How We Operate

Leaders aim to hire people they’d be happy to report to, raising the bar with every hire. They invest in talent through coaching, development, and challenging assignments. They recognize great people can do things no one has done before—and are unafraid to put junior superstars on tough assignments.

Leaders have the courage to speak up. They are comfortable disagreeing with peers and bosses—and they’re ok when their teams disagree, even in front of others. Debates are professional, not personal. Once a decision is made, they commit and support it fully.

Leaders don’t delegate and forget; they stay immersed in the details and lead the work, not just the people. They audit frequently and run issues to ground. When the data says one thing and someone on the floor says another, go look for yourself.

Leaders listen carefully, speak candidly, and focus on facts over personality and hierarchy. They give feedback up, down, and sideways— direct and without sugarcoating. When facing a choice between “being nice” and telling the truth, leaders pick truth.

Because they’re in touch with details, leaders are right a lot. They’re not ego-wedded to past opinions—they’re willing to rethink, be persuaded by reason and data, and correct course. Leaders are vocally self-critical and quick to learn.

Leaders are continually learning and curious to collaborate across disciplines. They champion the best ideas regardless of where they were invented.

Leaders have high expectations for themselves and others—they benchmark against the best in history. Work considered “good enough” elsewhere is not good enough here. Making history requires working long, smart, and hard—not any two of the three.

Leaders are macro optimistic and micro pessimistic. Their eyes remain wide open to problems. They ensure teams and leadership are aware of challenges. They have a positive, solution-oriented mindset: they attack problems and enlist support when needed.

Leaders find ways to be efficient—they accomplish more with less and ruthlessly simplify. They focus on maximizing accomplishments, not budgets, headcount, or optics.

Leaders ask questions until they understand first principles. They identify and communicate simple truths. Leaders openly name the principles behind their decisions.

Leaders are unafraid to challenge, innovate, and break from tradition. They’re informed by industry practices—including those of other innovators we admire—but do not operate from a dogmatic playbook set by others.

Leaders are responsible for their own morale and their teams’. They help teams stay resilient and on-mission through good and challenging times. They find opportunities for fun and celebrate successes along the way. The hardest part is leading through correct but unpopular decisions.

Leaders deliver—and they deliver quickly. They optimize for results over optics. Once a decision is made, it’s implemented without delay. They set the tempo for their teams and operate in hours and days, not weeks and months. They own their commitments and never need to be chased.