

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Invest in Emotional Vocabulary

  Leadership

  Leaders should learn the specific vocabulary of their emotions to better understand and manage intense feelings during high-pressure situations.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Anger Management, 2023  (opens in a new tab)

• Separate Identity from Customer Feedback

  Mindset

  Founders must learn not to take mean-spirited customer feedback personally to maintain peace of mind while building products.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Anger Management, 2023  (opens in a new tab)

• Use writing for asynchronous visibility

  Content

  If verbal interjection is difficult, use well-structured documents to share ideas that can circulate among senior leadership independently.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Im An Introvert This Is How I Get Myself To Speak Up, 2026  (opens in a new tab)

• Avoid the Coordination Trap

  Leadership

  Shift language from 'coordinating' and 'tracking' to 'leading' and 'driving' to be seen as an owner of outcomes rather than a facilitator.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Not all skills are equally valued in the workplace. Some skills are seen as more important, prestigious, and associated with senior leaders. Other skills are associated with junior team members, or with less prestigious roles.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Align Perception with Reality

  Career

  Update the way you describe your work to ensure it accurately reflects the strategic thinking you are already doing.

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

  Source Pigeonholed Project Management, 2024  (opens in a new tab)

• Avoid under-confidence traps

  Leadership

  Being too hard on oneself leads to under-confidence, which negatively impacts communication, advocacy for ideas, and the willingness to take risks.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Rat Race, 2025  (opens in a new tab)

• Reason from First Principles

  Learning

  Avoid waiting for step-by-step instructions; instead, adapt general principles to specific situations through flexible thinking and pattern matching.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Inform your manager what you're planning to do. This gives them a chance to stop you and/or to align.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Turn a little into a lot

  Productivity

  High performers use their judgment and vision to transform basic resources into magical, surprising results that exceed expectations.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Turning A Yellow Spot Into The Sun, 2024  (opens in a new tab)

• Use before-and-after examples

  Management

  Providing concrete examples of edits helps direct reports understand the gap between their current work and the expected standard.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Not owning IC work, but still being hands on when your direct reports prepare stuff to review with you, has been the key for me.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Look for pattern breaks

  Strategy

  Identify what is normal to establish a baseline, then investigate anything that sticks out as an anomaly.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Analytical doesn't necessarily mean quantitative . I think most of us, when we hear analytical , immediately think of metrics, spreadsheets, dashboards, etc.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Aim for elite yet ubiquitous

  Marketing

  A brand should strive to be the most premium option that everyone recognizes, avoiding the trap of being too cool for the average customer.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Elite Yet Ubiquitous, 2023  (opens in a new tab)

• Close the communication loop

  Leadership

  Build trust by stating what will be done, doing it, and then confirming that it has been completed.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source 15 Principles For Managing Up, 2023  (opens in a new tab)

• Define the feedback type

  Management

  Specify whether you need directional feedback, emotional support, or a quick approval to avoid wasted effort.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source 15 Principles For Managing Up, 2023  (opens in a new tab)

• Self-Directed Skill Acquisition

  Learning

  Take the lead on learning new skills outside of business hours if necessary, rather than waiting for a structured curriculum from a manager.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Get Better Feedback, 2024  (opens in a new tab)

• Prioritize Strategy Over Execution

  Strategy

  Always address structural and strategic flaws before moving to line edits or minor polish to avoid wasting time on content that might be deleted.

  Supporting quotes

  • “If what you get is drastically different from what you expected, give structural feedback first. Here's why: if you start with line edits, you might trim entire paragraphs later - so your line edits are wasted.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Prioritize Density Over Brevity

  Writing

  Concision is about maximizing the value of every word used rather than simply hitting a low word count. A long document can be concise if every sentence adds necessary value.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Being concise is about using an economy of words. It's maximizing your word "real estate." It's about density, not absolute length. You can have a 1,500-word memo that's concise.”

    “I've come to believe that clear thinking is the hard part - it's the bottleneck to being concise. If you don't first clarify your ideas, you can't communicate those ideas concisely.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Clarify Thoughts Before Communicating

  Mindset

  The root cause of rambling is often unclear thinking; one must process information and decide what is important before trying to speak or write concisely.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Being concise is about using an economy of words. It's maximizing your word "real estate." It's about density, not absolute length. You can have a 1,500-word memo that's concise.”

    “I've come to believe that clear thinking is the hard part - it's the bottleneck to being concise. If you don't first clarify your ideas, you can't communicate those ideas concisely.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Pre-Conversation Emotional Discharge

  Leadership

  Process and vent frustrations with a third party before the feedback session to ensure a neutral or positive energy during the actual meeting.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Strategy, not self-expression: How to decide what to say when giving feedback, 2023  (opens in a new tab)

• Acknowledge Before Redirecting

  Leadership

  Validate a participant's point before moving back to the main topic to avoid appearing dismissive or abrasive.

  Supporting quotes

  • “The key with this strategy is to redirect and continue talking about the thing you want to talk about. You should redirect immediately because timing matters.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Address objections proactively

  Strategy

  Identify the recipient's likely assumptions or fears and provide data or alternative perspectives to shift their thinking before they say no.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source You Are Wasting Your Warm Intros, 2025  (opens in a new tab)