OpenAI CEO's 2023 Year-End Summary Sharing 17 Pieces of Advice

[baoshi.rao]

As 2023 comes to an end, Sam Altman released his year-end summary, sharing 17 pieces of advice. He expressed gratitude to the OpenAI team for launching ChatGPT, believing that 2023 was the year the world began to take AI seriously. Altman emphasized the significance of optimism, team cohesion, and completing important tasks, anticipating more significant progress in 2024. He also mentioned the pressures of being a public figure but expressed gratitude to his team, users, and partners.

Altman elaborated on the 17 pieces of advice in a blog post, covering aspects such as team building, incentive mechanisms, and resource management. He stressed the importance of teamwork, the necessity of long-term planning, and the need to invest more time in recruitment. He noted that incentive mechanisms are like superpowers and should be carefully considered. Additionally, he emphasized taking risks in hiring by selecting individuals with tremendous potential and rapid progress.

Altman's advice also includes resisting nonsense and bureaucracy, encouraging efficient collaboration, and concentrating resources on a few key projects. He emphasizes that results are the ultimate measure—don't let good processes obscure poor outcomes. Additionally, he mentions that scaling often brings unexpected new features and recommends leveraging the power of compound growth.

Specific recommendations are as follows:

1. Optimism, persistence, confidence, strong motivation, and relationships are key to getting things started.

2. A cohesive team, the balance between calmness and urgency, and extraordinary dedication are key to accomplishing tasks. Long-term planning is often overlooked; there's no need to worry excessively about others' opinions in the short term, as this becomes easier over time.

3. For a team, completing a truly important but difficult task is more meaningful than doing some simple work that isn't as important; bold ideas can inspire morale.

4. Incentive mechanisms are like superpowers; they require careful consideration when being established.

5. Focus resources on a few key projects you truly believe in; this sounds simple, but it's quite challenging in practice. In reality, you can eliminate far more irrelevant things than you might think.

6. Communicate clearly and concisely.

7. Whenever you encounter nonsense and bureaucracy, oppose it firmly and encourage others to do the same. Don't let organizational structures hinder people from working together efficiently.

8. Results are the ultimate measure; don't let good processes become an excuse for poor outcomes.

9. Invest more time in hiring. Be willing to take risks on people with great potential and rapid growth. Beyond intelligence, look for evidence of their actual task completion.

10. Superstars are more valuable than they appear, but when evaluating employees, you need to consider their true impact on the organization's overall performance.

11. Rapid iteration can compensate for many shortcomings; usually, if you can adjust quickly, making mistakes doesn't matter. Plan on a decade-long cycle, but execute weekly.

12. Don't attempt to challenge the fundamental laws of the business world.

13. Inspiration is fleeting, and life is short. Not taking action is a hidden yet fatal risk.

14. Growth in scale often brings unexpected new characteristics.

15. Harness the power of compound growth; in particular, you'll want to create a business that gains advantages as it scales.

16. If you fall, get back up and keep moving forward.

17. Working with excellent people is one of the most wonderful experiences in life.