9 Counter Intuitive Rules of Blitzscaling

Blitzscaling is a wonderful concept for startups that want to scale. It is basically prioritizing speed over efficiency. I really liked the book Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh. The basic thesis which Alvin Toffler predicted in Future Shock is that change is the only constant. If you can be nimble and steady in the face of chaos you have a better chance of survival. It is all about scaling fast, moving fast and breaking things. There are 3 suggestions to thrive one is to be a first responder, second is to be a model of stability in a sea of change and finally be a consistent learner.

The three techniques of Blitzscaling which are the heart of the process are business model innovation, strategy innovation and management innovation.

There are 9 counter intuitive rules of Blitzscaling which I liked. Here they are with a brief commentary on each.

Embrace Chaos: The only certainty is uncertainty. Be ready to thrive in chaos. Especially when you are starting anything new the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. Being flexible is the key to survival and progress. The Messy Middle by Scott Belsky also addresses this.

Hire Ms. Right now not Ms. Right: The point I took away here is don’t hire someone for a future role. Some folks will be good for the beginning of a startup then hire them at that time. So, don’t make too many future based predictions and hire for current fit.

Tolerate bad management: This is when you ignore the usual management procedures and go against convention. The authors suggest this is what worked well in PayPal. So, come up with unique management methods which challenge the status quo.

Launch a product that embarrasses you: Mark Zuckerberg has a philosophy of moving fast and breaking things. So be prepared for a product to fail the first time but you can pivot to make it better with real user feedback. This is also similar to the Lean startup model where you create a minimum viable product, get feedback and then pivot as needed.

Let fires burn: You cannot address every fire that comes your way. Just like in a hospital a patient is not treated by priority of arrival but by the severity of their illness. So, you must be good at ignoring a lot of fires and only concentrate on the things that move the needle. Learning to say no is the art of personal and organizational management. As Steve Jobs said, “We are prouder of the things we said no to than what we did.”

Do things that don’t scale: Basically, sometimes you won’t know if something works or not. So, go where the users are. For example, Brian Chesky of Airbnb went to all the users in NY in the initial phase. So, go where the users are even if it makes you uncomfortable and is probably expensive in the initial stages.

Ignore customers: This means focus only on the few customers that matter. Provide the minimum level customer service for the few ones where there are issues. Put your focus on the few customers that make the difference. Of course I believe the old axiom the customer is everything still holds good.

Raise too much money: Of course, bootstrapping is a key victory for a lot of entrepreneurs. Here the authors argue persuasively that you don’t know when your company can scale to a big level so always have good cash reserves. Intel was well known to have a lot of cash reserves.

Evolve the culture: Culture is the key to any winning organization. Of course, the examples of Facebook and Netflix are provided here. They are unique in their culture. Steve Jobs ensured the design in the Pixar atrium would enable more people to bump into each other. John Lasseter confirmed that this worked big time because he met more people than he ever had before that. Here is my article on 8 ways to build a winning culture. 8 Keys to Build a Winning Culture.

There you have it the 9 counter intuitive rules of Blitzscaling. This is a wonderful book for all leaders irrespective of industry or whether you are in a startup culture. I found it to be enlightening and insightful. Thanks for reading this post.

The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.