Rubrik Inc: Good to Great in less than a decade

I know I’m very late to the party here, but I finally got around to reading Good to Great by Jim Collins.??For those of you who haven’t read the book, it’s based on a scientific examination of 28 companies over a 30 year period & it breaks down the specific reasons why 11 of those companies went on to become Great (out-performing the market by at least 3x) while their similar peer companies did not.??As I read through the book, I couldn’t help but notice all the parallels in the concepts that made those 11 companies great with the evolution of Rubrik Inc. over the past 8 years

Concept #1: Level 5 Leadership

The data produced by Jim Collins and his team of researchers showed that the leaders who sparked the ‘Good to Great’ transformations were generally not flashy or charismatic w/ big personalities.??Rather they tended to be quiet, shy and deliberate.??They were the leaders who possessed the rare combination of humility and professional will.??They first and foremost put the success of their organization above their own personal riches.??They may have been shy, but they showed extreme?fierceness?in getting the job done.??They thought about the future of their companies without them and planned for their succession.??They were modest and rarely liked to talk about themselves or their achievements.??They apportioned the credit of success to others and if there was no one else to credit they credited towards 'luck'.??In times of failure, they took the responsibility instead of casting blame on others.??Jim & his team came up w/ a title for these individuals: Level 5 leaders?

Bipul Sinha: From day 1 you have epitomized a Level 5 leader and I’m proud to be on this journey with you

Concept #2: First Who, Then What

It’s a known fact that the right team is critical to achieve success, but what is even more important is to build the right team even before you know which path to take towards greatness hence ‘first who, then what’.??It is important to assemble a team of great people first and then decide on the strategy or vision for the company to make it truly great.??The main reason is that when people join you for the strategy or the direction of the company, then there is no guarantee they will stick around or be equally motivated when the company changes paths.??But those who are on the team because of who else is on the team (shared values & vision) will always be there to make the company great regardless of direction.??Jim Collins uses the phrase ‘getting the right people on the bus AND getting the wrong people off the bus.’??And getting the wrong people off the bus is equally important.??The only way to deliver to the people who are achieving is to not burden them with the people who are not.??There are 3 practical ways to be rigorous with people decisions:?

1) When in doubt, do not hire (if you’re not sure, you’re sure)

2) When you know you need to make a people change, act!

3) Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not on your biggest problems

I’ve been in IT sales for 22 years and I can honestly say I’ve never worked w/ a more talented, driven group of leaders than the team we’ve assembled at Rubrik Inc.??Beyond a shared desire to build a truly great company exists an undeniable camaraderie that makes coming to work everyday a true joy.??We don’t just work together, we have a genuine affinity for one another.??This dynamic has created a special situation where the whole has indeed become greater than the sum of its parts.??And it all started with the founding sales team of Mike Tornincasa and Eric Chang. Boys: “You made a permanent dent in the IT universe” -Bipul Sinha

Concept #3: Confront The Brutal Facts / The Stockdale Paradox

One of the important recipes towards becoming a great company is to make a series of good decisions and good decisions cannot be made unless you first confront the brutal facts.??To do this companies need to create a transparent climate where the truth is heard.??This can be accomplished by:?

1) Leading w/ questions, not answers:?? You need to constantly probe until you have a clear, complete picture

2) Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion:?? It is important to get involved in intense discussions because they have the capability to evolve into a successful conclusion rather than just being amicable to maintain relationships

3) Conduct autopsies without blame:? The climate of truth prospers when you analyze the debacles without blaming anyone for it.??Consider these debacles as learnings and move on to build robust systems to avoid similar debacles in the future

Despite being named a perennial leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant & maintaining one of the highest Net Promoter Scores in any industry, we at Rubrik Inc. are far from perfect.??We’ve stubbed our toes at various points throughout our history and had soft spots in the business that needed to be addressed.??In each instance we confronted the brutal facts and took the required actions necessary to course correct, no matter how unpleasant it may have been at the time.??These learnings have ultimately made us stronger and pushed us closer towards greatness?

There’s a related concept in the book called the “Stockdale Paradox” which states: You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.??The name of this psychological duality refers to Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” POW camp during the height of the Vietnam War.??Tortured over twenty times during his eight year imprisonment from 1965 – 1973, Stockdale lived out the war without any prisoners’ rights, no set release date, and no certainty as to whether he would even survive to see his family again.??He eventually got out, reunited with his family, became a national hero, and spent the later years of his life studying philosophy at Stanford University.??When asked about his experience in the POW camps, Admiral Stockdale replied: “I never lost faith in the end of the story.??I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which in retrospect, I would not trade.”??Rubrik Inc. has certainly never faced a near death experience, but whatever adversity comes our way in the future, we will continue to maintain unwavering faith that we can and will prevail in the end.?? “We win for a living” -Bipul Sinha?????

Concept #4: The Hedgehog Concept

The ‘Hedgehog Concept” is essentially the strategic difference between good and Great companies.??Great companies have a deep understanding across three major dimensions, and they use this understanding to create a clear and concise strategy which they impart in every aspect of their decision making.??The three key dimensions which enable great companies to have a deep understanding of themselves are:?

1) What can you be the best in the world at??? It is important to know not only what you can be the best at but also what you cannot be the best at.??The idea is to find the competency at which you can truly be the best in the world and then discard any other competencies

2) What drives your economic engine??? To understand the driver of your economic engine, it is important to know the ‘economic denominator’.??It is the single most important ratio that has the single biggest impact to the company

3) What are you deeply passionate about??? Only when companies indulge on things they are really passionate about can they produce results that exceed expectations

From day 1 Rubrik Inc. set out to be the best in the world at data protection & data management.??Our economic driver is the ARR generated from our loyal and rapidly growing customer base.??And our passion is the security of our customers' data so that no matter what they can recover in the result of a cyber attack.??We even offer a $5M Ransomware Recovery Warranty because we put our money where our mouth is?

Concept #5: Culture of Discipline: Disciplined People, Disciplined Thought, Disciplined Action

Now that you have a Level 5 leader, the right people on the bus, confronted the brutal facts about you and the business, and gained a deep understanding of your hedgehog concept, it is now time to create a culture that is self-disciplined to take actions within the desired framework of your hedgehog.??A culture of discipline requires people to strongly adhere to the defined hedgehog concepts but at the same time provides much needed freedom to take disciplined actions within the framework

At Rubrik Inc. we’ve developed a comprehensive sales process that everyone adheres to.??We follow the process because we know it works.??At the same time our talented & relentless sales teams have the freedom to add their own personal touch to the process so long as it adheres to our hedgehog.??I’m sure my team is tired of hearing: “Discipline = Freedom” This quote is borrowed from Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin, but it applies just as well here

In the early days of Rubrik, Bipul always said he wanted to build the next Great, iconic Silicon Valley company that would be around longer than him.??It sounded somewhat incredulous at the time.??Fast forward to the present day and... I'd say we’re well on our way to Greatness.??Humbled & honored to be a part of all this

FY23 = The Year of Rubrik?

LFG!!!