Masters of Scale

YouTube's Susan Wojcicki: How to find – and keep – true north

Oct 6, 2020

Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube and a pivotal figure in Google’s rise, shares her insights on scaling rapidly while staying true to core values. She discusses the evolution of YouTube into a video-sharing giant and the importance of clear guiding principles amidst growth challenges. Wojcicki recounts the early days of Google, emphasizing user experience over revenue, and touches on innovative employee initiatives like 'Lobatical.' Finally, she explores YouTube's role in democratizing information and navigating the complexities of content management.

43:35

Episode guests

Susan Wojcicki

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Navigating Growth: YouTube's True North

4min

Navigating the Early Days of Google

17min

The Rise of Video Sharing

4min

Innovative Employee Care and Business Growth

3min

Transformative Moments in Digital Leadership

4min

The Evolution of Beauty on YouTube

3min

Navigating YouTube's Content Management Challenges

8min

The Journey of Culinary Entrepreneurship: Building from the Ground Up

3min

When you scale at warp speed, it’s easy to lose your bearings. You have to establish your company’s true north, or the dizzying pace of growth will push you off course. No one knows this better than Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube. Under her leadership, YouTube has grown to be the world’s largest video platform. And in her previous role at Google, she was a chief architect of its advertising and analytics model. In both roles, she achieved massive scale – and grappled with massive challenges. Susan shares the guiding principles that help them stay the course – as well as stories from Google’s early years that you’ll hear first here. Cameo appearances: Dr. Becky Smethurst (astrophysicist, Oxford), Shishir Mehrotra (Coda, Google, YouTube).

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