Ben Gilbert: preference

Transcript context

…You have to actually say it, pass the ball. Or hey, this isn’t working. You got to do X. You got to give real time feedback. You can’t lolly gag. Ah, well let’s rub each other’s belly. No. If you want that team to be better, you have to hold one another accountable. Not just the coach. The best teams, the players hold each other accountable, and not just the best player holds everybody else accountable. Everybody’s got to hold everybody accountable, which really means give the feedback. In Microsoft, we got rid of the value called teamwork. I didn’t want that one. I said open and respectful and dedicated to making others better, because teamwork could sound like a treat. Everybody nice, nice. Open? Yes. Got to say what’s on your mind. Respectful? Yes. But number one, dedicated to making each other better, which I think is what the purpose of teamwork is, as opposed to the word teamwork. Oh, that’s interesting. Teamwork is an implementation detail, but that’s not actually the goal. We don’t seek to have an organization full of teamwork. It’s teamwork because we want some output. Exactly. I think back to the old HP, I’m okay, you’re okay. Let’s all be nice to each other. There’s a little bit of that that’s come back into the general narrative of culture today, generations much younger than me. But at the end of the day, if you want to succeed, you’re right. The goal is succeeding. Play well together. In the NBA team, you’re going to know in 2½ hours or so, 2 hours, you’re going to know.…

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