Building teams and culture to navigate catastrophe w/ Ken Pickering #151
Oct 17, 2023
auto_awesome
Ken Pickering, SVP of Engineering @ Starburst Data, discusses navigating catastrophe and uncertainty, building a culture of resiliency, finding PMF for a second product, and leveraging first-principles. He emphasizes the importance of communication, context, problem-solving, and adaptability in driving a strong engineering culture.
Effective communication and providing context are crucial for feeding an engineering organization and driving a culture of problem-solving.
Embracing risk, failure, and adaptability are key to navigating catastrophes and building resilient teams.
Finding product-market fit for a second product requires going back to first principles, iterating, and being willing to pivot.
Deep dives
Navigating catastrophe and building a culture of resiliency
The episode explores the importance of leadership and team culture in navigating catastrophic situations. It emphasizes the need for leaders to remain calm and confident during crises, providing support and direction to their teams. It also highlights the value of learning from failure and embracing risk in order to foster innovation and growth. The episode shares insights from leaders who have experienced and overcome challenges in their careers, emphasizing the importance of communication, context, and belief in the company's mission. It also touches on the challenges of finding product-market fit for a second product, emphasizing the need to go back to first principles and be willing to iterate and pivot as necessary.
Protecting team attention and reducing distractions
Krishna Kannen, Head of Product at Jellyfish, shares insights on protecting team attention and reducing distractions. He discusses the importance of effective communication, context, and prioritization in helping teams stay focused on their goals. He highlights the need to articulate problems clearly, set timelines and constraints, and empower teams to find solutions. He also emphasizes the value of learning from failure and providing psychological safety for team members. The episode emphasizes the role of leaders in creating a culture that supports focus and resilience, even in high-pressure situations.
Navigating challenges and building resiliency
Ken Pickering, SVP of Engineering at Starburst Data, shares insights on navigating catastrophes and building resilience. He highlights the importance of embracing risk and failure, and being adaptable and flexible in challenging situations. Ken emphasizes the need for leaders to provide support and confidence to their teams, even during times of uncertainty. He discusses the challenges of finding product-market fit for a second product, and the importance of going back to first principles and being willing to iterate and pivot. The episode emphasizes the value of learning from past experiences and continuously improving.
Building teams and culture to navigate challenges
Ken Pickering discusses the importance of building teams and culture that can effectively navigate challenges and uncertainty. He highlights the value of hiring leaders who are aligned with the company's mission and can provide guidance and support in difficult times. Ken emphasizes the need for leaders to focus on effective communication, context, and decision-making, and to provide psychological safety for their teams. He also shares stories of previous experiences where teams had to adapt and navigate through unexpected challenges. The episode highlights the role of belief, grit, and incremental improvement in building resilient teams.
Challenges of finding product-market fit for a second product
The episode explores the challenges of finding product-market fit for a second product. It emphasizes the need to treat each product development as a separate startup and not rely on the success of the first product. The episode highlights the importance of going back to first principles, understanding customer needs, and being willing to iterate and pivot. It shares examples of companies that had to navigate multiple iterations and failures before finding success with their second products. The episode emphasizes the importance of perseverance, learning from failures, and constantly adapting to market dynamics.
Navigating catastrophes is never easy for eng leaders, but it’s an essential leadership skill in the startup world. Ken Pickering, SVP of Engineering @ Starburst Data, discusses navigating catastrophe, and uncertainty and building a culture of resiliency within startups & eng teams. We cover how to embrace challenges / failure, and cultivate centralized beliefs within your org. Plus the challenges behind finding PMF for a second product, and how to leverage first-principles to avoid a failed second product.
Ken Pickering is the SVP of Engineering at Starburst Data, where he is privileged to work alongside some of the best product and engineering humans in the world. Prior to his role here, he held leadership roles at large-scale consumer SaaS and enterprise security companies.
"Communication and context are some of the things that are most successful in feeding an engineering organization because engineers are generalized problem solvers. We all want to be engaged with the problem and then apply a methodology to that problem. Even in high stakes situations, articulate the problem clearly, give people the timeline, give people the constraints, and let them rip. The people that can do that and perform in different kinds of environments and be flexible and adaptable are really key to driving that kind of culture.”
- Ken Pickering
We’re hosting the first ELC Annual Watch Party on 11/8!
We’re livestreaming the most popular sessions from the ELC Annual 2023 conference + hosting virtual roundtable discussions to connect you with eng leaders around the globe AND in your city.
Our first topic covers Generative AI & engineering leadership with Wade Chambers… no this isn’t about the tech - it’s about the leadership skills and competencies you need to evolve and adapt to lead in this next generation!
We have different events for Europe, East Coast & West Coast! To RSVP, find your location HERE:
Why the right team / culture can successfully navigate catastrophes (2:30)
Ken’s leadership approach to tackling challenges & embracing risk (3:52)
How Ken navigated an unexpected catastrophe @ Rue La La (5:58)
Practices that can prepare a team for handling obstacles well (8:12)
The “Travel Deal Tuesday” story @ Hopper (10:24)
Hiring leaders & creating teams built to endure challenges (12:58)
How a startup’s centralized beliefs impact leadership styles / decision-making (15:09)
Ken’s perspective on cultivating shared beliefs within eng teams (17:01)
Tips for preparing people to better endure catastrophe during downtime (19:10)
Key takeaways / follow-ups from practice disaster drills (21:14)
Strategies for coaching people through their first failure (22:38)
Sharing examples of resilient eng leadership (24:44)
Balancing the reality of an unknown future vs. the demand to execute now (27:05)
Why communication & context are key for navigating uncertainty (30:11)
Challenges that come with finding PMF for a second product (33:34)
Ken’s examples of enduring through repeated failures / iterations (35:46)
Facilitating conversation on first principles while working on a second product (38:09)
Rapid fire questions (39:53)
LINKS AND RESOURCES
The Destroyer of Worlds: A Return to Lovecraft Country - In this thrilling adventure, a blend of enthralling historical fiction and fantastical horror, Matt Ruff returns to the world of Lovecraft Country and explores the meaning of death, the hold of the past on the present, and the power of hope in the face of uncertainty.
This episode wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:
