By Shane Parrish
- Persistence is key. Dyson’s story isn’t about genius—it’s persistence. He built 5,127 prototypes over five years to launch the G-Force in Japan, then spent another decade perfecting the DC01 for the world. Innovation meant questioning experts, embracing failure, and owning his vision. He was told no, over and over again. Yet he didn’t give up.
- Master your circumstances. Dyson learned early that losing control can sink you. With the Sea Truck, he watched shareholders sell out when times got tough; with the Ballbarrow, he was ousted despite his breakthroughs. These mishaps taught him to master his fate—keeping ironclad control over IP and Dyson Ltd. It’s a hidden key to Berkshire Hathaway’s success too: own your destiny, or others will.
- Capacity to take pain.Behind any great achievement lies the capacity to take pain. From solitary long runs as a kid to legal battles … despite the mounting debt, prototypes, and numerous rejections, Dyson took the lumps and kept going. Key to this is believing in yourself, even when others don’t or won’t.
- The Standard was excellence. He didn’t release a product until it was perfect. He didn’t flinch at charging more for a vacuum or plowing 20% of revenue into R&D—seven times the industry norm. He bet on excellence, not shortcuts. Profits naturally follow excellence.
- Don’t dilute the message.People don’t want a product that does 10 things with average ability; they want a product that does one thing with above-average ability. Being exceptionally good at one thing is better than being average at many things. When it was time to market the Dual Cyclone, he focused on unmatched suction. Nothing else.
- Action leads to progress.Dyson didn’t just dream—he built. From rigging a cyclone for the Ballbarrow factory to testing countless prototypes himself, he learned to “go build it and see.” Progress comes from starting.
- Founders should run companies, or at least people that deeply care. It will be interesting to see what Dyson does with his legacy – but I suspect he won’t be passing the business over to an MBA but rather an engineer who deeply cares about product.
- There are billion dollar ideas in common frustrations. Forget market research or copying competitors—Dyson started with what annoyed him. Wheelbarrows tipped. Hand dryers failed. From the Ballbarrow to the Airblade, he reimagined the ordinary from first principles.
- Play the long game. Dyson chooses the long term over the short term at nearly every opportunity.