Facebook co-founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has stated any company that prides itself on its tech should have a tech-savvy CEO and other like-minded leaders in post in order to succeed in today’s increasingly digital landscape.
Speaking recently on the Acquired podcast, Zuckerberg suggested product development and technological innovation should go hand-in-hand for companies to meet their full potential, adding that Meta’s success is thanks to its strong balance between the two.
“I think that that's something that we've held ourselves to and built a good organization around," he added.
Zuckerberg highlights the importance of tech-savviness
Reflecting on his early experiences in Silicon Valley, the Meta CEO criticized many so-called tech companies for not valuing technical leadership enough: “The CEO wasn't technical, the board of directors had no one technical on it. They had one dude on the management team who was the head of engineering, who was technical, and everyone else wasn't.”
Zuckerberg argued that, while such companies might be successful in other areas, they should not consider themselves to be tech firms unless a significant proportion of the leadership team has strong technical knowledge.
Highlighting the differences between Meta and Apple, which is typically slower to polish and release its products, Zuckerberg also stated that a reactive approach to businesses can be advantageous.
He covers the benefits of “a culture that values shipping and getting things out and getting feedback,” adding that Meta has been close to “the line of being embarrassed about what [it] put[s] out” but confident enough that it can learn from customer feedback.
Besides having the right leaders to guide decisions, Zuckerberg warns companies not to protect their pride too much – “there are more smart people outside of your company than inside your company.” He suggested that businesses can gain valuable insights from the successes and failures of rival companies.
With all companies needing to innovate quickly and stay on top of emerging trends like AI to remain competitive, Zuckerberg’s timely advice could help transform businesses and prevent them from being left behind.
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