The Eric Ries Show

Lessons From Co-Founding Facebook, And Now Asana | Dustin Moskovitz

Jun 20, 2024

Dustin Moskovitz, Founder of Facebook and Asana, shares insights on investing in employees' mental health and communication skills. Topics include flow state, preserving culture, leadership style, using AI, collaboration platforms, mental health for founders, evolution of Facebook, and alignment with investors.

01:11:23

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Episode guests

Dustin Moskovitz

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Investing in employees' mental health and communication skills is crucial for organizational coherence.

Prioritizing trust-building actions and alignment in governance fosters a robust foundation of trust within the company.

Fostering employee well-being and engagement leads to higher productivity and a harmonious work environment.

Deep dives

Navigating Entrepreneurship with Confidence and Resilience

In the podcast, Dustin Moskovitz discusses the challenges faced in entrepreneurship, emphasizing the need for resilience against doubt and skepticism. Despite leaving Facebook in 2008 and being told his ventures wouldn't succeed, he highlights the importance of personal judgment and perseverance in pursuing entrepreneurial goals. Dustin reflects on his experiences building Facebook and Asana, tackling the social media and SaaS eras while emphasizing the value of personal belief amidst external skepticism.

Intro

4min

Exploring AI in Creative Processes and Reflecting on Founding Iconic Companies

3min

The Evolution of Facebook and Asana's Innovation

32min

Building a Strong Culture and Trust Through Deposits

2min

Maintaining Flow State and Employee-Centric Strategies

6min

Exploring the Connection Between Emotions, Anxiety, and Physical Pain

2min

Exploring Interpersonal and Spiritual Dimensions in Work

17min

Exploring Ethical Business Decisions and Long-Term Thinking

5min

Welcome to The Eric Ries Show. I sat down with Dustin Moskovitz, founder of not one but two iconic companies: Facebook and the collaborative work platform Asana. Needless to say, he’s engaged in the most intense form of entrepreneurship there is. A huge part of what he’s chosen to do with the hard-earned knowledge it gave him is dedicate himself and Asana to investing in employees’ mental health, communication skills, and more. All of this matters to Dustin on a human level, but he also explains why putting people first is the only way to get the kind of results most founders can only dream of. We talked about how to get into that flow state, why preserving culture is crucial, his leadership style and how he decides when to be hands-on versus when to delegate, and how Asana reflects what he’s learned about supporting people at all levels.

Dustin sums up the work Asana does this way: “Our individual practices are meant to restore coherence for the individual, our team practices are meant to restore coherence for the team, and Asana, the system, is meant to try and do it for the entire organization.” I’m delighted to share our conversation, which also covers:

• How he uses AI and views its future

• Why he founded a collaboration platform

• How he applied the lessons of Facebook to building Asana

• Why taking care of your mental health as a founder is crucial for the company as a whole

• His thoughts on the evolution of Facebook

• The importance of alignment with investors

• His philanthropic work

• And so much more

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