As an entrepreneur, executive, investor, and author, Adobe’s Chief Product Officer Scott Belsky knows about steering a team through the myriad, nuanced phases of a company’s journey, including the high-fives and aching heads that come with growth.
In his conversation with Quartz CEO Zach Seward, Belsky shares his personal experiences powering through the “messy middle,” his term, both at Behance, which he co-founded, and at his now-parent-company Adobe, and bracing for both the peaks and the valleys that inevitably occur when scaling up.
It goes to my principle of always being optimistic about the future, but somewhat pessimistic and pragmatic about the present.
He says the most successful companies are the ones that:
- celebrate legitimate milestones
- recognize low-impact initiatives and antiquated processes
- hold honest post-mortems
- rewrite playbooks when the market or the moment calls
- allocate employee influence
- “merchandise progress,” as he describes it, to keep teams motivated even during periods of uncertainty and anxiety
Sit in on a free coaching session (and a memorable bonsai metaphor) in this episode of Make Business Better.
Read more: 5 timeless management strategies every leader should know
Follow Quartz on LinkedIn to learn from CEO Zach Seward and other leaders working to improve their slice of the business world, airing live every Tuesday at 11 am ET.
