S7E1: Sarah Friar, MBA ’00, On How To Make Strategic Career Risks
Dec 11, 2023
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Guest Sarah Friar, CEO of Nextdoor, shares insights on taking strategic career risks, leveraging technology to unite people, and fostering strong communities. She discusses the importance of empowering individuals in companies to contribute diverse ideas and viewpoints, the value of human connection, and using AI to enhance user engagement and promote positive interactions on social platforms.
Encouraging cross-functional engagement for innovation and collaboration.
Witnessing community resilience influencing commitment to community building.
Embracing challenges, learning from failures, and promoting people-first leadership for personal growth.
Deep dives
Embracing a Multi-Perspective Team Approach in Company Culture
Encouraging cross-functional engagement where all employees feel ownership over various aspects of the company to drive innovation and collaboration.
Sarah Fryer's Unique Life Journey Shaping Her Path to Success
Growing up in Northern Ireland during tumultuous times, witnessing a strong sense of community resilience and its influence on her commitment to community building at Nextdoor.
Navigating Career Risks and Seizing Opportunities
From taking risks in diverse locations like Ghana and South Africa to transitioning from Goldman Sachs to Square, embracing challenges and learning from failures to drive personal growth.
Balancing High Performance with Positive Work Cultures
Prioritizing people-first leadership, cultivating autonomy, encouragement, and tough love to inspire high-performing teams while fostering a positive and engaging work environment.
Nextdoor's Vision of Strengthening Communities Through Connection
Promoting the idea that everyone knowing at least six neighbors can combat loneliness and build social capital, emphasizing the role of technology and AI in enhancing community engagement and crisis response.
“In companies, you don’t want just the product team thinking about the product; the finance team thinking about finance ... You want everyone all the time feeling like they’re an owner, and they can have a point of view on any part of the company.”
In this View From The Top interview, Sarah Friar, MBA ’00, CEO of Nextdoor, sits down with Zack Doherty, MBA ’24. During their conversation at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Friar shared her unique perspective on taking strategic career risks, how social media can effect positive change in society, and the value of bringing people together through human connection and community.
Stanford GSB’s View From The Top is the dean’s premier speaker series. It launched in 1978 and is supported in part by the F. Kirk Brennan Speaker Series Fund. During student-led interviews and before a live audience, leaders from around the world share insights on effective leadership, their personal core values, and lessons learned throughout their career.