The modern world is full of entrepreneurs dreaming of becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg. Of course, relatively few of them will make it to the top, and most will finish a long way short of the billions they chase. Why do the businesses of some entrepreneurs make it while others don’t? Looking into the success of the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Think Like Zuck highlights the business practices of the most successful CEOs. By following this advice, you stand the best chance of rising above everyone else and becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg yourself. Think Like Zuck by Ekaterina Walter

1.Successful entrepreneurs let their passion drive them

After all, that’s exactly what Mark Zuckerberg did to build his phenomenal career. While following his passion gave Zuckerberg his career direction, there was also another benefit to it: Consider the fact that in the beginning, Facebook wasn’t so different from Myspace and Friendster. However, since Zuckerberg’s passion was all about socially connecting people online, his product best matched what people actually wanted – allowing it to ultimately trounce rivals. The lesson here is that when you follow your own passion, there’s no harm in “stealing” inspiration from elsewhere because your idea will naturally stand out on its own. Another advantage of following your passion is that you’re more likely to be persistent – that is, you won’t give up, even when you fail. Because after all, no matter how much you love something, if you don’t act on it, you won’t succeed. But luckily, you can overcome inaction by remembering the message on a poster located in Facebook’s headquarters. It reads, “Done is better than perfect.”

2.Successful companies are built around an inspiring vision.

Beyond a passion, the successful entrepreneur also has a mission – a personal goal – and he won’t give up until it’s accomplished. And while a mission is a great way to differentiate your company, there’s another benefit: Seeing your company as more than a business can improve your chances of succeeding in the long term. That’s the case for Mark Zuckerberg, whose mission for Facebook was “to make the world more open and connected.” That’s why whenever he received an offer to sell Facebook, he declined: he felt that his mission was still incomplete! And in fact, this mindset figures into one of Facebook’s most famous slogans: “The journey is only one percent finished.”

3.Hire motivated employees who share the company’s values.

As discussed in the previous book summary, someone who loves their work will be a better employee than someone who doesn’t. And entrepreneurs have to remember that if they want to hire the right people. But even when you’ve hired the right people, there’s still more to do to ensure that your employees love their jobs and perform optimally: You have to treat your team well and prioritize their happiness. After all, if you take care of your workers, they will take care of the customers in the same way. Companies therefore need to establish an atmosphere of trust, and to make the company feel like a fun place to work. To that end, Facebook’s offices are equipped with music and gaming equipment, thus allowing workers to take a break and relax.

4.Never compromise on the quality of your product.

Facebook started out as a 19-year-old college kid’s coding project, but it eventually became an indispensable communication tool. How did that happen? Well, the key to Facebook’s success is that it has always focused on a great product and user experience. And in fact, a great product should be the centerpiece of any business strategy, something you never compromise on. In other words, ensuring that your product matches (or exceeds) customer expectations should underpin every business decision you make. For example, when Facebook started to grow, Mark Zuckerberg ensured the expansion happened slowly and carefully so that the company could cope with new demands. So at first, Facebook was only available to Harvard students; Zuckerberg didn’t open the service to other universities until there was enough server capacity. However, although you need to be careful to keep the quality of the product high, that’s only one piece of the puzzle: You also need to be innovative – that is, you need to constantly look for new ways of making your product better. To that end, consider Facebook’s philosophy to “move fast and break things.” Piggybacking on this principle, the company hosts internal hackathons for developers to come up with new ideas – and this very process has helped lead to many great Facebook features, such as Timeline, Chat, and even the Like button! However, the hackathon model doesn’t just product innovation, it also teaches employees a crucial lesson: Not all new ideas work the first time, and failure is OK.

5.A great leadership team is made up of people with complementary capabilities and experience

The best teams are made up of people with different skills. For instance, every great football team has a combination of defenders, midfielders, and strikers. Not surprisingly, this model also translates to great leadership teams. And of course – like any great football team – the most successful leadership teams don’t merely have different skills, they have complementary capabilities and experience. For example, since Sheryl Sandberg (“the builder”) became COO at Facebook, Zuckerberg (“the visionary”) can focus all his attention on what he’s best at Building products and company vision. Meanwhile, Sandberg has lots of experience in business development (an area Zuckerberg doesn’t excel in), which she can bring to the table to optimize Facebook’s operations. It’s worth noting that creating this balance of employees has a purpose: It’s a way of multiplying the company’s chances of success. After all, if your team includes many different areas of knowledge and expertise, you’ll be able to examine problems and opportunities from many different angles.

The most successful businesses are run by passionate leaders who have a purpose, build powerful alliances, and focus on creating innovative, high-quality products. It can be easy to fall into a project or a job you don’t actually care about, just because you think you ought to. But don’t give up on your passion. Instead, keep looking until you find something that truly inspires you. Trust us, you’ll know when you’ve found it!

Reference
https://lifeclub.org/books/think-like-zuck-ekaterina-walter-review-summary