#25 - World's Least Powerful CEO
The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound… His true power derives from his ability to make other people powerful. - Benjamin Zander
- Mom, why are you making a poster with Supercell logo? asks one of my sons, looking over my shoulder as I start preparing this newsletter. He visibly struggles to see what connects me to the company who is my #1 rival for his attention…
- Because their CEO is the World’s least powerful CEO. Doesn’t it sound interesting?
Being powerful without exerting power. Disagreeing without being disagreeable. Finding the sacred in the mundane. Progressing by doing nothing. These are the themes and ideas that inspired me in the past few weeks and that I want to share in this newsletter.
The past month has been a lot about hiring, and this podcast with Ilkka Paananen, Supercell’s CEO, was among the best conversations I’ve heard on my forest walks.
On being the least powerful CEO:
The more decisions that teams make and the less I make, the better. In an ideal world, like if I make no decisions, then that would make me I guess, the least powerful CEO. The whole idea about Supercell and what is at the core of our culture is this idea of this small and independent teams that we call Cells, and this independent game teams sacred inside Supercell. The way to think about them is to think about smaller startups within the greater company.
On the importance of the recruitment process:
If there's one process that actually does make a lot of sense, it's probably the recruitment process. In that process, you want to accumulate all the learnings through the years that you got. Because as you said, that probably is the most important process in the company, actually… The number one lesson that they learned over the years is, don't try to shortcut the process. Every single time they've tried to short cut it, in one way or another, it has come back to bite us. That's the one process that you really want to follow, and you really shouldn't rush it.
The best advice on recruiting:
One of the best pieces of advice that I've ever gotten about recruiting is that if you can try to imagine the imaginary average quality of a person at the company and then there's some new candidate who is about to come in, ask yourself the question that "Is this new person, is she or he going to raise the average quality of the company?" That's what I also try to look for.
Book Recommendation: Eleven Rings
It happens every once in a while that you stumble on a book that would resonate with you in a big way, challenge your ideas, uproot some, give comfort in others. “Eleven Rings” by Phil Jackson turned out to be one of those mighty influences for me. Eleven rings for the eleven titles Phil Jackson won with Bulls and Lakers: in this book he shares his journey and the eleven basic principles of mindful leadership he has developed to transform disorganised teams into champions.
Leadership is not about forcing your will on others. It's about mastering the art of letting go.
The real mark of a star was how much better he made his teammates.
You can’t be captain if nobody follows you.
It takes a number of critical factors to win an NBA championship, including the right mix of talent, creativity, intelligence, toughness, and, of course, luck. But if a team doesn't have the most essential ingredient - love - none of those other factors matter.
What moves me is watching young men bond together and tap into the magic that arises when they focus - with their whole heart and sole - on something greater than themselves. Once you’ve experienced that, it’s something you never forget.
When in doubt, do nothing.
Strategy and Leadership Lessons from the ‘Notorious RBG’
This article from INSEAD Knowledge distills the key lessons from Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s work.
Start small and build momentum. “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time”.
Take a different perspective to broaden the conversation. “Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
Separate the mission from the individual ego. “You can disagree without being disagreeable.”
Lead a cause beyond career. “If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself.”
Your Children Are Not Your Children
Probably the hardest art of letting go is letting go of the desire to force your will on your children or shape their path instead of letting them find their own way. I happened to reread this week “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran and it comforted me with the idea that I am not, and will never be a true Tiger Mom. And that’s fine.
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies, but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. you may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living errors are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness; for even as He loves the arrow that flies, so he loves also the bow that is stable.
Stay powerful, stay kind, stay healthy,
Arina