You may not know Jack Dorsey by name, but the words tweet, mention and hashtag certainly sound familiar. We're talking about Twitter. Jack Dorsey is the co-founder of this social network and has seen his idea grow into a billion-dollar business over the past 11 years. But Twitter isn't his only success. In 2012, Dorsey founded the mobile payment system Square, which is currently valued at a whopping $3,2 billion. Key to success? His unconventional, but unique management style. In this blog article we zoom in further on the management style of Dorsey, a school dropout who transformed himself into one of the great innovators of this century.
Jack, be a leader, not a decision-maker.
Dorsey himself is not in favor of making big management decisions. Instead, he focuses on the growth of his employees. According to him, one must be a leader guide employees, so that they can ultimately make the management decisions themselves. Dorsey: “It is an organizational failure if I have to start making decisions. The vitality of an organization lies not in the strength of the leader, but in the strength of the person.” According to Dorsey, he can never make decisions in the same context that his employees experience. Take, for example, an employee who works with data or helping the customer every day; these employees have a much better picture of the situation and know best how to act. In 2012, Dorsey reiterated his position in an email to all Square employees. Moreover, the email contained a friendly request not to mention his name anymore to get certain projects approved. Instead, employees were to rely on the strength of their idea.
Go for routine
In addition, Dorsey wakes up every morning to the same breakfast: two hard-boiled eggs with soy sauce and some berries for the vitamins. Not only in his private life, but also for his work, Dorsey maintains a fixed routineHe follows a specific work theme each day. Management on Monday. Additionally, on Tuesday, product, technology, and design. On Wednesday, marketing, growth, and communication. Thursday, collaborations and developers. Friday, company and culture. Saturday is off, and Sunday is for strategy and interviews. Since Dorsey does not work for a single company, his schedule is divided into 24-hour blocks: in the morning, he goes to Twitter, and in the afternoon, he goes to Square. What does he do on Saturdays? Probably fly, because that is one of his hobbies.
The right idea at the right time
Moreover, Twitter was founded in 2016, but the idea for Twitter was conceived as early as 2000. However, Dorsey soon realized that the average American sent only 35 messages per month and therefore put his idea on ice. That was until the tipping point came in 2016, when the average American was making fewer phone calls than sending messages. Dorsey resumed working on his idea in March, and Twitter was launched quite quickly in July. The timing was perfect, because Twitter exploded:
Furthermore 2007: 400.000 tweets per 90 days
2008: 100 million tweets per 90 days
2010: 50 million tweets per day
2013: 400 million tweets per day
Furthermore, a good idea does not always need to be implemented immediately. First, investigate whether your target audience or the market actually has a need for the innovation you have in mind.
Transparency breeds trust
Therefore, from notes from developer meetings at Twitter to documents from board meetings at Square, all employees receive insight into the company's strategy from Dorsey. And should employees have questions or comments, they are more than welcome. Through these types of measures, Dorsey creates inclusivity and transparency, which gives employees a sense that they are working towards a shared goal.
So, what do you think of Jack Dorsey's unconventional management style? Watch this interview of Techonomy with Jack Dorsey about his aforementioned routine and the challenge of working full-time at two companies