You need more than a good product to scale – you need strong rituals that help build your culture, cohere your team, and home in on your targets. Shishir Mehrotra learned this when he scaled YouTube to a billion hours of watch-time each day.
In his new role as CEO and founder of Coda, he’s learned to constantly ask: What old rituals are holding us back? And what new rituals can we create together that keep us all moving forward?
The power of rituals
- Incorporating rituals that encourage meaningful conversations and relationships can define an organization’s character and values, leading to success. Stanford’s d.school couch racing and unique graduation ceremonies are examples of these impactful practices.
- Creating intentional rituals can unite a team and help achieve common goals. Without them, a company may unintentionally create negative rituals. Intentional rituals help build strong company culture and can be as important as building a product.
So we set this goal, “We’re going to get to a billion hours a day.” And had this very big positive rallying factor. And everybody feels like that’s a big goal. And if you ask anybody at Google in that period and said, “Hey, what are the YouTube guys working on?” They’d probably say, “Oh, they’re working on this crazy billion-hour thing.” And it was good.
Focus on user experience
- Constantly adapting and understanding user behavior can lead to long-term success, even when things seem to be going well. Focusing on user experience over comprehensiveness is key to staying ahead of competitors.
- YouTube changed the way it measures success by asking, “Will it make the boat go faster?” This mentality, inspired by the British Olympic rowing team, keeps YouTube ahead by breaking old rituals and asking the right questions.
Meaningful rituals
- Thoughtful rituals, such as check-ins and check-outs, can facilitate emotional safety, improve communication, and generate better results in the workplace. With the shift to remote work, it is essential to adapt and establish new rituals that work for positive work relationships and communication.
- Over-reliance on water cooler talk can lead to bad decisions and groupthink, but Coda’s distributed team behaviors prioritize effective communication and mutual trust. Company rituals should be periodically evaluated to ensure inclusivity and progress.
Bold goals
- Set bold goals that align with the company’s objectives and inspire the team. Break free from outdated rituals and evaluate which ones are still meaningful. As a leader, establish new rituals that drive towards success.
- Setting important goals is not enough. Explain why they matter and create innovative rituals to achieve them. Challenge traditional methods, like quarterly OKRs, with shorter versions to avoid false commitments and wasted opportunities.
The pitfalls of water cooler talk and importance of distributed team behaviors
The danger with relying too much on water cooler talk is that it can lead to bad decision-making and groupthink, especially if physical presence dominates. Coda replaces this with distributed team behaviors that are better for decision-making, including over-communication and finding ways to develop mutual trust among team members.
Rituals are important in reinforcing company culture and identity, but they can also hinder progress if they keep the company locked in the past. Therefore, it’s crucial to continuously evaluate rituals and create new ones that are inclusive, empowering, and keep the company moving forward.
More lessons from YouTube
- YouTube’s team developed new rituals, updated their OKR ritual, and balanced commitment with visionary thinking, resulting in more users and content creators. Startups must consistently reassess their rituals and be aware of unforeseen outcomes.
- Walking meetings can help to create a more transparent work culture and inspire innovation.
Designing new company rituals
Designing company rituals can promote positive behavior, but it’s crucial to eliminate those that exclude marginalized groups. Prioritizing inclusivity by involving everyone will result in a diverse and welcoming work environment.
Companies must be cautious about the rituals they establish and actively work to dismantle harmful ones. With expert guidance, small changes in these rituals can lead to bigger ones and ultimately create more inclusive and equitable workplaces.
