Transcript of J. Rosenberg's keynote speech at CMC (Claremont McKenna College). Although dating from 2010, still valid to this day. Except maybe rule #13, which I personally would encourage in some cases... Credits of course go entirely to Jonathan Rosenberg.

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Rosenberg’s
Rules

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Rosenberg ?

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Jonathan Rosenberg
SVP of PRODUCTS

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As SVP of Products at Google, Jonathan Rosenberg led the internal cultural
transition by leading and creating an ‘open’ atmossphere.
During a lecture at Claremont McKenna College, Rosenberg’s alma mater,
he shared his 42 rules to lead by. Pure gold.

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communication

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#1. Be a broken record
When you think you’ve communicated
something too much, you’re probably
just beginning to get through

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#2. Share everything. Hide nothing
We strived to empower everyone equally from
an information standpoint.
In the internet age, power comes from sharing
information not hoarding it.

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#3. Every word matters
A leader’s words should always be thoughtful and
precise - everything you say will be interpreted.
“Be crisp & direct and choose each word wisely”

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#4. Tell stories
Narrative is how we learn. If you want to be a
leader, you will teach and tell stories.

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#5. Stop talking, already
Listening makes you more humble,
more intuitive and smarter.
Talking does none of these things.

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#6. But, if you know the answer...
There’s a time for listening
and there’s a time for straight talk.

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culture

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#7. Ditch the pecking order
You shouldn’t be able to figure out a company’s
org chart by looking at their product

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#8. Avoid the HiPPO
Highest Paid Person’s Opinion...

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#9. Crush bureaucracy of all kinds
The most important attribute in organizations
is the ability to get out of the way.

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#10. Crowded is creative
Offices should be designed for energy and
interactions, not for isolation and status

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#11. You need strategy AND tactics
There are people who are great at strategy,
and there are those who are great at tactics.
That’s why we have teams.

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#12. On teams, think small
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.

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#13. Show up
Working from home is a malignant,
metastasizing cancer. Ban it.

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#14. Be original
Never ever suggest copying your competitor.
Their products generally suck.

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#15. Hope is not a plan
It just isn’t.

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#16. Doveryai no proveryai
Trust but verify. (Russian proverb)
The primary job of a leader is
judgment and communication

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#17. Value over costs
Spend 80% of your time on 80% of your revenue.
It’s obvious, but hard to do, because that
other 20% will end up taking up an
inordinate amount of your time.

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#18. Beware of the green-eyed monster
Where there is success, there is envy.

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#19. Reorganisations
If you must reorganize, do it in a day.
Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.

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team building

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#20. Interview well
Great people not only make a great company,
they also attract more great people

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#21. Hire in committee
All too often, companies allow
hiring managers to call all the shots.
We didn’t do that. The gate is a committee.
Promotions should be a peer review process.

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#22. You can’t teach passion
When enthusiasm is real, everyone can feel it --
it’s a tangible energy that lights people up.
When hiring, it’s important to spot passion.

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#23. Don’t hire specialists
the underlying pace of technology will
transform the landscape so quickly
that the specialist’s job will be gone

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#24. Slow down
Urgency of a role isn’t sufficiently important
to compromise quality in hiring.

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#25. Diversity is your best defence...
…against myopia.
People with different backgrounds see the
world a little differently. That’s invaluable.

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#26. Be selective
Instead of laying off the bottom 10%,
don’t hire them

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#27. Life isn’t fair
You shouldn’t tell people
they’re doing a great job
when they're not.

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#28. Identify and purge
There’s six pieces of sushi left.
Your friend takes five.
Bad egg.
Get rid of bad eggs.

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decision making

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#29. Start with the right goals
Goals drive behavior and conflict.
Make sure you have the goals right.
If they’re creating conflict, change them.

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#30. Consensus does not mean unanimous
If everyone is thinking alike,
somebody isn’t thinking.

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#31. Consider the customer
If there’s a doubt about what to do,
consider your customer’s perspective.

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innovation

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#32. Creativity can’t be managed
Creativity can be allocated, it can be budgeted, it
can be measured, it can be tracked and
encouraged, but it can’t be dictated.

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#33. Prepare to lose in order to win
A leader’s job is not to prevent risk, but to build
the capability to recover when failures occur.

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#34. Lay off the kill switch
To have a great idea,
have a lot of them.

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#35. Create a culture of ‘yes’
Organizations develop antibodies to change.
That’s why big companies stop innovating.
If you’re the innovator, you’re like a virus.
The antibodies want to kill you.

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#36. Good judgment comes from experience
Errors shouldn’t be defended or buried.
They are what make you smarter.

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humility

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#37. Never stop learning
It’s never too late to learn.

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#38. Grow up
Humility is correlated with age.
Arrogance is inversely correlated with age.
Why?
Because as you get older, you realize
how hard it is to get things done.

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#39. Delegate
You get personal leverage through
empowerment, delegation and inspection.

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#40. Mean what you say
Make sure you spend your time on the things
that you say are important. Culture is set from
the top, and once set, it cannot be changed.

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#41. Watch people on their way out
You learn a great deal about a person and your
ability to judge them in that moment they resign
and the manner they walk out the door.

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#42. Know you’re not exempt
It’s the only way to learn he says.
Communicate, confess, and comply.
No one is perfect – not even you.

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@LAVAconsult

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credits and thanks to
Jonathan Rosenberg
SVP of PRODUCTS
Full keynote available on youtube:
http://lav.ac/RosenbergRules