The quick shall inherit the Earth: Startup lessons from inside Facebook

Mention Red Book and a display of values or principles, and you immediately conjure up images of Communism or throwback propaganda. Which is why this article that I came across on Business Insider, seemed to be out of place in the tech section.

It’s an inside look on a red book that every Facebook employee gets on his or her desk, with scanned pages that were filled with statements that are essentially power quotes that show how Facebook has a unique view on disruption and being a tech startup.

Mantra-like statements such as

The quick shall inherit the Earth

or

We don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services,

make you realise how Facebook has a whole new approach to being fast and disruptive and has the right priorities as a startup.

No doubt, this is an interesting perspective on corporate counter-culture and startup entrepreneurship from the Facebook team that any entrepreneur would want to look at. Sure, the “Red Book” effect stanks of Mao and Gaddafi, but Facebook is clear about who they are and who they aren’t. More important, though, is the way Facebook wants to own two things; speed and change. Those two aspects should be the bread and butter for every tech startup.

The one statement that nailed it though;

Greatness and comfort rarely coexist.

Source: Business Insider