This profile of Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster gives a summary of his management philosophy:
- Listen to what users want. Try to make the site faster and better.
- Hire good people. “We work hard trying to get the right kind of folks.” It pays off: they hardly ever leave.
- No meetings, ever. “I find them stupefying and useless.”
- No management programmes and no MBAs. “I’ve always thought that sort of thing was baloney.”
- Forget the figures. “We are consistently in the black, so if we do better or worse in any given quarter it is absolutely irrelevant.”
- Occasionally, give people “a very gentle nudge”. This can be done over lunch or on the instant messaging boards.
- He doesn’t reply to any of his 100 daily messages, most of which beg Craigslist to do a deal. “I’m not real chatty on e-mail.”
- Put speed over perfection: “Get something out there. Do it, even if it isn’t perfect.”
- “Don’t screw it up by doing things that make people feel worse about their work.”
[via Good Experience]
Damon
on 28 Sep 07They forgot number one:
Financial performance should always be sub-optimal. “You think this is a business?”
The rest follow from there…
OK, that was a bit jaded, but context is important here.
Jake
on 28 Sep 07Something about that interview feels inauthentic and gets my spidey-sense going. Perhaps it’s the reporter’s approach, but it sure SEEMS like Buckmaster believes in brands, ‘cause he seems to be trying to cultivate one of high-minded indifference.
Rewardless
on 28 Sep 07Craigslist is a multi-billion dollar company that’s not nearly living up to their potential as a business, and that’s just how Craig Newmark, the founder, likes it.
For that reason alone this interview with the CEO of Craigslist should come with a disclaimer. We did him a favor by writing one :
When reading this interview please keep in mind that Craig Newmark basically hired this fella to help him retain an idealistic business model, not to grow an organization, work towards a liquidity event, or build a business.
I am not debating that he’s doing a good job maintaining the founder’s vision. What bugs me about this interview has been syndicated on the web as “learn how you can build a business like craigslist by listening to this awesome CEO”.
Joshua Kaufman
on 28 Sep 07Wow that’s some fresh air.
Justin
on 28 Sep 07“No MBAs”…and maybe he should add no Ivy League grads either (they’re usually pretty uppity) and no lawyers (who can stand them?). I understand his premise, but broad-brush management maxims like this sound just as goofy as the conventional wisdom he supposedly eschews. (Full disclosure: I have an MBA.)
Peter Cooper
on 28 Sep 07What bugs me about this interview has been syndicated on the web as “learn how you can build a business like craigslist by listening to this awesome CEO ”.
But that’s what it is. A business like Craigslist.. not necessarily one that’s out for every buck. Maximizing profits is all well and good (if done legally) but if a private company is producing all the money it and its owners require.. why should they bust their balls and potentially offend a whole batch of users to eke out more dollars?
RJ
on 28 Sep 07I read a similar one recently on the country-leadershp philosophy of Dear Leader Kim Jong II.
Matt B.
on 30 Sep 07Not to change the subject, but another thing I find interesting about Craigslist is the fact that they keep that minimaly-styled format with blue/purple links and dismal branding etc. I heard many designers have offered to style that website for free and they won’t go for it. Yeah, I’m a believer of “if it works well, then why change it”, but do you think Craigslist is scared that a major visual change would be too much for the regulars to digest?
Karl N
on 01 Oct 07Amen to Craigslist, and a big raspberry to the reporter.
Here is a company that’s doing everything it can to help people, and pop culture is upset because they aren’t just grubbing for profit any way they can get it.
I have found so many useful things on Craigslist, including my car, my motorcycle, this computer, my townhouse and my roommates. It doesn’t need to be any different than it is.
Mike Gowen
on 01 Oct 07Ok, so I’m all for avoiding useless meetings. And its very easy to tell which are not productive. But I wouldn’t make a generalization that all meetings are evil. First, what is the definition of a meeting? I’ve had countless meetings that have been extremely productive, and very necessary. I don’t think the meeting itself that is the problem, it’s the execution. Here’s what I’ve found that works for us…
No more than 3 people
No more than one problem to solve
Clear and instantly actionable todos as a result
Only have meetings when it is absolutely necessary, not just “to get everyone on the same page”. Some people are already on the page and you’re wasting their time :) Staff meetings never seem to be productive. Use other ways to keep everyone up to date (i.e. Basecamp).
If your definition of a meeting is two or more people discussing a problem face-to-face (or voice to voice), then I don’t see a problem. Sometimes a problem is too complex and too urgent for email or IM, and getting together to hammer it out works wonders.
Alan Wilensky
on 02 Oct 07The difference between an organic business model that happened as a result of early entry and diligence, as opposed to the valley’s hopeless case of too few unique models chasing too much capital, creating a ‘time-to-harvest’ pressure.
We should all be so lucky. It’s easy for a CEO of a successful, non-traditional entity like CL to pontificate like the Delphi Oracle, and harder for a journeyman turnaround expert to keep those rules when the fur is flying.
This discussion is closed.