Since its founding in 2005 as a podcasting platform, Twitter has evolved into a status-updating microblogging platform. Today, Twitter is hugely successful with over $600 million in revenues, 3,500 employees, and 300 million daily users worldwide. Twitter has established a culture that empowers employees to explore, find data, build things, and generally choose the course of action that will have the most impact.

Analysis Twitter has always been one step ahead of its competitors by being able to adapt quickly. Employees learn by emulating the behavior of managers and are empowered to explore new ideas and develop their skills in the workplace. Employees who don’t strive to learn eventually lose their jobs. This has been the key to Twitter’s success.

Case Questions 1. What was valuable about Evan Williams’s decision to task his employees with

mustering up a new business idea?

2. How are employee empowerment, adaptability, and on-the-job training related?