Pfeffer on Power

Learn more about Jeffrey Pfeffer and where you can buy or listen to his books:
https://JeffreyPfeffer.com/

SHOW NOTES:

Valerie Shen is Partner and Chief Operating Officer at G2 Venture Partners, overseeing all operational aspects of the firm, which has almost one billion dollars under management. Valerie exemplifies many of the principles within the book 7 Rules of Power and speaks with us about how she began (yes, began) her career as a Chief Operating Officer for a venture capital firm.

In this episode:

• Valerie’s background before attending business school
• Her pivotal internship
• How she landed her job as a Chief Operating Officer
• Why she accepted the position
• How she met her mentor by sending a cold email
• The importance of choosing a focus within the company’s roles
• The importance of differentiating yourself
• What a COO does in a venture fund
• The rules of power used to get such a high-level role so early in her career
• Taking a position that matches your natural skillsets and what you enjoy
• Crafting a job that plays to your abilities
• How she got her job as COO at G2 Venture Partners
• A provocative take on her experience of being an Asian woman in tech
• The danger in highlighting differences
• The issue of cognitive load
• Advice on having the willingness and ability to self-promote

GUEST BIO w/ social links:

Valerie Shen is Partner and Chief Operating Officer at G2 Venture Partners. She oversees all operational aspects of the firm and fund, including fundraising / LP relations, recruiting / HR, fund administration, impact reporting, legal, compliance, and marketing.

Prior to business school, Valerie was an analyst at Kleiner Perkins’ $1B Green Growth Fund, where she helped the team found G2. Before that, Valerie was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she worked across four continents, primarily on energy projects. She has also held positions at the U.S. Senate, X (Google’s “moonshot factory”), Goldman Sachs, Jane Street Capital, and The Wilderness Society.

Valerie holds a B.A. degree summa cum laude in Environmental Science & Public Policy and Earth & Planetary Sciences from Harvard University. She holds an M.B.A. and M.S. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University, where she was a Siebel Scholar and an Arjay Miller Scholar.

Website: https://www.g2vp.com/valerie-shen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-shen/
Produced by The www.MunnAvenuePress.com

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by James da Costa, co-founder of Fingo Africa, and also author of the book Fintech Wars: Tech Titans, Complex Crypto and the Future of Money.

James relays his journey growing up in Sheffield, England, and studying economics. From working at McKinsey, to founding a digital banking startup in Kenya and finally joining Andreessen Horowitz as a partner.

James emphasizes the importance of boldness, continual learning, reaching out to influential figures, and the significance of generosity in networking. His story is an inspiring testament to young professionals and entrepreneurs.

Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

Lessons from FinTech wars

10:31: [Jeffrey Pfeffer] So what did you learn from your research on FinTech wars? And then I'm going to ask you, what did you learn from starting the bank?

10:56:[James da Costa] I think one of the most interesting things that I saw is, number one: very often, I think the very best founders are at their best in crisis. They love it when they're thrown the most difficult challenge. I came back from David [Vélez] from Nubank again. He's at his best when the central bank is about to tell him that he's going to get shut down or that he's running out of money because he's then able to galvanize himself and every single person around him to take on that challenge. Reid Huffman compares it to great startup operators being like doctors or emergency care workers. They're used to being in these high-stress environments. And so it was amazing to see how calm and how articulate many of these people were faced with. They respond with massive action, but they often break up the stimulus to the response.

How James landed a partnership at a prestigious VC firm straight out of business school

05:07: For me, in my career, I've always followed my energy and interests. And so, on the one hand, that's meant that I've had a career that involves supporting corporates build startups in the UK and abroad. It then kind of jumps to building a digital bank myself in East Africa. And now I'm over here in the Bay Area. And so, at first look, you might kind of not see these things. But over time, I built a real knowledge and excitement for a particular industry, which was FinTech and financial services, and had the chance to just meet many, many entrepreneurs in that space and learn a lot about the space. And I think that, combined with actually being an entrepreneur myself and then, at Stanford, spending a lot of time convening other entrepreneurs around Stanford, inviting successful entrepreneurs to come back and talk to people, it meant that I was sort of in the right place at the right time, as they were looking for a new investing partner to join that team.

Show Links:

• Fintech Wars: Tech Titans, Complex Crypto and the Future of Money
• LinkedIn Profile
• Social Profile on X

In this episode of 'Pfeffer on Power,' host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Stanford University professor, converses with education expert and influential figure, Dr. Rudy Crew. Dr. Crew is the Clinical Education Professor at USC Rossier School of Education, and has had notable former roles as Chancellor of New York City Schools, superintendent of the Miami-Dade County School District, and Chief Education Officer for the State of Oregon.

After having a long successful career in the education sector in these prestigious roles, Dr. Crew shares insights on navigating the sphere of power, the cost that comes with it, and the wisdom necessary to make careful choices.
The talk explores aspects of power like ego, greed, the lure of linking to powerful individuals, and the personal, professional, and political consequences of the pursuit of power. Dr. Crew emphasizes the importance of staying grounded, maintaining humane leadership, and being observant of warning signs in a volatile political environment.

Significantly, he stresses that ethical leadership rooted in keeping the welfare of students at the forefront has helped him navigate these challenges.

• 00:01 Introduction and Guest Presentation
• 01:53 The Price of Power: A Discussion with Dr. Rudy Crew
• 03:30 The Pitfalls of Power: Ego, Lack of Ideas, and Wrong Associations
• 05:52 Recognizing Danger Signs in Power Pursuits
• 08:03 Navigating Political Challenges in Power Positions
• 10:51 The Consequences of Tough Decisions in Power Positions
• 17:20 Avoiding the Pitfalls of Power: Advice and Insights
• 20:57 Staying Grounded in Power Positions: A Personal Anecdote
• 22:52 Conclusion and Farewell

Learn more about Jeffrey Pfeffer and his work on JeffreyPfeffer.com

Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.

Episode Quotes:

Lead by the kind of quality work your provide

18:25: I remember having to make budget cuts, and those budget cuts were going to be pretty deep. But there's goodwill in the culture. If there are other things that you did or have done traditionally that made people feel like this was not a vendetta, unfortunately, this was a bad fiscal year in the state of California, and we had to make budget cuts. But the fact of the matter is, there was humanism brought to the table. There was a sense of honor brought to the table. There was transparency and a sense of humility brought to this that no one enjoyed watching people walk out the door and be without a job. You can create a cultural wave of positivity and yet do some things that are very, very, very unpopular and sometimes very uncomfortable.

There’s no good deed that gets unpunished

17:05: My advice has always been, pay the price. Don't do the wrong thing, but just understand that by doing the right thing, you will still accrue a consequence. There's no good deed that goes unpunished.

Every job comes with a quid pro quo

15:57: When you get the job, be prepared to lose the job. That would be the first of many commandments, right? Be prepared to lose it, and by losing it, I mean, it may be gradual, but the fact of the matter is every decision you make comes with a consequence, and that consequence generally is added up in political terms, and the accumulation of that is what I would say to you is quid pro quo. That is the giant quid pro quo. It's the one that you're going to ultimately pay permanently for.

Relevant Links:

• Faculty Profile at USC Rossier
• Wikipedia Profile
• LinkedIn Profile
• APB Speakers page

Learn more about Jeffrey Pfeffer and where you can buy or listen to his books: https://JeffreyPfeffer.com/

SHOW NOTES:

Benjamin Fernandes, CEO and founder of Nala, the African payment system, and former student of Jeffrey Pfeffer, discusses how dedication creates opportunities in starting a business. Nala’s valuation is $100 million and their ultimate mission is to increase economic opportunity for Africa globally.

• How hosting a local TV show at age 17 exposed him to the business of mobile cross-border payments in Africa
• The door his unique ability to keep people’s attention opened
• How Nala is working to reduce the cost of sending money globally into and out of Africa
• What ideas Fernandes found helpful for building his business from Pfeffer’s class at Stanford
• Advice on fighting imposter syndrome
• A unique protocol-breaking technique that ultimately gained Nala investors
• The benefits of being proactive versus reactive
• The value in having employees take responsibility for their role
• What being scrappy brought to Nala
• Why building relationships and networking matter and create leverage
• Showing up for yourself and the people you work for
• The education found in talking with founders
• Three questions to ask a founder

BENJAMIN'S BIO:

Benjamin Fernandes is an award-winning Tanzanian speaker and entrepreneur. Benjamin grew up in Tanzania, then earned scholarships that took him to America for the first time at the age of 17.

At age 21, Benjamin was the youngest African in history to ever be accepted into Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an Exec Ed from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, being the first Tanzanian to attend both institutions.

Fernandes was previously a national television personality in Tanzania. After that, he worked at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United States.

In 2018, Fernandes founded Nala, a fintech startup that is on a mission to increase economic opportunity for Africans globally. NALA recently raised $10m backed by leading US investors such as Y-Combinator, Accel, Amplo and Bessemer Partners.

In 2020, Fernandes was listed as the 15th most influential Tanzanian. In 2022, Fernandes was listed in the inaugural ROW100 most influential technology leaders in the world.

Web and Social Media:
https://www.nala.com/
https://www.instagram.com/benji_fernandes/
https://twitter.com/Benji_Fernandes
https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminf7/
https://www.facebook.com/fernandes.benjamin7

Produced by the MunnAvenuePress.com

In this episode of the 'Pfeffer on Power' podcast, host Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, is joined by Deepti Pahwa, advisor of corporate venture studios, government-led start-up accelerators, and also the author of the book, Trailblazer Founders.

Deepti brings us lessons in power distilled to "three superpowers" of courage, creativity, and determination. Her inspiring journey showcases how you can exploit structural holes in professional networks, craft resources almost out of thin air, and pursue objectives with unwavering intentionality. Jeffrey and Deepti discuss how she doesn't just talk about the importance of personal branding and leadership; she embodies it. Deepti also stresses the importance of building and using your network, sharing how embracing your role as your own Chief Evangelist Officer can open doors and create opportunities, particularly for people historically left at the margins.

Pfeffer on Power is produced by University FM.

00:00 Welcome

01:21 Deepti’s Career Journey

04:18 Leveraging Power and Networks

07:15 From India to Global Influence

10:00 Trailblazer Founders

16:41 Building Economic Opportunities for Diverse Communities

19:37 Closing Thoughts

Episode Quotes:

Deepti’s three principles in taking your own power
18:33: The first three principles that I personally use, which I believe are my superpowers, but I also believe are superpowers for any given person: courage. It's like taking bold actions and making bold asks because what is the worst that would happen? You would hear a no; that's about it, right? So, just take the plunge. The second thing is to build networks and support networks around you who are invested in your success. And there are lots of people, at least in today's world, who are invested in your success. Go out there and find them, and, at the same time, have that insane kind of determination for what you're after because it is the impact that you wish to create. It's not about who is stopping you. Just be like water. Like, if you see a river, it finds its way, right? So everybody's able to kind of find that way if you just have the determination. Build networks and support networks around you who are invested in your success. And there are lots of people, at least in today's world, who are invested in your success. Go out there and find them, and at the same time, have that insane kind of determination for what you're after because it is the impact that you wish to create. It's not about who is stopping you. Just be like water. Like, if you see a river, it finds its way, right? So everybody's able to kind of find that way if you just have the determination towards the impact that you wish to create.

Don’t bet on the horse bet on the jockey
11:27: There's a whole coaching industry out there of products, services, and frameworks that prepare startup founders with so-called business model innovations, product-market fit, failure mindset, and culture training for teams, but no one ever teaches them the importance of leadership skills, building networks, thought leadership, investing in communities, and showing up with confidence and conviction to convey their ideas. And to me, it's more like telling a friend how to play chess on your behalf. I mean, you can make as many plans and business models as you want, but unfortunately, strategies and frameworks do not come in handy on a battlefield. And it's a very different set of skills that you need to succeed as an entrepreneur. And in doing the research that I did in writing this book, I found that venture capitalists, investors, and board members, and dozens of them that I interviewed, do not actually bet on the horse that is your idea, but they actually bet on the jockey that is the founder itself.

On providing opportunities for entrepreneurial idea for people with diverse background

17:46: I have to say that a lot of the times we talk about how we can provide for fair systems from the institutional perspective, and what we can do as institutions to increase that diversity. But my take is that, all that needs to be done and is a responsible thing to do, but until that happens, what we as individuals can do is to take part in the systems; and that is only possible by way of taking our own power and building our own influence .

Show Links:

• DeeptiPahwa.com
• Link to Trailblazer Founders
•