The (un)manager – lessons from Zygna and Twitter

The past few months have seen some of the new found darlings of the Web 2.0 generation literally getting their dirty laundry displayed in the open. When all was going well, these very people couldn’t do anything wrong adorning the front pages of all magazine with adulation including ‘whiz-kid’ to most ‘smartly dressed executive’. One would ever wonder if they had some super-human element in them. However, as their companies faded the reality was starkly revealed. I do not condemn these folk, from an outsider’s perspective it is quite difficult to understand why they did what they did – but perhaps, it does serve as a learning for some of us in the future.

Let us start with Marc Pincus. When Zygna’s star was rising he was the the man with the vision, the man who couldn’t take a mis-step. But then some details popped up that left me puzzled. For starters, the manner in which he dealt with a few key executives by clawing back shares pre-IPO. When you join a start-up a big hope is to hit the jackpot when you go IPO, not sure how it would have felt if suddenly you realize you are back on the street where you started. More so, how would the other employees have felt – would they ever trust the guy who hired them in the first place for not doing so. And then, post IPO, immediately cashing out on a significant portion of the stock. Does speak volumes for the long term success of the company. In reading through blogs, and more interestingly the readers comments you come to get a flavor of the problems at Zygna. No clear strategy, a company where Marc pushes people to perform, tries to compartmentalize innovation and force design of the next big Farmville, disillusionment from its designers, more firings….. seems to be like a vicious cycle.

The next would be Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Square fame. I will admit that I do admire his products, especially Square but behind that blue eyed boy is apparently a person you do not want to see the bad side off. So much so, when he came back to spend more time at Twitter (after divving up time between Square and Twitter) the developer team was up in arms due to his abrasive style. No wonder, in a short span of time, he was ‘coaxed’ to renege his role towards a more passive capacity.

This does bring me to the crux of the issue. Sometimes managers do need to force the issue, but many a time they need to master the art to convince. Just because you are smart, there is little (or perhaps even negative) benefit in thinking that it has to be your way or the highway. This is especially true in the new age industries where good talent is scare and firms are ready to pay top dollar to lure away good people. These people work because they like the subject, the money is good – but indeed they have other avenues to earn the same. Treating them as crap, or behaving in an arbitrary, high handed manner doesn’t get you any brownie points. If anything, you need to be thankful that you do have the super-star developer in your team – else he may just have been sitting with your competitor. And finally, whatever you do – do think two steps ahead. I am not sure if Marc even thought of what the ripple effect would be if he took back shares of  early employees pre-IPO. Would a few millions here and there have dented his wealth? Would some goodwill have helped retained some of his key people, and perhaps attracted others?

In the end, we will not know – but as is painfully seen, down the line, the efforts of your past will either bear you rich dividends, or perhaps lead you to the path of despair.