Pivot, Resilience, and the Google/Facebook Ways
Several key points in Reid Hoffman’s interview of Sheryl Sandberg on his podcast series Masters of Scale apply to all businesses, but take on a different magnitude in those at the bleeding edge of the sonic boom of scale, such as Sandberg’s experiences with Google and Facebook. In his discussion with Sandberg, who is Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, Hoffman intersperses supporting comments from others experienced at that perimeter, such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Margaret Heffernan, and others.
The concept of scale is not a new one, but the magnitude and ever-increasing rate, fueled by the economic engines of digital commerce, are. However, practices such as anticipating potential pivot moments and possible systems failures serve all businesses, no matter their current scale or growth curve. Her personal pivot from the non-profit world to the commercial one, and her reasons for doing so, were valuable for me to hear as well.
Tied to pivot, and for startups especially, I think her description of the need to not just make plans, but to be willing to break them, can be very liberating. Her rephrasing of pivot like this helps provide an additional way to understand the concept — that flexibility and resilience are strengths, and can well be what makes or breaks a business.
Rephrasing pivot once again, Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, explains the OODA loop — Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act — from fighter pilot language. In the case of businesses like Google or Facebook, I can see the need for speed and the close parallels to the fighter pilot’s urgency, however, the OODA loop remains a valid design pivot process for any business or project.
Sandberg, Hoffman, and others agreed that no matter the size or plans of a business, creating an environment open to constructive disagreement is one of the best ways for a business to recognize the need for evolution or for implementation of a business-saving pivot. Additionally, they agree that even in the midst of a shift in direction or scope, steadfastly upholding the mission of the company, is paramount.
The lessons from these business leaders of anticipating problems, being willing to make a change, embracing constructive input, and holding to founding principles can all be applied by the beginning entrepreneur as a compass and framework, no matter how fast or far into the clouds their fighter jet is bound.
