Over the past two decades the internet has reshaped our daily lives and the world of business—so it’s not surprising that it’s transforming how companies develop talent. The emergence of a “personal learning cloud” makes it convenient and affordable for people to access new ways to learn. And that’s a necessity: To keep pace with…
What will be the enduring, market-defining companies of the future? Where will they come from? And what are the modern secrets of Silicon Valley? How do we use those lessons to help every region of both the U.S. and the world build scale industries and economies? I have tried to address these questions in my…
One of the most interesting things I’ve taken to heart in the wake of Microsoft’s combination with LinkedIn is how strongly Microsoft is committed to supporting open source code, open source developers, and Linux. Under Satya Nadella’s leadership, Microsoft has re-invigorated itself with an exploratory, future-oriented, and developer-focused mindset. Part of that has included pursuing…
Fred Kofman’s new book, The Meaning Revolution In 2012, after LinkedIn went public and the size of our global workforce was growing rapidly, our CEO Jeff Weiner convinced Fred Kofman to join our team as Vice President of Leadership and Organizational Development. Jeff and Fred had been working together since the mid-2000s — when Jeff…
For decades, John Doerr has been the leading evangelist for using objectives and key results (OKRs) to manage world-changing organizations. John has helped spread OKRs from Intel, where he learned the technique from the legendary Andy Grove, to organizations like Google and the Gates Foundation, to present-day startups like Zume (where robots and algorithms help…
Every successful company scales more than just revenue. It scales your worldview. And I believe you can scale positive social impact along with your business. But only if you’re as creative and cash-conscious about doing good as you are about your business itself. As the founder, former CEO, and now executive chairman of Starbucks, Howard…
Over the last year, I’ve had the chance to sit down with dozens of founders as host of the Masters of Scale podcast. Through these conversations I’ve honed my theories on what allows companies to scale spectacularly, and how these individuals realize their visions. For this week’s show, I had a very free-flowing conversation with Ev Williams, who founded…
Recently I was talking with the noted surgeon, writer, and public health researcher Atul Gawande about his demanding schedule – and how he tries to manage it for maximum impact. As I described the framework I use to navigate Silicon Valley and all its potential deals and alliances, Atul suggested my approach could help any…
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,…
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.…
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…
Nearly every company understands the urgent need for innovation. Technology and globalisation have so accelerated change that scale and power — once the greatest strengths — have become weaknesses because they impair an organisation’s ability to adapt. The problem is, the term “innovation” is used so broadly that it has become virtually meaningless.Consider the typical…
In January, activist investor Carl Icahn acquired around 2 percent of eBay’s stock. A month or so later, eager for a return on his investment, he published an open letter to eBay’s shareholders. In it, he expresses concerns about the “long-term value” of the eBay subsidiary PayPal, and its ability to “remain competitive over the long term.”…