Lessons from Fidji Simo

Fidji Simo, the dynamic CEO of Instacart and incoming CEO of Applications at OpenAI, has carved a remarkable path in the tech world. Her journey from a French fishing village to the helm of major Silicon Valley companies has been fueled by a distinctive set of principles and a relentless drive.

On Leadership and Team Building

On Servant Leadership: "The crew comes before you, always." [1] This lesson, learned from her father, a boat captain, emphasizes that a leader's primary role is to serve and support their team. [1][2]
Earning Followership: "I want them to look back and realize that I was a big accelerator in their career... it's gonna mean that I am going to hold them to a very high standard... but it's also going to mean that I'm going to be there backing them up every step of the way." [3]
Unleashing Potential: "It's important for teams to be collections of unique individuals who shine in their own ways, and for leaders to help them shine even more — not diminish their light." [4]
The Power of Trust: "The one thing I love about the fishing industry is that the crew needs to really trust the captain like at sea. if you don't trust your team you don't trust your captain. it's a matter of life and death." [5]
Creating Psychological Safety: A leader should create "enormous safety for them to stretch themselves and potentially fail." [3]
Hiring and Developing Talent: Simo often uses moments of a manager's departure as an opportunity to test potential leaders by appointing them as interim managers, giving them a chance to "stretch into the job." [2]
Clarity in Leadership: "Being intentional is the ultimate integrity in leadership. It's stating your values and intentions clearly, then putting your money where your mouth is." [6]
Long-Term Vision, Short-Term Execution: From her time with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, she learned the importance of having a "very long-term vision and the short-term execution... otherwise you you never reach the long-term vision." [7]
The CEO Game: On taking over Instacart during a challenging period, a friend told her, "You were dropped at level 25 of the CEO game when the zombie apocalypse is combined with mine explosions." [8]
Leading as a Non-Founder: "The advantage is that I come with a lot of experience having seen scale at a larger company company the disadvantage is that you don't have all of the credibility that a founder has... you need to rebuild that and that takes a little bit of time." [5]

On Authenticity and Personal Growth

Embracing Individuality: "I quickly realized that the only way I was going to succeed was by being myself — accent and all." [4] She famously tried wearing hoodies and taking accent reduction classes to fit in at Facebook but realized it was a waste of energy. [3][8]
On Not Being Yourself: "I can put all of my energy trying to be someone else or I can you know be myself and pour all of that energy into what I can create. and when you think of it that way the answer becomes pretty obvious." [8]
Betting on What Sets You Apart: "The world will try to convince you that success follows a single path... I reject that entirely. Success isn't a race and it certainly isn't zero sum." [1]
Your Unfair Advantage: "The world needs your unique perspective, not a sea of sameness... The lens you have that no one else does that's your unfair advantage don't trade it for anything." [1][9]
Vulnerability as a Strength: After being forced to lead from bed rest for five months, she learned "vulnerability doesn't have to be a weakness, and seeing me that way allowed my team to connect with me on a deeper level." [10]
Learning from Setbacks: "When I interview people, I always ask them for their setbacks. It worries me when people say they've had none because I think we learn the most from our setbacks. They force us to learn." [10]

On Career Strategy and Ambition

Be Determined on Destination, Flexible on Journey: "You have to be very stubborn on the destination, but flexible on the journey to get there." [6][11] This is a recurring principle she applies to both career and product development. [1]
The Power of Hard Work: "My parents instilled the powerful belief that with hard work and willpower, I could accomplish anything." [4][9] This was reinforced by watching her father work long, hard hours as a fisherman. [8]
Taking Calculated Risks: "The thing that really accelerated my career at Facebook was Mark asking me to lead the team that was in charge of monetizing mobile at a time where no one thought we could monetize mobile... if you succeed it also changes the trajectory of your career." [5]
Turning Obstacles into Springboards: "Obstacles are just the world's way of asking 'How much do you want this?'" [1][9]
Go the Extra Mile: When rejected for a strategy role at Facebook, she applied for a marketing job and "spent all weekend inventing a new product and creating the marketing materials for it... I knew my irrelevant resume wasn't going to be enough." [1]
Pushing Past the First 'No': "You'd be surprised how few people put in the extra effort and push past the first no even when it can change their lives." [1]
The Limits You Set Yourself: "The greatest limits you'll ever face are the ones you quietly agree to." [1]
Growth Comes from Discomfort: "To me, resilience is learning to be comfortable in a space of discomfort. No one can avoid challenges in work and life — and, in fact, if you only ever try to play it safe, you're missing incredible opportunities to grow." [11]
Take the Non-Obvious Bets: "Taking the non-obvious bets and making them work is how you can really change the trajectory of your career and your life.” [6]
Create Your Own Seat at the Table: "If you don't see a seat at the table bring your own chair. and why not a blueprint for a better table while you're at it." [1]

On Innovation, Product, and Technology

Focus on the Problem, Not the Tech: "I don't get enamored with the tech. I get enamored with what it can do... what are the problems we've always wanted to solve for our users that we can now solve so much better?" [3]
Avoid 'Frankenstein Products': "It's so easy... to end up with 'Frankenstein products' because you're trying to achieve all the goals at once, without a clear sense of what's most important." [6]
Focus on Intention: "Focusing isn't simply about avoiding the temptation to multitask... It means truly understanding what you want to accomplish and centering your activities entirely around that." [6]
The Golden Age of Creation: "I think we're about to witness the golden age of creation because we are really democratizing tools that are removing barriers for people to be able to create." [1][8]
The Future of AI: "If we get this right AI can empower everyone like never before." [12]
Intentional AI Development: "We have to be intentional about how we build and share these technologies so they lead to greater opportunity and prosperity for more people." [11]
Technology for Real People: "I love technology that solves real people problems." [5]
Focus Doesn't Mean a Straight Line: "Focus doesn't mean you charge single-minded toward a goal. It means you pay rapt and incremental attention to how you need to turn the rudder on a project." [6]
The Importance of Pivoting: When developing Facebook Video, she notes, "We had to pivot several times to get to the right solution." [11]
Tackle the Hardest Problems: "The companies that will win over the long-term are going to be those that focus on solving the hardest problems.” [11]
Technology to Augment, Not Disrupt: As CEO of Instacart, her vision is to "use technology to help people continue doing their craft, rather than disrupting the grocery business." [12]

On Vision and Mindset

Focus on Vision, Not Obstacles: "The greatest currency isn't time or money it's attention. and what you put your attention on grows. when you focus on obstacles they look bigger. when you focus on your vision it starts to outshine." [1]
Don't Play a Zero-Sum Game: "It's so obvious that this is such a big shift that there's more than enough place for you know a lot of partners to win together and in fact by joining forces you can win even faster." [8]
Grow the Pie: "Digital transformations so often come at the expense of incumbents, but we believe technology can drive growth for our partners' businesses and the industry at large." [11] This is a core value she promotes at Instacart. [11]
The Power of Belief: Recalling that people thought her background was a disadvantage, she says, "But here is what they didn't understand which made all the difference. I didn't believe them." [1]
Surround Yourself with Supporters: "Surround yourself with people who see the magic in you and make it shine brighter. And do the same for others." [4]
Be a Light for Others: "Ask yourself every day: how can I help someone step into their full potential? When you fuel others, you create a life of true abundance.” [9]
Intentionality and Presence: "The biggest hack in my mind is just intentionality and presence so that you can combine all of these things in your life but every single minute you're giving your absolute all to the people in front of you." [7]
Adaptability is Key: Her grandfather's adoption of sonar technology taught her that "in business, leaders must be open to change and willing to adapt their strategies to stay ahead of the competition." [1][13]
Your Calendar is a Tool for Prioritization: "My calendar is my most powerful tool for enforcing my prioritization. It's important to be proactive with how you want to spend your time instead of letting other people dictate how you're going to spend it.” [3]
Regularly Question Your Intentions: You must routinely ask: "Are these intentions still the correct ones? Are my recent decisions in line with these intentions?" [6]
On Social Good and Business: "Your core business needs to have a positive impact on the world otherwise you know why are we all doing these companies." [2]
Crisis Creates Opportunity: This mindset is how she approaches challenges, seeing them as moments for significant positive change. [7]
Create Your Masterpiece: "Go out there embrace this golden age and create your masterpiece." [1]

Learn more:

Lessons from Fidji Simo

On Leadership and Team Building

On Authenticity and Personal Growth

On Career Strategy and Ambition

On Innovation, Product, and Technology

On Vision and Mindset

Written by Antoine Buteau

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