Dear subscribers,

Today, I want to share a new episode with Kaz Nejatian (COO Shopify). Kaz has the most hot takes per minute out of all my interviews so definitely give this a watch:

Watch the Episode

For my paid subs, I also want to share my perspective on Shopify’s new Mastery system to build a crafter’s paradise for ICs and kick down the corporate ladder.

How Shopify elevates crafters and rages against meetings | Kaz Nejatian (COO Shopify)

Here’s what Kaz and I covered in 25 minutes:

• [00:00] Nobody dreams of sitting in meetings

• [01:15] Crafters and managers are different

• [02:31] Traditional career ladders don't work

• [05:43] Strategy is the least meaningful aspect of building product

• [11:23] Why there are so few good PMs

• [12:25] Operation Chaos Monkey to remove meetings

• [16:06] Why there are always no meeting rooms available

• [18:22] How to prioritize your craft time

• [21:02] Just because someone else does it is a bad reason

• [23:33] The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing

Watch the full episode here.

Thoughts on Shopify’s new Mastery system to kick down the corporate ladder

True to Kaz’s words, Shopify recently announced:

In most companies, people can only advance by climbing the corporate ladder, often forcing them into management roles that steer them away from their craft.

Enter ~Mastery, a system that prioritizes, recognizes, and rewards people who are on the continuous journey of improving their craft, without funneling them into adjacent career paths they might not want. 

This sounds great, but how does kicking down the corporate ladder actually work? Here’s Shopify’s breakdown and my thoughts:

How Mastery lets ICs level up without becoming managers...