Why Facebook Needs Sheryl Sandberg

On a Tuesday afternoon in late April, 30 managers of Facebook's various business units come together to discuss a matter that preoccupies its famous founder: how to keep their rapidly growing little company from getting too big. The meeting, organized and led by the second-most-famous person at the social network, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, focuses on how to solve the problems of users, advertisers, and partner websites by using automated systems rather than bringing in thousands of new employees.

One by one, the managers stand and present their progress on new productivity-generating tools. A service called social verification offers a way for Facebook members who get locked out of their accounts to have friends verify their identity. Another new system intends to scare away creators of fake profile accounts by displaying their locations on a map and asking if they really want to continue.