Scaling Global Organizations in the Age of AI with ServiceNow Chairman and CEO Bill McDermott
Few teens are business owners, but by age 16, Bill McDermott had purchased and was running a local deli. Now he runs leading global technology powerhouse ServiceNow, a company that is defining how the world’s largest organizations transform for the digital age. Sarah Guo sits down with ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott to discuss his journey from child entrepreneur to CEO, and how he navigates his role as a leader in the age of AI. Bill argues that human connection is still a vital part of being a successful leader, and as such, AI must be used to serve people rather than substitute for ambition. He breaks down the mechanics of hyper-growth, and the art of staying customer-centric at a global scale. They also discuss the future of enterprise software, how generative AI is fundamentally reshaping the labor market, and what founders need to know about building a resilient company culture that survives economic and technological shifts.
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Chapters:
00:00 – Cold Open
00:50 – Bill McDermott Introduction
01:14 – Lesson from Buying a Deli
07:35 – Leadership in the AI Era
09:41 – How Bill Got Hired at Xerox
15:47 – Can Agency Be Taught?
18:40 – Seeing Change as Opportunity
25:18 – ServiceNow as an AI Control Tower
30:30 – Which SaaS Gets Disrupted?
32:22 – Defining a Platform Business
36:25 – Does AI Decrease Implementation Time?
39:06 – Agents Will Reshape the Workforce
40:59 – Success Signals at ServiceNow
44:07 – Enterprise Attitudes About AI
48:41 – How AI Has Changed Customer Conversations
50:48 – Bill’s Curiosity Beyond ServiceNow
52:29 – Day in the Life of a CEO
57:27 – Conclusion
Inside the Mind of the World’s Most Optimistic CEO
For Bill McDermott, work has never been just a job.
On this Labor Day rerun of Grit, first published Jan 9, 2023, the ServiceNow CEO reflects on what he learned from his earliest jobs and how he carried those lessons from a deli counter in Long Island to the boardroom of an $80B software company.
We cover:
Why Bill bought a deli when he was in high school — and how he competed against 7-Eleven (04:00)
Interviewing at Xerox and wanting it more than anyone else (08:17)
Unwavering optimism and being a source of strength for others (12:34)
How a love of work has shaped Bill as a person (16:44)
Facing challenges and keeping a promise to his father (22:00)
Enjoying the present and keeping an eye on the future (30:01)
Leaving Xerox for Gartner and learning from a tough experience (33:29)
Sloan Kettering and Father Michael Judge (39:22)
Following the “original dream” vs. building something new at ServiceNow (44:59)
Losing an eye and getting a pep talk from two Medal of Honor winners (51:15)
Why Bill started and ended his book with quotes from two Kennedys (01:01:21)
Connect with Bill
X
LinkedIn
Connect with Joubin
X
LinkedIn
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
The Art of Selling Enterprise Software (with ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott)
We sit down with ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott for a masterclass in the art of enterprise sales — a topic where Bill ranks as one of the all-time greats by any measure. Bill started his career as a bag-carrying salesman at Xerox in New York City (alongside Howard Schultz!) back in 1983, and rose to become the company’s youngest corporate officer at age 36 before going on to become CEO of global software giant SAP. Since joining ServiceNow in 2020 Bill has grown the company from $3.5 billion in revenue over $10 billion today, and a nearly $200B market cap — which makes it one of the largest enterprise software companies in the world. Whether your job directly involves selling or not (and if you’re a founder, make no mistake — selling is the MOST important part of your job) there’s something here to be learned for everyone. Break out your notebooks and enjoy!
Links:
ServiceNow
The SPIN selling method
Bill’s fantastic interview with Ben Thompson on Stratechery
Sponsors:
Sierra: https://bit.ly/acquiredsierra
ServiceNow CEO On Entrepreneurship, AI, and Automation — With Bill McDermott
Bill McDermott is the CEO of ServiceNow, a $113 billion, publicly-traded cloud computing platform that helps companies manage their operations. He joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss his career path, from owning a delicatessen on Long Island to now managing over 20,000 employees. We also dive deep into how generative AI helps companies foster innovation and force businesses to retool their workforces in the coming years. Tune in for a lively conversation with one of the world's most dynamic tech CEOs.
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Highlights:
7:20 Starting off his business career by buying his local delicatessen at 16 years old.
16:20 Getting his first corporate job at Xerox
21:20 Lessons from witnessing the start of Xerox’s decline
30:40 What ServiceNow offers
37:00 Does AI lead to job loss?
39:40 Retraining people for the new economic reality
47:50 Bill’s secret for closing deals
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#120 Chairman & CEO ServiceNow, Bill McDermott: Full Speed Ahead
“When you create something,” says ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott, “that gives you the ability to help and do good and achieve for the most people possible.” Bill left his first corporate job at Xerox for a short stint at Gartner, then served as CEO of SAP for nearly a decade. He made one more transition three years ago because he saw a great opportunity to help make ServiceNow a defining enterprise software company. “I knew it could happen,” he says. “What I didn’t know is just how unbelievably right I was.”
In this episode, Bill and Joubin discuss fist-pumps, shoplifting teens, Bill’s superpowers, needing to be needed, marriage as a partnership, why every relationship matters, difficult relocations, breast cancer, the FDNY’s chaplain, and the Medal of Honor.
In this episode, we cover:
Why Bill bought a deli when he was in high school — and how he competed against 7-Eleven (04:00)
Interviewing at Xerox and wanting it more than anyone else (08:17)
Unwavering optimism and being a source of strength for others (12:34)
How a love of work has shaped Bill as a person (16:44)
Facing challenges and keeping a promise to his father (22:00)
Enjoying the present and keeping an eye on the future (30:01)
Leaving Xerox for Gartner and learning from a tough experience (33:29)
Sloan Kettering and Father Michael Judge (39:22)
Following the “original dream” vs. building something new at ServiceNow (44:59)
Losing an eye and getting a pep talk from two Medal of Honor winners (51:15)
Why Bill started and ended his book with quotes from two Kennedys (01:01:21)
Links:
Connect with BillTwitter
LinkedIn
Connect with JoubinTwitter
LinkedIn
Email: grit@kleinerperkins.com
Learn more about Kleiner Perkins
This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm