Reid Hoffman’s latest book gives us 10 ways to rethink entrepreneurship

Natasha Mascarenhas

When you’re in the mood for a pep talk, who better to turn to than a well-networked, optimistic mentor who is naturally in your corner? That friendly shoulder is the role that “Masters of Scale” wants to play.

Inspired by LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock partner Reid Hoffman’s hit podcast, the new book, co-authored by Hoffman along with podcast executive producers June Cohen and Deron Triff, came out this week. Riddled with anecdotes and actionable takeaways, the book’s strength is wholly related to the sheer diversity of entrepreneurs that are represented in the text. Beyond sticking to tech leaders, the book draws lessons from Spanx founder Sara Blakely, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz and Union Square Hospitality Group CEO Daniel Meyer. Like any good mentor, the book is realistic. Mentors know you aren’t Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd or Airbnb’s Brian Chesky yet, but can extract universally applicable lessons from those leaders so that you can relate to them.

While press wasn’t a main character in the book, “Master of Scale” has already changed my perspective on how I interview founders. Lessons from Tristan Walker made me want to ask more questions about founders, and their most controversial beliefs, rather than how they plan to spend their new round of funding. A note from Andrés Ruzo made me realize that a startup that makes too much sense might be a comfortable read, but it might not be a moonshot that disrupts the world; in other words, pursue the startups that have too much seemingly foolish ambition — because they may be where the best strides, and stories, are made. Finally, it confirmed my belief that the best litmus test for a founder is if they are willing to talk about the hardships ahead of them in an honest, humble way.

Through every feel-good story, I waited for the pandemic to be addressed. The pandemic’s impact on startup advice was largely isolated to a single chapter about the art of the pivot. Instead of interspersing advice on how to deal with the pandemic’s impact on venture capital, funding and markets more broadly, the book limited its references to the cataclysmic event. This choice keeps the advice smartly evergreen. That said, I felt like the book’s choice to not talk much about the ugly within startupland creates an imbalance of sorts. It would have benefitted from talking directly about divisive dynamics, ranging from how WeWork’s Adam Neumann impacted the way we talk about visionary founders, Brian Armstrong’s Coinbase memo and what it means for startup culture, or even the role of the tech press today. One could argue that the book never claims to be journalistic, and instead wanted to play the role of a cheerleading mentor, not a cynical one.

Writing a book based on a hit podcast isn’t necessarily a walk in the park. Audio is an entirely different medium from written text, and it takes a certain finesse to translate into text the charisma and humility of vocal banter. Hoffman and the authors thus certainly shine brighter in some stories than others, leaning heavily on a repeated, yet effective storytelling arc throughout the text: introduce problem, present aha moment, offer solutions and share universal lessons.

I read the book over a weekend; I recommend the same move for any aspiring entrepreneur, techie or startup journalist looking to pick up a copy. Reid and the coauthors will do a fantastic job connecting the dots of over 70 entrepreneurs for you, but the real magic will come from what happens when you pause in between the stories — either to Google a founder you resonate with, to change up your interview style or to finally start working on the idea you one day may just blitzscale.

Read more...

Germany - Boersenmedien

Netherlands A.W. Bruna

Korea - Influential

Japan Magazine House 

China - Cheers

Taiwan - Linking

Turkey Can Publishing

Brazil - Sextante

Poland - MT Biznes

Indispensable growth lessons from a new book based on the LinkedIn co-founder's dozens of interviews with all-star founders for his Masters of Scale podcast.

Read more...

Red Hoffman interview

Read more...

Whether you’re at a startup or working to drive change within a large organization, the business principles in this book will help you deploy your strategy with creativity, integrity and realism.” — Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft  

 

“Reid Hoffman has a talent for getting right to the heart of a business case and turning it into an unforgettable lesson. If you’re scaling a company — or if you just love a well-told story — this is a book to savor.” — Bob Iger, executive chair, Walt Disney Co.  

 

“A book to take with you into battle as you build a company or a career. It’s full of enjoyable stories, but the killer feature is the sharp insights Reid draws out – specific, memorable, actionable mindsets.” — Reed Hastings, co-founder and CEO, Netflix 

 

“To lead with vision and heart, start by listening and learning from others. Using stories to teach lessons, this book is full of solid (and sometimes surprising!) advice that will help accelerate your journey.” — Angela Ahrendts, former CEO, Burberry, and former head of Apple Retail 

 

“The advice in this book is both principled and creative, rooted in true stories from a broad group of leaders at many stages of success and across many fields. A generous road map and framework for thinking more wisely about your own growing business.” —Shellye Archambeau, author of Unapologetically Ambitious 

 

“What if, instead of learning from one entrepreneur at a time, you could distill the lessons of many of our greatest founders our time This book combines memorable stories with actionable insights from world-class leaders to help you turn your biggest, boldest ideas into reality.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife 

 

“Starting a business is not for the faint of heart, and it's good to have a team of mentors at your back. Think of this book as a mentorship in 10 chapters, with stories and advice from people you might already admire, as well as people whose journeys are just starting. Reid's skill at keying in on the bombshell insight inside the narrative turns every story into a tool for clearer thinking and bolder moves. You'll come away with at least a couple of new mantras and a new understanding of the how and why of building your business.” - Franklin Leonard, founder of The Black List  

 

 

“This book feels like an extended conversation with Reid, full of stories of success and failure, along with insights that can reshape the way you approach a problem going forward. No matter what field you're in, the stories and advice will help you grapple with the choices you make every day as you scale your business.” - Danny Meyer, Restauranteur and CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group