In this episode, we dive deep into the principles of excellence with Cristina Cordova, Chief Operating Officer at Linear. Cristina shares her journey through roles at leading companies like Stripe, Notion, and now Linear, shedding light on how a combination of quality output, strong teams, and clear mission-driven goals leads to success.
Cristina highlights the characteristics of high-performing founders and teams, emphasizing the importance of vision, values, and effective recruiting in building a strong company culture. She discusses her insights on identifying top talent, fostering alignment, and creating an environment where creativity and collaboration thrive.
Tune in to learn how to build meaningful relationships, align your goals with your mission, and set the foundation for sustainable growth!
Key Topics:
Quote From The Episode:
"Building a great company and a great product are not the same thing."
- Cristina Cordova
Timestamp:
[01:18] Cristina shared with Adam her experience working with remarkable founders, highlighting how their diverse interests and passion for building enduring companies make them stand out.
[10:54] She emphasized key traits founders need, like a clear vision, passion for their mission, and the ability to inspire teams while creating great products and lasting companies.
[21:11] Cristina talked to Adam about the importance of resilience and adaptability, stressing the value of being solution-focused, managing risks, and embracing unique talent.
[32:32] She discussed recruiting as a long-term process, explaining to Adam how founders need to build relationships over time and maintain a strong mission narrative.
[42:16] Cristina explained the value of hiring talent with first-principles thinking, strong communication, creativity, risk-taking, and alignment with company values.
[50:00] She shared with Adam her approach to finding exceptional talent, focusing on self-motivated candidates who thrive in thoughtful, value-aligned environments.
[1:00:01] Cristina underscored the importance of setting clear, motivating goals tied to the company vision and defining success metrics like adoption, usage, or revenue.
[1:17:36] She wrapped up the conversation by emphasizing the essentials of building enduring companies and inspiring teams.
Connect with Cristina Cordova:
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/cristinajcordova
Website - cristinajcordova.com
Connect to Entrepreneurial-Excellence:
Website - https://www.levy.company/entrepreneurial-excellence
