High signal digest #8
Takeaways from "Amp it up" by Frank Slootman
TLDR:
Who is Frank and what is his main point?
Raw notes from the book
Quotes I found most interesting
My thoughts
Who is Frank and what is his main point?
Frank led Snowflake to a massive IPO ($67B on open). Before that he led Data Domain and Service Now. He is considered as one of the best-performing CEOs. Frank’s main point is that businesses can improve by dialing up intensity and by raising standards.
Raw notes from the book:
Set high standards
Focus
Pick up the pace. Leaders set the pace.
Think long-term as leader
Hire for aptitude/character 1st. Experience 2nd.
Be decisive. Do not wait.
Declare war on competition and on incrementalism (be bold). If you fail, at least you went for it.
One of the biggest responsibilities as a leader is to be a beacon of ambition/drive
Execution > strategy
Be intellectually honest. Try to see things for what they really are
Hire driven people. Get good at recruiting and firing.
Culture doesn’t just happen because a leader said so. It is a function of subcultures, consequences from good and bad, tough calls, rituals and more
Everybody has permission to speak to anybody. Go direct. No going through managers. No managers in ivory tower. Also watch out for too many managers/empire builders
Acknowledge your mistakes in public
Sales team must be supported by good product, market, lead gen, incentives. Engine without a car is useless
Own your distribution. Try not to delegate to 3rd party
Companies get less scrappy as they get bigger. Not enough hard-core doers
It is easier to go after existing market then to make a new new one
Think hard about architecture (irreversible decision)
Think ahead of the current market dynamic. Only the paranoid survive
Your mission is to win. Not to be popular
Board dynamics: do not be board-compliant and instead lead your board - have a POV
Quotes I found most interesting:
In troubled organization there’s no rush, no urgency. Why?
People sometimes ask to get back to me in a week, and I ask, why not tomorrow? Apply pressure. Be impatient.
If I knew that something or someone wasn’t working, why wait? As the saying goes, when there is doubt, there is no doubt.
But as far as Snowflake is concerned, this is nonnegotiable: we expect everyone to embrace the Snowflake mission with everything they’ve got…All hands on deck, at all times
Hire drivers, not passengers and get the wrong people off the bus. Passengers are people who don’t mind simply being carried along by the company’s momentum…seemingly not caring about the direction chosen by management
In many companies, when things are going well…people become more tolerant of bad behavior because, well, why mess with a good thing?
People trust a straight shooter
Challenge people: “If you could do just one thing for remainder of the year, what would that be and why?
My thoughts:
Why did I read this? I read it in January 2019 because Bill Gurley mentioned him as a high-performing leader. I looked up Frank, was impressed, and pre-ordered the book to learn more.
So what? Bluntly, I enjoyed this book because I agree with a lot of what Frank says. Self confirmation bias is powerful. This newsletter isn’t the place for this, but I’ve struggled with managing my relationship with work. In one case I’ve worked with a coach to dial things back strategically so that the team can “breath” (especially, outside work hours). At the time I had reason to believe this was net best, but looking back I think I handled that poorly. Other times I’ve felt anxious and insecure about my relationship with work/intensity based on what I think others think is normal. Frank’s outlook makes me feel more at ease. This is a loaded topic that I am still exploring and I’d love to know how others approach.
The book is ~175 pages. If you are interested in getting your team in hyper-growth gear - check it out!