Ravi Gupta

How does he describe to them what's going on and why it's going to be durable and why it's okay? There's just all these hidden costs that go in and they all prevent percentage of time you are focused on delivering a resolution to your customer. And if we envision there's this incredible advantage right now

How does he describe to them what's going on and why it's going to be durable and why it's okay? There's just all these hidden costs that go in and they all prevent percentage of time you are focused on delivering a resolution to your customer. And if we envision there's this incredible advantage right now

That's pronounced and even more pronounced than it's probably ever been of just people that spend time thinking about what their customer wants and how to deliver it to them in the best, fastest, cheapest way. And I think that moments that you get to free up your brain to think about that are the moments that are going to deliver value for your company.

That's pronounced and even more pronounced than it's probably ever been of just people that spend time thinking about what their customer wants and how to deliver it to them in the best, fastest, cheapest way. And I think that moments that you get to free up your brain to think about that are the moments that are going to deliver value for your company.

So maybe going back to your question of like, how would I think about the biggest value creation lever for a company if you were like dropped in as the leader? It'd be like, what percentage of time does the senior leadership team think about how to deliver value to the customer in the best, fastest, and cheapest way in six months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months?

So maybe going back to your question of like, how would I think about the biggest value creation lever for a company if you were like dropped in as the leader? It'd be like, what percentage of time does the senior leadership team think about how to deliver value to the customer in the best, fastest, and cheapest way in six months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months?

The lower that percentage is, the more that there's opportunity for that. There's a massive hidden cost right now.

The lower that percentage is, the more that there's opportunity for that. There's a massive hidden cost right now.

I'll give you a couple of examples that come to mind. I'll give you one that's inside of our portfolio and one that I work with closely and one that I don't. Bill McDermott famously, when he took over as CEO of ServiceNow, talked about the number of customer meetings he had in his first 90 days.

I'll give you a couple of examples that come to mind. I'll give you one that's inside of our portfolio and one that I work with closely and one that I don't. Bill McDermott famously, when he took over as CEO of ServiceNow, talked about the number of customer meetings he had in his first 90 days.

And it was some number that effectively equated to like 10 per day, 10 customer meetings per day, including weekends. I think he said he met a thousand customers in the first quarter. That is baffling. ServiceNow is a huge company. He has all these things that he has to do.

And it was some number that effectively equated to like 10 per day, 10 customer meetings per day, including weekends. I think he said he met a thousand customers in the first quarter. That is baffling. ServiceNow is a huge company. He has all these things that he has to do.

If what he's saying is true, which I presume it is because he's Bill McDermott and he's an amazing CEO, that would make me pretty darn bullish about ServiceNow realizing what their customers want and how to go build it for them because the CEO is so incredibly externally focused. I love this idea. And every company that I am lucky enough to talk to, I tell them like, please be externally focused.

If what he's saying is true, which I presume it is because he's Bill McDermott and he's an amazing CEO, that would make me pretty darn bullish about ServiceNow realizing what their customers want and how to go build it for them because the CEO is so incredibly externally focused. I love this idea. And every company that I am lucky enough to talk to, I tell them like, please be externally focused.

One, it's so much more fun, but it's also so much more impactful to like go and solve customer problems than it is to like deal with internal nonsense. So that's one. And then I do think Sierra is doing a really good job on this dimension too. I think that team is focused on what do customers want? How can we deliver it to them? And how can we embrace AI to the maximum ability?

One, it's so much more fun, but it's also so much more impactful to like go and solve customer problems than it is to like deal with internal nonsense. So that's one. And then I do think Sierra is doing a really good job on this dimension too. I think that team is focused on what do customers want? How can we deliver it to them? And how can we embrace AI to the maximum ability?

And I think that means don't do one-off things like have AI help you with it. Anytime you figure something out that can be helped with AI, do it. Tell the whole team. And I think that practically speaking, Patrick, I think that it's almost easier for us to think about the companies that probably aren't. doing this.

And I think that means don't do one-off things like have AI help you with it. Anytime you figure something out that can be helped with AI, do it. Tell the whole team. And I think that practically speaking, Patrick, I think that it's almost easier for us to think about the companies that probably aren't. doing this.

And they probably make us have a little bit of a pit in our stomach of like, oh gosh, how's that going to work? What are they going to do then? Are they going to go and change? And I actually think right now being private is a huge advantage, is a general matter.

And they probably make us have a little bit of a pit in our stomach of like, oh gosh, how's that going to work? What are they going to do then? Are they going to go and change? And I actually think right now being private is a huge advantage, is a general matter.