Thread by @fdestin

1/ The @eldsjal podcast with @HarryStebbings is the best I've heard on management.

There are some deep non-obvious insights about management that I well worth reflecting on.

2/ On DELEGATION

@eldsjal makes an intentful distinction between:

*High variance* problem - high upside and high downside (e.g. key product evolution)

*Low variance* problem - low upside and high downside (e.g. paying salaries on time)

3/ Whilst he uses different frameworks, the other key consideration is reversible / non-reversible.

Is a decision a "one way door or a two way door ?"

Whether decisions are reversible dictates how much time you need to spend prior to making a decision

4/ This helps you understand where to you need to spend time or delegate:

Decide when and how to put yourself out of a job.

Decide where to become "Chief of X" for a time.

5/ To gain perspective :

Define a problem by defining its counter-edge.

Get to a place where you can discuss both sides of a problem

--> Carefully define a strong point of view of what is right.

6/ How do you discovery?

Over-index on talking to a ton of people, especially those who are doers rather than necessarily experts. Start with complete impostor syndrome but gradually start to see how the system functions.

Very uncomfortable until it ain’t.

7/ How do you hire world class people when you haven’t seen world class?

The key is to spend enough time trying to deeply understanding the role

People think about the "function" rather the role and what success looks like for that candidate (eg strategic CFO vs ops CFO)

8/ CULTURE -

Trust and transparency are key to "moving decisions to the edges". The edges need to know as much as possible about "the how".

Don’t focus on measuring outputs so much so early.

Rather: look at inputs and the PROCESS of *how* decisions get made.

9/ "Mistakes are tolerated. But I don’t accept that you fail and I’m the one who finds out about it. You also need to have a plan about how we learn from that failure and develop as an organisation by learning from failures".

10/ Tough decisions need to be made fast. Daniel like most CEOs has found that delaying hard decisions never works.

But some things are worth having patience on.

The misconception is that things are static - they never are. What matters is the rate of growth or change.

11/ Betting on talent and giving talent time to develop is one of the best examples where patience can pay off - building incredible loyalty and performance over time.

12/ Daniel does not subscribe to the founder as CEO at all costs mythology.

You should only keep running a business if your own motivations align with what is required of a CEO in a growth company.

It’s a journey.

13/ The journey is both about learning the skills and a personal journey of development.

At some point you realise that you can influence an organisation but you can’t shape it as much anymore.

14/ ‘Every single element of my personality has been challenged along the way’.

You can’t change things about you the you are not happy to change but you can bring your authentic self to its true potential.

15/ Timeless management advice. I hope this podcast gets saved in the eternal library of startup knowledge 😂

Thank you @eldsjal for sharing your journey @Spotify and @HarryStebbings and @shak for allowing this to be shared. "Listen and learn" 😉.

thetwentyminutevc.com/daniel-ek/