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Lessons From Mistakes
2 segments available
Spotify's Gustav Söderström talks through a tough product decision that went wrong and what he learned. #leadership #podcast #entrepreneurship #startup #spotify #tech #advice #founder #lesson #motivation
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The Cost of Innovation
Gustav Söderström reflects on a significant misstep at Spotify involving a failed user interface called Moments. He discusses the ambitious vision behind the interface, which aimed to create an immediate listening experience, but ultimately fell short due to the lack of machine learning capabilities at the time. This segment highlights the risks and costs associated with innovation in a competitive tech landscape.
"I've actually screwed up a bunch of things in Spotify that didn't work. Many years ago, I took the company very hard on a journey for an interface that at the time was like very provocative. The idea ..."
Judging Inputs Over Outputs
In this segment, Söderström shares a valuable lesson learned from his experience with failure: the importance of evaluating inputs rather than outputs. He cites a quote from Jeff Bezos, emphasizing that success can sometimes be a matter of luck. By focusing on structured ideas and execution, he advocates for giving more chances to those who take risks, which ultimately fosters a culture of innovation and learning.
"That was a good opportunity to get fired. And I didn't. And I heard him say this Jeff Bezos quote of like, I judge you by the inputs you had, not the outputs. Because the problem with judging the outp..."