By Joann S. Lublin
In Personal Board of Directors, top business leaders talk about
the people they turn to for advice, and how those people have
shaped their perspective and helped them succeed. Previous
installments from the series are here.
Jeetu Patel, a top executive for Cisco Systems Inc., got highly
unusual help from a mentor that ignited his early career
trajectory.
Mr. Patel was a 23-year-old assistant analyst at a startup
called Doculabs Inc. when a bank chairman lent him $250,000 --
based on the banker's belief in aiding young people with fire in
their bellies. Mr. Patel used the money to join Doculabs founders
in buying out an investor in the firm.
That mentor's sizable generosity especially exhilarated Mr.
Patel because "such an experienced businessman believed in me," he
remembers. "Mentors are like coaches who are really invested in you
and your career success," observes the executive, now 49.
Successful management stints at Doculabs and other technology
companies prompted Cisco to hire Mr. Patel as a senior vice
president in August 2020. He reports to Chuck Robbins, chief
executive of the networking equipment giant headquartered in San
Jose, Calif.
Mr. Patel commands a multibillion-dollar operation with 10,000
employees world-wide. His turf includes Cisco Webex, a conferencing
system that competes with Zoom Video Communications Inc. and
Microsoft Corp.
Born and reared in India, he occasionally visited America during
his youth. He so enjoyed travel that he yearned to become a Pan Am
flight attendant. Just before turning 18, he bought his first
jacket and tie to wear for its application photo. But the airline
rejected him.
Mr. Patel also yearned for a U.S. college degree. Admitted to
the University of Illinois in Chicago, he decided he eventually
would build businesses that emphasized technology. He majored in
information decision sciences, a computer specialty at the
university's business school.
"I was pretty broke when I came here," Mr. Patel says in an
interview from his home office conducted via Webex. He worked part
time throughout college. His $4.25-an-hour internship at Doculabs
led to a permanent job at the research and advisory firm following
his 1994 graduation.
In dealing with tech-industry executives, the novice analyst
found himself fascinated by how their decisions were changing the
world. He vowed to focus on creating work software "that would have
a massive impact on hundreds of millions of people."
Mr. Patel gained a Doculabs executive position a few years
later. EMC Corp., a major maker of storage products, hired him in
2010 as chief technical officer of a software unit.
He soon orchestrated EMC's takeover of Symplicity, a tiny
startup that helped businesses sync and share data files. He ran
Symplicity until EMC sold control in 2015.
Box Inc., Mr. Patel's next employer, was a small provider of
cloud-based collaboration software. He served as its chief strategy
office before winning the additional title of chief product officer
in 2017.
He says he left Box for Cisco, the biggest business he has ever
worked for, partly because he expected Mr. Robbins would coach him
"in ways that most human beings don't get to be coached."
Many mentors have guided Mr. Patel's career ascent, usually by
being brutally honest. And when he confronts a dicey professional
dilemma, "they don't give me the answer," he goes on. "They make me
think about what the answer will be."
Among his most valued advisers:
Jessie Saini
Vice president of business operations for a Cisco Systems Inc.
unit
Ms. Saini was an infant when Mr. Patel met her during a
childhood visit to America.
They reconnected as adults. He recruited her for management
roles at EMC, Box and Cisco.
Ms Saini became an effective mentor because "she knows me
probably better than most people in the world," Mr. Patel explains.
"She can catch a mistake before I actually make it."
For instance, she often persuades him to reject skilled job
applicants. She typically flags traits that will clash with their
team culture -- such as product managers whose command-and-control
mentality differs from Mr. Patel's philosophy that the best idea
wins.
"Hiring the right people is critical to the success of your
business and ultimately, your career," he notes.
Ms. Saini recalls also encouraging him to frequently educate
team members about his passionate commitment to "big pivots" needed
to compete better. Previously, Mr. Patel didn't always explain his
rationale for such shifts "because I thought it was obvious." He
began to describe their business importance during all-hands
meetings.
Jeremy Burton
CEO of Observe Inc.
Mr. Burton, one of Mr. Patel's EMC bosses, offered a suggestion
that strengthened his leadership of Symplicity.
"Pick your battles," Mr. Burton recollects recommending.
Otherwise, Mr. Patel would "piss too many people off before he
really got going," he continues. Figuring out "which issues to
fight is especially critical at large companies."
At that time, Mr. Patel, who then was CEO of Symplicity, opposed
fully integrating the acquired firm with certain other EMC units.
He feared sacrificing speed for cooperation. "I was very hard
charging and intense about every single thing."
Nevertheless, he accepted Mr. Burton's counsel, and forged
internal partnerships that helped Symplicity grow rapidly. Such
experiences taught Mr. Patel to take a more measured approach,
making decisions "based on facts as well as instinct," he remarks.
"It's made me a better leader."
Aaron Levie
CEO and co-founder of Box Inc.
The executives already knew each other professionally when the
Box chief brought Mr. Patel to the young tech company months after
it went public in 2015.
Mr. Levie asked him to establish a platform business as its
second product line. The unit aimed to simplify the technology that
Box provided to software developers. But its initial months "were
pretty rocky," Mr. Patel remembers.
Mr. Levie urged him to forge ahead. "We will make this happen,"
the CEO repeatedly assured him.
"I don't know anyone with more fighting capacity than Aaron,"
Mr. Patel says. "He just never gives up." The unit flourished
within a few years.
Mr. Levie believes the best advice he ever gave his protégé was
"to make sure you're betting on market tailwinds" -- rather than
resist emerging technologies.
Today, Mr. Patel reports, the men "are very, very close
friends."
Tor Myhren
Vice president of marketing communications for Apple Inc.
The pair got acquainted about five years ago when their
daughters attended the same school. They grew so close that they
vacation together.
Mr. Myhren pushed him to accept Cisco's offer -- and not second
guess his decision. The advertising-industry veteran, who joined
Apple in 2016, is known for rewarding edgy risk-taking by his
staffers.
He has given Mr. Patel insightful marketing advice, too. His
message: Simplify every aspect of a campaign. He reminds his friend
by citing a cheesy analogy.
Nothing penetrates a man lying on a bed of nails, Mr. Myhren
says. Yet when "a man lies on one nail, it penetrates deeply."
Mr. Patel recently showed him some new Webex commercials during
dinner at his San Jose home. "What is the core message that you
want to come out?" Mr. Myhren demanded. "Make it simpler."
Mr. Patel's marketing colleagues tweaked their message. The
revised version "hit the mark," Mr. Myhren told him.
Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 05, 2021 00:14 ET (04:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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