Molly Graham joined Facebook when it was 500 employees and 800M users. Following the IPO (5,500 employees and 1.25B users), she accepted the role of COO at Quip as the ninth employee and grew the team until it was acquired by Salesforce for $900M. Graham went on to become VP of Operations for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
From her significant growth contributions at Facebook to her pivotal role at Quip and beyond, Graham's journey is a testament to effective scaling strategies.
Molly Graham is most recognized for her work developing a philosophy for scaling companies that she calls "Give Away Your Legos.” It represents the essence of adaptability in a fast-growing company.
Graham experienced rapid role transitions, requiring her to embrace ambiguity and stress as natural byproducts of a scaling team. In the article “‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups,” Graham describes her experience:
“There’s a unique feeling of ambiguity, chaos and stress that comes with doubling or tripling your team every six months. If you don’t manage scaling proactively, you can end up in trouble.”
Employees feel overwhelmed by the size of the lego pile and become territorial of the things they built. However, a growing company requires teams to master the art of hand-offs to enable rapid scale. Graham says the lego pile is 7 times larger than you originally thought.
“If you personally want to grow as fast as your company, you have to give away your job every couple months.”
When new people are hired, everyone’s first instinct is to grab back the Legos. Instead, teams need to hand down what they are most proud of, and build something new. The practice of delegation allows the organization to respond more effectively to un-anticipated needs.
Graham gave a speech on the lessons she learned at Frontiers by Slack and stated that in a scaling organization, your only job is to "learn as fast as you can." Graham argued that by continuously giving away your job, you keep up with the rate of change of the organization.
“You can learn anything if you’re willing to sound like a complete moron.”
In a conversation with David Cancel on his podcast “Seeking Wisdom” (Drift Podcast Network), Graham shares a story about growth at Facebook. She recalled how Chris Cox, who led HR at Facebook, demonstrated humility during a training call with HR coaches. "At the end of the meeting... he would look at them with wide eyes and honestly admit that he had no idea what they were talking about." Graham found her manager openly acknowledging gaps in his knowledge to be inspiring, and it motivated her to take on new challenges, despite her insecurities.
Graham describes all the emotions that come with navigating a scaling organization as a monster chewing on your leg. The monster’s only purpose is to use emotions and insecurities to make you the worst version of yourself. She says you can’t get rid of your monster, so you need to learn how to manage it.
“The imposter syndrome is real. Don’t let it eat you alive.”
Graham says that she has spent the majority of her career feeling like she was failing, and that everyone knew. In Graham’s words, “What you get out of it is the story you get to tell” and “You were hired to build the tiger’s foot, and you ended up working on its head.”
Molly Graham's insights shed light on the multifaceted nature of scaling. “Give away your legos” is about more than delegating tasks and embracing change. It's about fostering a culture of adaptability and continuous learning. By continuously giving away your job and being useful in a fast-paced environment, you can stay relevant and contribute to the success of a rapidly scaling organization. Managing emotions and overcoming imposter syndrome are also crucial in navigating the challenges of growth. Molly Graham's experiences serve as a reminder that scaling requires not only strategic planning, but also personal growth and resilience.
