MATE 005 – Saul Flores on strategy, innovation and what he learned at Stanford Business School

Saul Flores—Chief Strategy Officer at DT—chats today about business strategy, the myths of innovation and what he’s learned through some of his crazy jobs in management. Saul has a Master’s Degree and is also a Stanford Business School graduate, and he shares his wealth of knowledge from these endeavours. We also talk about how he’s done so well in his short career, how to optimise for the best business outcomes and what it means to be a “highly trained logical-cynic with pragmatic-idealism”.

Saul Flores recording MATE 005
Saul Flores recording MATE 005

 

Links and resources:

Thomas A. Edison Laboratories (Image source: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.nj1222/photos.112609p)
Thomas A. Edison Laboratories (Image source: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.nj1222/photos.112609p)

 

Quotes:

  • “Getting the job a McMaster-Carr was turning point number one [in my career]. Stanford was [the second] big turning point for me.” ~ Saul Flores
  • MATE: “Do you experience impostor syndrome?” SF: “Constantly. I think that’s been a factor in every new job I’ve ever had.”
  • “I was 27 when [DT’s CEO] Brian reached out to me, 28 when I started at DT and still 28 when I started as Strategy Director.” ~ Saul Flores
  • MATE: “Looking back at your career, and education, do you have an ‘I made it’ moment?” SF: “Not really. I think the more I’ve worked the more I’ve realised there’s more to do.”
  • “You’re a highly trained logical-cynic, and a value you have is pragmatic-idealism. What the fuck does that mean?!” ~ Adam Jaffrey
  • “Innovation is solving a problem that hasn’t been solved before, or a different way of solving the same problem, in a way that you get value from it in a marketplace.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “Innovation is mostly iterative, it’s mostly collaborative, and it’s rarely some brand-new invention the world’s never seen before.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “The reality of it is, there’s no one silver bullet that makes you innovative. It’s an organisational design process. There’s culture, there’s resourcing, there’s structures, there’s technologies, there’s tools, and … there’s a commitment. The most important ingredient is failure. You just have to fail a bunch if you want to try something new.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “I think ‘fast-mover’ [instead of first-mover] is important. So, when you know a move is a good move to make, get there quickly. You don’t have to be the first one. If you’re optimising for first, you’re not optimising for a lot of other things, like: do it well, do it cheaply, server a real need, etc.” ~ Saul Flores
  • “I don’t like to predict the future, I really try not to. I hate writing a 3-year roadmap for a client because I’m just making it up at that point, and they’re never going to follow it anyway.” ~ Saul Flores

 

Special thanks:

 

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 004 – Leigh Price on social analytics, working in start-ups and being a nerd

Leigh Price—self-proclaimed social analytics nerd—explains what the field of social analytics is, what it’s useful for and why businesses should use it. We talk about good reports (and bad), and Leigh tells us why he loves working in start-ups. Towards the end, Leigh makes some fascinating predictions about the future of social media. He also reveals a to-do list app, which he endearingly promotes with the statement: “It has changed my life! Look at me, I’m raving about it. I spent 200-fucking-dollars on this thing [app]!”

Leigh Price recording MATE 004
Leigh Price recording MATE 004

 

Links and resources:

 

Quotes:

  • “We wouldn’t include anything in a report if it didn’t include an insight.” ~ Leigh Price
  • “The really interesting things happen for the people who live in the space that’s in between being ‘just outside your comfort zone’ and ‘I’m fucking terrified!'” ~ Adam Jaffrey
  • “I think I’m lucky because I’m a massive fucking nerd. I love talking about this stuff with anyone. It’s genuinely interesting to me to hear what people are doing [with these tools].” ~ Leigh Price
  • “If people need help, they’ll tell you what they want. In a sales role, you just have to listen to what people are saying. They will tell you quite explicitly what they’re trying to do.” ~ Leigh Price
  • “Reports should be insight-driven, not vanity-driven.” ~ Leigh Price

 

Special thanks:

 

Connect with MATE:

 


MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE podcast is now live on iTunes

Great news … MATE podcast is now live on iTunes! Subscribe right now and if you like what you hear, please leave a nice review.

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It’s taken over a year of planning (actually, most of it was procrastination), but about a month ago I snapped into gear and started producing episodes. Just last week the email came through confirming we’re live on the iTunes Store. MATE podcast now has three episodes produced and we’re well on our way to becoming Australia’s best marketing and technology podcast. Stay tuned, there’s plenty more on the way … 😉

MATE podcast iTunes approval email
MATE podcast iTunes approval email
MATE podcast is now live in the Podcasts app (iPhone 6s Plus space grey)
MATE podcast is now live in the Podcasts app (iPhone 6s Plus space grey)