The decision of Twitter co-founder Evan Williams to step down as chief executive and hand the reins to Dick Costolo looks to be a very mature call from what remains a very young business.
During Williams’ two-year stint in the top job, the site has grown in every way imaginable. While everyone recognises users have exploded from three million to 165 million (90 million of which actually tweet each day), Williams also pointed out in a blog post today that staff numbers have gone from 20 to 300 and revenue has gone from… well, let’s just say it’s gone from nothing to something, with this year’s introduction of paid Tweets.
But Williams has realised (perhaps with the help of his board and investors, it’s not really clear) that the job of taking the business to the next level (the money making one) is not really for him.
“The challenges of growing an organisation so quickly are numerous. Growing big is not success, in itself. Success to us means meeting our potential as a profitable company that can retain its culture and user focus while having a positive impact on the world.”
“This led to a realisation as we launched the new Twitter. I am most satisfied while pushing product direction. Building things is my passion, and I’ve never been more excited or optimistic about what we have to build.”
Williams will remain involved with Twitter, driving new innovations and new products. But there is a clear recognition that it is the big picture, and not the little details, that excite him.
Indeed, he describes Costolo, the co-founder of Feedburner and a former Google executive as having been “a critical leader in devising and executing our revenue efforts, while simultaneously and effectively making the trains run on time in the office”.
Not every co-founder can give up the top job and admit they are not cut out to be a CEO. There is a huge lesson here for entrepreneurs to always keep in mind their strengths, and be aware of their limitations.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
