In Amp It Up, I talk about drivers versus passengers. It’s a theme that started in the early days of our journey but it has carried through to the present day. We speak to employment candidates about this. We want them to know our strong preference for driver types. If that’s unnerving to them for whatever reason, they can still bow out. For driver types, it is exactly what they want to hear.
Excerpt from Amp It Up: Years ago, when I was at Data Domain, we adopted a goal for recruiting that we only wanted drivers, not passengers. The slogan was based on a Volkswagen commercial at the time: “On the road of life there are passengers and there are drivers. Drivers wanted.”
In dynamic, high growth environments there is a premium on drivers. People who make things happen, who move dials, who stop at literally nothing. True drivers, the types that change history like for example the late Steve Jobs are rare, and usually are found in super high profile situations.
But many people have the imprint of a driver, they are naturally inclined to develop that way, and what they need is an empowering environment. You don’t keep drivers on a short leash, or any leash for that matter. Like wild horses, you let them run. You encourage, resource and motivate them as much as you can.
My early career frustrations, described in the book, were the product of a lack of empowerment, which for people with a driver’s mentality is suffocating.
Excerpt from Amp It Up: At this point I was in my late twenties and desperate to get a shot at proving my mettle. I wanted to scream, “Give me any product, no matter how dreadful, and I will show you what I can do with it.” It was not to be. Companies were more staid, hierarchical, and rigid then. They were not going to take a chance on this ornery upstart from Europe. Product management was a functional role that separated the ownership of various functions between different departments. I always operated as if I owned everything, whether I did or not. That didn’t always sit well with peers or superiors. I have since always tried to increase our people’s sense of ownership so they will act as owners. That mentality needs to be nurtured.
In an ill-advised move, fueled by frustration, I jumped to a start-up in Holland with some of my college pals. I knew almost immediately that it was a boneheaded move. In hindsight, I was feeling like a caged animal during this period. But in the long run it was helpful, because it broke the trajectory I was on.
It's not a coincidence that my career took off with my first CEO role. Why? Because for the first time, I had my hands free, and I was fully empowered, and encouraged to do whatever it took. For the first time, my natural instincts and reflexes were exactly what the company wanted from me versus something that had to be contained and negated, as it had been in my career trajectory up to that point.
Suffice it to say you need drivers to survive and thrive, they are singularly important to your enterprise’s success. It therefore goes that we should try to hire talent with that imprint and then foster an environment that lets them develop and become who they are meant to be.
Drivers are people with demanding expectations, needing like-minded people around them, a bit of a chip on their shoulder, independent as well original thinkers. They are looking for opportunities to break loose, sometimes just intuitively. A word of caution here is that the driver attitude can spill over and be infused with dysfunction. That is a nonstarter. Drivers do not come at all cost. Being able to function within the context of an organization, collaboration, teamwork are non-negotiable. Wild ducks are great but they also need to be able to fly in formation.
So, what about passengers? Passengers go to the same place as drivers but they are mostly overhead and deadweight. If they were to disappear overnight, it would take some time before anybody noticed them missing. That’s why they are often the object of RIFs, or reductions-in-force.
Passengers are an insidious threat to the vibrancy and creative force in an organization. They are the ultimate B players, not seen as bad enough to dismiss, and not good enough to retain. They are often good looking, well credentialed, well-spoken and socially adept. Nothing wrong at face value. They get along famously. But they are not close to the drive train, or where the stuff hits the fan. Task ownership is marginal. Happy to review-and-comment though. But, we don’t get paid for opinions, we get paid for results.
Organizations over time end up with both varietals, it is inevitable. People don’t have labels on their forehead disclosing their orientation. And the distinction is rarely black ‘n white, not super high contrast. This is why it is so important to adopt a discerning filter, have your antennae out. Organizations get into heaps of troubles when passengers become the dominant strain. Drivers do not suffer passengers well, and go elsewhere.
I once received a question in an All Hands Meeting from an employee in open Q&A, how would he know if he was a passenger or a driver? My flip answer at the time was that he better find out before I did. That was good for a few laughs but the message was that we all need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. As long as we cannot confidently answer that question, our expectations are not high enough. I still ask myself this question at the end of each week: what did I do this week that moved the dial, how instrumental and essential was I this week? In the privacy of your own mind, it is hard to BS yourself. Is the answer equally good every week? No, and that is the point of the exercise. Hold yourself to a higher standard.
This form of brutally honest self-reflection benefits everybody. The employer ends up with higher impact players, but the employee gains the confidence and security in the knowledge that they are drivers, not passengers. Drivers have careers. Passenger get left in the dust.