Tech, Society + Business Daily #003
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🔮 Facebook and The Art of Compartmentalization
Perhaps there’s no leadership skill that’s as important in these noisy times as compartmentalization.
“You get so many issues coming at you, and some of them can paralyze you.” He [Dominic Barton, former McKinsey boss] related a story from a Liberty Mutual CEO who told him, “‘In my first three weeks of my job, I would have kicked you out of my office.'” The CEO explained that at that time, he had been told by his general counsel that the company was being sued for $6 billion, and that everywhere he looked, all he could see was $6 billion. “Now, he said, ‘I’m talking to you, and I have six of those [issues going on right now], but I’m focused on you.'” - Knowledge @ Wharton
Now, Facebook has been having a really tough time for the past few years.
In the last few months, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had to face Congressional grilling over a range of issues, including Libra, its cryptocurrency initiative, which in any case is facing difficulties.
That hasn’t stopped Facebook from launching an online payment system, Facebook Pay, that will allow users across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp to send payments to one another. Last year, Zuckerberg indicated that Facebook is good at the art of compartmentalising. He said, “We need to keep people safe and to keep building."
Recently, at Nasscom Product Conclave, when venture capitalist Amit Somani asked CRED founder Kunal Shah who will win P2P payments in India, Shah replied ‘Whatsapp’.
📰 News/Views
Milk delivery startups limit products to conserve cash, make supply chain efficient (ET)
Short of funds, hyperlocal delivery firms eye merger with bigger rivals (Mint)
“In the context of face surveillance, a lot of access actually happens ad hoc, instead of through a written agreement or policy.” (OneZero)
100 of the world’s most promising start-ups to watch in 2019 (CNBC)
“I think there are a ton of guys out there who cover tech from a V.C. or gadgets or even a governmental point of view, but I don’t think there’s anyone who covers it for its own sake,” said Allbritton (founder of Politico, who is all set to launch a Protocol, “a new media company focused on the people, power and politics of tech.” (Vanity Fair)
Alibaba gets nod to sell shares in Hong Kong, in a secondary listing that catapults city back to the top of world’s IPO ranking (SCMP)
📊 Numbers
Bangalore alone has an estimated number of shared scooters of up to 15,000 and therefore as many as the 76 smallest city fleets. Bangalore is, as of 2019, by far the global scooter sharing capital. (Global Scooter Sharing Market Report)
