When was the last time you changed your mind about something?

Originally asked

Vox, to writers and thinkers, 9 Questions, 2017

The exact question was part of every retrieved Vox 9 Questions installment.

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Recorded David Vélez said elsewhere, not written here
In the first few months of Nubank, I asked everybody to be here by 8:00 a.m. every day. I saw it as a test of people's commitment, and I was pretty rigid about it.

questionnaire, Sequoia Capital, 15 August 2018 source ↗

Others on this question

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I always thought I would be a terrible driver because I’m sort of a wafty person, but it turns out I am very good at staying in between the lines. I passed my test last year.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 March 2024 source ↗
Henry Marsh Neurosurgeon and writer
When I now think of how the uncertainty about my own future, and the proximity of death, threw me into torment, careering wildly between hope and despair, I look back in wonder at how little I thought about the effect I had on my own patients after I had spoken to them. I did worry that if my tone of voice was too pessimistic the poor patient might spend what little time they had left feeling deeply depressed, simply waiting to die. So I tried to find a balance between telling them the truth and not depriving them of hope. After a patient died, I only occasionally heard back from the family, so I had little way of knowing whether the way I had spoken to them was appropriate or not.
Recorded Edited extract from And Finally: Matters of Life and Death, published by Vintage, The Guardian, 13 August 2022 source ↗

More from David Vélez

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Question What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise? Craft & work
The second thing there was another thing I learned at Sequoia is that the culture of a business is built in the first six months by the first ten to 15 employees. These are magical, really, really important times. And I used to hear a lot even at Sequoia, a lot of entrepreneurs saying, “Hey, I'm too busy to think about culture. When we become a unicorn, when we grow, I'll worry about culture.” And for whoever has kids, it's almost like saying I'm too busy about educating my kids. When they turn 18, then I'll figure it out. Too late.
Recorded John Waldron, Goldman Sachs Talks, Goldman Sachs (official event transcript) source ↗
Question Which living person do you most admire, and why? Values & belief
Vicky, qué pregunta más difícil (risas). Voy a hablarle de los casos que nos han inspirado, como Charles Feeney, cofundador de los Duty Free Shop en los aeropuertos. Él hizo eso en los años ochenta. Se volvió uno de los hombres más ricos del mundo cuando vendió su compañía e inmediatamente se dedicó a la filantropía y gastó todo su dinero en metas sociales.
Recorded Vicky Dávila, interview, Semana, 1 October 2022 source ↗
Question What inspires you to learn? Attention & the world
I wish I knew more about Clojure, which is the programming language we use most at Nubank. If I did, I could better understand some of the more complex problems we're trying to solve, and I think I could ask better questions when we're setting priorities. I'd like to be able to communicate at that level with the technical side of our team, and I think they would appreciate it, too.
Recorded questionnaire, Sequoia Capital, 15 August 2018 source ↗
Question When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do? Daily life
Now I try to protect one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon where I turn off Slack, and I don't check email. I might read, or write in a journal, or just go for a walk. It's become one of the most important parts of my day. It's when I'm most creative, and when I hit on ideas that can take the company in new directions.
Recorded questionnaire, Sequoia Capital, 15 August 2018 source ↗

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