339: Robert Greifeld - Lessons Learned From A Decade Of Change As CEO Of NASDAQ

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The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

Full show notes can be found at www.LearningLeader.com

Ep: #339: Robert Greifeld - Lessons Learned From A Decade Of Change As CEO Of NASDAQ

Robert Greifeld served as the CEO of Nasdaq from 2003 to 2016. During his tenure, Bob led Nasdaq through a series of complex, innovative acquisitions that extended the company’s footprint from a single U.S. equity exchange to a global exchange and technology solutions provider, nearly quadrupling revenue, growing annual operating profits by more than 24 times and achieving a market value of over $11 billion. He is the author of a new book called: Market Mover: Lessons from a Decade of Change at Nasdaq. 

Notes:

• Commonalities of leaders who sustain excellence:
  • "Once you achieve competency, they're on a daily battle with complacency."
  • Always looking forward - never resting on laurels
  • A mindset that: "Success in the past is no guarantee that success will happen in the future."
• Self reflection is important for self awareness: "Being focused on the present doesn't preclude self reflection."
• Has being rich made you happy?  "Wealth makes you more secure?"
• How to balance family time and work time?
  • "Balance is a dangerous word.  I prefer having an integrated life instead."  "I made a rule that I did no business dinners unless I was doing the selling."
  • Make multiple short trips instead of longer ones... Only miss seeing your family for a day or two at a time
• Bob describes the story of how he was recruited to NASDAQ and why he took the job...
  • During the interview process, he shared the five things he would do within the first 100 days:
    • Get right people on board
    • Reduce bureaucracy
    • Embrace fiscal discipline
    • Overhaul technology
    • Stop being satisfied with number 2
  • Have to have the right people on the bus
    • Bob met with many people prior to starting as the CEO of NASDAQ:  "I fired a lot of people before 8:00am on the first day I started.  I did a lot of work prior to starting to learn who was going to buy in."
    • "Good morale in a bad organization is not a good thing."
• With promotions, live by the 80/20 rule: "We tried to promote 80% from within our organization."
  • "When interviewing people from the outside, the odds of being wrong are higher."
  • Qualities to look for in people to promote:
    • Positive attitude/energy -- "Happy campers"
    • Pure skills
    • How well do they play with others?
    • Won't tolerate prima donnas
• How to be a great leader?
  • Must be in front of your customers
  • Stand in the shoes of your people
  • Do a lot of individual contributor work
  • "Don't be a conference room pilot" -- Don't spend all your time in meetings
• Learned knowledge vs. Lived knowledge
  • Learned: "Don't know what's coming, you just learned it."
  • Lived: "You've sat in the seat, you can see around corners."
• Acquisitions:
  • Geography - If location is near us, that helps
  • Industry - If it's the same industry, just smaller, that helps
• Overall advice:
  • Never had a career path or end goal
  • Wanted to do something that energized me
    • "I'll do that job well."
  • "Don't focus on climbing the mythical career ladder."
  • "Don't take a job to just get another job."
• Why leave NASDAQ?
  • "I like controlling my schedule."
• The benefits of growing up with blue collar parents.  His dad worked for the Post Office, he was always upbeat and believe that life can be better.