Frank Slootman, former CEO of Snowflake, ServiceNow, and Data Domain, explains his leadership philosophy on separating employees over behavioral versus performance issues.
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“We very quickly separate on behavior. You know, performance is something that we will give more time behavior. We won't. And that's because behavior is a choice, not a skill set.”
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More from Frank Slootman
Opinion
Slootman: Mass layoffs expose the hypocrisy of Google and Salesforce family cultures
“Companies like Salesforce and even Google come to mind, but you know, in the end they're laying people off too, by the thousands. Okay. So I guess it's not family after all.”
Frank SlootmanDec 26, 2023▶ 1:19:43Best of 2023: Conversations of the Year
Insight
Slootman: Fire quickly for behavior; it is a choice, not a skill
“We very quickly separate on behavior. You know, performance is something that we will give more time behavior. We won't. And that's because behavior is a choice, not a skill set.”
Frank SlootmanDec 26, 2023▶ 1:13:33Best of 2023: Conversations of the Year
Insight
Slootman: Businesses should operate like sports franchises rather than families
“I don't think a business is a family. Unfortunately, in a family, you can't fire your family, even though you sometimes want to, you have to tolerate them and deal with them. And sometimes in the most egregious way, that is just the nature of families. I mean,…”
Frank SlootmanDec 26, 2023▶ 1:18:50Best of 2023: Conversations of the Year
Insight
True ambition and drive require a lack of personal balance
“It is a lack of adjustment because if you were a perfectly balanced person, you wouldn't have any ambition. You're so happy with where things are. You barely have a reason to get up in the morning, you know?”
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Insight
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“There needs to be a bell curve. We want to know who is, you know, deserving of two X, three X versus who is deserving of zero. So that we see the full spectrum, the bell curve, if you will of people that are, you know, performing, you know, incredibly well. An…”
Frank SlootmanAug 8, 2023▶ 22:52Frank Slootman: Doing Less, Doing Better
Insight
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“You get much better sales organization when you have full alignment in the entire company so that everybody works, you know, for sales effectively. We always say that we're all working for sales here. Because they're the tip of the spear and the rest of us are…”
Frank SlootmanAug 8, 2023▶ 26:35Frank Slootman: Doing Less, Doing Better
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