Description

Episode Summary

Bill Helman sits on the board of directors for some of the most influential institutions that are changing the business landscape and, as a partner at Greylock, he is helping to foster the next generation of big ideas. Internet conspiracy theories, flying cars, and a talent search for a president are among the scenery on this wild ride of an episode of The Sydcast.

Syd Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, whichLinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Bill Helman

William W. Helman IV is a general partner at Greylock Partners, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in technology, consumer Internet, and healthcare.  He joined Greylock in 1984, has been a partner since 1997, and served as managing partner from  2000 to 2013.

Bill was elected to the board of directors of Ford Motor Company in 2011.  He serves on the finance committee and nominating and governance committee, and as chair of the sustainability and innovation committee.  As of 2019, he is also a trustee for Vornado Realty Trust and a Member of the Board at Inari.

Bill led Greylock’s investments in Aveo Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Hyperion Software, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Filene’s Basement, UPromise, Reveal Imaging, and Zipcar, among others.

He is a former trustee of Dartmouth College and chaired the investment committee from 2014 to 2017.  In addition, he serves on the board of Harvard Management Company, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and The Steppingstone Foundation.

Bill is a member of the board of fellows at Harvard Medical School and Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

He graduated from Dartmouth in 1980 and Harvard Business School in 1984.

Insights from this episode:

• Strategies for encouraging and investing in internet security and protocols to ensure a company’s prosperity and safety.
• Details on what personality characteristics are shared by the most successful business people.
• Benefits changing transportation modes, auto-drive vehicles, and rideshare services bring to the automotive industry.
• How to determine and recruit leadership talent for elite universities and how those leaders will shape the future of those establishments.   
• Details on the food supply system in the United States and future trends in dining and food.  

Quotes from the show: 

• “Philosophically, the issue of the negative effects of our totally wired interconnected world runs against the unbelievable benefits.” – Syd Finkelstein
• On predictive algorithms and website tracking: “You don’t know what they know about you and what they are using that information for, you have no idea.” – Bill Helman
• “[Elon Musk] is an amazing inventor, amazing, and he has changed the car industry like no one else has, maybe since Henry Ford.” – Bill Helman
• On traits of highly successful people: “Number one, it’s being willing to challenge the standard convention like few do, number two, it’s having an idea that may seem crazy to the average person but which the founder has an instinct that it will be a great product or service that will deliver value, and the third thing is being able and enabled to accept risk.” – Bill Helman
• On transportation methods: “I think people are moving around, particularly in urban environments, differently.” – Bill Helman
• On higher education: “I believe it is one of our core, unique assets in the United States, it is something that is so important to our core position, higher education, and I don’t think that we appreciate that enough.” – Bill Helman
• “The leadership of most higher education institutions got there through default.” – Bill Helman
• “Four-year, residence-based college is too expensive and it’s not for everybody and it shouldn’t be for everybody. We have this obsession with going to a four-year, top school and, I think, we need to get rid of that obsession. We need to educate our population in a different way.” – Bill Helman
• “You wouldn’t want to hire someone that didn’t want to change the world in some way.” – Syd Finkelstein
• Bill’s favorite hobby: “Hanging out with people and learning from them.” – Bill Helman
• “People say ‘you should do what you’re really good at’ but just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you like it.” – Syd Finkelstein

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Bill Helman 

Website: www.greylock.com

Email: bhelman@greylock.com

LinkedIn: Bill Helman

Instagram: @billhelman

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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)