How to be more innovative | Sam Schillace (Microsoft deputy CTO, creator of Google Docs)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2024
- Sam Schillace is deputy CTO and corporate vice president at Microsoft. Prior to working at Microsoft, Sam started a company called Writely, which was acquired by Google and became the foundation of what today is Google Docs. While at Google, Sam helped lead many of Google’s consumer products, including Gmail, Blogger, PageCreator, Picasa, Reader, Groups, and more recently Maps and Google Automotive Services. Sam was also a principal investor at Google Ventures, has founded six startups, and was the SVP of engineering at Box through their IPO. In this episode, we discuss:
• The journey of building Google Docs
• The importance of taking risks, embracing failure, and finding joy in your work
• The importance of asking “what if” questions vs. “why not”
• Why convenience always wins
• How, and why, Sam stays optimistic
• Inside Microsoft’s culture
• Why you should solve problems without asking for permission
• Early-career advice
• Why “pixels are free” and “bots are docs”
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Find the transcript and references at: www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ho...
Where to find Sam Schillace:
• LinkedIn: / schillace
• Newsletter: sundaylettersfromsam.substack...
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: / lennysan
• LinkedIn: / lennyrachitsky
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Sam’s background
(03:45) The first Google Docs file
(06:45) Disruptive innovation
(10:11) First-principles thinking
(11:00) Recognizing disruptive ideas
(13:17) Examples of first-principles thinking
(15:46) The power of optimism
(19:47) Sam’s motto: Get to the edge of something and fuck around
(21:53) User value and laziness
(24:31) People are lazy (and what to do about it)
(28:36) Building Google Docs
(31:06) The evolution of Google Docs
(37:15) Finding product-market fit
(39:52) The future of documents
(44:57) The value of playing with technology
(47:58) Taking risks and embracing failure
(49:21) Thinking in the future
(53:48) Finding joy in your work
(01:01:20) Just do the best you can
(01:02:34) The transformational power of AI
(01:09:27) Advice for approaching AI
(01:13:07) The culture at Microsoft
(01:16:51) Closing thoughts
(01:17:32) Lightning round
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Thanks to make the podcast happen, which I enjoy and learn from so much! As a software engineer, I feel strongly related to and inspired by Sam Schillace, while I am 24 and he is 57. Sam is insightful, genuine, and a little humorous, and I'm glad to find him as my role model.
The insights on building Google Docs and embracing failure are incredibly valuable. One key tactic for entrepreneurs is to apply the 'jobs to be done' framework when developing products, focusing on the progress a customer is trying to make in a particular circumstance, rather than just the product features. This often leads to more innovative and user-centric solutions.
This is stellar and feels like a life-changing listen!
I loved this episode! Thank you for having Sam on =)
Loved it! Your answers are so clear. Keep those messages coming!
Very interesting conversation.
I am kind of surprised to hear the quote from Seth Godin.
He is full of wisdom. It will be great to have Seth Godin on the podcast.
totally believe in the line "doing what you like and get paid for what you think is easy & fun"
Great pod!
For the crypto question, here's been my 'what if' for the past ten years -- "what if people had a deflationary currency as a medium to store their wealth, and didn't need the complex knowledge of investing in stocks, etc."
It's all about having a reasonably simple store of value that can't be manipulated through inflation (expansion of the money supply, or stock dilution). Set it and forget it.
Agreed!
25:45 superlinear return
He has "Poor motor skills"..? ... With a bunch of banjos and guitars around... really? LOL.
“Bitcoins gone up 9M% since it launched but it doesn’t have value”. Also “a Picasso sold for $100M I don’t understand it it’s just oil on canvas” these guys are going to be in for a shock when BTC goes all the way to $10M per coin because they don’t understand SoV and scarcity
BITCOIN NOT CRYPTO. Good god the BTC ETFs launched today and you can’t tell the difference 13 years after Satoshi invented it 🤦♂️