March 12, 2017
How Tableau’s CMO Leads with Extra Enthusiasm
Topline Summary
When Elissa Fink joined Tableau she was one of 40 employees that helped orchestrate a user conference for 200. Ten years later Tableau has a staff of over 3,200, a user conference for 13,000 and revenue that exceeds a billion dollars annually. It’s an amazing success story that Elissa has not just witnessed – she’s played a vital role, bringing a combination of enthusiasm, smarts, willingness to try new things and a deep appreciation for using data to make informed decisions. If you aspire to be a leader at a fast-growing organization, then this is a must-listen episode.
What You’ll Learn
- The importance of trying things before you’ve figured out every detail.
- The power of enthusiasm as a leadership force.
- How to embrace data without getting overwhelmed by it.
- Why it’s important to listen, especially when newbies suggest previously rejected ideas.
Quotes from Elissa Fink
- The advantages [staying at one company] are definitely that you get to be deep, to understand things richly, to build relationships with your colleagues and your customers.
- So as a leader, long-term employee, and agent of change there are times that I just need to listen, keep my mouth shut and be open to the idea that something that sounded crazy three years ago might be exactly what we need.
- I realized over the years that enthusiasm goes a long way towards doing the right thing and getting things done because it produces energy.
- You have a great idea, just you don’t have to start out with everything solved or every part of it all the way to bright.
- We always need fresh ideas and don’t ever get comfortable with the way we’ve always done things.