{"id":639,"date":"2018-12-29T04:11:55","date_gmt":"2018-12-29T04:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sellingsherpa.com\/?p=639"},"modified":"2018-12-29T04:12:07","modified_gmt":"2018-12-29T04:12:07","slug":"blitzscaling-book-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sellingsherpa.com\/index.php\/2018\/12\/29\/blitzscaling-book-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"Blitzscaling (Book Summary)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"nolwrap\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0791239V7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh (opens in a new tab)\">Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Takeaways and\nOverall Review<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Key takeaways:<ul><li>Blitzscaling is a high-risk, high reward strategy that prioritizes speed over efficiency in the face of uncertainty.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Blizscale when (a) opportunity is large (b) you have a compelling, counterintuitive business model innovation, esp. one with a disruptive revenue model and\/or viral distribution (c) there are strong unit economics at scale (d) there are positive network effects and\/or lock-in (d) the threat of competition is high. <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Hire leaders who have proven experience scaling from your current stage to the next stage.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Overall, I recommend the book. As you read it, think about how each principle applies to your market. For instance, even though the book feels very B2C tech-focused, I felt many principles apply at least somewhat to B2B.<ul><li>The Good:<ul><li>Truly felt comprehensive<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Great examples from the author\u2019s own experience at LinkedIn as well as the experiences of others<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Well-written (logically structured; not repetitive; etc.)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Efficient \u2013 neither over- nor under-explains<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Not self-promotional in any way<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>I got the sense this was a podcast-to-book project.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen those executed very poorly and this one was done expertly.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The Bad<ul><li>The book starts very slow. I almost gave up since I was worried I\u2019d have to read hundreds of pages explaining positive network effects (though important, a simple and well-worn concept). However, it does pick up.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>There are almost too many lists to keep track of (which can get a bit tedious since it is a lazy way to write).\u00a0 I wish the authors had included a summary\/appendix with a consolidated checklist.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>You are not really going to walk away with (m)any major epiphanies. \u00a0Case-in-point is my rather stingy set of key takeaways above.\u00a0 To their credit, the authors more or less say that every successful company is its own special snowflake. <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PART I What Is Blitzscaling?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Blitzscaling is prioritizing speed over\nefficiency (even) in the face of uncertainty<\/li><li>Blitzscaling is particularly important in\nbusinesses where scale really matters, esp. those with positive network\neffects. <\/li><li>Just when you\u2019ve finished Blitzscaling one\nbusiness line, you need to Blitzscale the next to maintain your company\u2019s\nupward trajectory.<\/li><li>Three key techniques of Blitzscaling<ul><li>BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION \u2013 distribution +\nhigh-margin revenue model + acceptable service<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>STRATEGY INNOVATION<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>MANAGEMENT INNOVATION \u2013 hiring \u201cgood enough\u201d\npeople + launching imperfect products + letting fires burn + ignoring angry\ncustomers. <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PART II Business\nModel Innovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Start-ups that relied purely on technology\ninnovation without any real business model innovation largely went bust.<\/li><li>Great companies and great businesses often seem\nto be bad ideas when they first appear because business model innovations \u2014 by\ntheir very definition \u2014 can\u2019t point to a proven business model to demonstrate\nwhy they\u2019ll work.<\/li><li>Four key business model growth factors:<ul><li>MARKET SIZE \u2013 fast growing and either already\nlarge or reasonably expected to become large<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>DISTRIBUTION \u2013 via existing networks and\/or\nvirality (free or freemium)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>HIGH GROSS MARGINS \u2013 expected in the future at scale<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>NETWORK EFFECTS \u2013 Of which there are 5 kinds<ul><li>Direct: Increases in usage lead to increases in\nvalue (ex: Facebook)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Indirect: Increases in usage encourage\nconsumption of complementary products (ex: adoption of an operating system)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Two-sided: Increases in usage by one set of\nusers increases the value to a different set of complementary users, and vice\nversa. (Example: Marketplaces such as eBay)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Local: Increases in usage by a small subset of\nusers increases the value for a connected user. (Example: cellular family plans)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Compatibility and Standards: The use of one\ntechnology product encourages the use of compatible products. (Example:\nMicrosoft Office)<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Two key business growth limiters<ul><li>LACK OF PRODUCT\/MARKET FIT \u2013 though it is\ncritical to seek a nonobvious market opportunity where you have a unique\nadvantage or approach, and one that competing players won\u2019t see until you\u2019ve\nhad a chance to build a healthy lead.&nbsp; Most\nnonobvious opportunities arise from a change in the market that the incumbents\naren\u2019t willing or able to adapt to.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>OPERATIONAL SCALABILITY \u2013 human or infrastructure<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Proven business model patterns<ul><li>BITS RATHER THAN ATOMS<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>PLATFORMS<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>FREE OR FREEMIUM<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>MARKETPLACES<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>SUBSCRIPTIONS<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>DIGITAL GOODS<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>FEEDS<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Underlying principles of business model\ninnovation<ul><li>MOORE\u2019S LAW &#8211; The best entrepreneurs anticipate\nit.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>AUTOMATION<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>ADAPTATION, NOT OPTIMIZATION<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>THE CONTRARIAN PRINCIPLE<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>LinkedIn Merlin would analyze usage patterns and\ntell each salesperson which companies to call, how they were already using\nLinkedIn, and even create a personalized sales deck for each individual\nprospect!<\/li><li>Google uses a bottom-up innovation and a high tolerance\nfor failure. Apple takes a top-down approach that puts more wood behind fewer\narrows. One philosophy isn\u2019t necessarily better than the other; the important\nthing is simply to find that product\/market fit quickly, before your\ncompetition does.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PART III Strategy\nInnovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>You don\u2019t necessarily need to have solved your\nrevenue model before deciding to Blitzscale<\/li><li>Factors that tell you it may be the right time\nto Blitzscale<ul><li>A BIG NEW OPPORTUNITY<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>FIRST-SCALER ADVANTAGE \u2013 esp. based on network\neffects or customer lock-in<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>LEARNING CURVE \u2013 complex problems with steep\nlearning curves create barriers to entry (ex: self-driving cars)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>THREAT OF COMPETITION<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Leading indicators that can act as an early-warning\nsign that you\u2019ve outgrown your strategy:<ul><li>Declining rate of growth (relative to the market\nand competition) <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Worsening unit economics <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Decreasing per-employee productivity <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Increasing management overhead<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>BLITZSCALING IS ITERATIVE Successful Blitzscaling\nis an exercise in serial problem solving.<ul><li>Step 1: Do things that don\u2019t scale. <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Step 2: Reach the next stage of Blitzscaling. <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Step 3: Figure out how to do one set of things\nthat scale, while somehow also finding a way to do a completely different set\nof things that don\u2019t scale. <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Step 4: Reach the next stage of Blitzscaling. <\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Step 5: Repeat over and over until you reach\ncomplete market dominance.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>5 Stages of Scale<ul><li>Family: The Founder Personally Pulls the Levers\nof Hypergrowth<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Tribe: The Founder Manages the People Who Are\nPulling the Levers<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Village: The Founder Designs an Organization\nThat Pulls the Levers<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>City: The Founder Makes High-Level Decisions\nAbout Goals and Strategies<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Nation: The Founder Figures Out How to Pull the\nOrganization Back from Blitzscaling and Start Blitzscaling New Product Lines\nand Business Units<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PART IV Management\nInnovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>One of the key features that sets global giants\napart from those companies that flame out or implode before they can reach\nmarket dominance is an ability to evolve and optimize their management\npractices at each stage of growth.<\/li><li>EIGHT KEY TRANSITIONS<ul><li>SMALL TEAMS TO LARGE TEAMS<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>GENERALISTS TO SPECIALISTS <ul><li>Not every generalist can or even wants to become\na specialist)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The Village stage is where it becomes prudent to\nhire specialists, as both executives and key contributors.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>CONTRIBUTORS TO MANAGERS TO EXECUTIVES<ul><li>Managers are frontline leaders who worry about\nday-to-day tactics:<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The role of the executive is to lead managers\nand to focus on vision and strategy. Execs are responsible for the \u201cfighting\nspirit\u201d and serve as role models who help people persist through inevitable\nadversity.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The ideal, of course, is to hire an executive\nwith past experience at a Blitzscaling start-up that has already dealt with the\nchallenges your company currently faces.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Hire someone who is already a known quantity to\nat least one member of the team.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Bring the new executive in at a lower level\ninitially and let the executive prove himself or herself. Once the executive\nhas earned the team\u2019s trust and credibility, consider promoting him or<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>DIALOGUE TO BROADCASTING<ul><li>Brian Chesky addresses this need at Airbnb by\nsending a long email to every employee each Sunday night.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>INSPIRATION TO DATA<ul><li>Picking a single clarifying metric is very hard,\nbut it clarifies decision-making and what constitutes success.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The key stats will evolve as your company grows<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Almost all quality Village-size businesses will\nuse a dashboard to assess the daily health of their companies.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Data-driven design is great at optimizing\nproducts with incremental changes, but it could steer you to the top of a local\nhill rather than the highest peak. Genius-driven design may be the only way to\nbuild a revolutionary product, but it usually needs to be supplemented with\ndata-driven refinement.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>SINGLE FOCUS TO MULTITHREADING<ul><li>We don\u2019t know of a single start-up that\nsucceeded without starting out as single-threaded.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>\u201cDeciding what not to do is as important as\ndeciding what to do.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>It\u2019s generally better to have your ten best\npeople working on a single important project rather than splitting them to\nattack two different opportunities.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Poorly designed incentives can make it nearly\nimpossible to shut down a thread, even if its performance is poor, since its\nleadership might fight tooth and nail to stay open.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Each product leader was the owner of a primary\nthread, but was also partially accountable and compensated for his or her work\nin supporting a fellow product leader as a secondary thread.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>PIRATE TO NAVY<ul><li>In the Nation phase, acquisitions typically\nbecome important, if not essential, to defensive strategy. At this phase, you\nshould try to make your opponents defend every bit of their territories,\nbecause, if you succeed, they will be stretched too thin to ward off the\nattacks you actually consider important.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>First, try to establish a standard. One of the\nclassic Silicon Valley plays is to move from an app to a platform.&nbsp; Second, offer a more complete solution, and\ntry to outflank the competition.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>I like to generate fresh, innovative ways to\nplay defense by asking my team, \u201cIf we were trying to compete with ourselves,\nwhat we would do? What if we were a start-up? Google? Facebook? Microsoft?\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>SCALING YOURSELF: FOUNDER TO LEADER<ul><li>Universal skills<ul><li>ability to take bold risks in pursuit of a\nvision that isn\u2019t self-evident to others<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>3 ways to scale yourself: <ul><li>Delegation<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Amplification &#8211; The goal here isn\u2019t to free you\nup from your work so that you can do other things; it\u2019s to make the things you\ndo much more impactful. A Chief of Staff who makes certain decisions, triages which\nproblems get attention, and briefs others is especially valuable for this.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Making yourself better \u2013 Make yourself into a\nlearning machine with the goal of keeping your personal learning curve ahead of\nthe company\u2019s growth curve. This means talking with other smart people, often,\nso that you can learn from their successes and failures. It\u2019s important to\nleave yourself time and space for reflection and feedback.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Being the first scaler helps you acquire\ncustomers, lock in investors, and attract the best talent.<\/li><li>A strong executive team meets on a regular basis\nand focuses on the most important initiatives and issues, including active\nplanning for the future.<\/li><li>Any given management structure is likely to be\ntemporary. You can\u2019t run a Village the same way you run a Tribe, and you can\u2019t\nrun a City the same way you run a Village. But without structure, you won\u2019t\nmake it to the next stage of growth.<\/li><li>NINE COUNTERINTUITIVE RULES OF BLITZSCALING<ul><li>EMBRACE CHAOS &#8211; Entrepreneurs should always have\na Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan Z.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>HIRE MS. RIGHT NOW, NOT MS. RIGHT<ul><li>You need managers and executives who are \u201cjust\nright\u201d for the current phase of growth;<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>When you\u2019re trying to sell your product for the\nfirst time, you need aggressive, adaptable salespeople who aren\u2019t big on\nfollowing rules.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>TOLERATE \u201cBAD\u201d MANAGEMENT<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>LAUNCH A PRODUCT THAT EMBARRASSES YOU<ul><li>If you need to choose between getting to market\nquickly with an imperfect product or getting to market slowly with a \u201cperfect\u201d\nproduct, choose the imperfect product nearly every time.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>If you trigger lawsuits or burn through your\nmoney without learning, it means you did launch too soon.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Entrepreneurs have to walk a fine line between\nfixable and fatal flaws!<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>LET FIRES BURN<ul><li>Prioritize based on urgency, efficacy, &amp;\ndependency<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Maslovian hierarchy of fires: &nbsp;#1 Distribution; #2 Product Revenue model; #3 Operations;\n#4 Competition; #5 What\u2019s next?<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>DO THINGS THAT DON\u2019T SCALE (THROWAWAY WORK)<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>IGNORE YOUR CUSTOMERS = Many Blitzscaling start-ups\nwill offer e-mail support only, or no support at all, relying on users to find\nand help one another on discussion forums.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>RAISE TOO MUCH MONEY<ul><li>If the unit economics are positive in the long\nrun, and capital is available at low cost, then it makes sense to take in\ninvestment capital to fuel rapid growth.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The classic rule of thumb in Silicon Valley is to\nraise enough cash for eighteen to twenty-four months of operations.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><ul><li>EVOLVE YOUR CULTURE<ul><li>Ignoring your culture is not an option.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>An organization\u2019s culture emerges over time\nbased on the actions of many people, not just the founders.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>The two key levers of deliberate cultural\ntransmission are communications and people management.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Culture is heavily determined by who you hire,\npromote, and fire.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>The best entrepreneurs and companies use\nsuccessful Blitzscaling in one market to jump into another.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PART V The Broader\nLandscape of Blitzscaling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>4 advantages of established companies who want\nto Blitzscale<ul><li>SCALE<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>ITERATION<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>LONGEVITY<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>MERGERS &amp; ACQUISITIONS (M &amp; A)<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>3 disadvantages of established companies who\nwant to Blitzscale<ul><li>INCENTIVES &#8211; Incentives tend to favor cautious\nexpansion rather than aggressive Blitzscaling.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>UNSTAGED COMMITMENT- unwillingness to stage\ntheir investments.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>PUBLIC MARKET PRESSURE<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>BLITZSCALING HACKS for established companies<ul><li>Find ways to leverage people and businesses with\nprior Blitzscaling experience.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Leverage the knowledge of venture capitalists.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Treat the new initiative as a company within a\ncompany.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>3 options to defend against Blitzscaling<ul><li>BEAT THEM<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>JOIN THEM<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>AVOID THEM \u2013 Since Blitzscaling is high risk,\nyou can wait until the Blitzscaler collapses.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>PART VI Responsible Blitzscaling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The responsibilities of a Blitzscaler go beyond\nsimply maximizing shareholder value while obeying the law; you are also responsible\nfor how the actions of your business impact the larger society<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh Key Takeaways and Overall Review Key takeaways: Blitzscaling is a high-risk, high reward strategy that prioritizes speed over efficiency in the face of uncertainty. Blizscale when (a) opportunity is large (b) you have a compelling, counterintuitive business model innovation, esp. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- 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