Everything about the enterprise, and then by definition the software the enterprise uses has changed – just in the last 5 years.
AARON LEVIEI think bad politics are incredibly dangerous, so it’s important to make sure that people are communicating well. Culture and morale are super important. It’s best to not force it, but let it happen organically and genuinely.
More Aaron Levie Quotes
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Jeff Bezos is opening a retail store and owns a newspaper. Turns out everything we thought about the Internet is wrong.
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That’s already been tried before only means the first attempt got it wrong.
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If you don’t go to every level of your company, you distance yourself from the marketplace and from your people.
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The only way to avoid disruption is to constantly do what you would if you were just starting out.
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Too little process and you can’t get good work done. Too much process and you can’t get any work done. Most companies never find the middle.
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Look for new enabling technologies that create a wide gap between how things have been done and how they can be done.
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I’m obsessed with speed. I’m always asking myself, ‘Why can’t we do things faster? Why can’t it happen more efficiently? Why is this requiring three meetings instead of one?’
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Do things that incumbents can’t or won’t do because it’s economically or technically infeasible.
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In an IT lead world, incumbents generally win because they have the existing relationship with the IT organization.
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Any time where the delta b/w what is possible and how things work today is at its widest, that’s an opportunity to go build new technology.
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Listen to your customers, but don’t always build exactly what they’re telling you. This is a really key distinction around building enterprise software.
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Companies have never won. You’re always either fighting for survival, or fighting for relevance.
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My workday begins around 11 A.M., with a cup of black coffee in each hand. If I had more hands, there would be more coffee.
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You can keep ‘consumer’ DNA at the center of your product. That will always mean that adoption is easier.
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Always look for these changing technology factors- any market that has a significant change in the underlying raw materials …or enabling factors, is an environment that is about to change in a very significant way.
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Your product should sell itself, but that does not mean you don’t need salespeople.
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You intentionally start small, because you will not be able to compete with an incumbent… because the incumbent is always going to go for the full solution.
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Startups often win because it’s easier to see what comes next when you don’t have to worry about maintaining what came last.
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In a user lead model, users are bringing in their own technology… and you can build software then, around the user.
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Go after the customers that are working in the future, but haven’t totally lost their minds.
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We’re going from a world of customized software to standardized platforms.
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If you’re waiting for encouragement from others, you’re doing it wrong. By the time people think an idea is good, it’s probably too late.
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We didn’t really start the company to go build an enterprise software company.
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I think I’m the kind of person who would be very difficult to employ – I’m pretty annoying, but driven.
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In the enterprise you want to start intentionally small.
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Sometimes things are the way they are and can’t be changed, other times it’s because no one ever tried. Your job is to find the latter.
AARON LEVIE