feedback

Here is some feedback I've received on recent lectures. (Here were some questions that students sent in advance.)

Kit Hickey class at MIT Sloan, 4/21/2020

• "It seems like he has such an active radar on things that piss him off and he has the mentality that he can solve it. I loved that and I want to be more like that."
• "I found him fascinating"
• "Fantastic hearing how he makes himself vulnerable to employees. I've worked for founders who have done the opposite, that change would have made a world of difference."
• "Great tactics. You typically don't actually see tactics from these amazing people, I appreciate how he shared actual things I could do"
• "I'm so grateful, that was absolutely phenomenal"
• "Something about him really, really resonated with me. You said you have seen him speak before -- do you have any notes? Can I watch the other section's video as well?" (note, have never had a student ask this before!)
• "That was the best speaker I've ever seen across all my classes."
• "I found him insightful, mature, humble -- the type of founder who has thought through stuff. No wonder people want to work for him"
• "The best speaker so far -- his role play for firing was super valuable"

Eliana Berger's cross-campus home (work) project, 4/28/2020

• THAT WAS MY FAVORITE TALK BY FAR
  no WONDER you are working for paul what an incredible leader and mentor
  holy shit i'm blown away i have 4 pages full of notes
• he was my fav speaker. Still thinking about why that is but probs (a) he's just a really damn nice dude, and (b) his answers were all succincts and actionable; he made things seem simple even though I am fully aware they're only results of a lifetime of starting companies
• I really liked the idea of people-focused interview questions. His example interview question of explaining things your coworkers did well / didn't do well was great, and it's a unique perspective I don't think a lot of companies consider for product roles.
• Really enjoyed hearing from Paul and took lots of notes! Especially interesting to hear about his thoughts on cowboy and craftsman engineers, and making sure founding teams are strong at recruiting, and not using team polls to determine which features to develop.
• I have so many good thoughts: (a) his answers felt genuinely thoughtful and carefully considered. It seemed like he really wanted to help us. (b) he is very intentional with his strategy and wasn't afraid to share the details. Loved hearing the three-pronged product strategy (table stakes, innovation, refinement), interview questions, and culture building. was way more useful that he didn't hold back. (c) last answer just gave me hope that it is possible to be a successful founder and philanthropic.
• I really appreciated his advice on leadership - I could tell that he genuinely cares about the people he works with and the causes he supports, and it really gives me hope that it's possible to be conscientious and successful. I love that he didn't shy away from advocating for balance in his lifestyle, and that he pushes for ethical and transparency decision-making for buiding loyalty. I also really liked his practical advice about developing product features and recruiting!