32 - Stephen Scheeler - Silicon Valley, Visionary Leaders, Culture and Cults

Today we are joined by Stephen Scheeler! Former Facebook and Instagram MD for Australia and New Zealand, Senior Advisor at McKinsey & Co and TEDx Speaker.
Stephen and I sat down at the Sydney office of McKinsey and Co to have a fascinating discussion going back to Stephen’s childhood in small town USA. And, how he longed to go to university in Europe, yet was awarded a Scholarship to study in Japan, and how this introverted young man became the American everyone wanted to know – from fellow students to the local mayor. We hear how Stephen’s study of east Asian history and with little interest in tech, he found himself entering the world of tech juggernauts.
We discuss the obsession of the likes of Facebook in being THE employer of choice, requires putting staff contentment at the top of strategic priorities. And, how staff incentives from free food for staff and families, to the option for female staff to freeze their embryos have become the norm in Silicon Valley, to take the distractions away from a high performing team. We explore the importance of a vision staff can truly believe in and thrive towards. And, the fine line between a strong culture and cult like faith in such young, wealthy and almost magical leaders.
Real People is a podcast hosted by Jason Dunstone, the founder and managing director of Square Holes. Subscribe to Real People on your favourite podcast player.
Jason builds on his 25 years of conducting human-centred research, interviewing average and not so average people (rich, poor, old, young, content and vulnerable) to understand what they believe and how they behave.
Check out the Real People website - http://squareholes.com/realpeopleConnect with Jason Dunstone on Twitter @jasondunstone - https://twitter.com/jasondunstone?lang=enSend Jason an email - jason@squareholes.com Read more blogs from Jason Dunstone - https://squareholes.com/blog/author/jason/Find out more about Square Holes - http://www.squareholes.com/Produced with Apiro Media - https://www.apiropodcasts.com/