Slack cofounder says embarrassment can be motivating — but it can also lead to employees papering the office
In a recent episode of “Lenny’s Podcast,” Stewart Butterfield, the cofounder of Slack, shared his unconventional views on employee motivation and the role of criticism in the workplace. Reflecting on his tenure as CEO from 2009 to 2023, Butterfield recounted a pivotal moment from 2014 when he candidly described an early version of Slack as “terrible.” This bold admission, which he made during an interview with MIT Technology Review, sparked a unique response from his team. Employees printed his quote and plastered it on the office walls, turning what could have been a demoralizing statement into a rallying cry for improvement. Butterfield stands by his assertion, emphasizing the importance of feeling “humiliated” by subpar work as a catalyst for continuous growth and development within a team.
Butterfield advocates for a culture of perpetual improvement, drawing inspiration from the Japanese principle of “kaizen,” which emphasizes ongoing enhancement in quality and efficiency. He believes that leaders should always seek ways to elevate their products and services, rather than settling for complacency. This mindset was echoed in his discussion of notable figures like Ray Dalio, who views mistakes as opportunities for learning and growth. Butterfield’s approach to criticism is nuanced; he acknowledges that while direct feedback can be motivational for many, it is not universally effective. Different leaders, like Netflix’s CTO and Meta’s CFO, employ various strategies for delivering feedback, but the underlying principle remains the same: fostering a culture of open communication and continuous improvement is essential for success.
Ultimately, Butterfield’s leadership philosophy has contributed significantly to Slack’s evolution into one of the leading workplace messaging platforms, culminating in its acquisition by Salesforce for an impressive $27.7 billion. His insights serve as a reminder that while criticism can be uncomfortable, it can also be a powerful tool for fostering innovation and excellence in any organization. By embracing the discomfort of honest feedback, leaders can inspire their teams to strive for greatness and continuously enhance their contributions.
Slack cofounder Stewart Butterfield said, for many employees, “really direct criticism is actually motivational.”
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for WIRED
Slack cofounder
Stewart Butterfield
said that employees should have a “perpetual desire to improve.”
He shared a story from 2014 on “Lenny’s Podcast,” where he called an early version of Slack “terrible” in an interview.
Employees printed out the interview quote and pasted it on the office walls the next day — but Butterfield stands by it.
For Slack cofounder Stewart Butterfield, embarrassment can be a useful and motivating tool.
Butterfield led Slack, which is now owned by Salesforce, from
2009 to 2023
as CEO. In 2014, he gave an interview where he called the early product “terrible.” Employees responded by putting posters up around the office, he said on ”
Lenny’s Podcast
” — but he stands by it.
“I try to instill this into the rest of the team, but certainly I feel that what we have right now is just a giant piece of shit,” he told the
MIT Technology Review
in 2014. “Like, it’s just terrible, and we should be humiliated that we offer this to the public. Not everyone finds that motivational, though.”
On the podcast, Butterfield described the aftermath.
“I came into the office the next day and people had printed out on 40 pieces of 8.5-by-11 paper that quote and pasted it up on the wall,” he said.
Butterfield defended what he had said in the 2014 interview: “To me, that was like: you should be embarrassed by it. It should be a perpetual desire to improve. You should never be like, ‘Oh, this is great.'”
He could be proud of “individual pieces,” Butterfield said, but in the aggregate, leaders should only see the “almost limitless opportunities to improve.”
Butterfield gave two examples of the endless search for improvements.
First, he pointed to Toyota’s
principle of “kaizen,”
or continuous improvement. The philosophy ensures “maximum quality, the elimination of waste, and improvements in efficiency,” per
Toyota’s UK magazine
.
Second, he pointed to Bridgewater founder and billionaire investor
Ray Dalio
. Michael Jordan’s ski instructor once
told Dalio
that he “reveled in his mistakes” and saw them as “little puzzles that, when you solve them, give you a gem.”
How to be critical — and when — is an art that all leaders approach differently.
Netflix’s CTO
said that the company uses “continuous, timely, candid feedback.”
Meta CFO Susan Li said that Mark Zuckerberg has
refined his ability
to give feedback over the years. Now, he’s “world-class,” Li said.
On the podcast, Butterfield said that “trying to be critical” and “trying to find improvements” can be helpful tools.
“Not always, not with every person,” he said. “But most of the time, with most people, you can get them to the point where that really direct criticism is actually motivational.”
Butterfield would go on to lead Slack to become one of the most popular workplace messaging platforms in the world, eventually
selling it to Salesforce
for $27.7 billion.
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Business Insider
