Greg Robinson

Driving better outcomes with a focus on optimizing the whole system of delivery

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@tferriss Exactly why "showing up" is only half the battle—the other half is executing with strict intent. My weekly blueprint for purposeful workouts: https://t.co/T2TMtuzvoL #HARDWORKER

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@OpenAI My wife stopped using ChatGPT because it gives incorrect answers (as recent as last week) to basic math questions dealing with measuring dimensions of home projects.

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@Brady_H Usually, the thing you avoid the most is exactly what you need.

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@patrick_oshag The Algorithm

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

I’ve often wanted to share my AI sessions with people for collective learning (and vise versa). Cool to read about a place that takes transparency to the next level.

[tobi lutke @tobi]

https://t.co/5MJ7u1VHwf

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

This is an AI casualty and at the same time a good description of the future.

[Brian Armstrong @brian_armstrong]

This is an email I sent earlier today to all employees at Coinbase:

Team,

Today I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%. I want to walk you through why we're doing this now, what it means for those affected, and how this positions us for the future.

Why now
Two forces are converging at the same time. We need to be front footed to respond to both.

First, the market. Coinbase is well-capitalized, has diversified revenue streams, and is well-positioned to weather any storm. Crypto is also on the verge of the next wave of adoption, with stablecoins, prediction markets, tokenization, and more taking off. However, our business is still volatile from quarter to quarter. While we've managed through that cyclicality many times before and come out stronger on the other side, we’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth.

Second, AI is changing how we work. Over the past year, I’ve watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks. Non-technical teams are now shipping production code and many of our workflows are being automated. The pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it's accelerating every day.

All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core.

What this means
To get there, we are not just reducing headcount and cutting costs, we’re fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it. What does this mean in practice?

- Fewer layers, faster decisions: We are flattening our org structure to 5 layers max below CEO/COO. Layers slow things down and create coordination tax. The future is small, high context teams that can move quickly. Leaders will own much more, with as many as 15+ direct reports. Fewer layers also means a leaner cost structure that is built to perform through all market cycles.

- No pure managers: Every leader at Coinbase must also be a strong and active individual contributor. Managers should be like player-coaches, getting their hands dirty alongside their teams.

- AI-native pods: We’ll be concentrating around AI-native talent who can manage fleets of agents to drive outsized impact. We’ll also be experimenting with reduced pod sizes, including “one person teams” with engineers, designers, and product managers all in one role.

In short: AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era. This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs.

To those who are affected
I know there are real people behind these decisions — talented colleagues who have poured themselves into this company and our mission. To those of you who will be leaving: thank you. You’ve helped build Coinbase into what it is today, and I am sincerely grateful for everything you've done.

All impacted team members will receive an email to their personal account in the next hour with more information, and an invitation to meet with an HRBP and a senior leader in your organization. Coinbase system access has been removed today. I know this feels sudden and harsh, but it is the only responsible choice given our duty to protect customer information.

To those affected, we will be providing a comprehensive package to support you through this transition. US employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks base pay (plus 2 weeks per year worked), their next equity vest, and 6 months of COBRA. Employees on a work visa will get extra transition support. Those outside of the US will receive similar support, based on local factors and subject to any consultation requirements.

Coinbase prides itself on talent density. Our employees are among the most talented people in the world, and I have no doubt that your skills and experience will be highly sought after as you pursue your next chapters.

How we move forward
To the team that is staying, I know this is a difficult day. We’re saying goodbye to colleagues and friends you've been in the trenches with. But here’s what I want you to know as we move forward together:

Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry. We’ve made it this far by making hard decisions and by always staying focused on our mission. This time will be no different – nothing has changed about the long term outlook of our company or industry. And most importantly, our mission has never been more important for the world. Increasing economic freedom requires a new financial system, and we’re building it.

The Coinbase that emerges from this will be more capable than ever to achieve our mission.

Brian

[Teng Yan @tengyanAI]

didn’t expect this to hit such a nerve!

imo AI agents don’t reduce work as much as they compress it.
less typing, more judgment.
less waiting, more context switching.
less execution, more supervision.

that changes how teams should think about productivity, burnout... and what “high output” actually means.

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

Officially accepted as a @hwpotraining Ambassador! Proud to join this group of dedicated #HARDWORKERS. Time to SHOW UP. #HWPO #HARDWORKPAYSOFF #LeadByExample

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

New: Munger 200-Week Screener 📊 Find high-quality stocks trading near their 200-week MA. Live now! —inspired by Charlie Munger's philosophy: https://t.co/LNdnX7aPfC

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

Two years ago I started asking providers for the "self pay" price before every visit, along with the CPT code for the service provided - it's been eye opening. Conclusion: it's cheaper to pay cash.

[PatientRightsAdvocate.org @PtRightsAdvoc]

.@mcuban exposes the opaque healthcare system and how hospitals and insurers fail to provide price transparency:

“Not one of you knows the price you will pay for anything… your employers [have] no clue what they pay…”

This must change. Americans need upfront prices.

[Uncle Bob Martin @unclebobmartin]

Assemblers were faster at writing binary than humans were.

Compilers were faster at writing assembly than humans were.

AIs are faster at writing compiled languages then humans are.

Deal with it. There's still plenty left for you to do.

[Uncle Bob Martin @unclebobmartin]

Morning Bathrobe Rant: AI out-codes you; deal with it.

[TBPN @tbpn]

Factory CEO @matansf says all companies go through three phases of AI adoption:

"Phase Zero is reluctance to adopt because developers have had the same workflows for the last 20 years and they might not want to change it."

"Phase One is throw the kitchen sink and use as much AI as possible. Whatever you do, just change your workflows."

"Phase Two is that people are now adopting the tech, they're proving that they can change their behavior, and use these tools. But now we need to make sure we're actually doing it efficiently and effectively. Uber and Meta are examples of this."

"Yes, you'll overspend in Phase One, but the point is to get to Phase Two where then you're actually really efficient on a per-token basis, moving the needle for the business and delivering software faster."

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@aakashgupta "Most people can do 10 pull-ups in a row" 🤣

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

Munger said: "If all you ever did was buy high-quality stocks on the 200-week moving average, you would beat the S&P 500 by a large margin over time." I backtested it. 25 years. 25 stocks. Result: +23% CAGR vs +11.4% for the S&P 500.

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@LinkedIn The amount of friction to sign-up and use Sales Navigator Core is wow. It should be as simple as ordering a cup of tea, but it feels like going to the DMV.

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@Jason All roads lead back to the Epstein files.

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@tbpn 5:05 dead hang - that is elite level. I will believe it when I see it.

[Greg Robinson @robinsgr]

@pmarca Yes plenty of anecdotal evidence, but actual measurable returns remain elusive.

[kitze · supermac.io 🐦‍🔥 @thekitze]

claude code is shipping so hard right now that openai started restructuring 💀