Give Away Your Legos
Inspired by on Lenny's Podcast
An operator who worked at Google, Facebook, and Quip says the key to growing your career is the opposite of what feels natural: give away the things you're best at.
Molly Graham has worked with some of the most successful founders in tech: Zuck, Larry and Sergei, Bret Taylor. She's noticed a pattern in how good people get stuck.
'You have to grow as fast as your company is growing if you really want to take advantage. Both learning to give away what you've gotten good at and move on to the next shiny pile of Legos.'
She calls it 'giving away your Legos.' When you first join a startup, you're building the whole castle. Then the company grows. New people arrive. You have to give them some of your Legos.
This feels terrible. Those are YOUR Legos. You got good at those Legos. But if you clutch them too tight, you can't pick up the new ones.
Parenting is exactly this. You start doing everything. Feeding, bathing, dressing, comforting. Then they grow. You have to give away your Legos - let them dress themselves, make their own snacks, manage their own emotions.
It feels like loss. But it's actually how everyone grows - including you.
PM Theme: Delegation and scaling
Parenting Theme: Fostering independence
“You have to grow as fast as your company is growing if you really want to take advantage, both learning to give away what you've gotten good at and move on to the next shiny pile of Legos.”Molly Graham · 00:00:28
