Anne Hjortshoj (Cisco)

Episode 4 · July 5th, 2018 · 44 mins 14 secs

About this Episode

In this episode Kendall, rachel, and Anne Hjortshoj discuss:

  • Let's get this out of the way: how does one spell and pronounce Anne's last name? :)
  • What's it like getting acquired by a Very Large Company? How does communication change?
    • Do you change how you communicate with your team when you get acquired? How do you provide the necessary context of the larger company?
    • Just how Old are the hosts of this show? :)
  • Strategy can be expensive, slow, costly, and not directly connected to getting a product out the door, so it is often perceived by leadership as an expensive luxury. How do you work around this perception and get useful things done?
  • When a company is largely built from acquisitions, there are many cultures in place across the organization. How do you collaborate effectively?
    • Don’t demand too much of other people until you understand what their goals are.
    • Sometimes falling on your face is useful when you can show you're a good human in your acknowledgement of it.
  • Is it possible to transition from introvert to extrovert, or the reverse?
  • The Joy of Canceling Meetings :)
  • Becoming a leader/manager means letting go of direct control, it can make you feel pretty messed up.
  • How to mentor or manage people who are expert in a field or practice you're not really familiar with?
  • When you're in a large org, you have more options to work with leadership above you.
  • Executives are not just angry gods (most of the time). It's not productive to think of them simply as evil overlords.
  • What sets 'senior' leaders apart from 'junior' ones?
  • When you don't have time for social niceties...
  • The skill of "when do I not get involved" is learned, not innate.

Special thanks to Mel Stanley for our theme music <3