Stanford Seminar - Resilience is Everything

TL;DR

The CEO of PagerDuty shares her personal journey from being an average Midwesterner to becoming a successful CEO, emphasizing the importance of having grit and resilience.

Transcript

well hi I mean it my my daughter goes to school near here she's 14 she's a teenager and she was so excited today that school was cancelled because of the rolling power outages now I grew up in Minnesota and Michigan and other sundry places in the Midwest first school was readily canceled for ice storms and snow except her so I said schools canceled... Read More

Key Insights

• ❓ Grit and perseverance are crucial qualities for success, especially in entrepreneurship.
• 👯 Surrounding yourself with people who have demonstrated resilience and perseverance can contribute to personal and professional growth.
• 😤 Hiring individuals who have shown the ability to learn from failures and overcome obstacles contributes to a strong and agile team.
• 😤 Building a diverse and inclusive team is essential for long-term success and creating a positive work culture.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the speaker overcome challenges and setbacks throughout her career?

The speaker attributes her success to her grit, perseverance, and resilience. She mentions that she learned these qualities from her experience as a college athlete and surrounding herself with people who have demonstrated these traits.

Q: How does the speaker assess grit during the hiring process?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of looking for a track record of perseverance and resilience in candidates. This includes assessing their ability to stick with a role for a significant period of time and asking about their experience overcoming obstacles and failures.

Q: How does the speaker handle conflicts or disagreements with more experienced employees?

The speaker suggests starting with understanding the other person's perspective and seeking common ground. If a resolution cannot be reached, the speaker advises disagreeing and committing to a decision.

Q: What was the biggest failure the speaker has faced in her career and how did she handle it?

The speaker shares an example of a bad hire she made and how it negatively affected the team. She explains that she took responsibility for the mistake and made the difficult decision to remove the person from the company, ultimately leading to a positive outcome.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker discusses her upbringing and education in the Midwest, highlighting the lack of entrepreneurship education at the time.

• She emphasizes the importance of grit and perseverance in the entrepreneurial journey, citing a book by Angela Duckworth on the topic.

• She shares her career trajectory, including her time at Procter & Gamble, a software company in Dallas, and her experiences in Australia.

• The speaker also discusses her role as CEO of PagerDuty and the importance of diversity and inclusion in building a successful company.