Scaling Culture with Jason Kilar | The Scaleup Offsite 2017 | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

The speaker shares his observations on culture and its importance in efficiently scaling a company.

Key Insights

• 😫 Culture is shaped by how people act when no one is looking, making the behavior of the founder or CEO crucial in setting the tone.
• 🦮 Explicit values and principles, like those outlined at Disney and Amazon, help guide and shape a company's culture.
• 💗 Mechanisms, such as the "Just Do It" award at Amazon, provide a way to scale culture within a growing organization.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How does the speaker define culture?

The speaker defines culture as how people act when no one is looking, particularly emphasizing the behavior of a founder or CEO.

Q: What was the speaker's motivation behind learning about Disney and eventually working there?

The speaker was captivated by the quality and scale of Disney's operations and was determined to understand how they achieved such success.

Q: How did Amazon scale its culture?

Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos, wrote 14 explicit leadership principles that defined the company's culture. They prioritized healthy debate, uncompromising decision-making, and mechanisms like the "Just Do It" award to encourage innovative thinking.

Q: How did the speaker approach building the culture at Hulu?

The speaker started with a clean slate and drew inspiration from Disney and Amazon, creating a culture that emphasized aesthetics, design, and an appreciation for quality content.

Summary

In this video, Jason Kilar shares his observations on culture and how to efficiently scale culture. He provides examples from his experiences at Disney, Amazon, and Hulu, and discusses the importance of being explicit about company values, walking the talk, and embracing mechanisms that reinforce those values. He also emphasizes the need for flexibility and experimentation when it comes to developing cultural mechanisms that work for your company.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Jason define culture?

Culture, according to Jason, is how people act when no one is looking. It is about the decisions they make and their behavior in late nights and when they're working on their own. For CEOs and founders, it is specifically about how they act when no one is looking, as their actions are modeled and play a significant role in shaping the company's culture.

Q: How did Jason become interested in the importance of culture?

He had an "aha" moment as a kid when he visited Disney World for the first time after growing up in Pittsburgh and only knowing the local amusement park called Kennywood Park. The experience of seeing Disney's attention to detail, quality, and storytelling, compared to what he was used to, sparked his interest in understanding how Disney created something so much better than other companies. This led him to learn as much as he could about Disney and eventually get a job there.

Q: What were three important elements of Disney's culture according to Jason?

According to Jason, the three important elements of Disney's culture were that Walt Disney was explicit about what he wanted the culture of the company to be, he walked the talk by backing up the values and principles of the company through his actions, and Disney had mechanisms in place that helped scale and reinforce the culture, such as Disney University.

Q: How did Amazon scale its culture according to Jason?

Jason explains that Amazon was explicit about its culture through the 14 leadership principles that Jeff Bezos wrote. These principles outlined what Amazon cared about and what it didn't, and they were not easy, but very precise. To scale the culture, Amazon relied on mechanisms like the "Just Do It" award, which recognized employees who had ideas that aligned with Amazon's values and principles and took action without seeking permission. These mechanisms helped reinforce the culture throughout the organization.

Q: What was unique about Hulu's culture and how did they define it?

One unique aspect of Hulu's culture was its appreciation for aesthetics, which was different from Amazon's more utilitarian design. At Hulu, they defined their culture in a document called "What Defines Hulu." The document was intentionally challenging and acted as both a magnet for the right people and a repellent for those who wouldn't align with Hulu's values and principles.

Q: How did Hulu deal with cultural challenges as it scaled?

Jason mentions that Hulu faced constant challenges in maintaining and living up to its culture in the early years of the company. There were moments where difficult decisions had to be made to ensure consistent behavior aligned with the values and principles. It was important for the leadership team to fight for what was important and not compromise for the sake of social cohesion or bureaucracy.

Q: How important is it to be explicit about culture and values?

According to Jason, being explicit about culture and values is crucial for creating a strong and effective culture. It helps attract the right people and repel those who wouldn't fit the company's values. By being clear about what your company stands for, you give your culture a stronger chance of success.

Q: Can cultural mechanisms be changed if they don't work well?

Yes, Jason highlights the importance of being flexible and willing to adapt cultural mechanisms if they don't work well. Just like any experiment, not all mechanisms will be successful, so it's essential to be open to change and drop the ones that aren't effective.

Q: How did Jason's experiences at Disney, Amazon, and Hulu shape his understanding of culture?

Jason's experiences at these companies allowed him to see the importance of being explicit about culture, walking the talk, and creating mechanisms that reinforce values and principles. He learned the value of attention to detail, quality, and storytelling from Disney, the significance of leadership principles and mechanisms at Amazon, and the need for a challenging and unique culture at Hulu.

Q: What is the key takeaway from Jason's observations on culture?

The key takeaway is that companies need to be explicit about their culture, walk the talk by backing up their values through actions, and embrace mechanisms that reinforce and scale the culture. It's essential to be flexible and experiment with mechanisms while also being true to the company's values and principles.

Takeaways

Creating an effective culture requires being explicit about the values and principles of the company, walking the talk by embodying those values, and embracing mechanisms that reinforce and scale the culture. It is important to be flexible and willing to adapt mechanisms that aren't working well, while also being clear about the culture to attract the right people and repel those who don't align with the values. Achieving a strong culture is a continuous effort that requires living up to the values each day, even during challenging moments. By investing in and scaling culture, companies increase their chances of success.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker shares his career background, including working at Disney, Amazon, Hulu, and founding a company called Vessel.

• He defines culture as how people act when no one is looking and emphasizes the importance of a founder or CEO's behavior in shaping a company's culture.

• He discusses the impact of Disney and its explicit culture, walking the talk, and leveraging mechanisms like Disney University.