Frank Slootman

Frank Slootman, the Chairman and CEO at Snowflake, is known for transforming company visions into successes. In this discussion, he shares crucial insights on leadership, emphasizing the first 90 days of taking charge and the mantra of 'doing less, doing better.' He highlights the importance of a strong sales culture and how alignment between teams drives success. Slootman also explores the need for a culture that embraces mistakes for growth, the significance of thorough hiring practices, and redefining success through collective achievements.

Jack Kornfield, a mindfulness expert, discusses the profound power of intention and mindful living. Carolyn Coughlin emphasizes the art of listening, enhancing communication. Aaron Dignan tackles organizational pitfalls and the significance of feedback. Leadership guru Jim Dethmer shares insights on integrity and responsibility. Ravi Gupta highlights embracing reality for problem-solving. Kevin Kelly talks about the importance of deadlines in creativity. Julie Gurner offers strategies for shifting mindsets from victimhood to empowerment, while Frank Slootman focuses on trust in organizations and Gio Valiante advises on decision-making in the face of desire.

Frank Slootman, the esteemed CEO of Snowflake, shares insights from his successful journey leading enterprise software giants. He discusses the importance of quickly assessing team dynamics to foster growth and the role of culture in attracting top talent. Slootman emphasizes the need for focused leadership and innovation, urging businesses to build trust through understanding customer needs. He also explores the evolving relationship between business and engineering, underscoring the significance of proactive management for sustainable success.

Text Hawk to 66866 to become part of "Mindful Monday." Join 10's of thousands of your fellow learning leaders and receive a carefully curated email from me each Monday morning to help you start your week off right... Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com Twitter/IG: @RyanHawk12   https://twitter.com/RyanHawk12 Frank Slootman is the CEO at Snowflake. Frank has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive in the enterprise software industry. Frank served as CEO of ServiceNow from 2011 to 2017, taking the organization from $100M in revenue, through an IPO, to $1.4B. Prior to that, Frank served as President at EMC following an acquisition of Data Domain Corporation, where he served as the CEO, leading the company through an IPO to its acquisition by EMC for $2.4B. He's also the best-selling author of Amp It Up. Notes: Frank's work ethic was developed as a child in the Netherlands. In his teens, he had summer jobs harvesting tulip bulbs and walking behind a tractor ten hours a day. He also cleaned factory toilets one summer in the plant where his dad worked. “The Man In The Arena” Theodore Roosevelt – Frank put this at the beginning of Amp It Up.  After retiring from ServiceNow in 2017, Frank had no intention of taking another CEO role, but people like him “have a hard time leaving the arena.” It’s exciting to be back in a CEO role with Snowflake. Hiring -- “Hire people ahead of their own curve.” Hire more for aptitude than experience and give people the career opportunity of a lifetime. NO MBO -- “Another source of misalignment is management by objective (MBO). Which I have eliminated at every company I’ve joined in the last 20 years.” Push the pace -- Leaders set the pace. “Instead of getting back to me in a week, I asked, “Why not tomorrow?” Change the cadence. Push the pace. The leadership "must-have" qualities: A need to prove something Unbalanced They want to show the world something... They have passion High trust Need some ego, but it has to be in check Legacy? "I don't think about legacy much. When you're dead, you're dead." Frank's leadership team: We are not balanced, we are available to each other 24/7. Drivers vs. Passengers -- “Passengers are people who don’t mind simply being carried along by the company’s momentum …They are often pleasant, get along with everyone, attend meetings promptly, and generally do not stand out as troublemakers … While passengers can often diagnose and articulate a problem quite well, they have no investment in solving it.” Frank wants front-seat drivers who’ll take ownership, make trouble, and help navigate. Raise Your Standards -- Push for insanely great. A leader must always push the standard higher. Focus -- “Founders don’t have a mindset around operating companies. Focus is one of our number one things. You need to learn to have extreme, machine focus, and most people don’t even know the beginning of what that means. They think they do, and they don’t.” “I’m more of a Patton than an Eisenhower,” he says, known for constantly driving the troops forward. Sequoia’s Carl Eschenbach remembers, “When we brought Frank into Snowflake, at our first board meeting he said, ‘Let me tell you how I’m running the board meetings and how you’re going to participate. We’re going to keep this very simple. I’m not even gonna tell you anything about the good stuff that’s happening because you already know that—I’m going to dive into the shit that’s broken and how we’re going to fix it.'” Very Brief Retirement -- In 2017, Frank spent time regatta sailing, winning the iconic ocean race, Transpac. Race from Los Angeles to Oahu. (To win, “We focused on recruiting talent”). Put The Success of The Company Ahead of Your Own – If you want to build a Snowflake-sized company,  you can’t be about the celeb-CEO lifestyle. “That’s not real life. Real life is you’re terrorized and uncomfortable every day of the week. People always ask me, ‘Is this normal?’ I’m like, yep.” Snowflake - Hit the ground running on April 26, 2019.  Good news: They were on already on a tear. The bad news: “The company was quite impressed with itself.” Growth in all areas (revenue, retention rate, total customers, $1m Customers, Forbes Global 2000 Customers, Customer Satisfaction). The first 90 days as a new leader. It’s a combat zone. You must quickly assess what’s working, and what’s not. Who should stay on the bus, and who should get off?

Frank Slootman, CEO and Chairman of Snowflake and author of Amp It Up, discusses topics like being tough on yourself, confronting demons, judging talent, rejecting pride, and learning from the best in this entertaining podcast episode.

Frank Slootman joins Jason for another incredible conversation that ranges from the management shift in Silicon Valley (1:08) to how to know if you’re moving the dial in your organization (9:59). Then, they discuss Frank’s hiring philosophy and how to create a winning relationship between an executive and their direct reports (27:05). Finally, they discuss managing burnout and creating security for yourself (46:33). (0:00) Molly kicks off the show (1:08) Layoffs + the management shift in Silicon Valley (8:29) MasterClass - Get 15% off an annual membership at https://masterclass.com/startups (9:59) How to know if you are moving the dial and moving at a fast pace (18:36) Contra - Get $500 off your first hire at https://contra.com/twist (20:09) Dealing with recessions and countering the media frenzy (27:05) Frank’s definition of culture and hiring for enthusiasm (32:32) The relationship between an executive and their employees (35:49) House of Macadamias - Get 20% off at https://houseofmacadamias.com/twist by using code TWIST20 (37:19) Assessing performance, hiring the right people, and being thoughtful (41:56) Starting with a great product (46:33) Managing burnout and creating security (56:49) Consumption-based pricing + acquisitions (1:00:30) Frank’s thoughts on AI FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood

Frank Slootman, the former CEO of ServiceNow, and company founder Fred Luddy share their compelling journey of resilience and innovation in tech. Luddy, who started over at 50 after a bankruptcy, discusses his vision for a cloud-based IT platform that transformed into a $150B enterprise. Slootman reveals the early challenges of scaling and the fear of checking emails during high-pressure times. The two recount the risky decision-making process that nearly led to a costly misstep in selling the company, ultimately emphasizing the importance of a long-term strategy.

Frank Slootman, Chairman of the Board at Snowflake, shares his groundbreaking perspective on leadership by blending passion with managerial skill. He challenges the traditional 'founder vs. manager' mindset, emphasizing the importance of intellectual honesty and the need for adaptable leadership. Frank also discusses the critical balance between empowerment and hands-on involvement, drawing insights from his experiences at Snowflake and ServiceNow. Lastly, he touches on the transformative impact of AI and the future of app ecosystems in business.

Frank Slootman is a billionaire businessman, individual investor, technology executive, and the chairman and CEO of Snowflake a cloud-based data storage company since 2019. Frank has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and executive in the enterprise software industry. Mr. Slootman served as CEO and President of ServiceNow from 2011 to 2017, taking the organization from around $100M in revenue, through an IPO, to $1.4B. Prior to that, Frank served as President of the Backup Recovery Systems Division at EMC following the acquisition of Data Domain Corporation/Data Domain, Inc., where he served as the Chief Executive Officer and President, leading the company through an IPO to its acquisition by EMC for $2.4B. Snowflake's Frank Slootman doesn’t start companies. But no CEO has a better track record of turning the ideas of others into jackpots. Now the 3x IPO veteran is exclusively sharing his playbook with his new book, Amp It Up: Leading for Hypergrowth by Raising Expectations, Increasing Urgency, and Elevating Intensity. Transcript & Episode Page  Watch on YouTube Checkout Sean's Ultimate Annual Review + 2023 Planning Program over 10,000 have watched! Checkout my NEW DAILY PODCAST- MOMENTUM MINUTES! Momentum Minutes is a short daily podcast that’s going to add a little inspiration to your morning by sharing lessons on leadership, business and self mastery. You Unleashed is an online personal development course created by Sean DeLaney after spending years working with and interviewing high achievers.The online course that helps you ‘Unleash your potential’! You Unleashed teaches you the MINDSETS, ROUTINES and BEHAVIORS you need to unleash your potential and discover what you’re capable of. You know you’re capable of more and want to bring out that untapped potential inside of you. We teach you how. Enroll Today!- Click Here Subscribe to my Momentum Monday Newsletter Connect with us! Whatgotyouthere TikTok YouTube Twitter Instagram 

In this engaging discussion, Frank Slootman, CEO of Snowflake and seasoned entrepreneur, dives into leadership lessons from his extensive career. He emphasizes the power of narrowing focus to boost quality and stresses that every CEO should embrace anxiety as a motivator. Slootman critiques traditional performance reviews, labeling them as ineffective, and shares insights on uplifting good talent to greatness. He explores his straightforward approach to handling underperformance and the importance of clear communication in leadership.