Pfeffer on Power

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 Alex Rodriguez, CEO and Chairman of investment firm Arod Corp, and is known as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, and Matt Abrahams, of the Think Fast Talk Smart podcast to co-host this interview. Alex discusses his transition to business and teaching at Stanford. Rodriguez, who co-teaches a class on Strategic Pivoting with Professor Allison Kluger, shares insights into their teaching framework and what he’s learned through teaching. Alex also emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, resilience, and preparation in both his athletic and business endeavors. Alex also touches on handling setbacks, maintaining authenticity, and the value of humility and gratitude in personal development. Alex also shares what he’s learned about effective communication and team-building, and how it can help shape young leaders and athletes.Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.Episode Quotes:Finding resilience in the face of setbacks23:07: [Jeffrey Pfeffer] So, what advice, in coming back from setbacks—which is, I think, amazing—how did you find the inner resilience to do this?23:29: [Alex Rodriguez] This is tough. I mean, everybody handles setbacks their own separate way. I don't care who you are. I mean, I don't care how perfect you are. Name the best CEO—he or she—they've had setbacks, I guarantee it. So, again, I think this is where baseball has really helped me because baseball is the epitome of setbacks. So, I think having the resilience, the confidence, the perseverance from inside to keep trying. I mean, I remember in my darkest hour, I would send 10 emails out—one or two responded—and it was heartbreaking. And part of it was 'cause I was a pariah, and people don't wanna be around me. And Allison works really, really hard with the administration, like, you know, vouching for me. And it's something that I'll never forget. I mean, here I am, in my darkest hour, trying to fight back. And Allison, out of all people—they're probably saying, "There are 750 major league baseball players. This is the one? You got the guy that got suspended for all these years?" And she's like, "Yeah, he's actually a nice guy," and this and that. It's like, "Ah, I'm not sure if I'm buying it." But, I mean, here we are seven years later, and I couldn't be more proud of the partnership.How Alex shapes his communication style with his skills29:38: I think my style of communication is a blend between sports and business, and a little bit of entertainment and levity. I always think about, what is the number one or two things that I'm trying to deliver, and then I'm trying to go—every good story has a good headline, has a beginning, middle, and end. And then maybe go back and repeat my headline, and if I can say more with less words, the better.What makes a great communicator28:28: Part of being a great communicator is sticking to your circle of competence—speak with passion, but about something where you have real knowledge, where you have something to actually add.Show Links:Alex Rodriguez | LinkedInStrategic Pivoting for your Next ChapterMattAbrahams.comThink Fast, Talk Smart Podcast

Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI and former CEO of Nextdoor, shares her remarkable journey from engineering in Northern Ireland to significant leadership roles in tech and finance. She discusses vital lessons on navigating career transitions, emphasizing the importance of networking and community. Sarah highlights the unique challenges women face in tech and underscores owning one's power in leadership. Furthermore, she offers insights on team dynamics at OpenAI, including the balance of communication and collaboration in a fast-paced environment.

James da Costa, co-founder of Fingo Africa and author of Fintech Wars, shares his inspiring journey from Sheffield to Silicon Valley. He discusses the pivotal role boldness and adaptability play in navigating crises, revealing how great founders thrive under pressure. James highlights the importance of continuous learning and building authentic connections in the fintech world. He emphasizes generosity in networking as a key to fostering innovation and seizing opportunities, making his insights invaluable for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Christine Hung, VP of Client Solutions at Flatiron Health, shares her insightful journey as an Asian immigrant from Taiwan in the tech industry. She discusses overcoming job discrimination and stereotypes while climbing the corporate ladder at companies like Apple and Spotify. Christine emphasizes the power of self-advocacy and networking in navigating cultural barriers. With personal anecdotes, she explores the importance of asking for what you want and how it can lead to significant career growth.

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 Omar Shaya, the founder of MultiOn, an AI company that develops autonomous agents.  Omar shares his inspiring journey from growing up in Syria and studying computer science in Germany to working at top tech companies, Microsoft and Meta. He delves into the philosophy and goals behind his startup, which aims to democratize access to personal AI assistants. Additionally, Omar discusses the importance of building a brand, forming strategic relationships, and acting with confidence. Practicing these rules of power helped Omar have successful pitches, secure investments, and build his company to where it is today.He reflects on valuable lessons learned from Professor Pfeffer’s class, such as networking relentlessly, bringing energy to every room, and questioning conventional wisdom. Omar shares how some pivotal choices in preparing for a meeting, such as searching for commonalities and having a working product to demonstrate, open doors to conversations with pivotal people. This episode is full of power-based tips that can be incorporated into the branding and networking habits of any listener. Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.Episode Quotes:Democratization through AI03:48: One of the things that I noticed are still exclusive is having access to a personal assistant or to an executive assistant, someone, or something that you can delegate tasks to, tasks that you do not want to do but you have to do so that you can stay focused on the things that you actually want to do. And so when I looked at that, I noticed that this is very limited to people who can afford it, or wealthy, or executive. But the rest of the population did not have access to this. And I thought AI could be the democratizing factor here, where you could give every single person on Earth an assistant that can help them be more productive that can let them delegate tasks that they do not want to do but yet have to do so that they can stay focused on the things they care about most. So that was the motivation to start this company.On acting with power and confidence16:42: [Jeffrey] One of the things that struck me is that you showed up with confidence and with power. You act and speak with power. Can you talk a little bit about that? Cause I suspect, I mean, you're not talking in your native language, which was, I mean, you're from Syria, and then you lived in Germany, but you show up with an enormous amount of confidence and assurance. 17:00: [Omar Shaya] This is also something I learned from your class, doubling down on this whole concept of acting with power. And the way I see it, it's not about me acting with power for the sake of myself only; it is a service to the audience. If I speak with confidence, if they can hear me well, if they can follow the ideas I'm talking about, if they can understand what I'm saying, I see that as my responsibility towards the audience, and not only about me asserting a certain power or something like that. And so that was also the framing of what it means to show up with power or acting with power to me.Building strong connections through networking16:01: Networking, to me, is about building relationships, and that's how you start getting energy from networking, versus seeing it just as a transactional act, but being curious about the other person, learning about them, seeing how you can help each other, and trying to build energy. Some sort of relationship, whether a friendship, a business relationship, or just a human connection, I think that's how you turn networking from something you don't like into something you might enjoy and get energy from.Show L inks:OmarShaya.com   MultiOn.aiOmar Shaya’s LinkedIn

Gina Bianchini, CEO and Co-Founder of Mighty Networks, shares her expertise in persuasive leadership and effective communication. She discusses the power of storytelling, drawing parallels between politicians and startup founders. Gina emphasizes the importance of building dedicated communities, highlighting the advantages of her platform over traditional social media. The conversation dives into resilience and persistence in the tech world, with Gina sharing her own challenges and triumphs. Jeffrey Pfeffer also weighs in on power dynamics in the presidential race, providing thought-provoking insights.

Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Stanford professor and power dynamics expert, engages in a lively Q&A session. He shares practical strategies for self-empowerment and building sustainable power, emphasizing the importance of networking and executive presence. The conversation covers techniques for personal rebranding, negotiating exit offers, and the complexities of power within organizations. Pfeffer also addresses the paradox of seeking power, discussing its potential downsides and offering insights for career success.

Jed Simon, an accomplished CEO with experience in FinTech and Media, shares intriguing insights from his diverse career. He discusses his journey through prestigious firms like Morgan Stanley and DreamWorks, highlighting a humorous encounter with media mogul David Geffen. Jed reveals his strategies in navigating power dynamics, including tips on networking and forming relationships, even using his nightclub experiences as lessons in adaptability. His application of Stanford's Paths to Power course showcases the importance 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 Amir Rubin, CEO and founding managing partner of Healthier Capital, a fund that advances healthcare by supporting innovative companies creating significant impact and value.Amir is a trailblazing leader who has revolutionized healthcare giants like Stanford Healthcare and One Medical. Curious about how to build influence without direct control? From fixing hospital roofs to improving parking, Amir’s approach to practical issues offers valuable lessons for anyone looking to turn around underperforming departments. Learn how he fosters a supportive environment for doctors and staff, creating a culture that thrives on continuous improvement.Discover the secrets to aligning executive skills with organizational needs, as Amir dives into the importance of understanding board expectations and leveraging lean and design thinking approaches. Amir involves patients in improvement processes and engages multidisciplinary teams to ensure sustainable success and scalability. Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.Episode Quotes:The importance of alignment, trust and empowerment from the board leadership20:43: It's important to have that alignment, trust, and empowerment from the board in the leadership, you know, until we lose that right. And that's why cultivating that right, maintaining those relationships, and keeping people informed is very important. Because we are trying to do things with a certain philosophy and a certain approach. And it's also why showing progress, making traction, and having some early wins is also important because you want to keep building on that confidence. If you're like, no, no, no, it's coming in the future, you can lose some of the confidence of those stakeholders. So, showing, you know, that foot in the door: "Hey, wait, hold on; we're making some progress here." And showing the measurements, showing the tractions, and continuously improving is really important. And then bringing other people into this solution. Bringing clinicians, bringing staff, bringing technologists, bringing the board, bringing the patients. Let's all work on this. This is all of our mission.The value steam processes matter07:20: I think a great experience, whether it's for faculty, clinicians, staff, or for patients, is thinking through all those small steps of the process. And I think when we're often finding ourselves irritated with an experience, it's often something like, I can't believe nobody's thought about this. Well, you know, that's often the case. Either folks haven't thought about it or haven't put the energy or effort to think about those things. I think ultimately a great experience, whether it's for patients, customers, or consumers, or for physicians, faculty, staff, is thinking about all those things. How do we stitch these things together? The details matter. The value stream processes matter, and I don't think you can have great experience and ignore those details, whether it's for faculty, staff, or patients. I think they're kind of one in the same.On having patient-centric approach in everything they do19:43: We need to understand it from the patient's perspective, or if we're serving a child, the parent's perspective. And the more of those perspectives we had, the better picture we had of, ah, now I see what's going on here. If we could just stitch a few of these things together upstream, we'd make it better for the patient, the consumer, but also we wouldn't create all this downstream work for the clinician and staff that could be avoidable. That was absolutely important, and it also infused our organization with a customer experience mindset.Show Links:LinkedIn Profile   HealthierCapital.com

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 Rene Caissie, CEO and co-founder of Medeloop.ai, a company dedicated to revolutionizing clinical research and trials through innovative AI technology. Rene is also an Adjunct Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.Rene, a former maxillofacial surgeon, shares how his personal experiences, including those of his children’s illnesses, motivated him to innovate in the field of electronic medical records and co-found the start-up Medeloop.ai, a revolutionary clinical research platform utilizing AI for accelerated drug discovery, playing a crucial role in addressing his own son's complex medical condition, underscoring the platform's real-world need and impact.Rene and Jeffrey also discuss the importance of networking and how it can catapult your career to new heights. Rene sheares the story of his transformative encounter with Amir Rubin, former CEO of One Medical and Stanford Healthcare, illustrating how meaningful connections can open doors to unimaginable opportunities. Listen to learn practical tips that can also help you network and advance your own career.Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.00:00 Introduction to Pfeffer on Power00:26 Renee Caissie: From Surgeon to Startup Founder02:29 The Birth of Medeloop04:56 Using AI to Diagnose Rene’s Son08:00 Leveraging Networks for Success11:07 Practical Advice for Networking18:17 Building a Personal Brand20:39 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsEpisode Quotes: How AI transformed Rene's life05:49: We spent a couple thousand dollars and came to the office, and we built a bot that would take all of this data, all of his symptoms, and it actually found that Tom had what's called EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) that caused malabsorption of certain nutrients that, in certain rare cases, could cause motor tics. So he was missing this enzyme called lipase that wasn't being excreted by his pancreas. He ordered lipase on the internet, gave it to him, and three days later, Tom had no more tics. It disappeared. So we went from having a prognostic that could have, a couple of years to a lifetime to a pill that costs 50 cents a day and being fully cured using today's technology, using AI.How do you stand out and make meaningful connections?12:08: I think it's important when you do approach somebody to not just come in with an ask. You need to provide value, and there's a whole bunch of ways you can provide value. One of the easiest ways is to make a connection. So, if you meet someone, there's a fair chance there's somebody else that they might want to meet or that you could propose, making an introduction is an easy way to provide value, but not just coming in with an ask of, Amir doing something for me, but me being able to provide something to Amir really makes a big difference because powerful people get asked for things relentlessly. So it's important to shine, to make sure that you differentiate yourself from others that might approach them, but also come in with some sort of value that you can provide to these people.The power of getting out of your way08:32: I was never one to go ask for help before, and that's the first thing that I learned in your class: to get out of my own way and meet people in class. So the first thing that I did was actually, in your class, make sure to be the first guy up front. When class concluded, you always had a guest speaker that came in, and I always knew what I wanted to say to them. I was very well-versed in what they've done in the past, and I made sure to make an impact during those five minutes. I think I did that quite well. I was able to connect with people who have had a drastic impact on my company.Show Links:Medeloop.aiFaculty Profile at Stanford MedicineLinkedIn Profile