Sam Corcos: How Writing Helped This CEO Build a $300m+ Company
May 1, 2024
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Sam Corcos, Founder and CEO of Levels, built a $300 million business on a writing-first culture. He discusses how strategic memos and structured documentation can enhance communication and decision-making. Corcos emphasizes the importance of accurately framing problems to find effective solutions, highlighting practices like 'Async Week' for productivity. He also shares insights on using video summaries for feedback and the value of creating high-quality content to engage teams and foster organizational clarity.
Writing is the foundation of successful business cultures, emphasizing strategic memos and problem-solving.
Clear hypotheses and strategy memos are crucial for effective decision-making processes in companies like Levels.
Levels promotes intentional deep thinking through async and think weeks, fostering a culture of problem-solving.
Prioritizing high-quality content creation over SEO tricks is essential for marketing success and online presence building.
Deep dives
Importance of Deep Work and Distraction-Free Time
Deep work is critical for productivity and creativity, but the constant distractions from communication tools hinder this process. Levels, as an experiment, focuses on maximizing deep work to enhance productivity and problem-solving. By limiting distractions and allowing uninterrupted time, individuals can think deeply and generate better ideas.
Significance of Writing in Business and Company Culture
Writing plays a vital role in business success, with Levels emphasizing a writing-heavy culture. Sam Corcoz, the founder of Levels, values writing as the foundation of the company, with strategies and ideas orbiting around written communication. From long-form memos to strategy papers, writing is essential for aligning teams, documenting decisions, and fostering a shared source of truth.
Value of Hypotheses in Decision Making
Crafting hypotheses and strategy memos is central to Levels' decision-making process. Sam Corcoz highlights the importance of defining clear hypotheses with measurable business outcomes. By linking actions to expected results and ROI, teams can prioritize projects effectively and assess their impact on the company's objectives.
Encouraging Intentional Deep Thinking and Communication
Levels promotes intentional deep thinking and deliberate communication practices. Through async weeks and think weeks, employees are encouraged to engage in thoughtful problem-solving and strategic planning. The use of loom videos, strategy memos, and structured problem framing helps in fostering a culture of deep work and effective communication across the organization.
The Power of Think Weeks for Company Strategy
Dedicating one week per quarter to understand and solve significant problems crucial for a company's success. By creating space away from daily tasks, companies can differentiate between problems worth solving and those to accept, a practice that positively impacts company strategy.
Collaborative Think Weeks for Motivation
Engaging in think weeks with others boosts motivation and focus. The energy and deep concentration observed in a shared mental space with like-minded individuals enhances productivity. Compared to solo think weeks, group settings provide a supportive and energizing environment for ideation and deep work.
Focus on Quality Content for Marketing Success
Prioritizing content quality over SEO tricks for marketing success. Creating definitive and deeply researched content adds value to the internet and attracts readers. By emphasizing content that people want to read and find informative, companies can improve their ranking and build a strong online presence.
This is business writing like you’ve never seen it before.
Sam Corcos is the founder of a $300 million company called Levels. He’s built a culture of intellectual rigor by hiring excellent writers and giving them time to think on paper. But don’t get it twisted — a successful “writing-first work culture” is far more than grammatically correct Slack messages and the occasional memo.
“95% of people would not be happy working in the culture that we’ve built. And the 5% who would be have been looking for this their entire lives.” – Sam
In this episode, we go deep (and I mean, deep) into what makes business writing work. Sam reveals how to use writing to:
Create strategic memos
Solve specific problems
Make better decisions
And work twice as fast.
If you’re interested in learning how to use writing to scale businesses, this one’s for you.
