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How Leaders Lead with David Novak

#03: Evan Spiegel, SNAP CEO—Secrets of Fostering Innovation

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8596 Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2020

⏱️ 62 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today’s guest is Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap.  The tech world is driven by innovation. And Snapchat has set the gold standard for getting new ideas to take off, ever since 2011 when Evan Spiegel co-founded the company while he was a student at Stanford.  But there’s a lot more to Snapchat’s success than just having these good ideas. They have created a culture where those ideas can actually develop. They have communicated those ideas to teams and stakeholders. Oh, and most importantly, they have actually turned those ideas into reality. But it hasn’t always been easy – especially back in 2018 when some of those new ideas triggered an 80% drop in stock price and a very public outcry. Now, of course, you may not be out to build Silicon’s Valley’s next big thing. But every leader needs to know how to create a culture where big ideas thrive and become reality. So if you want to understand the secrets of fostering innovation, then you don’t want to miss this episode. You’ll also learn: A fundamental insight about human nature that will change how you think about product development The one thing Evan wished he’d fully understood about going public The #1 piece of advice Evan got early on – and probably what you need to hear today What mistakes to avoid when you’re growing quickly His surprising response to competitors ripping off his company’s products Practical ways Evan grew – and keeps growing – in his leadership role  The one common denominator in all Evan’s biggest past mistakes (and how it helps him now) Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey everybody, welcome to How Leaders Lead for every week you get to listen in while I interview

0:08.2

some of the very best leaders in the world.

0:10.6

I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something

0:14.8

simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader.

0:18.3

That's what this podcast is all about.

0:22.9

And today's guest is Evan Spiegel, the CEO of Snap. Now, I think everybody would agree that tech world is driven by innovation.

0:30.6

And Snap, with products like Snapchat, is setting a goal standard for getting new ideas to take

0:36.2

off around the very simple idea of reinventing

0:39.9

the camera. Now, this is a company that Evan co-founded in 2011 when he was a student at Stanford.

0:48.1

But you know, there's a lot more to snap success than just having good ideas. They've created a

0:53.2

culture where those ideas can actually develop.

0:56.6

They have then communicated those ideas internally and to shareholders, and most importantly,

1:01.8

they have actually turned those ideas into reality. Now, of course, you may not be out to

1:07.6

build Silicon Valley's next big thing, but every leader needs to know

1:11.7

how to create a culture where big ideas thrive and become reality.

1:16.0

So if you want to understand the secrets of fostering innovation, then keep listening.

1:21.0

Here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours, Evan Spiegel.

1:40.8

You got to tell me, you know, what were your emotions like that the day you rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange and became a 26-year-old public company CEO?

1:44.3

Oh, my goodness. Well, you know, I'll never forget. One of my friends gave me advice to absolutely not have confetti. You know, whenever you make a mistake, they'll put up this

1:50.4

whole photo of you with all the confetti in the newspapers. You don't want the confetti. So all I really

1:56.5

remember, you know, Bobby and I rang the bell. I remember feeling really proud of our team and also

2:01.4

just the immense pressure, you know, to get back to work. So Bobby and I actually rang the bell,

...

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