I Stopped Consuming Content When I Learnt This: Five Lessons for Innovators

I Stopped Consuming Content When I Learnt This: Five Lessons for Innovators

Prescriptions work for followers and not for innovators. How would a generic formula solve your equation if the variables are missing? What if you are looking for an answer or path that exists only for you? How do you expect them to solve your problem? The thing that these gurus and coaches miss out on is empathy. Empathy puts you in your audience's shoes and considers their problems like yours. That’s why content and personalized campaigns tell a story to perform better than the sales-pitchy ones - they have real people dealing with real issues.

“First of all, if you learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

However, the content that has helped me the most is technical and about a specific problem. But even then, I had to alter it according to my needs and convenience. Ultimately, you’ll have to be responsible for the steps you take and be aware that where it takes you may not be your destination. And nobody else can take that journey for you, which reminds me of a famous song by Natasha Bedingfield.

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips.

Lessons from Scaling Pinterest: Measure the Right Thing and Build for the Next 100M Users

People often say that what you measure, improves. While true, it overlooks how strategic the decision of what you measure is. If you get stuck measuring the wrong thing, you could end up wasting your time on the wrong initiatives. The team at Pinterest learned this lesson and shifted their focus from Monthly Active Users (MAUs) to increasing the number of new weekly active pinners - the people who use Pinterest to pin or repin something new on the site that week - Pinterest's core action. They understood that if you measure it, it will improve. But make sure you measure the right thing.

Most execution problems boil down to two root causes: wrong org structure or the wrong person in the job. Org changes can be painful and distracting, but they are absolutely necessary as a company scales. When an org structure doesn't reflect your strategy or is overly matrixed, it acts as a tax on your company's ability to execute.

Your loudest users, the ones who complain when you ship something they don't like and post feature requests in your Facebook Group, are a blessing and a curse. Without them, you wouldn't have a company. But to reach your next 100M users, you need to be willing to ignore them. Remember when Facebook first rolled out its newsfeed in 2006? It caused a huge backlash. Users threatened to boycott Facebook and created Facebook Groups protesting the feature. But over time, it became the core of the product. The key is to listen to what the data says, communicate to your users, and be prepared to ignore your vocal minority if the data points you in a different direction.

If you build every feature your users ask for, you'll end up with a very small, highly engaged user base. Whenever Pinterest built the number one most requested feature of their existing users, it got used by less than 5% of users. So it really needs to be a game changer for those less than 5%. And remember: it's a lot easier to add features than it is to take them away. So be careful with what you add. Your job is not to build the features your users ask for, it's to ask the right questions that help you find the scalable solution - the solution that the majority of users will do.

Once you reach a certain point and have built a sticky product, you have to stop building for the users you already have and start building for that next hundred million users. You have to be willing to risk angering your existing users in order to win the next big group.

It takes five positive experiences to make up for a single negative experience. That's an expensive exchange rate. It takes leadership to stick to your first principles during moments of organizational self-doubt. Stay focused on the long-term.

In conclusion, as an innovator, it is important to understand that generic formulas and prescriptions may not solve your unique equation. Empathy and personalization are key when creating content and campaigns. Additionally, when scaling a company like Pinterest, it is crucial to measure the right metrics, build for the next group of users, and be willing to make tough decisions that may anger existing users. Here are three actionable advice to help you on your journey:

1. Understand your audience's perspective and consider their problems as your own. Empathy is crucial in creating effective content and personalized campaigns.

2. Measure the right metrics that align with your strategy. Don't get stuck measuring the wrong thing and wasting time on ineffective initiatives.

3. When scaling a company, be willing to take risks and make tough decisions that may anger your existing users. Focus on building for the next group of users and stay committed to your long-term goals.

Remember, as an innovator, you have the power to create your own path and find the solutions that work best for you. No one else can take that journey for you. So, feel the rain on your skin and let it guide you towards success.