Expectations are a form of first-class truth: If people believe it, it’s true.

The line frames “expectations” as socially performative facts: when a belief is widely held, it can shape behavior, incentives, and outcomes until it becomes effectively true in practice. In organizations, markets, and public life, shared expectations can create self-fulfilling prophecies—confidence attracts investment, reputations alter opportunities, and forecasts influence decisions. The phrase “first-class truth” suggests a pragmatic rather than metaphysical notion of truth: what matters is the real-world consequences of belief. Read this way, the quote is less about objective accuracy than about the power of collective perception to construct realities people then have to live within.