Grit

Guest: Anne Raimondi, COO and Head of Business at Asana

Asana COO Anne Raimondi feels pressure to perform in her job “every day, all the time.” But that pressure doesn’t come from her fellow executives; she imposes it on herself, trying to think carefully about how much each of her decisions will impact her team. “I have a lot of privilege and choice,” Anne says, “of how I spend my time, the resources available to me, and am I doing enough? ... Am I doing the most with the opportunities I have, and making as positive an impact as I can?”

In this episode, Anne and Joubin discuss returning to the office, Scott McNealy, the dotcom bust, Myers-Briggs, Star Trek: The Next Generation, empowering leaders, Blue Nile, Robert, Chatwani, tech leaders with children, Bain Capital, time management, being “in the moment,” Dave Goldberg, Dustin Moskovitz, staying curious, and being prescriptive.

Chapters:
  • (01:05) - Hybrid remote policies
  • (05:34) - Employees’ emotional journey
  • (09:39) - Thoughtful answers and betazoids
  • (13:17) - Anne’s immigrant parents
  • (14:50) - Regrettable feedback
  • (17:46) - Leaders who cast a shadow
  • (19:36) - Company-hopping
  • (24:14) - Startups and stability
  • (28:42) - Pressure to perform
  • (31:08) - Insecurity and parenthood
  • (37:12) - Allocating your time
  • (39:43) - Co-founding One Jackson
  • (45:36) - Amanda Kleha
  • (47:01) - Great founders
  • (52:18) - “It is not glamorous”
  • (54:03) - From board to operating at Asana
  • (57:10) - Feedback for founders
  • (01:00:25) - Recurring meetings
  • (01:03:07) - Who Asana is hiring

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What is Grit?

Grit explores what it takes to create, build, and scale world-class organizations. It features weekly episodes highlighting the leaders who are pushing their companies to make a difference. This series is hosted by Joubin Mirzadegan, go to market operating partner at Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital firm investing in history-making founders.