#144 CEO Lacework, Jay Parikh: Quiet Intensity

Guest: Jay Parikh, CEO of Lacework

Jay Parikh describes himself as a “stickler” for meetings that start and end on time, and holds himself to the same expectations as his workers. “It’s just really important as a leader to set the standard for how everybody else should be respected,” the Lacework CEO says. “Too often in our industry, executives think that they can show up late, hold a meeting late, and everybody will adjust.” No one will complain, he says, to the person on top of the org chart when they are 10 minutes late, but they should: “I’m like, no, I disrespected 10 minutes of your time. So I take that really seriously.”

In this episode, Jay and Joubin discuss non-traditional CEOs, surviving Facebook’s early days, disrupting yourself, Akamai co-founder Danny Lewin, cultivating culture, applying restless energy, the loneliness of leaders, brushing your teeth, the love of the game, and being approachable.

In this episode, we cover:

• The “S-curve of learning” (01:04)
• Finding new challenges (05:10)
• “Is this too big of a job?” (07:33)
• Intensity and zen (11:00)
• Jay’s first jobs (15:07)
• Akamai’s post-IPO pop and crash (16:31)
• 9/11 and Danny Lewin’s legacy (19:56)
• Facebook’s pivot to mobile (24:58)
• Managing morale when the share price drops (27:16)
• Learning from Mark Zuckerberg (30:13)
• Being on time (34:44)
• Security in the cloud (37:58)
• Leaving Facebook (40:01)
• What has surprised Jay about becoming a CEO (45:00)
• Hiring, onboarding, and unlocking people (49:34)
• Jay’s favorite interview questions (54:34)
• Refusing to compromise on greatness (01:00:44)
• Balancing work and family (01:07:02)
• Who Lacework is hiring and what “grit” means to Jay (01:09:06)

Links:

• Connect with Jay
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
• Connect with Joubin
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
• Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
• This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm