Flash Tags

Signal conviction level with hashtags to prevent founders' opinions from being over-indexed

Dharmesh Shah
Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company

Flash Tags

"Anyone that manages people, anyone that leads has this exact same issue. It's the megaphone issue. Someone will pass you in the hall, they'll ask you a question, and I have an opinion on everything. And so the challenge is people will take that and over-index on what was an opinion." - Dharmesh Shah

What It Is

Flash Tags are a system of standardized hashtags that signal your conviction level when sharing opinions, suggestions, or requests. Created by Dharmesh Shah at HubSpot, they solve the "megaphone problem" where offhand comments from leaders get treated as mandates.

The system uses an escalating scale from casual FYI to urgent plea, allowing recipients to understand exactly how much weight to give your input without you having to laboriously qualify every statement.

How It Works

Four hashtags on an escalating "dying on the hill" spectrum:

  1. #FYI - "I came across this interesting thing, just letting you know. No response expected."

  2. #Suggestion - "I have a thought that came into my head. I still don't expect a response. You don't have to do this, but it's something I would consider if I were you."

  3. #Recommendation - "I've thought about this a lot. I've done research and soul-searching. I would do this. If you decide not to, I'd appreciate a response explaining why."

  4. #Plea - "I beg of you. I've thought about this to my core, in my soul, I believe this is the thing we should be doing." Still not a mandate, but the strongest possible request.

How to Apply It

  1. Before sharing any opinion, ask yourself: Where does this fall on the conviction spectrum? Quick thought or deeply held belief?

  2. Add the appropriate hashtag to emails, messages, and documents when sharing opinions or suggestions

  3. Respect your own system: Only use #Plea sparingly (Dharmesh says he can count uses on one hand with fingers left over)

  4. Make it searchable: Flash tags let you later search "What were my last five #recommendations and how did they turn out?"

  5. Spread it culturally: Publish the system so others in the organization can use it too

When to Use It

  • Email communication - Especially effective for async work
  • Slack/Teams messages - When giving feedback or suggestions
  • Document comments - When reviewing others' work
  • Any situation where your opinion might be over-indexed - Particularly useful for founders, executives, and senior leaders

The system is particularly valuable when:

  • You have opinions on everything (most leaders do)
  • People tend to treat your casual comments as directives
  • You want to maintain autonomy while still sharing input
  • You need a way to signal when something really matters

Source

  • Guest: Dharmesh Shah
  • Episode: "Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company"
  • Key Discussion: (00:57:55) - Explains the flash tag system in detail
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube
  • Website: flashtag.org

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