f his first week as co-chairman, he noticed that Goldman was heavily
invested in gold. He asked someone why the firm had taken such a big position. The startled employee
answered, “That was you, sir.” “Me?” Rubin replied. Apparently, the day before he had been taking
his initial tour of the trading floor and commented, “Gold looks interesting.” This got repeated as
“Rubin likes gold,” and someone spent millions of dollars to please the new boss.

----------------------- Page 50-----------------------

More than a decade later, I experienced my own “Rubin likes gold” moment. When I joined
Facebook, I faced a dilemma: I needed to bolster the business side of the company while respecting its
unconventional culture. Most corporations love PowerPoint presentations, so I encouraged people not
to prepare them for meetings with me, but instead to come with a simple list of topics. I repeated this
frequently, but every meeting seemed to include a detailed PowerPoint presentation anyway. After
more than two years of frustration, I announced that although I hated making rules, I was making one:
no more PowerPoint in my meetings.

A few weeks later, as I was getting ready to speak to our global sales team, Kirsten Nevill-Manning,
a skilled human resources leader at Facebook, came to find me. Kirsten thought I should know that
everyone in Europe was upset with me. Really? I angered an entire continent? She explained that
client meetings were very difficult without PowerPoint and asked why I would make such a stupid
rule. I explained that I had intended the rule to apply only to presentations to me. But just as the
Goldman team heard “Gold = good,” the Facebook team heard “PowerPoint = bad.” I got onstage in
front of our entire sales team and apologized for the misunderstanding. I also let them know that if
they hear a bad idea, even one they believe is coming from me or Mark, they should either fight it or
ignore it.

As hard as it is to have an honest dialogue about business decisions, it is even harder to give
individuals honest feedback. This is true for entry-level employees, senior leaders, and everyone in
between. One thing that helps is to remember that feedback, like truth, is not absolute. Feedback is an
opinion, grounded in observations and experiences, which allows us to know what impression we
make on others. The information is revealing and potentially uncomfortable, which is why all of us
would rather offer feedback to those who welcome it. If I make an observation or recommendation
and someone reacts badly—or even just visibly tenses up—I quickly learn to save my comments for
things that really matter. This is why I so admire Molly Graham’s approach. Molly joined Facebook in +本+作+品+由++網+提+供+下+載+與+在+線+閱+讀+
2008 and held a number of jobs throughout the company in communications, human resources, and
mobile products. She performed extraordinarily well in all of these very different roles, not just
because she is uniquely talented but because she is always learning. One day, she and I hosted a tricky
client meeting. She navigated the discussion effectively, and after the clients left, I praised her effort.
She paused and said, “Thanks, but you must have ideas for me on what more I could have done.”

“How can I do better?” “What am I doing that I don’t know?” “What am I not doing that I don’t
see?” These questions can lead to many benefits. And believe me, the truth hurts. Even when I have
solicited feedback, any judgment can feel harsh. But the upside of painful knowledge is so much
greater than the downside of blissful ignorance.

Requesting advice can also help build relationships. At Facebook, I knew that the most important
determinan