FWD: Outlook — December 1, 2015

The top two stories in tech from around the web

“CS183C Session 19: Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn”
– Interviewed by Reid Hoffman of Greylock Partners; as told by Chris Yeh of Stanford University

Surviving (and filling) the culture vacuum. Getting employees to act like owners. Bridging the gap between B2C and B2B.

I believe this lecture series is the best series to hit Medium for a person in tech. In it, Jeff and Reid discuss the importance of compassion, of staying close to people and product, of working for a mission. Here are some quotes; there’s too much to be summarized:

“Global maxima versus local maxima — how do you get people to lift themselves out of their local context. Think of soccer. What is the job of the goalie? SPOILER ALERT: Most people say it’s to prevent the other team from scoring. The real job of the goalie is to win the game. It’s the same for every other player on the field. When you think your job is focused on your position, that’s a local maxima. When a coach gets the individuals to buy into something bigger than themselves, that’s powerful.”

“Founders tend to be people who do stuff, so their knee-jerk reaction is to solve problems, rather than coaching people to solve them. You have to coach people to solve their own problems, and coach people to coach people to solve problems. That’s how you achieve scale.”

“Three Stories”
– Justin Kan of Twitch

Look, I made you a promise from the get-go. I’d only surface the best two stories of the day — the stories that answered, “If I had to read one or two things today, what would they be?” Maybe this is an urgent question for some of you; maybe this is a hobby or a past-time. This is one of those stories.

It’s not about the state of the market. It’s not about unicorns being gored. It’s not about hiring or ratchet clauses or managing (well, maybe it’s a little about managing). It’s about a really successful company that went through some really tough shit, as told through three stories by its founder, Justin Kan.

If you have to read something in tech today, make it one that brings a smile to your face.