In the mid 2Triple ’00s, a Harvard student named Mark Zuckerburg founded a website called Facebook out of a dormitory. It revolutionized what is today called social media. By the early 2010s, he was faced with another challenge.
He just took Facebook public on the New York Stock Exchange. But their stocks were sluggish at best. So he calls on top Facebook engineer and college mentor Andrew ‘Boz” Bosworth. They come up with ways to improve their woeful mobile ads, and other ways to generate revenue. One spreadsheet turned into 80 pages. This 80 page document made clear the only way to grow Facebook was to invest in mobile phone ads. Since then, their shares have about doubled. By August 2012, their stock was back at $38 a share (earlier that year, that number was in the teens and early 20s). As of Friday, January 3, 2014, Facebook’s stock was around $55 a share.
There are quite a few lessons here. First, a good CEO has to be able to listen to his mentors and his employees, and his consumers. I don’t care how big CEOs get, they should never get too prideful and swell-headed to think they know everything. Had Zuckerberg not listened to Bosworth and others on the FB corporate campus, their stocks would still probably be in the teens. Zuckerburg had a willingness to change. While you’ll rarely ever see him in a suit and tie, he was willing, and did change, the way his company advertised. And everyone benefited. He has good relations with his staff. So many CEOs segregate themselves in limos, executive suites, private jets, mansions and exotic vacation homes they don’t want to be bothered until all hades breaks loose. It’s probably too late then. But Zuckerberg keeps the communication lines open and friendly that when the team saw a need, they found a successful solution…together. What are some other lessons learned from this ad lesson?