The energy is high as we start the trek to VMworld. New and old VMworld team members spring up ready for action, jumping on planes, kicking out blogs, posting on Facebook, tweeting their plans (and speaking slots) and gearing up for another vOdgeball match. And, most important, the EMC VMworld Party moved from a local restaurant to Ghirardelli Square. Woo – Hoo!
EMC Party at Ghirardelli Square
It seems like yesterday when Chad Sakac began the journey to build an army of vSpecialists, evangelists in their own right, focused on delivering the message of “Why EMC for VMware”. As Chad’s partners, we worked hand in hand with Rod Gilbert, John Theberge, Wade O’Harrow, Matt Conway, Kara Banosian, Travis Grant, and a host of global leaders to build a best in class, technology alliance, reporting to Frank Hauck, then EMC EVP and VMware executive sponsor. Years later many of us have moved on to new leadership roles, Chad leading EMC’s WW Systems Engineering organization, me EMC’s open source strategy and Frank Hauck becoming President of VCE. But our roots are strong as we start the journey this weekend to VMworld, some of us as vSpecialists Alumni.
EMC is #1 for VMware
This year, I have a new partner, Ed Walsh a former vSpecialist who recently joined EMC’s Office of the CTO. Consider the possibilities when you put two vSpecialists in the CTO office. With a shared passion for doing something completely different, delivering measurable results, and building new communities of partnership we are getting ready to launch the first ever VMworld CTO Roundtable.
Our guest speaker will be John Roese, EMC CTO. Additionally I will moderate a panel of experts featuring Scott Lowe VMware and former vSpecialist, Robin Ren, CTO EMC XtremeIO and Andrew Aitken, Founder Open Source Think Tank, and GM Olliance Consulting, a division Black Duck, who will talk about Storage defined networking trends, the experiences of a serial entrepreneur and Open Source strategy, respectively.
VMworld Panel
Join us as we get on the road to VMworld and join me as we look for vSpecialists, and my next blog exploring where they are now in their leadership journey. See you at VMWorld and on the trolley car to Ghirardelli Square.
Wherever you go, whatever you do, the most effective tool you bring with you is the brand called “You.” My brand, cultivated over time, reflects my vision and passion of being an agent of change leading innovation in the corporate world. For me, this involves helping others find their unique gifts and then orchestrating the sharing of those talents to innovate new ways to contribute to the organization’s success. These collaborative efforts provide personal growth, development, and meaningfulness for us as individuals as well. Truly, this is a winning combination in a competitive global world.
Many leaders from different industries have tied their brand to ground-breaking innovations. I personally admire, and strive to emulate, those who have paid it forward, setting the stage for the next generation of leaders and innovators. When preparing for a recent keynote at USENIX, I took the opportunity to showcase women leaders who transformed their respective industries. Part of my message was highlighting how, in this increasingly connected world, we still need to depend on others to achieve success and meaning in life.
Kay Koplovitz
Kay Koplovitz, founder of USA Network, was the visionary who conceptualized satellite-based networks. She also created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams—licensing and advertising. When she founded USA Network under the banner of Madison Square Garden Sports in 1977, she was the first woman to head a television network. But she didn’t stop there. Understanding that access to startup capital has consistently been cited as the biggest pain point for female entrepreneurs, she founded venture-catalyst Springboard Enterprises to help women build ”big businesses starting small.” Over 500 women-led companies have participated in Springboard’s accelerator programs, raising nearly $6 billion. Of note, more than 80% of Springboard companies are still in business as independent or merged entities, including 10 IPOs, and many are the technology engines of publicly traded companies.
Mae Jamison
Astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, also founded Sally Ride Science and Sally Ride Camps to encourage girls’ interest in science and technology. The girls, who are at the middle-school level, participate in innovative, hands-on science learning activities in an environment that designed to be supportive, enriching, and—most importantly—fun!
Following Dr. Ride’s footsteps, Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to travel in space in 1992. She resigned from NASA in 1993 to form a company researching the application of technology to daily life: 100 Year Starship. The organization designs and implements independent, collaborative, and open-source projects to advance and promote the public engagement, research, development, and capabilities needed for humans to reach another star.
Another woman who has had an impact on an entire country and the global startup community is Dr. Orna Berry. Prior to joining EMC as the first Corporate VP and GM of the Israel Center of Excellence, Dr. Berry was the Chief Scientist in Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor. One of her strengths is bringing together communities of leaders and innovators to identify a gap in a market, and then racing to identify a solution.
Joe Tucci and Dr. Orna Berry
Combining technology and social entrepreneurship, Juliana Rotich founded “Ushahidi”, which means “testimony” in Swahili. This platform was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Since then, the name “Ushahidi” has come to represent the people behind the “Ushahidi Platform” web tools for crowdsourcing crisis information and reporting on topics related to the environment.
Juliana Rotich
Each of these women was a pioneer in her own field, and each used her success to help others. All have a global perspective and consistently reach outside their normal sphere of influence. In taking these leadership lessons to heart, you should note that it’s important to first figure out what you care about most, tie your brand to your vision, and remember that success is not only about the body of work you deliver, but the impact you can have on your community and beyond. Reach for your true dreams and goals and don’t be afraid to innovate. Goals are the starting point to taking action, building a plan, realizing your brand, and using your best talents more often.
Join EMC and Linda Gass at our next Grass Roots Innovation Program on March 26th from 5:30-7:30 at EMC’s Santa Clara Offices.
Linda Gass is an environmental artist whose work is informed by the wilderness, maps, aerial photography and her activist passions. Her current work explores land use and water issues by portraying aerial views of the human marks on our landscape. Linda’s presentation will take you on a photographic journey to the places that inspire her work, from the wilderness areas of California to some of the significant water interventions in the American West. Linda will show a wide range of her work: stitched paintings on silk, land art made with textiles, photography, new works in glass and a glimpse into at an exhibit she curated about the history and future of water in the Santa Clara Valley. She will also show images of her artistic process: from initial concept sketches to the finished artwork. You will leave with a new appreciation and awareness for water resources and how art can play an important role in educating the public.
Linda will also show images of her artistic process: from initial concept sketches to the finished artwork.
About Linda Gass
Linda Gass is a professional environmental artist. Her work is on display at the US Embassy in Moscow. She explores land use and water issues in California by portraying aerial views.
The Grass Roots Innovation Program (GRIP) is a Bay-area series of seminars, lectures and panel discussions featuring well-respected leaders & innovators from a diverse set of industries and careers. Speakers discuss their leadership styles, personal visions, and strategies for success while reflecting on their views around leadership and innovation. GRIP is sponsored by EMC, but attendance at GRIP events is open to anyone regardless of employment status or company affiliation.
Driven by a passion to build a sustainable, scalable social world, this year’s Hult Prize brings together global thought leaders committed to reducing food insecurity in urban slums by 2018. Almost a billion worldwide people need food security with urban slums representing almost 200 million. “The Challenge: Can we build sustainable, scalable, and fast-growing social enterprise to increase food security in urban slums by 2018?” It is clear this problem will get worse if nothing is done.
Hult International Students
Hult Prize, in its fourth year, is an innovative challenge called into action by global college and university students to develop solutions to the world’s most pressing social issues. There is thousands of student participants, representing over 250 universities from over 150 countries. Nobel Peace Prize Winner Professor Muhammed Yunus said at the 2012 Hult Prize, “If you can create a real business, the beginning of a protype, you can change the world.”
The Hult Prize annual challenge is the largest student competition, which unlike other competitions requires students to use business skills and to develop sustainable, scalable solutions through social enterprise. The overall challenge consists of 5 regional international competitions, an online competition, and a business incubator leading to the global final which will take place at the Clinton Global Initiative on September 23, 2013. The 5 regional competitions are held at Hult International Business School campuses in Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai and Shanghai. The winner of this year’s challenge will be awarded USD $1 Million in seed capital to launch a pilot of their winning idea. All of the regional winners participate in two months of training through the Hult Accelerator program.
This year, I was invited to participate as a judge representing EMC Corporation at the Boston Regional Competition.
Fellow Judges: Peter Alto, Fidelity; Mitchell Leiman, Bain; and Ellott Seaborn, Arnold Worldwide
Fellow judges represented some of the world’s top companies and not only invest the day in the judging process but also provide student mentorship, fostering growth of our next generation of leaders. The Hult Prize Founder, Ahmad Ashkar was on site along with Ron Jonash – Hult Prize Case Writer & Senior Partner, IXL Center. Ron shared his vision for the Hult Prize in this short video.
So what is it like to be a judge? First, I have to thank Peter Russell, Jr. the Director of Corporate Relations, Hult North America. His passion for the program is only surpassed by his attention to detail, ability to build teams and the associated community ensuring continued collaboration. Every element of the judging process is considered from the moment you sign up, engagement with fellow judges, student delivery, deliberation, decision and celebration. Also, and even more importantly everyone is a winner. While our goal as a judge it to determine the finalist in the regional competition, it is clear to me no one loses. Joining the Hult community is a lifetime and life long experience, one that will ensure that together we can make the world a better place.
Peter R. Russell, Jr. Director Corporate Relations, North America Hult International Business School
But it doesn’t stop here. There are other amazing programs. Two come to mind. First of which is the Hult Action Projects. International students compete to deliver high-impact ideas and strategies for clients’ most pressing business issues. Led by experienced management consultants, student teams will focus nearly fulltime on one of two key objectives over 6 weeks: Competitive Intelligence in “Competing for the Future” and “Innovation & Growth in “Innovation Olympics”. In each program the teams make three competing presentations to the client sponsor at which point they receive feedback and direction from the client on where to focus their next level of pursuit. EMC China, through the personal support of YIng Li VP and GM EMC China, is participating in this program. The second, which is near and dear to my heart, is the Hult Women in Business event on April 20, 2013. This was presented to me by Dina Samra, Corporate Relations Coordinate, Hult Boston. As I look ahead, and consider my personal investment in Hult I, too, am committed to the success of this powerful community committed to sustainable, scalable social change. I hope you will join me ion my journey.
Rahul Joshi and Prabhu Gopalakrishnan Hult International Business School MBA Students
Navi Radjou, an innovation and leadership strategist based in Silicon Valley is the co-author of the bestselling book, “Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth”. His book was touted by the Economist as “the most comprehensive book yet to appear on the subject”. Let’s hear from Navi at EMC’s GRIP event.
“Innovation is a major directive at corporations worldwide. But how do you drive innovation and growth as the global business landscape becomes increasingly unpredictable and diverse? The answer: jugaad. Jugaad is a Hindi word meaning an improvised solution born from ingenuity and cleverness (think of it as the “MacGyver” spirit). Jugaad is the secret formula of successful grassroots entrepreneurs in emerging markets such as India, Africa, China, and Brazil who are able to innovate faster, better, and cheaper in the midst of high complexity. For the first time in the U.S., you will learn how to apply the frugal and flexible principles of jugaad in your own organization to accelerate growth and outperform competition.
The GrassRoots Innovation Program (GRIP) is a Bay-area series of seminars, lectures and panel discussions featuring well-respected leaders & innovators from a diverse set of industries and careers. Speakers discuss their leadership styles, personal visions, and strategies for success while reflecting on their views around leadership and innovation. GRIP is sponsored by EMC, but attendance at GRIP events is open to anyone regardless of employment status or company affiliation.
Women’s leadership is at an exciting turning point in history. Around the world, women are stepping into positions of growing power and influence in business, politics and society. As they grow in stature many become women of influence committed to supporting the next wave of leaders.
One such woman is Linda Alepin, a successful corporate executive with over 30 years experience in high tech. She epitomizes a woman of influence having served in senior positions as an officer of a Fortune 200 IT company, CEO and Founder of an early Internet start-up, and now as Founding Director Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN). Linda formed the network in 2004 which has trained 160 women leaders from more than 40 countries and various sectors of society and encouraged them to transform their work into breakthrough global projects.
So what is Global Women’s Leadership Network ? First I have to admit I am a graduate and while I was clearly going down the leadership path, this community was transformational, providing new tools allowing me to rise to new heights and levels of influence. They taught me three basics: 1) to raise my vision make it bigger; 2) imagine the journey from the top of the mountain not from the bottom, and most importantly and; 3) we are a global community and through our network collectively we have more power and influence than any of us have alone. While it sounds simple, it isn’t. Learning new skills is like building muscles, developing them and keeping them strong through exercise and diet.
GWLN is dedicated to igniting a new future for humanity by liberating women leaders around the world. They do this through capacity building activities, such as education, and also building a network of support among leaders from many countries. Their projects cover wide areas of involvement including, but not limited to, environmental sustainability, health care, economic development, food security, gender equality and human rights. Simply stated, Global Women’s Leadership Network GWLN exists to help women step out of survival and dependence into their inherent power, enabling the transformation of world conditions – woman by woman. Their policy is to work for women, in partnership with individuals, NGOs and corporations, to create an environment conducive to broad participation for major social change around the world.
GWLN Graduation
Join me as I catch up with Linda by viewing this video I recorded at EMC’s Leadership & Innovation event on Jan 24th.
Keep the door open to new possibilities, and let the light of innovation shine through. That’s what I did last week, the first full week of 2013. Recharged after time off, I was joined by friends and colleagues as we started the New Year ready for action. Arriving in Boston on Sunday evening, I interspersed corporate meetings with connections to innovators. Some of the most interesting interactions I enjoyed are illustrated by the following three examples.
First, in November I partnered with MassChallange to showcase Boston startups at EMC’s first corporate Innovation Market. Johnny Monsarrat, Founder and CEO Hard Data Factory, was representing his startup. Johnny, a serial innovator turned entrepreneur caught up with me at the Prudential Center in Boston on 1/8/2013 to demo the world’s largest business high tech calendar while selling me on his branding ideas. You never know where the next big idea will come from. Check out Johnny’s vision at EMC’s Innovation Market.
Second, Tom Ward and Jay Mixter, co-founders Twyxter. They met me for breakfast in Framingham to demo their new social media platform. Their passion for innovation is equal to their vision to foster collaboration, productivity and loyalty among employees. The Twyxter community enables corporate employees to make new connections, lead more sustainable lives, and encourages charitable donations. Essentially employees sell, rent, or share “stuff” like books, bikes, couches and music instruments on their platform. Through this community they create social interactions among people who work together which fosters new and stronger personal and working relationships across the corporation. One of the things I liked most was the ability to donate the proceeds from these trades to charity. What a great way to clean out your closet while giving back.
Tom Ward, Twyxter CEO
Jay Mixter, Twyxter COO
My last stop before my 7:00 AM flight home was the MassChallange New Year’s party. Yes, you can celebrate the New Year on Jan 10th, and Chinese New Year in Feb (if you plan ahead). A little about Masschallange whose mission is to catalyze a startup renaissance. They do this by connecting entrepreneurs with the resources they need to launch and succeed immediately. Their primary activities include running an annual global accelerator program and startup competition, documenting and organizing key resources, and organizing training and networking events.
WIth the week ending on a high note I am looking forward to next week when I head back to Boston where I will meet with Robert Buderi, Founder and Editor in Chief of Xconomy, and also lecture at WPI’s School of Business class titled Global Entrepreneurship: The Israeli Phenomenon.
Innovation Station 