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Social Leverage Letter | Issue #34

Social Leverage Letter | Issue #34

The High Cost of Context Switching, Hiring for Cultural Fit, and Finding the Sweet Spot Where Fashion Meets Technology

Pete Weishaupt
April 24, 2022

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"Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend."

~ Lao Tzu

READING

Stop killing your productivity

With a zillion distractions nowadays, it's rare we get more than 20 minutes of focus. And, according to psychologist Gerald Weinberg, each extra task or ‘context’ you switch between eats up 20–80% of your overall productivity.

Context switching: Why jumping between tasks is killing your productivity

Context switching – when you jump between tasks, tools, or projects–has a huge impact on your productivity, focus, and happiness.

https://blog.rescuetime.com/context-switching/

Hiring for cultural fit

“Hire for culture fit, train for skills.” Assessing for cultural fit throughout the recruitment process will save you the time and money from having to replace employees later.

How to Hire Employees for Cultural Fit

We outline practical and proven ways on how to hire employees for cultural fit, and explain why this is so important to get right.

https://inside.6q.io/how-to-hire-employees-for-cultural-fit/

From our blog

Everyone should be authentic, but what does that mean? There are three ways to look at it.

To Thine Own Self Be True: The Paradox of Authenticity — Social Leverage

The way we think about authenticity poses a real danger to our capacity to grow and learn according to professor Herminia Ibarra of the London Business School. She teaches and researches on those “what got you here won’t get you there” moments. These are the moments when whatever made you successful

https://www.socialleverage.com/blog/2022/4/16/rqpwj1krpx4wdugbyl6x5r2dxyohkt

LISTENING:

Panic with Friends

Howard’s discussion with Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos ($SONO), is a fascinating expose on running a $3.5 billion hardware company in the land of Giants. It takes special people to build stuff where you’re putting hardware and software together. You need the ability to innovate, and continue to innovate, year after year, especially as a startup looking for escape velocity against the Big Tech giants. Culture is what ultimately creates a company that will endure. Intentional flexibility with a distributed workforce is what has allowed Sonos to stay steady during the pandemic and avoid losing talent through the Great Resignation.

Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos, on Fighting Giants and Finding the Sweet Spot Where Fashion Meets Technology (EP.198)

Listen to this episode from Panic with Friends - Howard Lindzon on Spotify. Today’s guest is an incredible leader building an incredible company. Patrick Spence is the CEO of Sonos ($SONO), a $3.5 billion dollar hardware audio company. I get excited because this is one of those companies I like to call fashology – where fashion meets technology. Patrick made his bones at Blackberry, fighting in a land of giants; taking on Apple and Google and Microsoft and Qualcomm. And at Sonos he continues to wage war in a world of giants, competing against the likes of Apple and Google. It’s a great growth story and I hope you enjoy it. Guest - Patrick Spence, CEO at Sonos howardlindzon.com, sonos.com Twitter: @howardlindzon, @PanicwFriends, @Patrick_Spence, @Sonos, @knutjensen linkedin.com/in/patrickspence #fintech #invest #investment #venturecapital #stockmarket #finance Show Notes: (00:49) – Intro (04:42) – Welcome Patrick (07:14) – Taking the reins at Sonos (10:46) – The background on Blackberry (09:05) – Innovators Dilemma - Lessons from Blackberry (25:04) – Taking on Big Tech (26:59) – Hitting escape velocity (29:47) – Peter Lynch - Buying what you know (30:43) – Partnering with IKEA (37:17) – Partnerships and Collaboration (41:01) – Tackling the Supply Chain (42:50) – Remote work and company culture (46:08) – Wrapping up (47:46) – Closing thoughts

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1DjbE1if1RTAveOLyU6Pon?si=QEAmW0vmRyWFpPpwgGtd6g

WHAT WE'RE READING

Here's what caught our eye over the past week.

The unauthorized profile of the world’s top crypto investor, Chris Dixon
Elon Musk Says He Has $46.5 Billion in Funding for Twitter Bid
Managing Your Mental Health While Running a Startup
Audrey Gelman Has Opened a ‘Country Store’ in Cobble Hill
Why SaaS is bucking the venture slowdown

JOB BOARD

Explore openings at our portfolio companies:

Social Leverage Job Board

Search job openings across the Social Leverage network.

https://jobs.socialleverage.com/companies

Featured Jobs:

Director, Professional Services

Remote - North America

https://boards.greenhouse.io/narvar/jobs/4168164#content

Marketing Analytics Intern - ProducePay

ProducePay is transforming the fresh produce industry by giving more power to farmers through a transparent marketplace, flexible financing, and better market insights. Our technology gives farmers access to a trading marketplace, while our financing p...

https://apply.workable.com/producepay/j/188296AAE6/#content

Engineering Manager

Seattle or Remote

https://boards.greenhouse.io/logixboard/jobs/4467117004#content

Check out all of our portfolio companies at Social Leverage.

Affiliate Disclosure: Social Leverage Group, LLC ("SLG"), Social Leverage Capital Fund I, LP ("SLC"), Social Leverage Capital Fund II, LP ("SLCII"), Social Leverage Capital Fund III, LP ("SLCIII") and Social Leverage Capital Fund IV, LP ("SLCIV") are all distinct entities from Social Leverage, LLC ("SL"). Social Leverage is not a registered investment advisor. SLC, SLCII, SLCIII, SLCIV, SLG and SL have used the logo and branding of Social Leverage with the permission of Social Leverage Group, LLC.