Creator of the standing desk, Vari is experiencing explosive growth as it expands its lineup of products and engages with customers in new ways. In this episode, Vari CIO Jeff Dinard, who embodies the essential business-first outlook of the digital-economy CIO, shares some thoughts on culture, innovation, leadership and the big role SAP has played in helping Vari transition smoothly from B2B to B2C and back and forth as needed, even as the company’s soaring growth continues. I think you’ll also enjoy Jeff’s discussion of why Vari refers to its customers as “fans.”
The Big Themes:
- Heading back to the office: The pendulum is swinging back in the other direction, and B2B or B2C becoming artificial boundaries.
- That’s part of our DNA: We’re a company that’s built around the notion of flexibility – and we can talk about it from a fan’s perspective.
- The CIO’s role has changed: My role is a leader first, and a businessman second, and a technologist third.
- Maintaining a culture of care: People really want to be here and they deliver excellence. This is not soft and fluffy – this is really the hard stuff.
The Big Quotes:
- “If you want to talk about culture and relationships and partnerships, this’ll be a 14 hour podcast.”
- “We call them QuickFlex Walls and they can be assembled and disassembled in minutes, literally, with no tools, literally, and you can move them.”
- “We essentially took about 70% of the people in this building and moved them to a different part of the building, and we do that a few times a year.”
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