Buying-in to the Facebook culture

Want to buy shares in Facebook? The desire to buy-in to a business which has had such a revolutionary effect on communications will surely be huge. It almost feels like the emotional decision that football fans make when they buy shares in their beloved club. But the canny investor will analyse what they are investing in: is this a business decision in which they can examine the ratios and then the founder’s or directors’ mission statement, in order to assess their chances of gaining a suitable return on their investment?

One way they will need to assess their investment is by reading through Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to investors which was posted as part of Facebook’s Flotation Registration Document. This sets out his vision for Facebook, and as you might expect it makes it clear that this is not just a money-making vehicle, but a means of transforming society. He sets out three goals:
We hope to strengthen how people relate to each other.
We hope to improve how people connect to businesses and the economy.
We hope to change how people relate to their governments and social institutions.
...and then he goes on to say that
Simply put: we don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services.

He talks about a NEW leadership style and culture that he believes is unique to Facebook - The Hacker Way. His interpretation of a ‘hacker’ is not the negative view of someone who breaks into other people’s systems, but “...hacking just means building something quickly or testing the boundaries of what can be done.” His explanation of the culture includes many of the mantras and slogans that Facebook employees work with: ‘Move fast and break things’, ‘Done is better than perfect’, ‘Codes win arguments’ and ‘The riskiest thing is to take no risks’ all contain the element of creative destruction which is part of the Hacker culture. And also explain to the potential investor just what they might be getting into, should they choose to join in with the risk taking.

So how much of a risk is Zuckerberg taking by allowing others to share in the ownership of his cultural phenomenon? Well, this analysis of his letter carried out by Rory Cellan-Jones is helpful in taking you through some of the highlights, and ends by pointing out that he will be retaining the majority of the shares himself, so his vision of changing the world will remain at the centre of business strategic planning.

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