10X Growth Strategies

E55 - The Cold Start Problem (Author - Andrew Chen) - with Bobby Burns

Networks and network effects are fascinating in this era and their economic value is augmented by technology. Andrew Chen who led the “Rider Growth” program at Uber has a fascinating insider view on companies who have leveraged network effects in recent years. The book “The Cold Start Problem” provides an in depth view of how to understand and build networks, the various items which are at play in a marketplace design and the process of building economic value from these networks.

In today’s episode, Arthi Vijayaraghavan, VP of Products at OJO had the chance to talk with Bobby Burns, VP of Product and Engineering at Indeed.com. Bobby and Arthi explored different aspects of networks, marketplaces, interesting problems and products built to manage networks. He shared various anecdotes from his own product journey and how he leveraged ideas from this book to build and scale networks.

Tune in to understand networks, network effects, marketplace design and scaling.

E54 - Innovation Factory with Author Prith Banerjee

In this episode, our host Preethy Padmanabhan had a thought provoking discussion with Prith Banerjee about his book “Innovation Factory”. Prith is Chief Technology Officer at ANSYS, a leader in engineering simulation. He has a rich career journey as a successful serial entrepreneur, senior executive in large companies. Prior to working in the industry he held distinguished roles in academia. He was listed as FastCompany top 100 business leader in 2009 and has won several awards from IEEE, ASEE and NSF.

In "Innovation Factory: Creating and Sustaining High-Performance Innovation," Prith explores the key factors that contribute to building and sustaining a successful innovation ecosystem within a company. Drawing on his experience as the former CTO of HP, Banerjee provides a roadmap for leaders seeking to foster innovation in their organizations. He stresses the importance of a clear innovation strategy, a supportive culture, effective talent management, and collaboration with external partners. He also examines the role of technology in driving innovation, highlighting the potential of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things. Overall, Innovation Factory offers a comprehensive guide to building a culture of innovation that can drive sustained growth and success.

E53 - What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (Author - Marshall Goldsmith) - with Anusha Vaidyanathan

In this episode Madhavi Ravanan, Service Deliver Head, Nokia had an insightful discussion with Anusha Vaidyanathan, Director Product Line Management, Zscaler about the book "What Got You Here Won't Get You There".

"What Got You Here Won't Get You There" is a self-help book by Marshall Goldsmith that explores how successful people can continue to grow and achieve even greater success. Goldsmith argues that many successful individuals develop bad habits and behaviors that hold them back from achieving even greater success. He identifies twenty common behaviors that successful people often exhibit, such as the need to win at all costs or the tendency to blame others for problems. Goldsmith offers practical advice on how to identify and change these behaviors to improve one's leadership skills, work relationships, and overall success. The book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to continue growing and achieving success.

E52 - Promotions Made Easy (Author - Stacy Mayer) - with Shari Begun

"Your promotion is not just about you; it's about everyone around you who has supported you and everyone who will follow in your footsteps." - Stacy Mayer

Promotions Made Easy doesn't just talk about how you move up the corporate ladder. It is a guide on how you can enjoy your job more, build relationships, and support other people to succeed in their careers. And there is no better person to talk to about this book than Shari Begun.

Recently made VP of Sales, Consumer, and IoT at Renesas Electronics, Shari talks about how the book inspired her and helped her develop her leadership style. She cites examples from her career, and her 3Xing vision. Further, she shares insights on how to not just do what you are good at and the importance of building trust with 15-min Ally meetings. 

Tune in to listen to our recent episode and get inspired to grow into the leader you want to become.  

E51 - Range (Author - David Epstein) - with Mita Gupta

The general advice usually given and something you will often hear is to specialize and specialize early in your chosen field in order to reap success. But David Epstein says otherwise. In his book, Range, WHY GENERALISTS TRIUMPH IN A SPECIALIZED WORLD, he asserts that in most fields—especially those that are complex and unpredictable—generalists are primed to excel. 

In today's episode, I had the chance to talk to Mita Gupta about this very book. Mita boldly explored many interests as a generalist, taking on different challenging roles (Co-founder, VP, and Board Advisor, to name a few) allowing her to successfully start and build multiple B2B businesses.. She spoke about why she believed in this particular notion and discussed some examples from her own life and career that supported it. 

This is an episode you don’t want to miss. Tune in to understand why a breadth of experience is invaluable as compared to narrow specialization.

E50 - Blitzscaling with Author Chris Yeh

What is Blitzscaling? How do you use it to grow and scale your business? Discover the secret sauce of silicon valley startups. Learn how companies like AirBnB, LinkedIn, Zara and several others embrace Blitzscaling to achieve massive scale in a short time. 

We are excited to feature the book Blitzscaling authored by Chris Yeh and Reid Hoffman. A writer, investor, and entrepreneur, Chris has had a ringside seat in the world of startups and scaleups since 1995. Hundreds of companies, from garage-dwelling startups to Fortune 50 titans have tapped his knowledge and insights to accelerate and transform their businesses. Chris co-teaches the course "Technology enabled Blitzscaling" at Stanford University focusing on how Silicon Valley companies navigate rapid scaling, from dorm room to global giants.

E49 - First 90 days (Author - Michael D. Watkins) - with Elena Elkina

Our host Preethy Padmamabhan sat down with Elena Elkina to talk about the book "The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels", by Michael Watkins. Elena is a Partner and Privacy & Data Protection Management Executive at Aleada Consulting. She shared how the book helped her secure early wins, align goals up and down the chain, build coalitions, stay balanced, and avoid vicious downward spirals.

First 90 days is a great guide for leaders on how to hit the ground running when they start a new job or a new project. Tune in to listen to this episode and hear insights about what one can do in their first 90 days to accelerate their transition to a new role and achieve success.

E48 - Becoming (Author - Michelle Obama) - with Jayashree Sundaresan

As we all gear up to relax, reflect and reconnect during the holiday season, getting ready to welcome the new year, listen to the full-on-energy conversation between our guest speaker Jayashree Sundaresan, a Senior Technology Leader with 25 years of experience and our host Madhavi Ravanan, Service Delivery Head, Nokia, where they discuss about why Becoming is the book you should catch up during the holidays to get inspired, to ponder and to take charge of the new year !

Becoming is Michelle Obama’s heartwarming memoir where she tells her own story of a young girl from the south side of Chicago, going all the way to Princeton & Harvard, and finally to the White House! She talks with open candour and humour about her journey that is filled with self-doubts, challenges, joys and successes. She uses courage, grace, kindness and support to deal with adversaries and uncertainties.

In this episode, Jayashree discusses how relatable and real she found the voice in the book. There is so much to take away for everyone right from career, to parenting, to marriage, to owning your voice in any room. Tune in to the podcast to know why Jayashree highly recommends Becoming.

E47 - Atlas of the Heart (Author - Brené Brown) - with Syamla Bandla

Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown is an insightful book about human emotions and their meaning. It explores why we feel certain emotions and how they influence our behaviors. It further explores how to build meaningful connections by learning how to deal with them.

I sat down with Syamla Bandla, Senior Director, Production Engineering at Meta, and had a delightful conversation about what she loved about the book, what were some of the key takeaways, and how she had applied them in her life. We dug deep about the importance of knowing our emotions and developing the tools to cope and heal. Check out this podcast to learn how to improve your connection with yourself and others. 

E46 - Presence (Author - Amy Cuddy) - with Lena Cheng

Whether we are talking in front of two people or five thousand, interviewing for a job, negotiating for a raise, or pitching a business idea to potential investors, speaking up for ourselves or speaking up for someone else, we all face daunting moments that must be met with poise if we want to feel good about ourselves and make progress in our lives. Presence gives us the power to rise to these moments." —Amy Cuddy (from, “Presence”)

We had the pleasure of talking to Lena Cheng, Managing Director at Best Friend Jack, about the book Presence by Amy Cuddy. Tune in and listen to her discuss tackling imposter syndrome, and the power of not worrying about the impression we're making on others but instead adjusting the impression we've been making on ourselves. It’s a powerful concept that helps us grow our self-confidence.