A former Meta executive who worked at Facebook during its rapid expansion has shared an unexpected lesson he learnt from Mark Zuckerberg. Martin Ott joined the company in 2012, when Facebook was preparing for its IPO and making a major shift towards mobile.
Today, Ott is the CEO of Taxfix, a Berlin-based tax app valued at more than $1 billion. Despite spending years in the high-pressure world of technology, he says success does not mean being available for work every hour of the day.
Instead, Ott says one of the most useful lessons from his time at Facebook was learning to focus on the work where he could make the biggest difference.
What Martin Ott learnt from Mark Zuckerberg
Ott believes that having a packed calendar does not necessarily mean you are being productive. He told Fortune that professionals should think carefully about how they use the limited hours available to them.
{{/usCountry}}Ott believes that having a packed calendar does not necessarily mean you are being productive. He told Fortune that professionals should think carefully about how they use the limited hours available to them.
{{/usCountry}}"Ask yourself, what is the real one thing you could do today to really have impact, make a difference? Ask yourself, do you need to be in that meeting or not?" he said.
His comments come at a time when some well-known technology leaders have spoken openly about demanding work schedules.
Lucy Guo, cofounder of Scale AI, has previously described starting her day around 5:30 a.m. and continuing to work until midnight. Twilio CEO Khozema Shipchandler told Fortune that the only time he allows himself to completely switch off from work is for a limited period on Saturdays.
LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman has also discussed how difficult it can be to maintain work-life balance while building a start-up.
Ott, however, does not believe that constantly working is sustainable. He said the idea of being switched on 24/7 can eventually lead to exhaustion, and that leaders need to consider the impact their habits have on their teams as well.
"That 24/7 only works so long," Ott said.
Taxfix CEO on avoiding burnout at work
Ott has developed routines that help him create a clearer boundary between his work and personal time. He usually starts his morning at around 5:30 a.m., reads before exercising and goes running. He also tries to meditate and stay connected with his support network.
His approach extends to how he communicates with his employees. Ott may write emails or Slack messages early in the morning, but he often schedules them to be delivered when his colleagues begin their working day.
He said this helps ensure that employees do not feel pressured to respond during their personal time, which he considers important for recovery.
According to Fortune, Ott believes running a company should be treated as a marathon rather than a sprint. Problems and periods of intense pressure are inevitable, but maintaining strong performance over the long term requires people to have enough time away from work.
For Ott, the goal is not to work fewer hours simply for the sake of it. It is to be deliberate about where those hours are spent and to make sure constant work does not come at the expense of long-term performance.