Depth Dialogue with A16Z Founder Marc Andreessen: Systematic Learning to Liberate Personal Productivity

In the venture capital ecosystem, technological changes and new business models are constantly emerging, while the venture capital industry remains relatively conservative. As a beacon of innovation, A16Z's unique concepts and practices have always attracted attention. Recently, A16Z co-founder Marc Andreessen engaged in a depth conversation with the company's partner Sriram Krishna, sharing his latest thoughts on personal productivity, scheduling, learning methods, and more.

Marc stated that he made a 180-degree adjustment to his personal productivity guide from 13-14 years ago. Currently, he strictly follows his schedule, mainly handling team collaboration matters on Mondays and Fridays, while arranging external meetings and other activities more flexibly from Tuesdays to Thursdays. He emphasized that venture capital needs to be "close to the front line," closely monitoring market dynamics and technological developments.

In terms of goal setting, Marc tends to focus on input and process rather than the results themselves, as venture capital takes a long time to see results. He likens it to poker, where it is important to think about the whole process rather than short-term wins and losses.

Regarding reading, Marc adopts a "barbell" strategy, either reading the latest content or classic works. He reads multiple books at the same time, only focusing on the most interesting parts. Marc believes that taking notes is a good method to enhance memory, but he rarely reviews his notes.

Marc is happy to change his mind, but he finds that most people hate being told they are wrong. He tries to avoid arguing with others and instead looks for people who are willing to change their minds to communicate with.

Regarding how to improve oneself every day, Marc emphasizes the importance of continuously understanding what is happening and maintaining a "strong viewpoint, weak persistence" attitude. He believes that technology is the real driving force that can create a better future, which is why he is keen on reading about new technology topics.