Doug Leone
speaker
164 appearances
1 recordings
1 series
first heard Feb 2025
last heard Feb 2025
Doug Leone’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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Appearances
It's truth be known for the first 20 years, I did not know whether he had a heart. It was all pure business. It was all for the cause of generating returns for our clients, most of which are endowments and foundations. So for the first, I would say, 15, 20 years, He was visionary, but extremely tough, and certainly dedicated to the cause.
At his eulogy, I was very amused and interested to find out from his kids that they spoke of him as having his huge heart when he went home. And it was really interesting how he segregated his work life from his home life. As he got older and developed a sense of history and put himself in perspective of other leaders, there were certain things he did not want to do.
He did not want to be one of the older folks that stuck around too long. He had images and knowledge of other leaders his age or a little younger that were falling asleep in meeting, and there was starting to be a drag on their partnerships. And he was very cognizant. of not wanting to do that.
And the other thing he was very cognizant of is, boy, how do we leave Sequoia in the best possible place for the next generation? And it was interesting that he chose, and I say chose as if he's pointed us out, he had his own subtle way of choosing. assigning Carrie, maybe two of us at 10% more than the other folks. That's how he chose leadership.
That he chose younger folks that he was willing to mentor. And I would just say that the heart showed up and it was a transformation. Not a transformation out of weakness, but a transformation out of wisdom. And you get to see his heart and how much he deeply cared and how much he cared to mentor and how much he loved youth and how much he loved new ideas and so on.
So very, very, very interested, very interesting human being for the time in which he lived. He would sell shares at 2 billion, not buy shares at 2 billion. Back in his day, if you reached 2 billion or 3 billion, that was a huge exit. So there was the learning curve of a world that was changing at a rapid pace. He understood that he wasn't going to adjust to that world. He got out of the way.
He never asked a question unless he was asked. The only comments he made once he stepped down, comments when he was asked for his opinion. I found that extremely interesting. He was the ultimate of what the, if you will, the old king should do. In fact, I model my behavior, now being the old king, to his. Never intrusive, always helpful, always ready to assist, but never second-guess.
I remember attending a meeting with a founder. And as we walk out of the meeting, Don only wrote in green ink, yellow pads and green ink. And in green ink, he left a note on the table, said, Doug, not fit to listen to founders. And he just left it there for me to see. And in this new day and age, everybody wants weekly feedback. Why should I do better? This and that.
Let me tell you, you read that note from Don Valentine, that's all the feedback you need for the next 12 months. You have to break that feedback down. What does he say that? You certainly don't go in his office and say, Don, what do you mean by that? You know what you mean. And you understand maybe you were too aggressive, the wrong style.
The other side of being too tough, he was tough on founders. But keep in mind, we were dealing at a time where we were investing in semiconductors. The founders were not the 22-year-old who created new industries because of the internet or mobile. They were engineering managers at a chip company that started a new company, maybe ages 40 to 50.
Those founders, once they misbehave or something goes wrong, they really can't be saved. They're too opinionated, too big. As opposed to a 22-year-old that you certainly can make head of products or head of strategy or head of something. So it was a different time where the aggressiveness to those founders was far greater, which if you implement that, that in 2023 would ruin your reputation.
That's both the good side and the bad side of being tough. I think you have to overlay the issue of time. Maybe that was appropriate for 1978. It certainly would not have been appropriate in 2020. But internally, He knew how to get you going. And it wasn't the same style for everybody. He happened to know that I needed a good bash on my head to reprogram myself. He knew what I needed.
But on the other hand, just to give you a little sense, when everybody wanted me out as an associate because I was insufferable, it was Don that saw something and said, quote, give the kid more time. So within that toughness, frontally, there was enormous support when you weren't looking. And boy, I think that's the best way to lead and manage.
To answer the second part of your question, it meant essentially being an unguided missile. It means over competitiveness, do what it takes. Doug, go take that hill. I went and took that hill because that was the mission and the cause and nothing else really mattered. And immaturity plays a role. Lack of experience plays a role. And quite frankly, lack of track record.
So you are a no track record, abrasive, pain in the ass young man. with a New York accent and clearly a kid from the street. While that doesn't play, that's really not the best marketing message. Now, some people saw through that and they saw a genuine human being. And they work well in those cases. Contrast that with now. I have a bit of a track record. I am a little more mature.
a little smoother, you know, a coat of paint, not to mislead, but that's the way you lead your life, a little more wisdom. Suddenly, I went from insufferable to charming, and I'm aware of that. And I chuckle because I was not as insufferable then as I was viewed, and I'm not as charming now as I'm viewed. but I'm very well aware of the Marcom transformation.
And I find it amusing just understanding what human nature is. Everybody tries to position things and now the world is full of baloney and three quarters of stuff you read is not true, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
First of all, when we look for founders, we also look for Sequoia partners, investors, young people. The same set of traits, use the word insufferable, use the word he doesn't listen, she doesn't listen, or he's belligerent, she's belligerent. Those that other people may view as a negative, we actually view as a positive.
Because in order to get something done in life, you can't just walk down Main Street and be a sweetie pie. We look for outlier people, whether it's founders or investors, and outlier people do extraordinary things. Outliers, what do I mean by that? Extra driven, for whatever reason. Maybe daddy told them they weren't good enough and they want to show daddy how good they are.
Maybe they have a twin brother. Twins have a way of competing with one another. They love one another, but they compete with one another. Maybe they failed miserably in their first startup. They're embarrassed and so on. So we look for those things. And sometimes, believe it or not, genetics. I've actually met some people that I'm now convinced they were just wired that way.
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