During Box’s phase of very rapid growth, when it was doubling in size year after year, Dan invested heavily in people and culture. He felt strongly that a great leadership team — not just at the eStaff level but several layers down in the organization, was critical to its success. For example, Dan held a class in the cafeteria and personally taught every people manager in the company how to craft a great review, give hard feedback, and reward outstanding performance. Even years later, when Box was over a thousand employees, Dan led a book club to help every leader in the company, and every Boxer who wanted to attend, to become a better manager.
Dan knew that if Box wanted decisions to be made quickly, leaders had to be empowered to make calls locally — and that required them to both understand the company’s strategy and objectives, and to be operating with enough information to make good decisions.
He also knew that as the company grew, they would have to hire from the outside in order to add needed skills to the mix. But that if they could not grow talent quickly enough to enable them to promote from within as well — they would put their company culture at risk. Box established a goal of filling 50% of their management hires with existing Boxers — and reported out to the entire company every six months on their progress against that target — one that they never failed to hit.
But the only way that could happen — the only way that enough leadership talent could grow inside the company — was if leadership development was a key priority. Box made a huge statement when they hired Even Wittenberg, previously Chief Talent Officer at HP and Head of Global Leadership Development at Google!, to lead Box’s people team. Evan and Dan went on to build one of the strongest leadership development programs ever seen in a young technology company — and as a result, were able to promote from within to a much greater extent than can most young companies.
Dan brings that passion for teaching and mentoring leaders to Khosla, where he will work to help every one of our portfolio CEO’s become that best leader that they can be — and to solve critical challenges and entrepreneurial conflicts along the way with hands on advice and mentorship.
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The right advisor asks the questions you never knew were important.
Most of us don’t know what we don’t know when operating in a new area, or in a new (to us) job. We are, as the academics would say, unconsciously incompetent. The right advisor leverages their own experience (and their many mistakes!) to ask the questions you never knew were important, and by doing so, opens your eyes to the previously unseen. They also look beyond more immediate imperatives to longer term issues and to help create new “S” growth curves. They serve as guides, seeing around corners, and helping you navigate the difficult road of building a company from the ground up, using their experience to spot things that an entrepreneur might otherwise miss (risks and opportunities alike), or to look into the future by reflecting on their experiences with other, similar companies. They carry with them an extensive network that they can bring to bear on all the different problems and challenges that might crop up along the way, whether it’s finding a critical hire with the perfect match of skills and experience, or getting a company a make-or-break meeting with a decision-maker at a potential marquee customer.
- Vinod Kholsa, “Venture Assistance”: A philosophical view of what entrepreneurs need beyond just funding
Dan knew that if Box wanted decisions to be made quickly, leaders had to be empowered to make calls locally — and that required them to both understand the company’s strategy and objectives, and to be operating with enough information to make good decisions.
He also knew that as the company grew, they would have to hire from the outside in order to add needed skills to the mix. But that if they could not grow talent quickly enough to enable them to promote from within as well — they would put their company culture at risk. Box established a goal of filling 50% of their management hires with existing Boxers — and reported out to the entire company every six months on their progress against that target — one that they never failed to hit.
But the only way that could happen — the only way that enough leadership talent could grow inside the company — was if leadership development was a key priority. Box made a huge statement when they hired Even Wittenberg, previously Chief Talent Officer at HP and Head of Global Leadership Development at Google!, to lead Box’s people team. Evan and Dan went on to build one of the strongest leadership development programs ever seen in a young technology company — and as a result, were able to promote from within to a much greater extent than can most young companies.
Dan brings that passion for teaching and mentoring leaders to Khosla, where he will work to help every one of our portfolio CEO’s become that best leader that they can be — and to solve critical challenges and entrepreneurial conflicts along the way with hands on advice and mentorship.
[---]
The right advisor asks the questions you never knew were important.
Most of us don’t know what we don’t know when operating in a new area, or in a new (to us) job. We are, as the academics would say, unconsciously incompetent. The right advisor leverages their own experience (and their many mistakes!) to ask the questions you never knew were important, and by doing so, opens your eyes to the previously unseen. They also look beyond more immediate imperatives to longer term issues and to help create new “S” growth curves. They serve as guides, seeing around corners, and helping you navigate the difficult road of building a company from the ground up, using their experience to spot things that an entrepreneur might otherwise miss (risks and opportunities alike), or to look into the future by reflecting on their experiences with other, similar companies. They carry with them an extensive network that they can bring to bear on all the different problems and challenges that might crop up along the way, whether it’s finding a critical hire with the perfect match of skills and experience, or getting a company a make-or-break meeting with a decision-maker at a potential marquee customer.
- Vinod Kholsa, “Venture Assistance”: A philosophical view of what entrepreneurs need beyond just funding
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