Ego is your enemy: look for the solution, not for being right

There's a phrase that goes with me everywhere: ego is your enemy. I repeat it because I learned it the hard way. The best decisions of my life I made with objectivity; the worst, with ego.

Solution, not being right

In a conflict, the natural temptation is to prove you're right. The problem is that nobody wins from being right: one side leaves convinced and the other, hurt. Everyone wins from a solution. So when something gets complicated with a partner, a client or someone in my family, I ask myself one question: am I looking to be right, or am I looking for the solution?

When Andrés Navarro and I decided to go our own ways after Green Numbers, that was the key. There was no winner. There was an orderly exit, and we're still best friends.

Making mistakes isn't wrong

In my philosophy it isn't wrong to make mistakes. It's wrong to repeat them. If you repeat a mistake it's because you didn't learn the lesson the first time, and if you don't correct it, it becomes a recurring problem. If you learn it, every mistake leaves you better prepared for the next decision.

Ego is exactly what stops you learning: it makes you defend the mistake instead of looking at it.

Humility and confidence

This isn't about doubting yourself. I believe in myself, with humility. Whatever you have or achieve, you should stay humble: never think you're better than anyone, just believe in yourself so you can be better every day.

And I believe each of us is responsible for our own success. It isn't fair to blame others for a failure, or to take all the credit for a success.