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- Meta CTO says Mark Zuckerberg uses the 'eye of Sauron' to assess the company's most important tasks.
- Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth says projects 'in the fire' offer visibility and invaluable experience.
- Employees should also aim to work on less flashy projects with equally high importance, he said.
Meta CTO Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth said that employees should always try to work on projects of the highest importance.
And at Meta, that comes with Mark Zuckerberg's 'Eye of Sauron.'
Zuckerberg previously made this reference in the Tim Ferriss Show in 2022. The CEO said employees used it to describe him in a loving way.
If you haven't watched the Lord of the Rings, the Eye of Sauron is the ever-watching gaze of the Dark Lord, which Frodo and his companions must avoid.
But unlike the fantasy villain's stare, Bosworth said it's actually a good thing.
Bosworth said on Lenny's Podcast that when Zuckerberg decides an employee is working on the most important thing, the Meta CEO won't miss a detail, no matter how small.
For example, Bosworth said that Zuckerberg might bring up a strategic issue on one of these projects— but he may also question if a single pixel needs to be redone.
Bosworth said on the podcast that being under the "Eye of Sauron" is one of two really good places to aim for in your career.
Bosworth said that if employees have the opportunity to work on the most important project, they should always get on it.
"If it's the most important thing, you're going to get a smaller piece. Everyone wants to be there," Bosworth said. "Get the piece that you can crush, kill, do a great job at, and grow from."
Bosworth said it's an invaluable experience for employees to learn what it's like to work "in the fire."
Paradoxically, Bosworth also recommended working in an area that the company isn't paying a lot of attention to, but is still really important.
Bosworth said employees should split their time between these two spots.
"I promise you, as an executive, when there's a huge dam holding up the floodwaters, you respect the heck out of that person who is holding that dam up," The CTO said.
Bosworth said that both kinds of projects have their breaking points. If you're exhausted by it or don't love the project anymore, he said to move on because you're no longer getting anything from it.
He encouraged people early in their careers to try out as much as possible and hop from one experience to the next when it gets old.
The CTO said Zuckerberg helped him get experience in different areas by pushing him to work on projects he wouldn't have otherwise been interested in.
"He did a great job of pushing me in my career to different places where I didn't think I could succeed," Bosworth said.