Borrow generously, credit fully

Almost everything good you will build, decide, or write started somewhere else. Pretending otherwise is a kind of vanity that slows down learning.

Borrow generously from the people and traditions that have figured something out. Credit them fully. The credit costs you nothing and earns you the next conversation.

It also models the behavior you want from your team. A culture that names its sources is a culture that learns faster than one that does not.

Originality eventually shows up, mostly as a byproduct of having borrowed honestly from enough good sources.