[rafapaez]

You’re an ex-Meta, ex-Google, ex-Amazon, or ex-whatever. You’ve just joined a startup, excited to apply the top-tier processes you mastered in Big Tech—only to find out they don’t work. Sound familiar?

As startups grow, there’s a temptation to adopt rigid frameworks and processes from big companies like FAANG. But what works for a trillion-dollar organization often fails miserably in a fast-moving, scrappy startup environment.

In my latest post, I share two personal stories of when popular frameworks like SAFe and OKRs backfired—and how focusing on principles like ownership, empowerment, and bias to action is the real key to thriving and scaling successfully.

Here’s a teaser: “The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking.” – Elon Musk

I’d love to hear your thoughts—have you seen processes work against agility and innovation? How do you balance principles and structure as your organization scales? Let’s discuss in the comments!