Doug DavidoffThere are big things going on in the world this week: Snowflake went public, Inbound 2020 is happening virtually starting September 22 (register if you haven't and use our promo code BRK-PHP-BEJMV to receive $49 off your ticket), and The Black Line Podcast has a new format! In today's episode, Mike and Doug discuss their take on Snowflake and the valuation they received, and they answer a juicy question regarding the growing side gig economy.
Audio:
Show Notes
Feature 1: BIG NEWS
Snowflake went public yesterday. (For those of you watching/reading this in the future, we're discussing Wednesday, September 16, 2020.) Why is there so much buzz for Snowflake? Mike explains that it's interesting tech and the promise behind what they're doing makes it easy and flexible to analyze data. They've grown fast, they have a good product, and they're capturing large enterprise organizations. So what makes them so special? Everyone that is betting on them is betting that they will disrupt the market, but what's going to stop someone else from disrupting them?
In 5 years from now, will we still be talking about Snowflake or will they be a division somewhere else? Both Doug and Mike agree that they will become a division elsewhere. The reason being the valuation they received isn't healthy. They're a good company, but they received a crazy valuation. They don't have control over distribution either. If you can control distribution you can control the world.
Feature 2: Question of the Episode
Question: With the growing gig economy and side gigs, how should an executive or manager view the efforts of people who work for them? Do people owe their best and full efforts to the company they work for?
Mike becomes a little speechless with this question. His first reaction is that it's a juicy question.
One of the frustrating parts of a side gig to Mike is that there's a push to have a personal brand, and that push can tend to make a person take advantage of the company they work for. There's only so much mental energy in a day, and there is a good chance that the person is putting that energy into the side gig.
What if you have someone who has a side gig, but when they're at work, they're at work?
Mike believes if you're getting your job done efficiently, then it's fine. Doug agreed and believes the conflict comes in with personal branding. The issue arises hen the personal brand overtakes the company the person works for and they're in a public facing role. It becomes confusing. There's no clear separation from personal brand to the company; you don't know what's what. When this happens, you can't deal with it when it becomes a problem. You have to think about it and address it now.
There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to addressing the issue, but you need to be consistent with what you put out there. You can't decide on a philosophy and then look the other way.
If you are in a position where you're becoming bored with what you're doing and are starting to look elsewhere, take a step back and think about these 2 things:
1. Reinforce your why. Why are you doing what you're doing? When this is big enough, you're never bored.
2. Be more engaged with the process and beginning of a project.
Above all else, make sure you're in a "choose your own adventure" game.
Takeaways/Predictions:
Mike: Stay healthy and take care of yourself. There's a lot of mental exhaustion today and we need to be checking in on others and checking in on ourselves.
Doug: GBT (George B. Thomas) is going down in the Inbound debate. (We love you George, but it's true.) Also, 2021 is foggier than it was 3 months ago. Get together with your team and go back to the basics. Refresh on why you are here, and focus on solving for your customers.