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How to improve products and teams ft. Instagram’s COO, Justin Osofsky

Want to know what a successful business strategy, identifying talent and a frozen lemon have in common? Then it’s time to get back to...

Welcome to our brand new newsletter! This is Grace Weekly, where you can find the best take-outs we have collected for you, taken directly from our “Smart Venture Podcast” and our interviews with the best of the best.

It’s already been 2 weeks since our launch and we bet that those of you who applied our tips have already improved their businesses (you are welcome).

Back for week 3 dear readers! Who’s hyped up? We are hyped up.

“#bestcontentdietever”

Let's dive into our interview with the Chief Operating Officer of Instagram, Justin Osofsky:

Justin Osofsky is the VP of Meta. He leads Instagram's business functions and helps the company scale globally. He previously helped the company successfully integrate acquisitions and develop strategic opportunities across its family of applications.

Parts of this newsletter are freely taken from our interview with Justin and adjusted for reading.

GG: Can you tell us more about your background, how you grew up and became a great leader?

JO: I grew up in New Orleans as the middle child of a psychiatrist and psychologist. I spent a decade in Boston, met my wife and then moved to San Francisco. Now I’ve been at Instagram for over 2 years, and Facebook for 13.

GG: What motivated you to become successful and what education did you receive from your upbringing?

JO: I have an older sister and a younger brother, our parents valued education. My sister is the Dean of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and my brother has a PhD in psychology. Education was important in my upbringing but I am more rooted in a business background.

GG: Who do you consult when making career decisions? 

JO: I think you need advice from a mix of people. Some of them need context on what you're doing, but one of the most important people I actually chat with are my siblings, specially my sister. She has a different perspective but still understands me.

GG: To succeed in business - from my observations from chatting with super successful people (you can stay updated with all of Grace’s interviews here, dear reader) - each person really leveraged their strengths. What are yours?

JO: The ability to put myself in someone else's shoes and understand how they're going to perceive a situation. I'm able to anticipate reactions in a conversation and mediate it. I've also increasingly grown aware of my own weaknesses. So I often surround myself with people better than me, hiring them and empowering them to be successful.

GG: How do you come up with a strategy? How do you set goals for a team and test them before launching to the company? How do you navigate the challenges of a constantly changing startup and shifting goals for a big company like Instagram?

JO: Strategy can be developed by observing behavior and making it better or by identifying a problem in the world and finding a solution. One of my favorite examples is when Facebook launched, there was basically no way to upload a photo, you can only put a photo on your profile. Then we began to note that there were users uploading that one photo picture 20 times a day because they wanted to share photos with their friends! Seeing this kind of latent consumer demand for the behavior, it turned out obviously into one of the more important features of what made Facebook special.

We want this, but with more free will.

GG: What is the best way to identify if a product is right for you? How do you decide which direction to take a product like Instagram in and how do you identify the best plan for your company?

JO: At Instagram, we use our 3 product values: People first, craft, and simplicity to make decisions. We evaluate if a test or feature aligns with these values before looking at any metrics. This is how you make trade-offs. It's important to know what we're focused on and what we're not. For example, historically with Facebook, we had questions about running an ad network. But we realized that there were more important things for our business to focus on. At Instagram, we regularly review our products and unship those that are no longer necessary to keep things simple. It all begins with values and how we implement them.

In life and in business you have to know when to pivot.

GG: How do you motivate and hire top talent, and maintain those relationships? How do you balance being a leader and being a friend to them?

JO: For most people there are a couple of dimensions that really matter. One is people want to work for something they believe in, that is making a difference in the world, consistent with their values. The second thing that gets people to join us, is the people. Our recruitment process is not a quick one, but we take the time to build relationships with potential hires. Once they're on board, we focus on empowering our team members and helping them achieve their goals.

GG: As a leader how do you balance spending time connecting with team members to discuss challenges they're facing with reporting KPIs to board members?

JO: In any leadership role, there are both hard goals, such as revenue growth and project success, as well as softer metrics that are important to align on. One such metric is the development of good successors and a strong team. Understanding one's own blind spots is also crucial. This realization came to me when I received a delivery of frozen lemons, and I realized that probably 10 people at the company had worked on my order and had followed the policies to the letter, despite the fact that it made no sense. This story is a reminder to me to empower my team to speak up. This is vital for running a successful organization.

Perspective is everything.

JO: Effective leadership involves listening to and solving problems for employees. I start by having 1-on-1 conversations with people across the organization to understand their experiences and what they believe could be improved. One of the first things I did at Instagram, I discovered that our engineers were having trouble getting to their desks at dinnertime because the staircases were closed. By listening and taking action on this small issue, it made a big impact on their daily lives. It's important to always be open to feedback and actively work to improve the work environment for your team. Showing that you are relatable and human can build credibility. At our San Francisco office it was difficult to interact with colleagues due to the number of floors. To address this, I started hosting office hours in the elevator. At first, it may seem unusual, but over time, it helped establish real relationships.

“#graceweekly - the only hashtag you’ll ever need”

Managing a business can be challenging, but we all have a purpose for doing it. Paraphrasing Justin, every business is built on people and the key to improve yours is to start listening to those around you who know what they are talking about or really know you.

Another tip to improve your entrepreneurial skills? Follow Grace Weekly and share our insights with your friends and colleagues, even during elevator rides (that will sure build amazing relationships with them - we promise).

Top takeaways from our newsletter this week:

Find people that believe in your company’s mission.

Help people you hire move towards their goals.

Sometimes take a step back and simplify things.

Listen to those around you who know you the most.

Solving problems starts with listening to them.

Create a frozen lemon situation.

Want to have those tips with you all the time? Save them directly from here.

Out next week: Want to know how to negotiate every situation? Then it’s time to learn from the best. We’ll see you in a week with our interview with ex-F:B.I. hostage negotiator and WSJ Bestselling Author Chris Voss!

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