Dan Rose is a prominent figure in the tech industry known for his leadership roles at Amazon and Facebook and his current position as Chairman of Coatue Ventures. The insights are gathered from various interviews, articles, and his own social media posts, offering a glimpse into his philosophies on business, leadership, and personal growth.

On Leadership and Career Growth

  1. On the power of vulnerability in leadership: A pivotal moment in Rose's career came from a tough 360-degree performance review with Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook, where he learned his colleagues found him political and untrustworthy. He learned that being open about his shortcomings was a powerful tool for building trust and connection.
  2. To have a difficult conversation, start with your own vulnerability: When needing to give someone tough feedback, Rose found that sharing his own story of a difficult review disarmed the other person and made them more receptive to the feedback. [1]
  3. Character is as important as competence: A lesson from a Marine officer training offsite for the Facebook management team was a 2x2 matrix of competence and character. The two failing quadrants were low on both, and, critically, high competence with low character. [1]
  4. Embrace and embody your company culture: Rose emphasizes two key takeaways for any company: "Make sure your culture is yours and own it," and "Make sure your employees adopt and embody that culture."
  5. Leadership is about empowering others: After a challenging period at Amazon where corporate employees had to pack boxes during the holidays, a new leader, Jeff Wilke, empowered the fulfillment center workers, which ultimately solved the problem more effectively. [2]
  6. It's crucial to stay connected to the core of the business: To prevent a disconnect between corporate and fulfillment center employees, Amazon created a program for every employee to spend time in the fulfillment centers or customer support. [2]
  7. Don't be afraid to have uncomfortable conversations: To address the feedback from his review, Rose had to have direct and uncomfortable conversations with his team, asking for real-time feedback on his behavior. [1]
  8. Growth requires confronting your shortcomings: Instead of hiding from the "devastating" feedback he received, Rose chose to confront it head-on by setting up one-on-one meetings with his team to understand how he could improve. [1]

On Business Strategy and Innovation

  1. Cannibalize your own business before someone else does: A key lesson from Jeff Bezos during the development of the Kindle was the willingness to "destroy his old business." Even though physical books were Amazon's core, Bezos knew digital was the future. [3]
  2. "Just because it ain't broke, doesn't mean you can't make it better": This was a mantra from Jeff Bezos that drove the innovation behind the Kindle, even when the physical book business was thriving. [3]
  3. Visionaries connect dots and see around corners: Rose describes Jeff Bezos as a "strategic machine" who could connect seemingly unrelated concepts, like the need for an electric power grid in the early 1900s to the need for cloud computing infrastructure (AWS) in the 2000s. [4]
  4. Build a moat to protect your business: Rose highlights Bezos' early realization that getting big fast was a way to build a competitive moat for Amazon. [4]
  5. Separate innovation teams from the core business: To truly foster disruptive innovation, Bezos separated the Kindle team from the physical book business, giving them the singular mission to "kill" the existing business. [4]
  6. Relevant ads are good ads: A key learning from his time at Facebook was that while irrelevant ads are a nuisance, relevant ads can be a positive experience for users. [4]
  7. A network effect business with an advertising model can be massive: This was the realization that drew Rose to Facebook, seeing the potential of combining two powerful business forces.
  8. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions for long-term survival: During the dot-com bust, Amazon had to raise prices, which stalled growth but was necessary to become cash-flow positive and survive. [4]
  9. Shipping individual products is more like manufacturing than retail: This insight from Jeff Wilke led to a complete rethinking of Amazon's fulfillment processes and was key to solving their holiday shipping crises. [2]
  10. The power of a platform model: At Novartis, Rose worked on the idea of a "multi-sided platform" for their global capability centers, connecting talent acquisition, the digital ecosystem, and internal clients.

On Fundraising and Investing

  1. "Raise capital when you can, not when you need it": Rose emphasizes that waiting until you're desperate for cash can be a fatal mistake, citing Amazon's crucial debt raise in February 2000 as an example. [5]
  2. "Cash is king; forget about valuations": Especially in uncertain markets, the focus should be on sustainability and the actual cash in the bank, not just the valuation number. [5]
  3. "Growth can wait, survival cannot": During a downturn, the priority must shift from rapid growth to ensuring the company's survival by controlling burn and focusing on free cash flow. [5]
  4. Don't be afraid of a down-round if it ensures survival: Facebook raised a 33% down-round in 2009, even with runway, because it was the prudent thing to do to secure their future. [5]
  5. Ideal founders have a "stunning" quality: Rose looks for founders who have a unique and impressive way of operating.
  6. Invest in people you believe in: Rose's decision to join the Kindle team was driven by his belief in Steve Kessel, who was tasked with leading the project.
  7. Outliers are essential for venture capital returns: When discussing investment strategy, Rose has noted that the potential for outlier successes is what makes the high-risk nature of venture capital work.
  8. Due diligence in early-stage investing is different: It's more about the founder and the vision than about deep financial analysis, as there's often not much data to go on. [4]
  9. A strong leadership team is a key investment criterion: Rose notes that Jeff Bezos's ability to surround himself with a loyal and long-serving leadership team was a major factor in Amazon's success. [4]
  10. Look for founders who can "see around corners": This ability to anticipate future trends and connect disparate ideas is a hallmark of visionary leaders like Bezos. [4]

On Personal Philosophy and Learnings

  1. Sometimes you learn more from what doesn't work: Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Rose acknowledges that his failures taught him as much, if not more, than his successes.
  2. It's hard to be vulnerable, but it's powerful: Sharing his story of the difficult performance review is still hard for him, but he's found it to be incredibly effective in building deep human connections. [1]
  3. Have immense appreciation for the hard work of others: Working in Amazon's fulfillment centers gave Rose a profound and lasting respect for the physically demanding and monotonous work that many people do. [2]
  4. Your dream job might be just around the corner, even after a setback: The difficult review with Sheryl Sandberg ultimately led to Rose getting the role he wanted and having a massive impact at Facebook.
  5. A crisis can be a crucible for growth: The dot-com bust was a "near-death experience" for Amazon, but the discipline and operational excellence they built during that time became a core strength. [2][4]
  6. "Accept the unacceptable": When faced with a crisis, like a startup's revenue dropping to zero overnight, the first step is to accept the new reality and then act. [5]
  7. Leadership starts from the top: When Mark Zuckerberg wanted to signal a shift to a more serious culture at Facebook in 2009, he did so by wearing a tie to work every day for a year. [5]
  8. Keep calm and keep communicating in a crisis: This was his advice to a travel startup board he was on when the pandemic hit and revenue disappeared. [5]
  9. The world would look very different if key people hadn't survived: Rose reflected on a near-death experience Jeff Bezos had in a helicopter crash and how different the world might be if he hadn't survived. [3]
  10. It's fine to make mistakes: He encourages a culture where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities, not failures to be hidden.
  11. Building a culture of trust is paramount: The feedback that he wasn't trusted was a wake-up call for Rose, and he dedicated himself to rebuilding that trust with his team. [1]
  12. Transparency is a key ingredient for a successful company: Along with vulnerability, Rose believes transparency is crucial for building a strong and healthy company culture.
  13. Feedback is a gift: He encourages a mindset where feedback is seen as a valuable tool for growth, not a personal attack.
  14. You can't scale something people don't want: A core learning from his experience with online marketing is that advertising can amplify demand, but it can't create it from scratch.
  15. Don't let your marketing style become a rigid part of your identity: Rose learned to be open to new approaches, like e-commerce and brand marketing, even when his background was in direct marketing.
  16. Test ideas on a small scale: Even if you don't think an idea will work, if you can test it cheaply, it's worth trying because you might be surprised.
  17. History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes: This is a principle he learned from Jeff Bezos, who applied lessons from the past to innovate in the present. [4]
  18. A structured operating system can transform a business: In his post-Facebook career, Rose has become a proponent of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) for its ability to bring clarity, simplicity, and accountability to businesses.
  19. The importance of a "complete life": This is a value Rose learned from his family, balancing professional career, family, and public service.
  20. There is a moral obligation to play a constructive role in the world: This belief has driven his philanthropic work, such as founding the Harlem Educational Activities Fund.

Learn more:

  1. Dan Rose discusses Amazon near death experience - Retail Technology Innovation Hub
  2. Early member of Amazon Kindle team shares lessons learned from working with Jeff Bezos
  3. Coatue's Dan Rose on $700M fund, working with Bezos & Zuck, ideal founder traits | Angel S4 E2 - YouTube
  4. Ex-Amazon and Facebook executive Dan Rose gives fund raising advice | YourStory