In the Acceleration Economy Cloud Wars Top 10 CEO Outlook 2023 series, Bob Evans interviewed Frank Slootman, CEO of Snowflake. The company ranks #9 on the Cloud Wars Top 10. In this CEO Outlook moment, Slootman discusses organizational change and setting priorities.
Highlights
00:10 — The entry into the enterprise had always been through enterprise information technology (IT). There was a real protocol and expectation with that, says Slootman.
00:28 — If you want organizational change, you need to institutionalize the changes you want. Otherwise, people will fall back into the same patterns and behaviors.
01:06 — Slootman advises others to keep their priority list short. “When I get through the first three [priorities], I’ve already forgotten what the first one was,” he explains, referencing previous board meetings that have gone over PowerPoint slides full of priorities.
01:35 — “I’m much more impressed with people that know what the one thing is they must do,” Slootman expresses. While this may come at the expense of other things, Slootman highlights the value of the ability to focus and prioritize.
01:55 — This can be incredibly risky, as you could be wrong about what to focus on. However, Slootman says that’s “exactly the point.”
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