Leave Your Ego at the Door | In the Arena

Vannevar CEO Brett Granberg explains the ideology behind one of our core operating principles: “Leave your ego at the door." Brett breaks down the difference between confidence and ego, and why “nice guys don’t close big deals” is lazy thinking that hurts mission outcomes.We get practical: how to hire high-agency people, how to spot toxic ego in interviews, when a strong personality becomes net-negative for the team, why learning rate is Brett’s personal success metric, and how to give high-conviction builders room to run without letting them steamroll the org. Brett also shares the operating principles that took Vannevar from 50 to 250+, the cross-functional model that 10x’s outcomes, and which roles he thinks are the hardest to hire.We discuss:Confidence vs. ego (and why ego is often a lack of self-confidence)The “net output” test for keeping or moving on from a hireRed flags in interviewsHow to structure teams for high-conviction bets without chaosScaling culture around specific outcomes as opposed to generic valuesClick here to watch a video of this episode. Outline00:00 What ego means in high performance teams00:25 Self-confidence vs. ego01:56 The line between confidence and toxicity04:37 Screening for ego in interviews09:20 Do founders need ego to succeed?11:07 Managing your own ego as a leader14:59 Can you coach out unhealthy ego?16:52 High agency leadership without steamrolling19:14 Vannevar's interview process21:59 Profile of first five hires24:29 Hiring mistakes and lessons26:31 Core operating principles28:44 Scaling culture from 50 to 250+ people33:25 Most difficult roles to hire for