#311: Mark Pincus, Founder & Former CEO, Zynga – Trust your instincts, but vet your ideas

Back in 2007, Mark Pincus had a gut feeling that adults would play games on their phones if they were just woven into their daily lives.

On that instinct, he founded Zynga and built the biggest games of the early social internet — including FarmVille, Words With Friends, and Zynga Poker. Four years later, they had over a billion users. Safe to say, Mark’s instincts were right.

But according to Mark, that’s where a lot of leaders lose the plot. They have the right instincts but then put the wrong ideas around those instincts. They try to change too much. They don’t iterate quickly. Or worst of all, their culture doesn’t let people be intellectually honest about what’s not working.

In this conversation, you’ll see how to avoid those mistakes with Mark’s “Proven-Better-New” framework for designing products. Plus, he opens up about his (very public) fall from Silicon Valley’s graces and the surprising freedom that came with it. It’s a must-listen conversation for anyone who’s building something – whether that’s a company, a product, or a team.

This episode is for you if:

You want to develop products people love

You want to have more fun at work (or hey, just in general)

You’re trying to build a culture that’s intellectually honest

You’re navigating a low point in your career or company

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