How Shopify rages against meetings | Kaz Nejatian (COO)

Summary

In this insightful discussion, K Nan, COO at Shopify, shares the company's unique approach to fostering a craft-centric culture over traditional management paradigms. Nan emphasizes the importance of uninterrupted focus time for builders and the pitfalls of excessive meetings, which Shopify has actively reduced. He discusses the broken model of career ladders in tech companies and how Shopify's inverted org chart promotes servant leadership. The conversation also touches on the company's strategy of empowering entrepreneurs and creators, and the importance of being user-focused and agile in product development.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ The primary focus at Shopify is empowering builders to create and succeed, rather than optimizing for managers and traditional career ladders.
• 🚫 Shopify has eliminated traditional job levels, instead offering a crafter track and a manager track that both go up to the same levels, emphasizing the importance of craft over management.
• 🤔 The company challenges the conventional wisdom of career progression, which often equates success with managing more people, by promoting individual contribution and craft mastery.
• 🎨 Product managers at Shopify are encouraged to be user-focused, empathetic, and risk-maximizing, rather than acting as internal consultants or strategy document creators.
• 🛑 Shopify has intentionally inverted the org chart, with the CEO at the bottom, to emphasize servant leadership and the value of craft over hierarchy.
• 📋 The company has a strong writing culture, with frequent written updates replacing many meetings, promoting asynchronous communication and reducing the need for constant meetings.
• 🚫 Shopify's 'Operation Chaos Monkeys' initiative取消了 recurring meetings, changed the default answer for meetings from 'yes' to 'no', and significantly reduced the time spent in meetings, leading to increased productivity.
• 🎯 Instead of a five-year strategy, Shopify focuses on being nimble and staying at the leading edge of technology to serve its merchants effectively.
• 💡 Product reviews at Shopify involve jumping directly into code and prototyping, rather than focusing on strategy, which is often deemed the least meaningful part of product development.
• 💼 The company's approach to product management involves continuous tinkering and feedback, rather than relying on long-term strategy documents, which are seen as outdated and less effective for building good products.

Q & A

What is the main issue with traditional career ladders in companies?

Traditional career ladders are broken because they often prioritize management roles over craft or builder roles, which doesn't align with the desires of many who want to focus on building and creating rather than managing.

How does Shopify differentiate between crafters and managers?

Shopify differentiates crafters and managers based on their primary job focus. Crafters are those who want to spend most of their time building things, while managers are more focused on overseeing and leading teams.

What changes did Shopify make to its meeting culture?

Shopify implemented 'Operation Chaos Monkeys' which involved canceling all recurring meetings, reinstating 'no meeting Wednesdays', and changing the default answer for meetings from 'yes' to 'no' unless necessary, leading to a significant reduction in meeting time and increased productivity.

How does Shopify ensure that product managers stay in touch with customers?

Shopify encourages product managers to be customers themselves by using their platform and even owning stores on Shopify. Additionally, employees are given opportunities to serve as customer service representatives to directly experience customer interactions and challenges.

What is Shopify's approach to strategy in product building?

Shopify believes that strategy is the least important part of building products. Instead, they focus on being user-focused, taking ownership over problems, and maximizing risk to drive innovation and product development.

How does Shopify define success in product building?

Shopify defines success in product building not through long-term strategy documents, but through continuous tinkering and feedback. They believe that good products are built by constantly iterating and making incremental improvements.

What is the significance of having an inverted org chart at Shopify?

The inverted org chart at Shopify signifies a commitment to servant leadership, where the needs of the lowest level employees (the builders) are prioritized, and the organization structure is designed to serve them effectively.

How does Shopify fight against becoming a 'big company'?

Shopify fights against becoming a 'big company' by maintaining a flat structure, focusing on crafter paradigms, and resisting the urge to adopt outdated industry best practices. They strive to keep their culture agile and aligned with their founding principles.

What is the role of writing in Shopify's company operations?

Writing plays a significant role in Shopify's operations through their use of written updates and their operating system called 'GS s we get, done'. This system encourages asynchronous communication, which is more easily consumed and allows for more focused and uninterrupted work time.

How does Shopify approach support for creators beyond e-commerce?

Shopify focuses on providing the best platform for creators to monetize their work through retail businesses. While they offer tools like 'Collabs' for creators, they acknowledge that for certain types of content creation, other software might be more appropriate. Shopify's goal is to ensure that when it comes to selling products, they are the best choice.

What is the main goal of Shopify's product reviews?

The main goal of Shopify's product reviews is to focus on the product being shipped rather than the strategy behind it. They aim to assess the product's effectiveness and potential impact on customers, rather than the strategic planning process.

Why does Shopify believe that most companies are built for managers?

Shopify believes that most companies are built for managers because the people who build companies are often managers themselves. These companies optimize for the wrong things, focusing on management roles and structures rather than fostering an environment where builders and crafters can thrive.