qlik

As folks in the data space, we’re introverts by nature. But, getting out of our comfort zone can open you up to endless possibilities. As one person who’s gone from CIO to CEO can tell you, the key to growth is getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.

That person is Mike Capone, CEO of Qlik, where he’s revolutionizing the business intelligence landscape through data. In this episode, Mike shares with Satyen how his decades of experience in product development, data science, and go-to-market operations influence his role as CEO today. Satyen and Mike discuss transitioning from CIO to CEO, navigating economic downturns, and stepping out of your comfort zone.

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“Now is the time to get closer to your best customers. They're the ones who sustain you through these periods of economic ups and downs. The reality is for both of us and both of our companies, companies need data and analytics now more than ever. How are you going to navigate this uncertainty? You're going to navigate it through data. The conversation like, ‘Hey, we don't want to spend any more money on data and analytics because the environment is tough right now,’ is actually counterintuitive. The reality is you need data and you need real-time data to get through it because your old data models are useless.” – Mike Capone

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Time Stamps:

*(02:51): The growth of Qlik

*(08:37): The relationship between private equity and software

*(20:00): From CIO to CEO

*(27:29): Navigating rough economic times with data and analytics

*(33:10): Maintaining long-term landscape leadership

*(40:24): Satyen’s Takeaways

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Sponsor

This podcast is presented by Alation.

Learn more:

* Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alation.com/podcast/

* Alation’s LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alation/

* Satyen’s LinkedIn Profile: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssangani/

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Links

Follow Mike on LinkedIn

Follow Mike on Twitter

In this episode of the Being Human is Good For Business Podcast we meet Chief Technology Officer Mike Potter of the business intelligence technology company, Qlik. More than 50,000 companies, worldwide, depend on Qlik technology for crucial business insights. The company has more than 2,000 employees and operations in 30 countries. 

“The key to being a successful leader is knowing and understanding your own strengths and limitations,” explains Mike. “Then you must surround yourself with people who not only compensate for those limitations, but challenge you to be better and then work together with them in a way that is inspiring for everyone.” 

Mike shares some of the leadership lessons he’s learned throughout his career as a technical leader in large IT companies, especially the importance of learning to fail. He says, “We like to make new mistakes every day. We take risks and we treat failures as data. This means creating a culture that supports failure because if you make people afraid to take risks, you can't lead, you can't be the best in the industry, you can't do things that others aren't.”

Mike agrees that leading a multinational, global team brings its own challenges when it comes to developing a strong work culture. “We have a diverse group, and that brings its own set of dynamics. It's quite interesting seeing how the different countries approach challenges, problems, conflicts and such. We meet each other in a central approach culturally, while at the same time, honouring our local countries, where we come from and who we are.”

One thing that supports this central meeting is the team’s use of the Enneagram framework. It allows leaders to see their own automatic patterns of thinking and behaving and helps them become their best as a leader. 

“My leadership team and I all learned how to use the Enneagram. It was an interesting exercise to put a bunch of engineers in front of a model like this, because the first thing they do is reverse engineer it!” explains Mike. 

Trilogy Effect Managing Partner Heather Marasse agrees: “It's always interesting to bring the Enneagram to a highly technical team. They're rigorous both in their approach and in their thinking.  It’s reaffirming that everyone is interested in learning more about themselves and about each other. Mike’s team was completely engaged and continue to use the Enneagram as a practical tool to support their ongoing leadership development.” 

Listen to the full interview to gain practical leadership tips and insights. Learn: 

• How teams must be allowed to fail if they are going to become their best, most creative selves and do their very best work. 
• How supporting your team in developing self awareness and a greater understanding of each other will fuel creativity and high-performance. 
• Why we sometimes need to show our own vulnerabilities to become the best, most inspiring leaders and to build strong teams. 

Links to information about the concepts and tools discussed in the show: 

• Trilogy Effect’s free leadership guidebook to be your best self as a leader.
• Detached and Observant: Meet the Enneagram Type 5 Leader
• Leading in Unusual Times
• Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

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The Data Mix - Episode 1 - Steve Wexler

Episode 1 Replay (YouTube)
Brian Booden (LinkedIn)
George Beaton (LinkedIn)

We're very excited to introduce The Data Mix - a new show focusing on some of the leading individuals in the Data and Analytics space! Our aim is to bring you our guests in a relaxed and conversational format, where you can ask questions and we can all learn more about some of the topical items in today's Business Intelligence and Data driven world.

Brian Booden and George Beaton are honored to have Steve Wexler as our first guest - Principal at Data Revelations, multiple Tableau Zen Master, and author of The Big Book of Dashboards and most recently, The Big Picture.

Very excited to talk to Steve about his latest work and views on the BI industry right now, as well the burning question that everyone wants to know - what do you think of the pie chart?