Every once in a while we read a book that helps us take a significant step forward in our career. Usually, it’s not a new concept, but more than the author encapsulated the ideas in a way that resonates and is relatable to what we’re doing at that specific time and place.
I read a book like this recently, it’s called “Think Like Zuck” by Ekaterina Walter. I believe the concepts she covers in this book are great for each of us as we navigate our workplace and work to build our careers.
Here is a summary and some thoughts.
The book covers five business secrets from Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Founder of Facebook, that can be applied to our careers:
- Passion
- Purpose
- People
- Product
- Partnership
“Think Like Zuck” is a mentality. As leaders in the energy industry, we need to drive with passion, lead with purpose, builds strong teams, create products that support our purpose, strive for excellence, and partner smartly.
Passion
We all have tasks that “need” to be done, but we also know of projects that if taken on will truly deliver value to the company. Focus your passion on these areas and you’ll not only deliver results but have increased passion in your work.
Take Ownership of projects assigned to you, or better yet volunteer for projects you want to tackle. When the idea is yours, it carries more passion to complete.
Purpose
Make sure there is a purpose for everything you’re doing. Eliminate non-value-added activities. Clarify and share the purpose with others so you can provide leadership in accomplishing tasks. Have a clear short term and long term vision of what you are trying to accomplish and where you want to be. This is applicable for projects you work on and your career path.
People
Learn to let go and delegate responsibilities to others. Create an environment of fearlessness, not fear. Make risk-taking a part of your culture.
Product
Even in our individual jobs, we have products that we deliver. We need to ensure they are innovative and evolving. Example of Dyson: They had over 5,000 failed prototypes before developing their groundbreaking vacuum.
Their advice is to take what you know, flip it on its head, start new and see what happens, and what you can come up with. We can do this with our “products”. We don’t have to keep doing it the way it’s always been done.
Partnership
Partner with people that are smarter than you. Bring on people that share the vision and have mutual respect for others. The partnership is not just a partnership of people and teams, it can be a partnership of innovation and execution or partnership of creativity and analytics.
And last, here are some Facebook mottos that can be applied in your company and job:
- Done is better than perfect
- Move fast and break things
- Stay focused and keep shipping
- The journey is only 1% finished
I think my overall take away from this book is that by looking to innovative leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and learning from their successes, we can be better employees, managers, and leaders in the energy industry.
