Since our book, “The Alliance”, came out last year, people have asked me to explain the different Tours of Duty. “The Alliance” shows how and why a manager and her employee should structure that employee’s work as a tour of duty—a specific mission that, if achieved, advances the business of the company, and the career…
In today’s highly networked world, a key secret to building startups into massively successful companies is blitzscaling: Rapid, relentless growth that allows you to become the first player to achieve scale and develop a daunting competitive advantage. Blitzscaling has allowed companies like Google and Facebook to grow from garage to global dominance in less than…
Climate change is a global issue that threatens to impact the environmental and economic well-being of people around the planet. To mitigate its long-term impact, we need new, transformative sources of clean, affordable, carbon-free energy production that we can produce at lower costs than today’s dominant energy sources. The innovation required to fuel this transition will only…
Only two percent of high school students who experience suicidal thoughts use telephone crisis hotlines. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to talk about the issues they face, or won’t seek support. They will, if you extend it in ways that they’re comfortable with. Take an innovative non-profit called Crisis Text Line. CTL is exactly what…
In 2002 at LinkedIn, there were very few of the perks that Silicon Valley is famous for. Our company headquarters was my apartment’s living room. Free lunches? Yes, if there was an extra yogurt in my refrigerator, or if you consider a can of Coke “lunch.” Nap pods, on-site yoga classes, wellness centers, concierge services,…
It is my pleasure to announce that Josh Silverman is joining Greylock Partners as an Executive-in-Residence. Josh has rapidly scaled and helped run some of the most innovative companies, including American Express, Skype, eBay and Evite, and will bring a wide set of skills and expertise to Greylock. He will wrap up his work as the President…
In Silicon Valley few entrepreneurs and technologists dream of changing the zip code, or even the state. Here, the goal is to change the world, building products that millions of people ultimately decide they can’t live without. Not all of these products are created by for-profit start-ups – think WordPress, Wikipedia, and Bitcoin just for…
Silicon Valley and the surrounding Bay Area has become a global leader in innovation, technology and new industry creation. This small region, with only 7m residents, boasts more than 150 technology companies valued at more than $1bn. Most observers instinctively conclude that Silicon Valley is great because it has a unique ability to create start-ups.…
Silicon Valley has become a global leader in innovation, technology, and new industry creation. The nearly universal explanation for Silicon Valley’s success: entrepreneurs, venture capital, technical universities, existing technology companies — which all lead to launching great startups. So, the explanation for the creation of massive new industries is this: Silicon Valley is great because…
A review of William MacAskill’s Doing Good Better No one donates money to try really hard to cure cancer, or deeply empathize with Siberian tigers. The goal is to eradicate cancer. The goal is to save Siberian tigers from extinction. And yet while philanthropy is oriented around specific outcomes, it’s often driven by emotion more than…
The Department of Defense (DOD) isn’t just the nation’s oldest federal agency. It’s also the nation’s largest employer. Between active-duty personnel, civilian employees, and the men and women who serve in the National Guard and Reserve forces, the DOD employs nearly three million people. Every year, thousands of these individuals complete their military service and…
In the venture capital industry, just picking winners is a losing strategy. The goal is to pick blockbusters, companies that can scale from a team of founders in a garage to a multi-billion-dollar IPO in less than a decade. History has shown that it’s primarily these outlying performers that create returns for venture investors, so…
A roadmap for navigating the transition from human-controlled cars to a better driverless future In the six-plus years that Google has been developing self-driving cars, its test fleet has achieved an impressive safety record: Nearly two million miles* of real-world autonomous driving, eleven minor accidents, only one minor injury, with none of the accidents caused by the self-driving…
To guide its efforts to increase global health, security, and overall standards of living over the next several decades, the United Nations is officially adopting 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) later this year. When people consider sustainability, particularly in the face of overall population growth, they usually focus on issues like healthcare, food production, education,…
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the ability to extract key information before your competitors do is a crucial advantage. As I’ve written elsewhere, search literacy is not enough to succeed in this world. You need network literacy too. And that means developing your aptitude for reading how information flows through different networks of alliance and…