Technology Identity

How you label your company shapes how you operate—see yourself as a technology company to build like one

Dhanji R. Prasanna
How Block is becoming the most AI-native enterprise in the world

Technology Identity

"At the start, my main focus was to get Block to think like a technology company. For a long time we had had a little bit of, I'm going to call it identity drift, maybe. We were talking about ourselves as a financial services company. Some people called us FinTech... But when I started working at what was then known as Square, we were always thought of as a technology company just like Google or Facebook." - Dhanji R. Prasanna

What It Is

Technology Identity is the principle that how a company labels itself fundamentally shapes how it operates. When Block drifted from seeing itself as a "technology company" to a "financial services company" or "FinTech," it lost the DNA that made it exceptional—prioritizing engineering and design excellence.

Dhanji's transformation at Block started not with new tools or processes, but with reclaiming this identity. By insisting Block was a technology company—just like Google or Facebook—he created the foundation for all subsequent changes, including their AI-native transformation.

How It Works

Identity drives behavior:

When Square launched, it thought of itself as a technology company:

  • Engineering and design were prioritized
  • Technical excellence was a core value
  • Innovation was expected
  • Builders were empowered

Over time, the company drifted to "financial services" identity:

  • Compliance and risk became dominant
  • Technical work became less central
  • Innovation slowed
  • Builders became constrained

The cascade effect:

Identity → Culture → Processes → Hiring → Outcomes

  1. Identity shapes culture - "We're a technology company" versus "We're a financial services company" creates different cultural expectations
  2. Culture shapes processes - Tech companies have different processes than traditional financial services
  3. Processes shape hiring - Who you attract and retain depends on how you operate
  4. Hiring shapes outcomes - The talent you have determines what you can build

How to reclaim technology identity:

Dhanji implemented specific programs:

  • Getting top ICs together to talk to each other
  • Starting special projects (2-5 engineers per project, 8-9 projects)
  • Reinstituting company-wide hack week
  • Moving to functional org structure (all engineers reporting to engineering)
  • Making engineering and design leadership more prominent

"All of this just kind of created a little bit of a spark of, 'Hey, we're building technology again, we're trying to push the frontier again.'"

How to Apply It

  1. Audit your identity language:

    • How does leadership describe the company?
    • How do employees describe it?
    • What does external messaging emphasize?

  2. Identify drift patterns:

    • Are you calling yourself an industry company ("financial services") rather than a technology company?
    • Has compliance/operations become dominant over building?
    • Do engineers feel like second-class citizens?

  3. Reclaim technology identity through action:

    • Create forums for top technical people to connect
    • Launch special projects that emphasize building
    • Reinstitute hack weeks or innovation time
    • Elevate engineering and design leadership

  4. Restructure to reinforce identity:

    • Consider functional organization (engineers report to engineering)
    • Ensure technical leaders have senior status
    • Make technical excellence a visible priority

  5. Connect your core purpose to technology:

    • Block: "Economic empowerment" enabled by technology
    • Not: "We process payments" (financial services)
    • But: "We build technology that empowers merchants" (technology company)

When to Use It

  • When your company has drifted from its technology roots
  • When engineering talent is leaving for "real tech companies"
  • When innovation has slowed despite capable teams
  • When compliance or operations dominate product decisions
  • When preparing for major technology shifts (like AI)

The Jobs Connection

Dhanji notes this approach mirrors Steve Jobs' return to Apple:

"This is what Jobs did when he came back to Apple as well. He reorganized Apple to be functional, and it wasn't like we were following a playbook. We discovered this as we were investigating what it's going to take to make these teams more tech-focused."

Jobs reclaimed Apple's identity as a company that puts "engineering and design first"—and reorganized the company to match that identity.

Source

  • Guest: Dhanji R. Prasanna
  • Episode: "How Block is becoming the most AI-native enterprise in the world"
  • Key Discussion: (00:07:53) - Getting Block to think like a technology company
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

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