{"id":35367,"date":"2021-05-25T11:10:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T15:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=35367"},"modified":"2021-05-28T10:23:23","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T14:23:23","slug":"reid-hoffman-blitzscaling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/reid-hoffman-blitzscaling\/","title":{"rendered":"Reid Hoffman: The 9 Strange Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is Reid Hoffman’s Blitzscaling<\/em> about? What are the nine rules of blitzscaling? Why do the rules of blitzscaling contradict common business sense?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reid Hoffman’s Blitzscaling <\/em>is a book about the method of scaling up your business quickly without attention to efficiency. The method is very risky but can produce massive rewards. There are nine rules for blitzscaling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue on for Reid Hoffman’s blitzscaling rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

9 Counterintuitive Rules of Blitzscaling<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reid Hoffman’s blitzscaling strategy requires counterintuitive actions that contradict common business sense and will feel unnatural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rule 1: Embrace Chaos<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a mindset thing. Get comfortable taking action in uncertainty. You\u2019ll rarely have as much information as you want, and you need to make decisions before you get to that point. Believe that things will get figured out as you take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you know chaos will happen, be prepared for a variety of outcomes. Have a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan Z (fallback for worst-case scenario).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rule 2: Hire People You Need Now, Not Later<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s tempting to keep waiting to hire someone who will be great at a later stage in the company. Then when you reach that stage, that person will be around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you don\u2019t need that person now. That\u2019s premature optimization. You need the right person for your current <\/em>situation. Without the right people<\/a> here, you might never make it to the later stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People tend to have a preferred stage of company they like working in. Few people can excel across the board at being an individual contributor, a manager, and an executive. See if the hire is self-aware of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rule 3: Be a \u201cBad\u201d Manager <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Be OK with breaking best practices of standard management. You might need to restructure the hierarchy of the company 3 times a year, churn through management teams, have unclear career progression<\/a> for new hires, and retain confusing job titles<\/a>. This feels like chaos to the team, but having this flexibility keeps the company nimble. You risk the organization in exchange for focusing wholly on growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rule 4: Launch Products Before You Feel They\u2019re Ready<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Always launch before you feel the product is fully ready. Otherwise, you\u2019ll waste time building things no one cares about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t cross the line so far into having fatal flaws that endanger your customers or reputation. Hoffman says paid consumer products have the least room for error, since they\u2019ll expect products to be nearly perfect and will complain publicly about flaws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you launch, listen to the data more than anecdotal user feedback. People are bad at articulating what they want. Look at how they\u2019re using your product to know what they really feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rule 5: Leave Small Problems Unsolved<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll have a host of problems to solve. You need to triage them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n