Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (2014) by Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal and major startup funder thereafter) and Blake Masters (who took a course with Peter at Stanford, and using the extensive course notes produced the basis for this book). The crux of the book is vertical innovation - creating entirely new ideas, hence from 0 to 1 - as opposed to horizontal innovation - copying, expanding or tinkering with existing ideas, or going from 1 to many. For example... the first operating system, the first social network, the first mobile payment system. The book does not provide a pathway or blueprint, in fact opposes those. Instead, successful entrepreneurs used first principles instead of formulas. What are the traits of people who have made vertical innovations? Out of the box thinkers who are willing to take contrarian positions (question what we think we know) and not follow the crowd, and are fueled by courage (which they say is in even shorter supply than brilliance). The book is tech oriented and optimistic. Unique in many ways.

Some nuggets (not quotes):

Be bold. Have a mission. A bad plan is better than no plan. Macro narratives matter - (in)definite optimism, pessimism - for future visioning. The West is operating on an unsustainable and ineffective macro narrative - the unjust tyranny of chance using the analogy of evolutionary thinking to progress. It is not random or chance, plan. Incrementalism, risk aversion, complacency, a belief in flatness (global marketplace and resulting self doubt) oppose the motivation to do what has not yet been done.

Collaboration can be powerful. Competition is destructive. Monopoly is the aim, the profits of which create incumbent monopolies; competition is an ideology that assumes all actors are static and equal, but in reality actors are dynamic and unequal. Once you are 10x better, you eliminate competition and hold a monopoly. Focus on your 10x. Dominante a small market to start (Want to dominate the marketplace? Start with books, add gradually. Want to dominate the online trading marketplace? Start with niche products like beanie babies, expand gradually).

Higher education creates conformists. Schooling imparts conventional, generic wisdom; it does not teach where to look where others are not looking or see what others are not seeing. Think for yourself.

The secret to venture capital is that the best investment outperforms the entire portfolio - only invest in companies that have the potential for exponential growth at a vast scale (which can feel like gambling). The best ideas are the ones no one is looking at, not the theme of the day. A startup messed up at the foundation cannot be fixed. Founders relationships are as important as skills. The best product does not always win; products matter, so do sales.

Work relationships matter, the work culture needs to be more than transactional. You don't need skills, you need people who can work effectively together. Define roles, reduce conflict, hold people accountable. Talented people have a lot of choice, create an environment that attracts talent. Consultants have short-term commitment seeking immediate value, avoid unless specific (lawyers, accountants); employees need to share the vision and aspire to long-term change. 

Cochrane, L. and Cundill, G. (2018) Enabling Collaborative Synthesis in Multi-Partner Programmes. Development in Practice. DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2018.1480706

Abstract: Multi-partner consortia have emerged as an important modality for knowledge generation to address complex sustainability challenges. Establishing effective multi-partner consortia involves significant investment. This article shares lessons from the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), which aims to support policy and practice for climate change adaptation through a consortium model. Key lessons include the need to facilitate collaborative spaces to build trust and identify common interests, while accepting that this is not a guarantee of success; the importance of programmatic leadership to achieve synthesis; and the value of strategic planning in supporting motivation and alignment between partners.

• Cundill, G., Harvey, B., Tebboth, M., Cochrane, L., Currie-Alder, B., Vincent, K., Lawn, J., Nicolls, R. J., Scodanibbio, L., Prakash, A., New, M., Wester, P., Leone, M., Morchain, D., Ludi, E., DeMaria-Kinney, J., Khan, A. S. and Landry, M. (2018) Large-Scale Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Adaptation Research: Challenges and Insights. Global Challenges doi: 10.1002/gch2.201700132.
  

Abstract: An increasing number of research programs seek to support adaptation to climate change through the engagement of large-scale transdisciplinary networks that span countries and continents. While transdisciplinary research processes have been a topic of reflection, practice, and refinement for some time, these trends now mean that the global change research community needs to reflect and learn how to pursue collaborative research on a large scale. This paper shares insights from a seven-year climate change adaptation research program that supports collaboration between more than 450 researchers and practitioners across four consortia and 17 countries. The experience confirms the importance of attention to careful design for transdisciplinary collaboration, but also highlights that this alone is not enough. The success of well-designed transdisciplinary research processes is also strongly influenced by relational and systemic features of collaborative relationships. Relational features include interpersonal trust, mutual respect, and leadership styles, while systemic features include legal partnership agreements, power asymmetries between partners, and institutional values and cultures. In the new arena of large-scale collaborative science efforts, enablers of transdisciplinary collaboration include dedicated project coordinators, leaders at multiple levels, and the availability of small amounts of flexible funds to enable nimble responses to opportunities and unexpected collaborations.

Cochrane, L., Cundill, G., Ludi, E., New, M., Nicholls, R. J., Wester, P., Cantin, B., Murali, K. S., Leone, M., Kituyi, E. and Landry, M.-E. (2017) A Reflection on Collaborative Adaptation Research in Africa and Asia. Regional Environmental Change 17(5): 1553-1561.

Abstract: The reality of global climate change demands novel approaches to science that are reflective of the scales at which changes are likely to occur, and of the new forms of knowledge required to positively influence policy to support vulnerable populations. We examine some of the opportunities and challenges presented by a collaborative, transdisciplinary research project on climate change adaptation in Africa and Asia that utilized a hotspot approach. A large-scale effort to develop appropriate baselines was a key challenge at the outset of the program, as was the need to develop innovative methodologies to enable researchers to work at appropriate spatial scales. Efforts to match research to the biophysical scales at which change occurs need to be aware of the mismatch that can develop between these regional scales and the governance scales at which decisions are made.

Full paper available from journal as an Open Access article.