In the high-risk world of technology and startups, failure is inevitable. But according to Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the key skill for long-term success lies not in avoiding failures and missteps, but in knowing which mistakes to accept and which to run away from. And Altman, who can be considered a highly successful tech guru, believes that most people don’t know what mistakes to make and what mistakes to make. Instead, he says, this ability to make the right mistakes ultimately defines the difference between successful tech startup founders and unsuccessful ones.

Altman, one of Silicon Valley’s most influential voices, argues that most founders don’t understand the difference between the two types of mistakes. In his view, the real competitive edge lies not in avoiding mistakes, but in recognizing which mistakes are worth making.

In his latest post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman talks about two types of mistakes faced by startups and advises which mistakes should be made and which should be ignored. “Great startup investors, founders, and researchers often have one thing in common: making many small mistakes in exchange for a few big wins. (Surprisingly, many prefer a few big mistakes in exchange for many small wins.),” he wrote in his recent post on X.

What does Altman mean here? Well, the way he frames his tweets makes it a little confusing. But we believe what Altman is saying here: OpenAI is saying that most people fail to see the bigger picture and instead focus on the immediate and short-term. It also means that people aim to avoid immediate mistakes, which are often small. And in doing so, they are never able to move towards big wins. Meanwhile, successful founders focus on the bigger picture and long-term planning or the big win. And for those victories they are willing to make small mistakes and endure small inconveniences and pain.

We don’t know why Altman said something like that. But it’s possible that his X post is a reflection on the current state of AI, and OpenAI in particular. At the moment tech companies are engaged in a bitter battle for the future, with companies like OpenAI and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta spending billions of dollars to win big in the future – read AGI and the ability to shape AI. And this money spent is so terrible that many people have started saying that companies like OpenAI are now making mistakes.

But Altman doesn’t seem to see immediate mistakes, if any, as a problem. Instead, he seems to be focusing on his anticipated big win in the future.

Or maybe there is nothing like that. Instead, Altman is doing what he often does – sharing a little knowledge. He is passionate about sharing lessons from his work with the tech community through his social media posts and blogs.

Earlier in his blog post “How to Become Successful,” Altman said that most people overestimate the risk and underestimate the reward. Thus, he urged the founders to make bold changes where momentum made sense. He emphasizes the importance of focus, long-term thinking and velocity. “Focus is a force multiplier,” he wrote, encouraging entrepreneurs to remain persistent once they identify the right direction. Along with this, he has also warned the startups not to get trapped in the hype cycle or copycat behavior. He often reminds founders that they should build for real value and not just validation.