Interview a Malcolm Gladwell and Create A Tipping Point of Your Own
| 07 | Aug |
| 2012 |
You probably know Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point and its
idea that product and idea trends can be driven by the actions of a few
connected people. The question in most entrepreneurial minds after reading
Gladwell's work was, "How do I create a Tipping Point of my own? My former
student and friend Bruno Aziza is one of the few who figured out how to make it
happen, and key to his strategy was an interview with Malcolm Gladwell
himself.
Bruno is now the VP of Worldwide Marketing at SiSense, a data analytics startup. This role is the latest step in his journey towards running his own start-up, a journey that started when Bruno emigrated from France to the US, lured by the entrepreneurial culture and the sense of possibility he sensed here.
Connecting to the American Dream
In France Bruno had been part of a very hierarchical culture, where to make money you have to know important people. The potential to make connections among the top people in any field and elevate yourself to their level is inherently American – and reflects the best of the American dream. Bruno was an excellent student and internalized the idea of building relationships based on generosity right away. He understood that networking is not about him, but is about what he can do help the other person. “It’s my mantra. And you have to be genuine about it. People can detect a bull-shitter.”
On his path to becoming an entrepreneur, Bruno worked for a number of larger companies in Silicon Valley including Apple and Microsoft. Even at the largest companies he found entrepreneurial pockets and worked to expand his network. He knew that building strong connections was key to achieving his ultimate goal.
Bruno agreed to join an ex-boss at Microsoft only when he found out the hardest part of his job was to grow a small business few people at Microsoft thought could succeed. Not only could Bruno really help his friend, it was his dream job! His resulting assignment was to grow the Business Intelligence portion of Microsoft's business, which at that point consisted of zero revenue and 3 people.
Bruno decided that interviews would be his key tool. Requesting an interview is one of my favorite techniques to build a relationship with someone I aspire to meet, but Bruno does it maybe better than anyone, even me.
Going Beyond the Expected, Generously
The stroke of genius, and Bruno's personal tipping point, was his decision to look beyond normal and expected product- and technology- focused content. Instead, for his interview series Bruno sought out well-known people like Malcolm Gladwell, Guy Kawasaki, and Sunil Gulati, President of the US Soccer Federation. These were people who had something interesting to say about Business Intelligence itself. Instead of focusing on the technology, Bruno aimed to broaden the discussion to the larger audience he believed could benefit from his software. They just didn't know it yet.
While initially making these aspirational connections was difficult, as an old student of mine Bruno knew to start working within his existing network. In fact, as an old student of mine, he felt comfortable coming to me for help. But I could only provide an introduction or two. He did the rest.
The key to Bruno's interview success was extensive preparation. To get ready for a five-minute interview with one of his aspirational targets, he researched for the better part of a day. He Googled bios and then researched the content of those bios. He got to know who his contacts were, what problems they had, and how he could help. In most cases, they were promoting something but pressed for time. Bingo. Bruno came into the interviews ready to lead his subjects quickly to the key points, enabling them to cover their most compelling ideas without advance preparation.
His high-profile interview subjects appreciated the work he put into making them look good. Most of the people who interview these guys are completely clueless about their subjects. Bruno's preparation and generosity made him stand out from the others and, as a result, the people he interviewed wanted to support Bruno’s work for Microsoft and, ultimately, to help Bruno.
Bruno's interviews drove a content marketing strategy that clarified the potential impact of Business Intelligence and "big data" on business and consumers. And Bruno’s work definitely helped Microsoft’s BI business. They grew to more than 200 people and a billion in revenue before the network Bruno had built along the way lured him one step closer to the job he had always sought: running an entrepreneurial company.
Interviews as a Path to Aspirational Contacts
To use interviews to reach contacts you aspire to know, remember Bruno's key success factors:
Bruno is now the VP of Worldwide Marketing at SiSense, a data analytics startup. This role is the latest step in his journey towards running his own start-up, a journey that started when Bruno emigrated from France to the US, lured by the entrepreneurial culture and the sense of possibility he sensed here.
Connecting to the American Dream
In France Bruno had been part of a very hierarchical culture, where to make money you have to know important people. The potential to make connections among the top people in any field and elevate yourself to their level is inherently American – and reflects the best of the American dream. Bruno was an excellent student and internalized the idea of building relationships based on generosity right away. He understood that networking is not about him, but is about what he can do help the other person. “It’s my mantra. And you have to be genuine about it. People can detect a bull-shitter.”
On his path to becoming an entrepreneur, Bruno worked for a number of larger companies in Silicon Valley including Apple and Microsoft. Even at the largest companies he found entrepreneurial pockets and worked to expand his network. He knew that building strong connections was key to achieving his ultimate goal.
Bruno agreed to join an ex-boss at Microsoft only when he found out the hardest part of his job was to grow a small business few people at Microsoft thought could succeed. Not only could Bruno really help his friend, it was his dream job! His resulting assignment was to grow the Business Intelligence portion of Microsoft's business, which at that point consisted of zero revenue and 3 people.
Bruno decided that interviews would be his key tool. Requesting an interview is one of my favorite techniques to build a relationship with someone I aspire to meet, but Bruno does it maybe better than anyone, even me.
Going Beyond the Expected, Generously
The stroke of genius, and Bruno's personal tipping point, was his decision to look beyond normal and expected product- and technology- focused content. Instead, for his interview series Bruno sought out well-known people like Malcolm Gladwell, Guy Kawasaki, and Sunil Gulati, President of the US Soccer Federation. These were people who had something interesting to say about Business Intelligence itself. Instead of focusing on the technology, Bruno aimed to broaden the discussion to the larger audience he believed could benefit from his software. They just didn't know it yet.
While initially making these aspirational connections was difficult, as an old student of mine Bruno knew to start working within his existing network. In fact, as an old student of mine, he felt comfortable coming to me for help. But I could only provide an introduction or two. He did the rest.
The key to Bruno's interview success was extensive preparation. To get ready for a five-minute interview with one of his aspirational targets, he researched for the better part of a day. He Googled bios and then researched the content of those bios. He got to know who his contacts were, what problems they had, and how he could help. In most cases, they were promoting something but pressed for time. Bingo. Bruno came into the interviews ready to lead his subjects quickly to the key points, enabling them to cover their most compelling ideas without advance preparation.
His high-profile interview subjects appreciated the work he put into making them look good. Most of the people who interview these guys are completely clueless about their subjects. Bruno's preparation and generosity made him stand out from the others and, as a result, the people he interviewed wanted to support Bruno’s work for Microsoft and, ultimately, to help Bruno.
Bruno's interviews drove a content marketing strategy that clarified the potential impact of Business Intelligence and "big data" on business and consumers. And Bruno’s work definitely helped Microsoft’s BI business. They grew to more than 200 people and a billion in revenue before the network Bruno had built along the way lured him one step closer to the job he had always sought: running an entrepreneurial company.
Interviews as a Path to Aspirational Contacts
To use interviews to reach contacts you aspire to know, remember Bruno's key success factors:
- Use your current contacts to meet the people you aspire to interview.
- Prepare completely for the interview. Know your interview subject, their work, and what they are trying to accomplish. Identify questions to lead them to their key messages.
- Always respect your time commitments. Be on time. Have your technology ready to go. Keep the interview brief and focused.
- Say thank you. Make the person you interviewed happy they took the time to talk to you.
- Tell them when and where the interview will be published. Let them know when it is available. And then thank them again.
In addition to the talk with Malcolm Gladwell, check
out a few other of my favorite Bruno Aziza-conducted interviews via this playlist on my YouTube channel.
Are there any cool Bruno interviews I missed? Do you
too hope Bruno can find time to do more interviews now that he's at SiSense?
Warmest, Keith
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