DeepSummary
Claire Hughes Johnson discusses her experience serving as the chief operating officer at Stripe from 2014 to 2021, overseeing the company's growth from fewer than 200 employees to over 6,000. She shares her approach to management and company building, emphasizing the importance of making implicit structures and beliefs explicit, setting clear expectations, and giving direct feedback.
Johnson explains key principles she lives by, such as 'say the thing you think you cannot say' to encourage open communication, and distinguishing between 'pushers' and 'pullers' when managing high performers. She also stresses the value of self-awareness, using assessments to understand one's work style, and the need to manage different people differently based on their needs and preferences.
Throughout the conversation, Johnson provides tactical advice on topics like renegotiating commitments, protecting one's time, deciding when to join or leave boards, and handling disappointment as a leader. She highlights the significance of taking radical ownership and continuously learning from experiences.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Make implicit structures and beliefs explicit to improve communication and alignment within teams.
- Practice self-awareness and strive to understand your own work style and defaults to manage yourself and others effectively.
- Distinguish between 'pushers' and 'pullers' when managing high performers, and tailor your approach accordingly.
- Renegotiate commitments respectfully when needed, setting clear expectations and protecting your time.
- As a leader, invite diverse perspectives by asking questions instead of immediately stating your opinion.
- Take radical ownership and accountability for your actions, decisions, and growth as a leader.
- Approach leadership with a learning mindset, continuously growing and adapting based on experiences.
- Prioritize open and direct communication, encouraging people to 'say the thing they think they cannot say'.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Leadership is disappointing people at a rate that they can absorb.“ by Claire Hughes Johnson
- “I think you want to show respect for people. They want a good panel. They want your know, you're saying, like, please, just, you have to trust me. I'm not going to be great, and they'll be disappointed.“ by Claire Hughes Johnson
- “I have a rule that, especially if I'm in a position of leadership and I'm in a meeting and there's other people, instead of stating my opinion, I have to ask a question. Because if you're the senior person and you state your opinion, the whole thing is over.“ by Claire Hughes Johnson
Entities
Company
Person
Product
Book
Episode Information
The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig
2/27/24
Claire Hughes Johnson currently serves as a corporate officer and advisor for Stripe, a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the Internet. Claire previously served as Stripe’s chief operating officer from 2014 to 2021, helping grow the company from fewer than 200 employees to more than 6,000. Her book is Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building.
Please enjoy!
Timestamps for this episode are available below. Resources from this episode: https://tim.blog/2024/02/27/claire-hughes-johnson/
Sponsors:
AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://drinkag1.com/tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.)
LinkedIn Ads marketing platform with 1B+ users: https://linkedin.com/TFS (free $100 LinkedIn ad credit for your first campaign)
Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off)
Timestamps:
[07:51] Say the thing you think you cannot say.
[13:24] Detoxifying your left-hand column.
[19:59] Victim versus player.
[29:49] Recommended reading.
[36:53] The case for reading fiction.
[44:18] Crafting a working-with-me document.
[52:07] Make the implicit explicit.
[57:29] An Irish Goodbye.
[58:34] Email policies.
[1:03:58] Renegotiating the terms of expectations.
[01:06:05] Listening for the quiet no.
[01:08:27] Money versus time.
[01:10:14] Good rules can be liberating.
[01:12:59] Leadership and disappointment.
[01:17:59] Renegotiating past disappointment.
[01:37:05] Asking a question versus stating an opinion.
[01:40:58] Training wheels for a “no.”
[01:42:26] Time, talent, treasure, and testimony.
[01:46:37] Spotting bad apples while hiring.
[01:48:37] If you’re not self-aware, how would you know?
[01:51:08] Work style assessments for self-awareness building.
[01:58:38] Paragons of no.
[02:00:51] No more boards.
[02:04:58] Pushers and pullers.
[02:11:50] Parting thoughts.
*
For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.
For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.
Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.
Follow Tim:
Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss
Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss
YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss
Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss
Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.