CEO Diaries: The Mistake That Nearly Derailed MrBeast’s Entire Empire

Summary

CEO Diaries: The Mistake That Nearly Derailed MrBeast’s Entire Empire

In this compelling episode of The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett, the conversation delves deep into the intricate challenges of building and scaling a massive enterprise, featuring none other than MrBeast (B). The discussion provides invaluable insights into team dynamics, the pitfalls of rapid growth, and the resilience required to steer a global brand through turbulent times.

Maintaining a High-Performing Team

One of the pivotal themes of the episode is the importance of surrounding oneself with exceptional talent. MrBeast emphasizes that "great people just love working with great people" (01:06). He elaborates on how being in the company of high-caliber individuals ignites a passion and drive that propels the entire organization forward. This environment not only fosters innovation but also cultivates a culture where the belief in the seemingly impossible becomes a shared mission.

The Impact of A-Players vs. C-Players

MrBeast distinguishes between A-players and C-players, highlighting the detrimental effects the latter can have on overall team morale and productivity. He states, "if you put two or three C players amongst a bunch of great people, they'll start pulling them down" (01:52). This observation underscores the critical need for leaders to meticulously curate their teams, ensuring that only those who are fully committed and aligned with the company's vision are retained. The conversation further reveals that while some roles may tolerate average performance (e.g., administrative positions), mission-critical roles demand top-tier talent to maintain the integrity and creative spirit of the organization.

Challenges in Scaling a Business

Scaling a business from a modest team to a sprawling organization with almost 500 employees presents a myriad of challenges. MrBeast candidly shares his journey of growth, "scaling Feastables from zero to a hundred was way easier than doing my production company because I had been through the ringer before" (03:53). This highlights the steep learning curve associated with expanding operations and the inevitable mistakes that come with it.

Learning Through Mistakes

At only 26 years old, MrBeast reflects on his relative inexperience in managing large-scale operations. He admits, "with what I know now, I could have done it so much faster, obviously" (03:54), acknowledging that the path to success is often littered with errors. This humility serves as a reminder that every founder encounters unknowns and that the journey is as much about overcoming obstacles as it is about achieving milestones.

Navigating Leadership Decisions

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the balance between creativity and structured management. MrBeast shares his internal struggle with implementing corporate systems, fearing they might "kill innovation" (05:50). However, he recognizes the necessity of integrating experienced leaders to "build systems in a way where it doesn't crush creativity" (05:59). This delicate balancing act is crucial in maintaining the company's innovative edge while ensuring operational efficiency.

Adjusting Management Styles

MrBeast recounts his tendency to "overcorrect the pendulum" when making management decisions, swinging too drastically in either direction. Initially anti-corporate, he now seeks a "healthy medium" where experienced leaders can manage large teams without stifling the creative processes that drive the company's success. This evolution in his leadership style illustrates the adaptive nature required to lead a growing enterprise effectively.

Dealing with Negative Perceptions and Reputation

Addressing the inevitable scrutiny and criticism that comes with running a high-profile business, MrBeast discusses his approach to handling negative perceptions. He acknowledges that with a large workforce, "there's a huge incentive for anyone that I work with to say that I did something bad" (06:22). Despite this, he remains committed to "moral and ethical" practices, believing that maintaining integrity is the best defense against unfounded criticisms.

Embracing Transparency and Problem-Solving

MrBeast adopts a proactive stance towards criticism, viewing it as an opportunity to "identify the problem" and either "fix it" or dismiss it as mere rumors. This mindset not only fosters resilience but also reinforces a culture of transparency and continuous improvement within the organization.

Conclusion

This episode of The Diary Of A CEO offers a candid and insightful look into the complexities of building a global empire. MrBeast's experiences underscore the critical importance of team dynamics, learning from mistakes, and adapting leadership styles to navigate the challenges of rapid growth. His approach to handling criticism and maintaining ethical standards provides a blueprint for aspiring entrepreneurs aiming to create lasting and impactful businesses.

Notable Quotes:

• MrBeast (B): "Great people just love working with great people. They do." (01:06)
• MrBeast (B): "If you put two or three C players amongst a bunch of great people, they'll start pulling them down." (01:52)
• MrBeast (B): "With what I know now, I could have done it so much faster, obviously." (03:54)
• MrBeast (B): "The number one thing is do they enjoy who they're working with?" (02:34)
• MrBeast (B): "We don't have anyone who's actually built the business at this size." (05:59)

This episode serves as a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking to understand the intricate balance between maintaining a high-performing team and navigating the inevitable challenges of scaling a global enterprise.

Transcript

[A]

The Diary of SEO is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. Today's Moment episode is with MrBeast and he has one of the most incredible teams in the world. But I guess the question is how? The reality of running a small business is that switching off is never really an option. Even when you try the ideas, the excitement and all the responsibility is always there. And because you're always switched on, it's only fair that your hiring partner should be too. LinkedIn jobs who are the sponsor of this Moments episode has been that hiring partner for me and for years. Because it's always working away in the background. My team can post our jobs for free, share them with our networks, and reach top talent all in the same place. So let's get into today's conversation.

[B]

Great people just love working with great people. They do. And there's something about being around great people that pulls some kind of animal out of you that just makes you want to do more and push more and believe things aren't possible. And I don't know, when you put me around a bunch of other successful entrepreneurs, I just turn into a different human. Then if you put me around, I don't know, a bunch of people who are just running small businesses and don't really care and don't really have much ambition. I'm like two completely different humans and you see that same thing in full effect. You put a bunch of A players around more A players, they just build off of each other. But you've like put two or three C players amongst a bunch of great people and they'll start pulling them down, they'll start making them not want to work as much and make work not as fun. And so everyone knows get rid of the C players, right? Obviously get rid of people who aren't all in blah blah blah. It's the ones that are like they're not an A player, but they're not a C player. So it's kind of hard because you still feed off the energy and if you get enough of them, it just drags the overall culture down. So those are like the worst and not Everyone can be these like world ending monsters. You know, there are a lot of mundane things like I mean the book controller and accounting, I mean, probably doesn't have to be the best in the world, but you know, when it comes to like the mission critical things like making videos and things like that, like just the great people gotta be surrounded. Like that's one of your number one jobs as leaders, just to make sure your great people are working with other great people. Because that's like, that's like the number one reason why people leave jobs isn't money. You know what I mean? That's like number four on the list. Don't ask me to list them all. I don't remember. I just know the number one thing is do they enjoy who they're working with? And people will leave their job because they hate working with people way before they'll ever leave because of money.

[A]

Have you ever been frustrated that the people you've hired don't match your level of obsession?

[B]

No, because I just find the people that do.

[A]

Are there people that do?

[B]

Oh yeah, I've. There's so many people in my business. I mean, obviously you have to take care of them, pay them well. Like they're not the kind of people that'll just make the standard rate, but yeah, like people like Tyler Klitzner, Russ, and you know, even people on our editing team, I mean they're putting in most weeks, same hour, same amount of hours as me, and they're all in the vision. It's like, it's hard to find those kinds of people. But you know, when you do, you got to treasure them and recognize that they're unicorns.

[A]

And you have almost 500, roughly 500.

[B]

People probably, I think the production company were around 300, Feast was around 100, and then probably another 40, 50 scattered amongst everything else.

[A]

Most founders that I speak to describe scaling headcounts as the kind of worst part of the job. More people, more problems. Right?

[B]

Yeah, that's. That's an understatement. Yep.

[A]

Especially as someone like you, who's a creative at heart and who is very focused and obsessed on, I guess, the show and producing, as you say. Often I want to produce the best videos we possibly can, of course, and then all this other shit comes with it, which is like hr, which every founder I speak to hates.

[B]

I mean. Yeah, the worst part is I just have this very once in a just very rare opportunity where I have so much attention and so many people watch my content and. And I wish I had. I just Wish I had more experience building businesses. You know, I'm only 26, and this is my first real business. Of every. Every employee milestone we hit, it's my first time hitting that, right? Like, when I hit a hundred employees, that was my first time getting there. And this, this was my first time going from 100 to 200, 200, 300. And like, with what I know now, I could have done it so much faster, obviously. And it's just, you know, it's a little brutal because, like, like, scaling feastables from, you know, zero to a hundred was way easier than doing my production company because I had been through the ringer before and I learned a bunch and I get better with time and I. It's just the mo. Honestly, the most annoying part is just ignorance, right? Like. Cause a lot of things, mistakes I make, I look back and I'm like, oh, yeah, I probably should have brought in people with more experience working at a larger company earlier here. I waited a little too long here. I probably should have. And it's just like, brutal because if I had known these things, I'd be way further along. But I mean, that's just how you learn. You just gotta make 10,000 mistakes.

[A]

Every founder says the same. Every founder I've spoke to says the same. They're unknown. Unknowns, Exactly. Don't even know what you're.

[B]

And it's just like. So that's where. I mean, my big thing recently has just been trying to find people who have successfully scaled businesses and, like, bring them into my organization and learn from them. Because I'm just so tired of like, being like, fuck, I should have known better, but I didn't because I've never done this before. And so I'm trying to find a lot of great people who have been through it so they can, like, kind of mentor me along the way so I make less mistakes. Which has been really good. We brought in a new C suite recently. I. It's like, always a hard balance because I try not to. In the past, I. I have like, you know, decisions are kind of like pendulums. And I have a. A problem where I, like, I'll identify something and I'll overcorrect the pendulum one way. And I'm like, no, I should have just stopped in the middle. And like, my overcorrection in the past was like, corporate people try to build too many systems and they kill innovation. And so I was very anti. Like, people with too much corporate experience because they're going to just destroy all the creativity. But you know, that's why we're making so many organizational fuck ups, because we don't have anyone who's actually built the business at this size. And so, you know, the pendulum was on the right and I swung it all the way to the left of no corporate. And now I think we're in the healthy medium where, you know, obviously the people in our C suite and the leaders should have lots of experience managing people at this size and scale, but it's just finding the right people who can do it and build systems in a way where it doesn't crush creativity and, and they actually value the product over ease.

[A]

The Diary of a CEO I'm on a TV show called Dragons Den in the UK and my stuff is significantly smaller. It's like a percentage of your viewership. But even I am slightly terrified with hiring people because it's quite clear to me that there's a huge incentive for anyone that I work with to say that I did something bad. And in the early days of my first business, what happens is the journalists go to everyone that works there and they asked them, what was he like? You have the same problem, you have the same conundrum where anyone has an incentive that works for you when they leave so many different incentives to throw an arrow at you on the way out the door. How do you contend with this?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, you hit it on the head of, you know, I have four or five hundred people right now, but we've also worked with thousands of people in the past and so I think it's just what comes with it. But at the end of the day, you know, as long as what we're doing is moral and ethical, like you said, they're gonna throw arrows, but you know, I, I'm just a problem solver. It's like whenever I see the metaphorical arrow, I just go, you know, what's the problem? And if we did something wrong, how do we fix it? Or if it's not an actual problem, it's just rumors. I mean, it is what it is. And so yeah, I think it just comes with part of it. I mean, it sucks and it's unfortunate, but you also think like most people don't like their jobs too. And so it's not like this is even specific to our industry. Like, you know, just go ask 100 random Americans of, of all the jobs they worked in their life, how many did they deeply enjoy and would they have nothing negative to say? So I think it's just part of it, you know, it's almost like a pastime for a lot of people just to like, trash talk their old jobs or whatever.

[A]

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