CEO Diaries: The Brutal Mistake That Almost Crippled Snapchat!
In this episode of The Diary Of A CEO, Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel shares insights about building effective teams and maintaining company culture during rapid growth. He discusses how early hiring decisions shaped Snapchat's development, explaining that the company's first engineers weren't just technically skilled but also artistically inclined—a combination that proved essential for the app's creative features.
Spiegel outlines Snapchat's three core values—kindness, intelligence, and creativity—and explains how these values guide the company's operations and hiring practices. He describes his view of effective leadership, emphasizing the importance of combining deep expertise with broad business understanding, and shares his perspective on decision-making, where quick adaptation is valued over the pursuit of perfect solutions.
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1-Page Summary
Hiring and Building the Right Team
Evan Spiegel, co-founder of Snapchat, emphasizes the importance of early hiring decisions in shaping company success. He notes that Snapchat's early engineers weren't just technically skilled—they were also artistically inclined, often musicians, which proved crucial for developing the app's creative features. While initially focusing on hiring experienced leaders from large corporations, Spiegel acknowledges this wasn't always the best approach, as expertise needed to align with Snapchat's unique model.
The company operates on three core values: kindness, intelligence, and creativity. Spiegel explains these values were chosen based on the type of people he and co-founder Bobby Murphy wanted to work with, with kindness being particularly important for fostering creativity.
Defining and Cultivating Company Culture
For Spiegel, kindness in the workplace means being truthful, even when uncomfortable. He distinguishes this from mere niceness, explaining that providing direct, constructive feedback is ultimately beneficial for growth. During Snapchat's expansion from 20 to 2,000 employees, maintaining this culture proved challenging. Spiegel describes how the company implemented clear values and performance evaluations to prevent cultural dilution during rapid growth.
Leadership Principles and Behaviors
Spiegel advocates for "T-shaped leadership," where leaders combine deep expertise in one area with broad business understanding. He suggests that specialists often make better T-shaped leaders than generalists, as their deep expertise provides a foundation for developing broader perspectives.
When it comes to decision-making, Spiegel emphasizes speed and adaptability over perfection. He values leaders who can quickly acknowledge mistakes and propose new solutions, rather than those who strive for perfect decisions. This approach, he explains, enables swift adaptation based on new information and encourages innovation.
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Clarifications
- T-shaped leadership is a concept where individuals possess deep expertise in one specific area (the vertical bar of the "T") while also having the ability to collaborate and work effectively across various disciplines (the horizontal bar of the "T"). This approach emphasizes the importance of combining specialized knowledge with a broad understanding of different fields, enabling leaders to make informed decisions that consider diverse perspectives and areas of expertise. The term originated in the business world to describe the skills and qualities needed for effective teamwork and innovation, particularly in environments that require cross-functional collaboration and adaptability. T-shaped leaders are valued for their ability to leverage their specialized skills while also being versatile and capable of working with individuals from different backgrounds and disciplines.
- Cultural dilution during rapid growth occurs when a company's original values, beliefs, and norms become less prominent or lose their impact as the organization expands quickly. This can happen as new employees join the company who may not fully embody or understand the existing culture, leading to a shift away from the initial cultural foundation. To prevent cultural dilution, companies often implement strategies such as clear communication of core values, regular reinforcement of cultural norms, and thorough onboarding processes to ensure new hires assimilate into the existing culture effectively.
- Direct feedback for growth involves providing honest and constructive criticism to individuals or teams to help them improve their performance and skills. It focuses on giving specific, actionable suggestions for development rather than general praise or criticism. This type of feedback is essential for personal and professional growth as it highlights areas for improvement and encourages continuous learning and development. By being direct and specific in feedback delivery, individuals can better understand their strengths and weaknesses, leading to overall improvement and success.
- Kindness in the workplace involves being truthful and providing constructive feedback for growth, even when it may be uncomfortable. It goes beyond mere niceness and focuses on fostering a culture of honesty and support among team members. Encouraging kindness can lead to better communication, collaboration, and overall well-being within the work environment. Maintaining a culture of kindness can be particularly important during periods of rapid growth to ensure that core values are upheld.
- The core values of kindness, intelligence, and creativity at Snapchat were chosen to reflect the type of individuals the founders wanted to work with. Kindness is highlighted for its role in fostering creativity, emphasizing the importance of a supportive and honest work environment. Intelligence and creativity complement kindness, forming a well-rounded set of values that guide the company's culture and hiring decisions. These values help shape the behavior and mindset of employees, influencing how they collaborate and innovate within the organization.
Counterarguments
- While early hiring decisions are crucial, a company's success is multifaceted and can also be significantly influenced by market conditions, product timing, and luck.
- The artistic inclination of engineers is beneficial for creativity, but a diverse team with varied interests and skills is also important for addressing different aspects of a product.
- Hiring leaders from large corporations can bring valuable experience and processes to a startup, which can be adapted to fit the company's unique culture and operational model.
- Core values are essential, but they must be consistently and effectively integrated into all company practices to be meaningful; simply stating values is not enough.
- Being truthful and providing direct feedback is important, but it must be balanced with empathy and understanding of individual circumstances to avoid creating a harsh or unsupportive work environment.
- Implementing clear values and performance evaluations is a good strategy, but it can also lead to bureaucracy and a focus on metrics over innovation if not carefully managed.
- "T-shaped leadership" is valuable, but different organizational contexts may require different leadership models, and some situations may benefit from leaders with a more generalized skill set.
- Speed and adaptability are important, but they should not come at the expense of thoughtful planning and risk assessment, which can prevent costly mistakes.
- Acknowledging mistakes is crucial, but creating a culture where mistakes are accepted without accountability can lead to repeated errors and a lack of discipline.
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Hiring and Building the Right Team
Evan Spiegel, co-founder of Snapchat, shares insights into how hiring the right team members early on was paramount for the company's success and how establishing core values shaped its unique culture.
Hiring the Right People Early
Hiring Engineers Who Combined Technical Skills With Artistic Sensibility Was Crucial to Snapchat's Success
Spiegel emphasizes the significance of the early engineers at Snapchat, noting they were not only proficient in engineering but also held a strong artistic sensibility. Many of them were musicians, mirroring the interplay between design and engineering that became key to Snapchat's allure. This crossover of disciplines was a foundation for the app's creative and groundbreaking features.
Avoiding Common Hiring Mistakes In the Early Days
Over-Emphasizing Experience Over Adaptability to Snapchat's Approach
In the early stages, Spiegel admits that Snapchat focused excessively on hiring seasoned leaders from larger corporations, which didn't always align with their needs at the time. He recalls hiring an engineering leader from Amazon experienced in managing a large team, hopeful that it would aid Snapchat in scaling.
Prioritizing Expertise Over Willingness to Embrace Snapchat's Model
Spiegel recognizes that, while leadership experience and a track record of scaling were important, specialization in domain expertise wasn't as valuable if these experts weren't open to Snapchat's unique approach. The hiring emphasis later shifted towards finding individuals who could apply their vast experience in a manner commensurate with Snapchat's innovative and distinct business model.
Snapchat's Ideal Employee Profile
Snapchat's Core Values: Kindness, Intelligence, Creativity
Snapchat dedicates itself to three core values: kindness, intelligence, and creativity. Spiegel expl ...
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Hiring and Building the Right Team
Additional Materials
Clarifications
- The interplay between design and engineering in Snapchat's success was crucial as it blended technical expertise with artistic creativity. Engineers with artistic sensibility helped create innovative features that set Snapchat apart. This fusion allowed for the development of a visually appealing and user-friendly platform. The balance between design and engineering was foundational to Snapchat's unique and engaging user experience.
- Snapchat made hiring mistakes in its early days by overemphasizing experience over adaptability to their approach, focusing on season ...
Counterarguments
- While hiring for a blend of technical skills and artistic sensibility can be beneficial, it may not be crucial for all tech companies, as some may require a more specialized skill set focused on either technical prowess or creative design.
- Over-emphasizing adaptability might sometimes lead to undervaluing the importance of experience, which can be critical in navigating complex challenges that startups face as they scale.
- While willingness to embrace a company's model is important, expertise should not be undervalued as it can provide a competitive edge and h ...
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Defining and Cultivating Company Culture
Evan Spiegel, the co-founder of Snapchat, discusses the subtle yet critical elements of creating and maintaining a thriving company culture, especially through the challenges of rapid growth.
Kindness and Creativity in Thriving Company Culture
Spiegel advocates for a workplace environment that promotes honesty and improvement.
Kindness Fosters a Safe, Innovative Environment
Spiegel distinguishes kindness from mere niceness. To him, kindness in the workplace means telling the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. This candor, such as letting someone know they have something in their teeth, is ultimately beneficial and creates a culture where people feel safe and are driven to innovate.
Constructive Feedback Enables Growth
He considers it a kind act to provide direct feedback at work. Rather than just offering empty reassurance, helping someone address issues and suggesting improvements is the sincere approach that enables growth and success.
Challenges Of Preserving Company Culture During Rapid Scaling
Snapchat’s journey from a small to a large company highlights the effort necessary to preserve core company values.
From 20 to 2,000 Employees: Snapchat Preserves Its Core Values
Spiegel talks about integrating different cultures from various companies into Snapchat during its scale-up from 20 to 2,000 employees—a significant challenge requiring effective strategies to maintain coherence w ...
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Defining and Cultivating Company Culture
Additional Materials
Counterarguments
- While honesty is important, there is a fine line between being truthful and being hurtful; not all individuals may receive direct feedback well, and it could potentially harm employee morale.
- Kindness as truth-telling can be subjective; what one person sees as kind, another may see as intrusive or unnecessary.
- Direct feedback, while beneficial for growth, must be balanced with positive reinforcement to avoid creating a negative atmosphere.
- Preserving core values during rapid scaling is challenging, but it's also possible that new employees can bring positive cultural change that should not be dismissed in favor of preserving the old culture.
- The integration of different cultures can be seen as an opportunity for innovation and diversity rather than just a challenge.
- Rel ...
Actionables
- You can foster a culture of constructive feedback by starting a peer recognition program at work where employees can nominate colleagues for their honest and helpful insights. This encourages a positive view of direct feedback and highlights its role in personal and professional growth. For example, create a simple "Kudos Board" in the break room or an online forum where employees can post shout-outs to their peers for providing valuable feedback.
- Create a personal values statement to guide your interactions and decisions in the workplace. Reflect on what core values are important to you, such as integrity, innovation, or collaboration, and write them down. Use this statement to assess your actions and decisions, ensuring they align with these values, especially during times of change or stress. For instance, before making a decision, ask yourself if it upholds your value of honesty or fosters improvement.
- Initiate a "Cultural Exchange Buddy" system in your workplace to i ...
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Leadership Principles and Behaviors
Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat, shares insights on effective leadership principles and behaviors that are essential for thriving in today's complex business environment.
T-Shaped Leadership as a Key Leadership Behavior
Spiegel discusses T-shaped leadership as pivotal for those seeking to excel in their leadership roles.
Leaders Need Expertise, Business Acumen, and Diverse Perspectives
Spiegel defines T-shaped leadership as having deep expertise in a certain area while also possessing a broad understanding of the business and the capacity to connect with people from diverse backgrounds. He emphasizes the necessity for leaders to relate their expertise to various cross-functional areas within the business, a skill critical for teamwork and tackling complex challenges.
Deep Experts Excel At T-Shaped Leadership More Than Generalists
Applying T-shaped leadership across Snapchat, Spiegel considers all employees as leaders and highlights its significance when hiring and cultivating new leaders. He explains that someone with deep expertise can develop breadth by engaging with different parts of the business and fostering curiosity and understanding. He argues that developing a breadth of understanding is easier once deep expertise in a specific field has been established. Without deep expertise, he believes it's tough to contribute significantly to a team or solve complex problems.
Prioritize Speed and Correction Over Perfection
Spiegel articulates that being prompt in decision-making and adaptable when mistakes occur defines great leadership.
Correcting Mistakes Is More Important Than Always Being Right
According to Spiegel, focusing on makin ...
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Leadership Principles and Behaviors
Additional Materials
Counterarguments
- While T-shaped leadership is valuable, it may not be the best fit for every organization or industry; some may benefit more from leaders with a different skill set or leadership style.
- Deep expertise is beneficial, but it can also lead to tunnel vision; leaders must be careful not to become so entrenched in their specialty that they overlook broader business trends or innovative ideas from other fields.
- The assumption that developing breadth is easier after establishing deep expertise might not hold true for everyone; some individuals may naturally excel at understanding a wide range of topics without deep specialization.
- Speed in decision-making is important, but it should not come at the cost of due diligence; sometimes, taking the time to make the right decision initially can save time and resources in the long run.
- While correcting mistakes is important, an overemphasis on speed and adaptability could lead to a culture where mistakes are made too frequently, which can be detrimental to the organization's performance and reputation.
- A feedback loop is crucial, but it must be well-structured to avoid informa ...
Actionables
- You can expand your expertise by dedicating one hour each week to learning about a different department within your organization. For instance, if you're in finance, spend this time understanding the basics of the marketing team's strategies and challenges. This cross-pollination of knowledge will help you connect with colleagues from various departments and understand the broader business context.
- Start a "speed over perfection" practice by setting a timer for decision-making tasks, giving yourself a strict limit to make a choice. Begin with small, low-stakes decisions, like choosing a place to eat in under 30 seconds, and gradually increase to more significant decisions. This will train you to prioritize decisiveness and learn from the outcomes rather than striving for unattainable perfection.
- Create a "norm challenge" journal where you write down one establi ...
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