The Power of First Impressions and Strategic Persistence

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Jed Simon, an experienced CEO with a background in the FinTech and Media industries. 

First, Jed talks about Stanford’s MSx program, from which he is a recent graduate. Then, Jed takes us through his remarkable career journey, including his roles in investment banking at Morgan Stanley, corporate strategy at DreamWorks, and founding/selling a successful FinTech company. 

Jed shares several stories from these experiences including a humorous interaction with powerful media billionaire David Geffen and how Jed formed his relationship-building framework via gaining entry to LA’s hottest nightclub. 

Listen in and enjoy hearing about Jed’s experiences and applications of Jeffrey’s Paths to Power course, and how he used the opportunity to its maximum benefit. 

Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.

• 00:00 Introduction to Pfeffer on Power
• 01:40 Meet Jed Simon: Career Trajectory
• 05:05 Navigating Difficult Bosses
• 08:17 Rules of Power: Networking and Rule-Breaking
• 11:39 The Power of Networking
• 16:19 Lessons from the Nightclub
• 20:56 Final Thoughts and Anecdotes
• 24:04 Conclusion and Podcast Outro

Episode Quotes:

The power of first impressions

20:43: You talk a lot in class about the power of a first impression. And I want to say, it's not, like, if you flub the first impression, there's no coming back. But I think it's, like, maybe a 50x effort to get back to where you could have been, had you done it right in the first place. And my company, my startup, we were a fintech company. We hadn't raised much money, I think a million or two million bucks. And we needed to get some validation. [21:11] I saw Wells Fargo Lender Finance. as, kind of, the number one lender. And I got a meeting with Andrea Petro... [21:38] she said, you know, normally we have a $25 million minimum for a loan, we're going to make an exception, I'm going to get back to you. So, they ended up offering us a $12.5 million loan, but she said she wanted us to raise some capital, and she's, like, from one of these places, I'll make the intro. So, we ended up raising $10 million from investment plus $12 and a half million from this. It was, like, that one little thing had this cascading effect. So, the first impressions are so important and we got that right.

On utilizing your network

11:40: In your class, there were different guests who talked about how they use networking, and there’s certain pieces of that which really resonated. And I talked to my power coach, and she gave me some insight as well. And look, I recognized early on coming to Stanford that one of the key components of this place is not just the academics. Academics are easy to over index on because you get graded. It's straightforward. These things are assigned. But the real magic of Stanford is the student body, the classmates in MSX and these MBAs. I mean, this is the hardest business school to get into in the world. These are the most exceptional students in the world, and they're all here. And it's a very friendly, welcoming place. So, I decided about six months ago in your class that I'm going to meet as many of these MBAs. Because I knew all my classmates, I wanted to meet as many of these MBAs as possible… [12:55] So, I think, in the last 4 or 5 months, I've done, on average, 2 to 3 a day, one-on-ones. And at this point, I've probably done one-on-ones with 80-100 MBAs. And it's really been a powerful thing.

How do you build relationships

15:27: You have to give things; you can't always be asking for them. How can I be of service?  What can I provide of value?  That’s how you build enduring relationships. 

Show Links:

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