Embrace-the-Next-Thing Mindset
Greet each new technology wave with 'I can't wait for the next thing' instead of resentment.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 83%
Benioff argues the fatal founder reaction to a new wave (AI, then agents) is 'I just got used to this, now I have to figure out the next thing.' The correct posture is eagerness for the next innovation, success, and even failure — a growth orientation grounded in the reality that technology relentlessly gets lower cost, easier to use, and more automated.
Origin
Benioff's synthesis, explicitly tied to the Japanese principle of Kaizen (continuous improvement) he learned via Toyota's 'better, better, better, never best' motto, paired with a growth-mindset framing.
Core principles
- 01'Better, better, better, never best' — continuous improvement (Kaizen) never stops
- 02Resenting the next wave is the mistake; wanting it is the edge
- 03Technology constantly gets lower cost, easier to use, and more automated
- 04Want the next failure as much as the next success — both fuel growth
How to run it
- 1
Catch the resentment reaction
Notice the instinct to feel 'I finally got comfortable, and now there's a new thing to master' — Benioff labels this instinct explicitly as 'a mistake.'
Watch out That comfort-seeking reflex is exactly the trap; naming it is the first defense.
- 2
Flip to eager anticipation
Replace dread with 'oh, the next thing is coming, I can't wait' — actively wanting the next innovation, the next success, and the next failure.
Pro tip Extend it forward: want what's after that, and after that — 'that's what's really exciting about the future.'
- 3
Adopt continuous improvement as identity
Internalize Kaizen — 'better, better, better, never best' — so improvement is a permanent state rather than a destination.
- 4
Get to the future first and bring customers along
Aim to reach the next wave ahead of the market, then welcome your customers into it — Benioff cites this as what Elon Musk does well.
Pro tip 'I want to get to the future first and welcome our customers there.'
In the wild
Benioff describes the tempting founder reaction — 'I just got used to AI and everyone's wanting to work on AI in my company, now we gotta freaking figure out agents' — and immediately rejects it: 'no no no no no, that's a mistake.' The right mindset welcomes the agent wave and the ones after it, mirroring Salesforce's own move from Einstein to Agentforce.
→ Benioff frames the relentless arrival of new waves as the exciting core of the business rather than a burden.
Common mistakes
Resenting the next wave
Reacting to a new technology shift with 'I just got comfortable, now I have to figure out the next thing' is explicitly named as the mistake — it puts you behind the wave instead of ahead of it.
Chasing 'best' as a finish line
Treating any state as the final best version violates Kaizen; the Toyota motto 'better, better, better, never best' insists improvement never terminates.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and operators in fast-moving technology markets facing successive platform shifts
Not ideal for
Stable, slow-changing domains where constant reinvention would destabilize a working system unnecessarily
From the transcript
“God damn I just got used to Ai and everyone's wanting to work on AI in my company now we gotta freaking figure out agents…”
“that's that is the mindset you want you want the mindset of oh the next thing is coming I can't wait for the next thing”
“better better better never best you know it's it's the Japanese motto of Kaizen”
“I want to get to the Future first and welcome our customers there”
From the episode
Behind the founder: Marc Benioff