The Commencement Speech that Never Happened

Over the last few years, I’ve noticed something. It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally I hear a person’s name in relation to company A, and then they pop up again when I’m learning about company B. It’s rare when it happens, so it gets my attention for a few seconds, and then I typically forget the name.

It’s just a name, you know?

But there are some names that come up again and again. Today, we are going to talk about one of those names. And because I think there’s so much we can learn from them and the path they’ve taken, I’m going a step further. I’m going to give you the cliffnotes of the commencement speech they never gave. Yes, you read that right. This speech never happened, but all the facts and stories are true (based on my research).

Do you still want to hear it? Ok awesome.

Let’s meet the speaker.

Introducing, Your Speaker

Stanford undergrad, Stanford grad school (Computer Science). First job? Google. It’s a privileged start, but it’s a strong one. You have my attention.

After a few years at the boutique search company, they really make their mark. They spearhead the creation of Google Maps. That’s a career-defining moment within the first three years. Like breaking a homerun record on your first swing. For the trouble, they get the Google Founders award. Then they go to Benchmark Capital, one of the most sought-after VC firms in the world. They’re an entrepreneur in residence, paid to find a cool idea and start a company around it. So they start one, and two years later they sell it to Facebook for $50M —

Wait hang on…

Then they’re named Facebook CTO –

Ok – I’m just trying to process…

Then they leave to start Quip –

The app or the toothbrush company?

The app. Sold four years later to Salesforce for $600M.

             Jesus.

Then named to Board of Directors at Salesforce. Then Chief Product Officer. Then President and COO.

             ...

Then named Board Chairman (at Twitter!). Helped steer the ship on the Elon lawsuit + sale combo.

             …

Then named Salesforce co-CEO.

             …

…

            And?

In 2023, they left Salesforce to start an AI company. Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for… the one, the only… Bret Taylor!

If you’re like me, that name might not be familiar. But that’s OK – the point is that we can learn from moves Bret has made. So let’s get to that part.

Cliffnotes from the Speech

Again, this isn’t from a real speech, but Bret’s career has interesting themes and throughlines we can learn from.

1. Strengthen your strengths. Bret has fully embraced his reputation as a technical guy, unafraid of being boxed-in by that perception. His first gig was helping local businesses in Oakland build websites, he honed his skills at Stanford, and then he went to work where those skills would be valued. A former Google and Facebook colleague, Avichal Garg, was quoted as saying:And when Salesforce acquired Quip, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said:I’d argue that being a diehard Product person is the core reason Bret was so successful at Salesforce. Salesforce was historically dominated by Marketing and Sales leaders, not Product ones. But because Bret embraced his superpower, he was able to nudge Salesforce in a slightly new direction. He led the introduction of an Associate Product Manager program, to start seeding Product and Technical teams within Salesforce. And changes like that helped Salesforce and ultimately Bret’s career. Don’t let your strengths atrophy by spending too much time on your weaknesses – strengthen your strengths.

2. It’s a small world, so relationships matter. There are countless examples of this in Bret’s career. Most of the Google team he led went with him to start FriendFeed (the one Facebook bought). As another example, Bret started a dinner series while at Benchmark, and it was full of young, hungry people. Actually – to be fair – they were probably hungrier before the dinners than after them, but I digress. Ultimately, those young folks grew up and did incredible things in tech. Who was there? To name a few… Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn Founder), Drew Houston (Dropbox Founder), Marissa Mayer (former Yahoo CEO), and Marc Benioff – the future buyer of Quip. As a final example, Benchmark has invested in everything Bret started: FriendFeed, Quip, and his latest AI startup. The point here is one that people seem to forget – life is full of twists and turns, and you might be back down this path again soon. Don’t burn the bridges.

3. Leave the stage while the audience is still clapping. If you look at the things Bret has accomplished, and then his age, you’ll do a double-take. He’s 43. Now I don’t point that out to make anyone feel less than. The takeaway I want you to leave with is moreso about not overstaying your welcome or resting on your laurels. And this stuff applies to more than just career ambition. Google Maps, Quip, board seats, and Salesforce Co-CEO are all impressive on their own. We wouldn’t fault him if he stopped there and milked any one of those – let alone having multiple of them in a single career. So the question that comes to mind for me is… why would you move on? Having thought about it for a few days, here’s my take: it’s more fun to climb to the top than to stand at the top. Or at least, for Bret the climbing is more fun. Also, I would argue that you have more options if you go out on top. You have momentum and goodwill carrying you forward, applause ringing in your ears. That’s the time to leave the stage and find a new challenge.

Bonus Bullets

Quote of the Week:

— Marc Benioff, CEO at Salesforce

Quick News Reactions:

• Clubhouse pivots: Rather than just live audio, they’re adding asynchronous audio messaging now. I wrote before about them neglecting creators and failing to monetize — still not clear what the revenue plan is.

• Crypto billionaires are rare: according to a recent report. Also says that half of Gen Z has invested in it.

• Delivery drones are outta sight!: Literally. The FAA cleared them to operate longer flights (out of sight of operators). Huge regulatory step towards ubiquitous drone delivery.

Tech Jobs Update:

Things are starting to look better for tech industry job hunters. Here are a few things I’m paying attention to this week:

• Big Tech Job Posts: LinkedIn has 8,502 (+0.4% WoW) US-based jobs for a group of 20 large firms (the ones I typically write about — Google, Apple, Netflix, etc.).

• Graph: Layoffs seem to be trailing off, at least for now. (Source: Layoffs.FYI)