WEBVTT - Cultivating the Valuable Resource of Talent

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<v Speaker 1>We've had lots of conversation with heads of companies and

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<v Speaker 1>organizations of all sizes, and one common denominator, the fight

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<v Speaker 1>for workers in today's tight labor market. We get another read,

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<v Speaker 1>as you know, on the US employment picture with the

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<v Speaker 1>monthly data release on Friday and a few reports leading

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<v Speaker 1>up to that. Our next guest knows a lot about

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<v Speaker 1>people management and building a company thanks to its people.

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<v Speaker 1>She spent ten years at Google. She is corporate officer

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<v Speaker 1>and advisor to Stripe. She was COO It's Stripe. So

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<v Speaker 1>delighted to have with us. Claire Hughes Johnson. She's got

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<v Speaker 1>a new book out, Scaling People Tactics for Management and

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<v Speaker 1>Company Building. She is here in our Bloomberg Interactive Broker's studio.

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<v Speaker 1>Really nice to have you. How are you? Thank you?

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<v Speaker 1>I'm well, it's great to be her, Carol Thing. It's

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<v Speaker 1>great to have you here, and I want to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about your book. I want to ask you, though, I

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<v Speaker 1>feel like Claire, everybody's talking about people management, especially coming

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<v Speaker 1>off the pandemic. What have we all been doing often

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<v Speaker 1>so wrong? And what have we maybe realized as a

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<v Speaker 1>result of the pandemic what we were doing so wrong? Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I think that what we've probably done is thought that

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<v Speaker 1>just people management will come naturally to us and the pandemic. No,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't, But I do think it's learnable. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I think a lot about scaling people is just like,

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<v Speaker 1>let's break down some of the stuff that happens in private,

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<v Speaker 1>the one on ones, the performance conversations. Let's expose what happens,

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<v Speaker 1>but actually do the work. Because actually doing that work

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<v Speaker 1>and investing in people. And I agree with you and

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<v Speaker 1>the climate we're in right now, if you're not investing

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<v Speaker 1>in yourself as a leader and manager or in your talent,

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<v Speaker 1>you're gonna have a problem because you need more out

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<v Speaker 1>of them, and you can't let growth paper over challenges.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I do think the pandemic cause more disconnection,

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<v Speaker 1>So if you're not reconnecting, it's going to get worse.

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<v Speaker 1>And that doesn't change when we get into a softer

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<v Speaker 1>labor market. What's your take on that. I think the

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<v Speaker 1>best companies make this investment, no matter what I do

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<v Speaker 1>think though in a softer labor market, sure people start

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<v Speaker 1>taking some things for granted, but I don't know. I

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<v Speaker 1>think one of the things that bothers me often is

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<v Speaker 1>companies Obviously they're obsessed with their business, with their product,

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<v Speaker 1>with their growth, but you're people for a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>companies are what's producing all of that. And the whole

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<v Speaker 1>hypothesis of scaling people is you want great results. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the investment you make because in the long term,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what's going to produce them. I have to say

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<v Speaker 1>it's like a handbook, like as I go through it,

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<v Speaker 1>like I'm assuming that that's what you meant for it

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<v Speaker 1>to be, and you've got some great What I like

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<v Speaker 1>is though great quotes from some leaders. You've talked to

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people in terms of what it is,

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<v Speaker 1>What is though the biggest mistake that people kind of make,

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<v Speaker 1>or what as you talk to leaders? So, yeah, it

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<v Speaker 1>is more like a reference manual. So scaling people is

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<v Speaker 1>just not really to be red cover to cover. It's

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<v Speaker 1>more look in the table of contents, what is the

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<v Speaker 1>thing you're working on? Is it team development, is it

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<v Speaker 1>company building, operating structures, is it performance feedback? Is it

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<v Speaker 1>your own career? And you'll find a section in the

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<v Speaker 1>book and also, yeah, quotes and excerpts from a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of different material what do people get wrong in management?

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<v Speaker 1>There are two things that I think often happen. One

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<v Speaker 1>is thinking you need everyone to like you and you're

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<v Speaker 1>not your team's best friend. I'm sorry. And the other

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<v Speaker 1>is not you need to manage different people differently. And

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<v Speaker 1>I think a lot of people take the Golden rule. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to manage people the way I like to

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<v Speaker 1>be managed. But guess what, they're different than you. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like the opposite of the Golden rule. What motivates them,

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<v Speaker 1>what kind of challenge? How do they take feedback? You

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<v Speaker 1>need to be studying your team and yourself to understand

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<v Speaker 1>how to adapt and adjust. And I actually think it's

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<v Speaker 1>very doable. But maybe the third mistake is not taking

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<v Speaker 1>the time to do it well. It's interesting too, And

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<v Speaker 1>I think about as you were helping Stripe, as you

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<v Speaker 1>were working at Google, right, building out these incredible companies, right,

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<v Speaker 1>but at some point it's probably crazy. You're running after

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<v Speaker 1>a million different things. The last thing you're like, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>what is Joe need or what is Jay need? In

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<v Speaker 1>terms of an employee? But it's really important, it is.

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<v Speaker 1>It is at the end of I think the longest

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<v Speaker 1>chapter in the book is about hiring. Yeah, and at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the chapter, I found myself because it's true.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been in very high growth environments. I've been part

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<v Speaker 1>of building too, you know, arguably pretty definitional companies Google

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<v Speaker 1>certainly and Stripe we hope to be. And at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of the chapter, I found myself writing, if you've

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<v Speaker 1>gotten to this point, you probably think I'm insane for

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<v Speaker 1>recommending all of these things that you need to build

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<v Speaker 1>and want to build into your hiring and your onboarding process.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's very tactical. They're they're like specific steps, right,

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<v Speaker 1>and how to interview and teach interviewing. I said, but

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<v Speaker 1>you know, if you believe talent is everything you know,

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<v Speaker 1>or that hiring is everything, then talent is everything and

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<v Speaker 1>your hiring process has to reflect that. Well. It's interesting

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<v Speaker 1>because I do feel like in part of the narrative,

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<v Speaker 1>the corporate narratives, certainly coming off the pandemic right, certainly

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<v Speaker 1>coming off of George Floyd and everything, it's people, you

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<v Speaker 1>all matter, and so on and so forth, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the working from home, do what you need to do.

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<v Speaker 1>But I do feel like I wonder if the narrative,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe the narratives there, but the actions are right, And

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<v Speaker 1>what are you seeing or what do you think does

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<v Speaker 1>it just that something change. Here's what I worry about

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<v Speaker 1>in that, which is there seems to be something soft

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<v Speaker 1>in saying people investment or people matter, when in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>I think the best places, the best managers and leaders

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<v Speaker 1>have very high standards but also deep devotion. Right, It's

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<v Speaker 1>the marriage of the caring and the expectations. And I

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<v Speaker 1>worry people were like, well, we've got to just take

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<v Speaker 1>our foot off the gas because yeah, there was a pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>Terrible things have happened in this country and around the world,

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<v Speaker 1>and it is very hard and people are tired. But

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<v Speaker 1>you know what, we want to be inspired. We want

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<v Speaker 1>to be inspired by where we work and the people

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<v Speaker 1>we work with. And if you don't have a high

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<v Speaker 1>standard coupled with that empathy and that devotion and that investment,

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<v Speaker 1>you're not doing your job and you're not going to

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<v Speaker 1>get the results. All right, So, because you're here and

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<v Speaker 1>you have this incredible background, I only have a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of minutes left, so you have to promise you if

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<v Speaker 1>you're going to come back, because but tell me about

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<v Speaker 1>some of the interesting trends that are going on. We're

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<v Speaker 1>talking so much about aim. What is it that you

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<v Speaker 1>find it you're at Google. I mean the Moon's like,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, there's just so much stuff. What is it

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<v Speaker 1>that you find interesting? I love working with founders, and

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<v Speaker 1>I love all of the things that are happening. You're

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<v Speaker 1>absolutely right. It's you just turn around and there's an

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<v Speaker 1>exciting project happening in any in lots of companies of

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<v Speaker 1>all sizes. I think AI is real. It is incredibly innovative.

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<v Speaker 1>But what's really interesting about it to me is it's

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<v Speaker 1>less of a technology that is like there's one or

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<v Speaker 1>two winners ye, kind of a thing, right, like an

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<v Speaker 1>Android and an Apple. Right. This is much more fragmented

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<v Speaker 1>and dispersed, and it's very accessible to a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>different companies. It'll be very interesting to see how people

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<v Speaker 1>how companies sort of innovate around AI as part of

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<v Speaker 1>their core business. And I think a lot of the

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<v Speaker 1>best companies will. We only have about forty seconds left.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it a conversation you guys are having about I

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<v Speaker 1>think every company. I'm a bunch of boards too. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>on the board of HubSpot. Every company is having that conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>Really really fascinating. I have a million more questions working

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<v Speaker 1>from home, is it here going to go away. I

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<v Speaker 1>think some version of it is here, but it means

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<v Speaker 1>you have to be in person on some regular basis

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<v Speaker 1>in my opinion, all right, come back. Scaling People. It

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<v Speaker 1>is her book. It really is a handbook. It's pretty incredible.

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<v Speaker 1>It's very dense, but we kind of love that it's

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<v Speaker 1>entitled Scaling People Tactics for Management and Company Building. Our

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<v Speaker 1>thanks so much to our guest Claire Hughes Johnson, Corporated

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<v Speaker 1>officer and advisor to Stripe, former CEO Stripe, joining us

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<v Speaker 1>here in our Bloomberg Business Week studio. Thank you again,

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<v Speaker 1>great to be here. Loved it, loved it. You are

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<v Speaker 1>listening in watching Blueberg Business Week on this Tuesday. Just

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<v Speaker 1>a reminder of how we closed in terms of trading,

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<v Speaker 1>just down about one and a half percent on the

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<v Speaker 1>S and P five hundred, a decline of one point

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<v Speaker 1>seven percent on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the

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<v Speaker 1>Nazik a decline of one and a quarter percent. This

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<v Speaker 1>is Blueberg Radio