Agency Over Labels: The Key to Innovation

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Reconnecting with engineering fuels exploration in AI and machine learning, emphasizing the transformative potential of technologies like LLMs and transformers. Organizations often limit individual agency through policies meant to maintain standards, inadvertently stifling innovation and excellence. Distinguishing between small and large company mindsets is less about size and more about the feeling of agency and impact individuals experience. Entrepreneurship thrives on pushing towards world-class outcomes, which can be hampered in larger organizations where motivated individuals might feel compelled to leave after a certain scale.

Tobi Lütke is the CEO and co-founder of Shopify. 20 years ago, he was just a German coder who emigrated to Canada to launch some ecommerce platform with another German. Now he’s the world-renowned thought and tech leader who has revolutionized online shopping for billions. He’s also the creator of many open-source libraries like Liquid, Active Merchant, and the Typo weblog engine.

Tyler and Tobi hop from Germany to Canada to America to discuss a range of topics like how outsiders make good coders, learning in meetings by saying wrong things, having one-on-ones with your kids, the positives of venting, German craftsmanship vs. American agility, why German schooling made him miserable, why there aren’t more German tech giants, untranslatable words, the dividing line of between Northern and Southern Germany, why other countries shouldn’t compare themselves to the US, Canada’s lack of exports and brands, ice skating to work in Ottawa, how VR and AI will change retailing, why he expects to be “terribly embarrassed” when looking back at companies in the 2020s, why The Lean Startup is bad for retailers, how fantasy novels teach business principles, what he's learning next, and more.

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Recorded July 23rd, 2024.

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