In a thought-provoking conversation with Harry Stebbings on "20 Minutes VC," Ilka Parnan, founder and CEO of Supercell, shares his journey from founding a company to becoming the "least powerful CEO," a philosophy emphasizing empowerment and decision-making at the team level. Parnan discusses the importance of team dynamics in game development, the challenges of maintaining a culture of freedom and responsibility during growth, and the delicate balance between taking risks and learning from failures. He touches on the competitive nature of the gaming industry and the necessity of staying focused and humble to innovate. Parnan also reflects on his relationship with money and success, underscoring the sense of responsibility he feels to use his wealth for the greater good and to support the community around him.
"I'm thrilled to welcome Ilka Parnan, founder and CEO at Supercell, the makers of some of the most wildly successful games of the last decade, including Heyday, Clash of Clans, Boom Beat and more."
This quote introduces Ilka Paananen as a significant figure in the gaming industry, whose company, Supercell, has produced widely popular games.
"Creating games is all about these creative teams. But then the irony, I think, about many games companies and ours at the time included is that many companies are focused on actually everything else but the teams that create the actual games."
Ilka emphasizes the irony in the gaming industry where companies often overlook the core creative teams responsible for developing games.
"Well, sort of a simple idea behind that phrase is that it's this idea that the more decision the team makes, then of course, the less I as a CEO make. And ultimately, if I made no decisions and all the decisions would be made by the teams, then I would be sort of the world's least powerful CEO."
Ilka describes the concept of the "least powerful CEO" as a leadership style where the CEO delegates decision-making to the teams who are most informed and involved in the product development process.## Decision-Making by End Users
"And they obviously know what is the best thing to do for the game and what's the best thing to do for the players. Therefore, I would argue that the decisions that these people make, they are of higher quality."
This quote highlights the rationale behind empowering end users to make decisions, as their direct connection to the game and the players leads to higher quality outcomes.
"Well, I think it all comes down to what type of people you hire."
The quote emphasizes the importance of hiring practices in establishing a culture of accountability within teams.
"But the real test of that is when things aren't going as well, and especially if things aren't going as well. And then you even disagree with what the team is doing."
This quote captures the essence of maintaining trust and support for teams, even in challenging times and when there is disagreement with their approach.
"Everybody knew how much money we had left in the bank and how much we were burning per month and make sure that everybody knows exactly where we are."
This quote underscores the importance of transparency about the company's financial situation during tough times, ensuring all team members are aware of the challenges.
"The minute you think that you kind of know it all, that's going to be the end of it."
The quote serves as a reminder that complacency can be detrimental in a competitive industry, and staying humble is key to continued success.
"I try to not to focus on competition too much, and the reason is that I believe that."
This quote suggests that while competitive spirit is natural, the strategic focus should be on internal development and innovation rather than on external competition.## Focus on Vision and Avoiding Reactivity
"But if you're a fast follower, then by definition, you will always follow somebody else. You will never, ever lead."
This quote by Ilka Paananen highlights the limitations of being a fast follower, stressing the importance of leading rather than following in order to achieve true innovation and success.
"Focus is not saying what you do. It's saying no to all of those ten things that are of interest to you and what you would love to do in addition to whatever thing you're doing right now."
Ilka Paananen explains that focus is about prioritizing and saying no to less critical tasks, which is a challenge but necessary for achieving greatness in one's field.
"I think fail because they stop taking risks."
Ilka Paananen argues that the avoidance of risk leads to stagnation and failure, reinforcing the idea that taking calculated risks is essential for a company's growth and success.
"We are not celebrating the failure. We are celebrating the learnings that comes from that failure."
Ilka Paananen clarifies that the focus is on the valuable insights gained from failures, which helps to foster a culture that is not afraid to take risks and innovate.
"Sometimes it leads to situation where you can't please everybody, and that's fine."
Ilka Paananen acknowledges the difficulty of being disliked as a leader but emphasizes the importance of making decisions based on conviction and the greater good of the company.
"Well, I think, I guess I'm lucky in a sense that I get to work with people who are extremely humble and that's, of course, inspiring and that sort of spreads."
Ilka Paananen attributes his humility to the influence of his colleagues and the nature of the competitive gaming industry, suggesting that humility is a shared value that can be cultivated within a company culture.## Humility in Success
"And you just have this feeling that you just can't afford to have an ego. All you can do is to kind of stay humble."
This quote from Ilka Paananen emphasizes the importance of humility in maintaining a grounded approach to success and personal growth.
"And now I feel that the overarching feeling that I have is that I think that I have this very big responsibility to use kind of all of this kind of wealth in the best possible way and actually do something good with it, because I've been so lucky in my life."
Ilka Paananen reflects on the responsibility that comes with financial success and the desire to use wealth positively to impact the community.
"And as I said, there's, of course, being also financially successful as a company and as a person. Of course, that also brings a lot of responsibility."
Ilka Paananen discusses the various aspects of responsibility that come with leading a successful company like Supercell and the personal success accompanying it.
"And the leaders that I probably most look up to these days, I mean, they're all at Supercell because, of course, I get the chance to work with them every day."
Ilka Paananen expresses admiration for the leaders within Supercell who demonstrate proactive and selfless leadership qualities.
"But these days, how I think about them, I think them as, like, sets of experiments. Like, whatever I do, I try to think it as an experiment, and some of these experiments work, and many of them don't. But no matter what happens, I will learn."
Ilka Paananen shares a perspective on dealing with setbacks, viewing them as learning opportunities rather than failures.
"I'd like my children to be humble. I'd like them to be very curious and open minded about the world and the people around them. And then I want them fundamentally to be, like, nice people."
Ilka Paananen outlines the personal traits he values and wishes to see in his children, emphasizing humility, curiosity, and kindness.
"And quite simply, I want to help our people to make Supercell an even better place for the best people and for the best teams to create the best possible games."
Ilka Paananen lays out his vision for Supercell's future, focusing on enhancing the company's environment for creativity and game development.