Molly Graham

Founder at Glue Club

Molly Graham is an early Google and Facebook employee who worked closely with Zuck on CZI and with Brett Taylor at Quip, now leading Glue Club to help leaders grow as fast as their companies.

The Org Builder The Craftsperson

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 60%

Execution & Craft 60%

Data & Experimentation 25%

Growth & Distribution 40%

Team & Leadership 95%

User Empathy & Research 50%

Key Themes

give away your Legos high-growth leadership founder personality and culture J-curve vs stairs growth scaling as a leader culture as founder personality

Episode Summary

Molly Graham shares her most famous framework — 'give away your Legos' — along with other mindsets for leaders experiencing rapid scale. Drawing on her experience at Google, Facebook, and working with Zuck, she explains why 80% of company culture is the founder's personality, how to grow as fast as your company, and the difference between J-curve and staircase leadership growth.

Leadership Principles

→ Give away your Legos — learn to pass what you've gotten good at and move to the next challenge
→ 80% of company culture is defined by the personality of the founder
→ You have to grow as fast as your company is growing to take advantage of the opportunity

Notable Quotes

"80% of the culture of a company is literally defined by the personality of the founder."
— Comparing Google (PhD students' paradise) to Facebook (hacker's dorm room)

"You have to grow as fast as your company is growing — both learning to give away what you've gotten good at and move on to the next shiny pile of Legos."
— On her famous 'give away your Legos' framework

Want to know how you compare?

Take the Assessment