Hired Thought

Ben is an asset to any team that has the fortune to work with him. First and foremost, Ben has a deep sense of compassion, empathy, and integrity that pervades everything he does. But he is not merely another person with a kind and loving heart: he wields a deep power with a precise and effective set of skills. Ben has an intimidatingly large quantity of tools and mental models available at his disposal, which he knows when and how to deploy. He’s the first person I think of when I find tricky problems or new opportunities, and I wouldn’t want to start a company, run a non-profit, or embark on accomplishing a major vision without Ben’s support.

Working with Ben was unlike any consultant I’ve ever worked with before. He knows technology, but doesn’t get distracted by bells and whistles. He knows strategy, but doesn’t get lost dreaming up big visions with no connection to reality. He has empathy for people, but doesn’t allow any one person’s agenda to dominate the discussion. He’s like a mediator between the dozens of competing interests, concerns, and goals in a complex project, while also pushing it forward toward concrete results. It’s difficult to describe exactly what Ben does, because he covers so many bases. But when he’s around things go more smoothly and major mistakes that could derail the team simply don’t happen.

Tiago Forte
Founder, Forte Labs