Or what do fishermen, fish and cloud providers have in common.

Philippe CreytensSaaS Academy Series - September 10, 2014

http://goo.gl/FQwCPA

In search of answers to 4 simple questions

but answers are not always that simple!

4 simple questions

What is cloud DNA?How to transform?How to attract the right people?How to compensate them?

SaaS offers...

vast new opportunities but also global competition

Cloud is transformation… in a radical way

SaaS radically changes your...

Business model, development model, infrastructure, HR and a lot more!

SaaS radically changes your...

Corporate culture at the smallest level

Change is hard...

IT companies and Pavlov

“Let’s keep doing what were doing, as we’ve been doing it.”

And culture, in the broadest sense matters...

Typical Dutch CxO

“Are my competitors using this cloud thing?”

“No, it is a new phenomena.”

“Then I want this asap”

And culture, in the broadest sense matters...

Typical Belgian CxO

“Are my competitors using this cloud thing?”

“No, it is a new phenomena.”

“Then I’ll wait till they all do.”

How do I start?

Blank canvas approach or transformation?

A skunkworks is a group of people who, in order to achieve unusual results, work on a project in a way that is outside the usual rules.

Transformation

Re-inventing job profiles and re-training employees

Saying goodbye to some...

Problems you will run into

Skunkworks/M&A

Finding the “right” people

Keeping the “right” people

Start with the why (not with the what)

“I imagine a world where people wake up every day inspired to go to work and return home at the end of the day feeling fulfilled by the work they do, feeling that they have contributed to something greater than themselves.” Simon Sinek

Start with the why (not with the what)

The Golden Circle according to Simon Sinek

Why? = The PurposeWhat is your cause? What are your values?

How? = The ProcessThe specific actions to realize the Why

What?What do you do? The result of Why. The proof

Outside in / Conventional Inside out in / Remarkable

So why “why”?

War for talent

Millenials have other values: purpose, work/life balance, challenges, ...

War for talent

Millenials have other values: purpose, work/life balance, challenges, ...

War for talent

Millenials have other values: purpose, work/life balance, challenges, ...

War for talent

de Morgen 01/09/2014

Fish where the fish are...

Two main streams are visible (pun intended)

Kill ‘em with (obvious) perks…

Google, Yahoo, ...

Two main streams are visible (pun intended)

Distributed teams with attention to work/life:

37signals (Rails) with 6 months 4-day work weekAutomattic (Wordpress)

WETCO, traits for hiring...

W is for Warmth: Simple human kindness.

E is for Empathy: The ability to sense what another person is feeling.

T is for Teamwork: An inclination toward ‘‘Let’s work together to make this happen’’ and against ‘‘I’d rather do it all myself.’’

C is for Conscientiousness: Detail orientation, including an ability and willingness to follow through to completion.

O is for Optimism: The ability to bounce back and to not internalize challenges. Optimism is a necessity in customer-facing positions.

Importance of “fit”

Many successful SaaS providers train and evaluate for “cultural fit”.

The Offer

Zappos (now Amazon) offers $2,000 for people to quit during training. Only 2-3% do take the offer.

Identifies the misfits early—at a cost of just one-week's salary and $2,000 compared to what later?

Rethinking a lot of things...

Tooling, management style, process, compensation, communication, etc, without strict manuals to follow...

Closing thoughts, or The Art of War (Sun Tszu)

“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”

Some food for thought (and reading)

http://scottberkun.com/yearwithoutpants/

Some food for thought (and reading)

http://www.slideshare.net/prezly/visual-guide-to-selling-software-as-a-service-by-prezly

99 slides

Philippe Creytens

google.com/+PhilippeCreytens

@pcreytens

pc@kumondo.com