YouSaid · the spoken record

Frances Frei

lines on the record: 142
first: 2017-07-26
most recent: 2017-07-26
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“So that means if there's some behavior, one of the things that really struck me about a lot of this behavior is, and I think I said this the other day on a show that Meg and Kelly did, was every woman in Silicon Valley has one story at least, if not a dozen, of ranging levels of sexism to sexual harassment. I'm just using that. I'm not even talking about people of color and ageism and things like that. They all have a story. A lot of it's minor, some comments, smile more, you look pretty, that kind of stuff, which you sort of take every day and sort of to suck up.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, for us to feel confident that the processes we put in place require the average intentions of people. If we put processes in place that require the best intentions of people, it's not going to work. So I want to set the conditions for average people to thrive. So that's what all of the processes are.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So, what are the things that have to be put into place? Some people, this decency pledge, I think it's. Listen, bullshit is what I heard. Yeah, well. You know, whatever. It's these like, or I'm sorry. That'd be”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And I think we can set the conditions with, frankly, just a few, the memo on how to do it. I don't think it's more than a page.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So I think, well, first of all, we need to capitalize on the moment where people feel safe to speak up, or else I fear that it will become cyclical again. Yes, it will. So we need to capitalize on this. Whatever has created the conditions for the courage and the numbers, we got to capitalize on it right now. What's created it historically? I think that people have the capability to behave badly when there's not light”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Even if they don't like each other. Yeah, but cohesion Totally. Like, you know what I mean? So I don't want anyone coming in who thinks they're willing”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I remember Steve Jobs one time because he was like the quintessence of the perfect savior theory. And I remember him saying, and I didn't think that, I thought he had a great team behind him. He had a really solid, or Amazon does. They have a very cohesive team. Google does. Cohesion is really important. Even if they don't like each other. Yeah, but it's cohesion. And I remember saying, he goes, oh, I know everybody thinks this saviors you, but I'm not. And he goes, you think, I'll never forget this because he was making reference to one of my favorite movies. He goes, they think everyone else is oompa lumpas around here and I'm Willy Wonka. And I was like, oh, I like that reference. But it's the idea. It's totally true. Like, you know what I mean?”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“She does either. You know what I mean? No, and Rakesh Karana has done magnificent research at Arbor. I fundamentally do not believe in the image.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, yes, I understand that, but I find it fascinating and I want to sort of, I want to get to everybody else in Silicon Valley, what's happening now, this idea of leadership and savior. She's seen as a savior for her.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, no, gosh, no. It should be a person that meets all of the other criteria. That was just super fun to say. Yes, okay, good. Super fun.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I consider it so let me be super clear an unambiguously uninflection point, it has gone through multiple crises. I am entirely confident that we're going to come out much stronger and much better. And honestly in part because of the spotlight that's on it.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. So if I stay in the tech industry and I look at redemptions, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, I think did enormous redemption stories, if I look in other industries. See, now I don't like to name people, but I can say that...”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think he will make decisions. So before he left the company, he and I were sitting like this. It was in front of 250 folks. We had just done two days of training. And he said in a way that I believed him that if he ever found that his interests and Uber's interests diverged, he would pick Uber”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think that he should make the decision that he wants. He's a board member. He knows the history of the company. I would not presume to make the decision for him at all.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think Travis wants the best thing for Uber, and I think the new CEO can gain a lot of wisdom from Travis, but should be super clear that they're the new CEO.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And what about the relationship with Travis, who is still on the board, who still is, they have to be able to manage that, very important shareholder, very important icon for the people there. What do you do if you're a leader coming? I mean, he's there, he's sitting there, staring at you. No, of course.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Tech end operations and to understand that this is an organization of 15,000 people that has been through a lot and so need someone to appreciate that and understand that as they chart the way forward.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, so you don't like when I use the word reference, but it's my word, so I'm going to use it. You go right for the international nature of the business, like deep reverence that the global. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Like we're, I mean, there's Silicon Valley, which is its own thing. And then there's the US, and then there is every other country. I agree with you on this. So like total reverence for that, I think that it's, in my mind, it's a tech company and an operations company. You have to be able to hold both of those thoughts in your mind as a leader, as a leader. And I don't think you can have one be more important than the other.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You have morale problems. Like you have constant media attention. Much of it deserved. I know everyone likes to blame the media these days, but constant media attention, constant you suck, constant you did this, you did that, you did this. A lot of the focus not on good things that you're trying to do. How do you manage that? Like when you've got a depleted workforce who feels and you're getting attrition issues, I know there's issues with that. I know four people who have left there just recently and they just couldn't do it. They just couldn't take it.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I'm honestly a gay man at this point. I'm a straight man. Actually, I moved all the way to working here for you. You can laugh or not, but it's Pauling what I just said. So when you're trying to get these high standards, another big issue seems to me at Uber. And then I want to finish up talking about Silicon Valley in general. Yeah, I would love to.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So you hold, when you interview folks, so I'll take my coming to San Francisco. This is my second time meeting you. You hold me to very high standards. But I can tell that you want me to be successful, not by lowering the bar.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Crazy out of turn here Crazy. I would agree. I'm thinking that my thought. Is that a company like Yeah, so I think the key to leadership in my mind is that you hold people to very high standards and you do it in a way that people feel you're deeply devoted to their success. So I am a crazy optimist and I don't know anyone who sets higher standards than I do. And if you do both, that's the key to doing it. And I think in the past, we might have set high standards, not in a deeply devoted way. And then the fear is we're going to be deeply devoted and lower the standards. Insidious and also not good. We have to figure out how to do both simultaneously”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Now, when you have this situation, when you have a company under siege, you're obviously an optimistic person, I think I'm not creeping out of turn here, almost crazily so. I would agree. I'm thinking then in my thought bubble above my head, what the hell? But I do think that you have to have that kind of optimistic personality. At the same time, you have to have people that are saying it's still a mess and take it seriously. How do you balance those things at a company like Uber, which is constantly under siege”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“More than anything else Was writing about that. But that to me was the reason the other things happened was that there was this very fair customer. They were not being able to move out of a bad situation because it was so demented the way they...”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“In the absence, so you don't get those promotions. So, promotions don't seem random, which I think Susan wrote about quite eloquently. And actually, I feel like one of the things that got lost in a lot of what Susan Fowler wrote was she was writing about a very dysfunctional management system.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, this is beautiful. So she's done two things that are incredible. She's put a citizenship goal in where each person picks a way that they can make the Uber environment better for a partner or for Uber. And then if you're a manager, the performance of your team is part of your performance. And I think it is more typical in other organizations. It's now explicit in our organization.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So we're doing a couple of things, but one is everyone's goals if you're a manager, the performance of your team is part of your performance. That's as of Leanne has done this, that's as of four weeks ago.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, it's no tragic. So there are 3,000 managers at Uber that are not set up for success. And it's not their fault, but everyone who has a problem with the organization, chances are it was an interaction with their manager. So I came in expecting to see 3,000 bad people managing, 100% not the truth. Management is a skill that can be taught, and they were not taught it. Some people literally had dozens of direct reports, which is an impossible thing to manage. And then other people...”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“What? People feeling safe, so there's enough leaders in front of you that you can just say, hey afterwards. And then I feel like there's an answer that I'm supposed to have in my pocket that I don't know what you do.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“In a cursory way. When it takes place, it'll take place for all 15,000. So what Uber is very good at is when they do one thing, they do it for all 15,000. I'm not up to speed on when the training is occurring.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Systematically, so people don't feel alone is the one thing also that people know what professional conduct looks like and what it doesn't look like because often bad behavior happens after a set of five other behaviors that didn't, if the first behavior got checked, the rest of them wouldn't occur. So letting people know what good behavior looks like on it.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, or just like they can stop by my office, they can send me an email, they can stop by me. And feel safe doing so. And feel super safe doing it. So making it, as my colleague Amy Edmonds says, safe to say, but safe to say. Systematic.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, but listen, you put a light on us, which actually does make us responsible for the rest of Silicon Valley, because we have to show that it can be done here so it can be done.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, I know. We're good. But I want to get what you're doing next to Uber. Okay. So what is that? I get a lot of these activities. We're going to talk about the general things that are going in Silicon Valley. Let's start with what you're doing about specific things. Sexual harassment at Uber. You're not responsible for the rest of the valley right now.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, I guess I'm Catholic, so I guess that's the correct thing. But it's not just penance, it's that let's have some genuine change because we'll get to this idea of the decency pledge in Silicon Valley and other things. That scared me clear.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, but I do think Yeah, and I do find listen, and that's a leader's responsibility to create the conditions that it never happens. And for those egregious things, they're over the line, of course. But I think one of the problems that I wonder if you want to hold people to more accountable than I want to hold them. It may very well be true.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So I do think, listen, if I did something, and I made a mistake in a talk recently where I referred to someone as sir and other people took offense to my doing that because it was an honorific that was inappropriate. I asked them for suggestions on how to do it differently. I apologized sincerely. And then I think they permitted me to move on. So I see your point that we have to do the act of owning it and understanding it and hearing it. And then listen, for sexual harassment, that is the most horrible thing to occur. And if someone sexually harassed you, I'd take them out. Never have. Well, it wouldn't have happened. Yeah, I get it. I get it. But that's actually...”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Okay, correct, but there's almost no space between the behavior and then the forgiveness. Do you know what I mean? I think that's the issue. A lot of because it's been on for so long, not just at Uber, but other places.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh, because I, first of all, zero tolerance, I am sure I have made mistakes. I do make mistakes, and I watch others make mistakes. Indeed, that is the human condition. So, I want us to do a better version of us is around the corner. So, I think it will be a very small island if it's only filled with, and maybe if it's only filled with zero tolerance.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So Brilliant Turks is a phrase that Ariana has when she and I disagree, it's on when she says zero tolerance, my heart skips a little bit because I believe so much in redemption and zero tolerance frankly scares me, but in principle.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But there is a level of accountability, you may not move on with us because you have done this, or you may go seek help before you may move on with us. So what do you do? Because like you said, there's a lot of wonderful people. I can name dozens and dozens of people who are working hard, by the way, creating a great product, no matter how you slice it, it's the best product out there. How do you then take them and not hold them responsible for other people's behavior, especially their leaders? Because a lot of them were their leaders, who are now gone, like one after one.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Pos Which happened, which actually happened in some whatever happened. What does that do to an organization? We can disagree over that. I do think that there's accountability is really important to me.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, I totally get what you earlier said, that you wouldn't work. I'm now getting why you wouldn't work in an organization. No, and I mean this quite sincerely, but honestly, as partners, we would probably do very well. If someone needs to be held to account and I just am not genetically the person who could possibly do it. I just believe too much in redemption and I make mistakes and others make mistakes and I can bring us to the best version. But if someone does need, it's whiteboards, hire and fire CEOs and no one in management does, right? If someone's going to hold a CEO accountable, it's a board job to do that. Right.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“For sure, what are the consequences for Jefferson's? You do not deserve to be the CEO of you presided over this. You need to go away or they need to find someone in, or there's someone has to, and someone has to pay the price of what happens. And in this case, what's fascinating to me is that now Uber has a lot of women running things who seem on cleanup. You know what I mean? Like the naughty boys made a mess and now you're here to clean up.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The only reason I'm going to get to because later I want to talk about these, I'm Basari letters from all the sexual harassers, which I think it's like now you may forgive me and we may move on. I think a lot of people aren't quite ready. You know, I get the spirit of reconciliation, but there's almost a too quickness in Silicon Valley to say, okay, I grabbed her ass, but now I'm sorry about it. Yeah, that doesn't.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I don't have a pay or don't pay. I do have it should be honored for every ounce of learning it has. When mistakes are made, I want to squeeze every single bit of learning out of it, every single bit of it. I don't believe as much as that you have to go and pay. It occurred by the mortal.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, I do. Okay, I'm pretty certain. Yeah, I'm good at that. But the concept was that let's forgive everything in the past. And I was like, but it's not been paid for. And it's a very, and I want to get into it because in a little bit I want to talk about the bigger.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Right, but I'm talking about the idea of, I remember, I think the meeting was the point where Travis was taking the leave of absence the week before he actually also left later. I forget who it was, it was like everything before it doesn't count. Everything after it does.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's super hard for me to come in and in retrospect judge what it is. I wasn't there. I tell you that now I want to squeeze every ounce of learning out of what happened, like every single ounce of it. And then I want us to have a really optimistic way forward.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But we should be held accountable. But why wasn't it harnessed here? Because I've seen it Airbnb. You're not hearing, aside from some dumb ad they did, there's usually they're a tangle with regulators normally. It doesn't seem so fraught. And they grew, they're growing tremendously.”
2017-07-26 · Decoder with Nilay Patel · Recode Decode: Frances Frei, SVP of leadership and strategy, Uber · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT