Zynga CEO Mark Pincus on “making everyone the CEO of something”
Posted: October 28, 2010 Filed under: Democratic Principles, workplace democracy | Tags: CEO of everything, Marc Pincus, workplace democracy, Zynga 4 CommentsIn an interview with Fast Company, Mark Pincus discussed the meaning of his philosophy of “making everyone the CEO of something.” Pincus is founder and CEO of Zynga, a popular online gaming company whose products include FarmVille and Mafia Wars.
Here is how the Zynga CEO explained his “making everyone the CEO of something” democratic management philosophy:
When I entered the workforce, I was frustrated. When you’re starting your career, somebody else is “The Man” or “The Woman.” They go into a room and make the decision, not you. You don’t feel empowered. I wanted to break through that. I wanted to push the ownership and decision making to the people who were closest to the features, problems, and opportunities and empower them to go for it, to take risks and make mistakes.
Not everybody has a lot of real management training. One way to get around strong or weak managers is clear lines of ownership. If you have clear goals and people know they own them, it makes up for a lot. No one likes to be given a list of tasks. You want to know what hill you’re supposed to take and the fun is figuring out how.
Workplace Democracy 
[…] short post on Workplacedemocracy.com, quoting a FastCompany interview with Mark Pincus about “making everyone the CEO of something” […]
what a liar.
[…] Input and consensus are key elements of democratic management: Everyone gets a voice in the decision-making process. This collaborative approach, which sometimes results in “leadership by committee,” often boosts employee morale and provides effective solutions to business problems. Decisions in which all parties are involved often makes their implementation easier and more universally accepted. Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of Zynga, the online gaming company, wants to make everyone who works for him “the CEO of something.” […]
[…] Input and consensus are key elements of democratic management: Everyone gets a voice in the decision-making process. This collaborative approach, which sometimes results in “leadership by committee,” often boosts employee morale and provides effective solutions to business problems. Decisions in which all parties are involved often makes their implementation easier and more universally accepted. Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of Zynga, the online gaming company, wants to make everyone who works for him “the CEO of something.” […]