Anthropic's Dario Amodei says he spends up to 40% of his time on company culture, not products, because it's the only thing that will win the AI race | Fortune

"I probably spend a third, maybe 40%, of my time making sure the culture of Anthropic is good. As Anthropic has expanded, it has become nearly impossible for Amodei to weigh in on every technical and product decision. So, rather than dig into the finer details, he has tried to focus on the bigger picture: making sure his employees like working for Anthropic, that the company's mission and values are clear."

"I think we've done an extraordinarily good job, even, if not perfect, of holding the company together, making everyone feel the mission, that we're sincere about the mission, and that everyone has faith that everyone else there is working for the right reason. Key to Amodei's approach to culture is constant communication and extreme sincerity."

"During these meetings, Amodei stands in front of the entire company with a three- or four-page document and speaks for an hour on topics ranging from product strategy to geopolitics, as well as the broader AI industry. A large fraction of the company attends, either in person or virtually. Amodei says he speaks plainly with his employees, answering questions and avoiding evasion."

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, prioritizes company culture as his primary responsibility, spending approximately one-third to 40% of his time on this focus. As the company has grown to 2,500 employees with a $380 billion valuation, Amodei shifted from involvement in technical details to emphasizing the bigger picture: ensuring employees enjoy working at Anthropic, maintaining clarity around the company's mission and values, and aligning all workers toward shared objectives. He employs constant communication and extreme sincerity as core strategies, conducting biweekly all-hands meetings called "DVQ" (Dario Vision Quest) where he addresses the entire company with prepared remarks on product strategy, geopolitics, and industry topics. Amodei believes this approach has successfully maintained company cohesion and employee faith in the organization's sincere commitment to its mission.

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