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VMware Appoints Kit Colbert as Chief Technology Officer

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Paula Hodgins: Solution Seeker

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Empathy: The New Nonnegotiable Leadership Trait

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“Never Enough”: A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence, Agility and Meaning

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Digital Customer Experience_Modern Apps_VMware RADIUS - VMware News and Stories

How Times Have Changed: Improving the Digital Customer Experience During Unprecedented Change

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Colbert will shape the technology vision for the company and drive foundational technologies for the company’s next stage of growth

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PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), a leading innovator in enterprise software, today announced that Kit Colbert has been named VMware’s next Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Colbert joined VMware in 2003 as the technical lead behind the creation, development and delivery of the vMotion and Storage vMotion features in VMware vSphere. Throughout his tenure at VMware, he served in multiple roles, including VMware’s Cloud CTO, General Manager of VMware’s Cloud-Native Apps business, CTO for VMware’s End-User Computing Business, and as the lead architect for the VMware vRealize Operations Suite.

As part of his new role, Colbert will shape the technical vision for the company, and the transformation to a cloud and subscription-centric R&D organization. His oversight includes advancing research and development efforts, overseeing the VMware Engineering Services team, the Design/UX team and the company’s ESG commitments.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Kit into the position of CTO at VMware. Kit’s passion, proven technological savvy and excellent leadership capabilities will be instrumental in advancing our innovation engine and research and development efforts,” said Raghu Raghuram, CEO at VMware.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210908005489/en/">https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210908005489/en/</a>

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VMware software powers the world’s complex digital infrastructure. The company’s cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company.html">https://www.vmware.com/company.html</a>

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VMware Appoints Kit Colbert as Chief Technology Officer - VMware News and Stories

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Title: SVP, global accounts, VMware
Base of operations: Toronto, Canada
Start date at VMware: February 1, 2021
 
Tell us about your career journey?
I was the first corporate sales rep for Corel when they purchased WordPerfect. I’d fly to Washington, D.C., every week and work with some of the largest corporate customers in my early 20s. It was great to get the chance to do something big, even though I didn&#8217;t have a lot of experience.
Then, I worked for a startup in the Bay Area called LoudCloud that did Platform as a Service (PaaS) and was started by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the founders of Netscape. There I got my first introduction to cloud. After my time at LoudCloud, I joined Microsoft in 2005 and was with them for about 13 years. During that time, I worked for the U.S., worldwide and Canadian subsidiaries, and eventually ended up leading Azure sales for the enterprise market in Canada.
I then made the move to Hewlett Packard Enterprise for a country leader role as president of the Canadian subsidiary. It was a great opportunity to lead all business units and have that overall country leadership experience.
Then, VMware came knocking with this global roll. And for me, it was great to have the experience with the world&#8217;s top customers, which are some of our top financial services and telecom customers around the world—and still be able to do it based out of Canada. So, when the opportunity came, I jumped on it.
Over the years, I’ve gained valuable experience all the way up and down the stack, running, managing, securing applications and infrastructure in hybrid environments. This has given me a good understanding of the unique challenges that businesses face delivering value to their customers and employees and getting new products and services in the market.

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What is your leadership style?
I love the quote, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” So, for me, it begins with culture. You cannot execute on a strategy unless you focus on culture and developing different behaviors. We need to foster a culture focused on celebrating a growth mindset and sharing best practices. Collaboration needs to be highly valued alongside a strong commitment to continuous learning.
With these types of behaviors, you can approach your customer relationships differently. We are a customer-obsessed organization. Our obsession shows up at all levels. Our EPIC2 values support this.
I tell my team they need to champion customers internally. We each need to drive a solution-focused, value-added approach with customers. We’re responsible for our customers’ success. And when we come with that mindset, we’re better able to solve complex customer problems and help them invent new solutions. Everything stems from the customer. 
How has the pace of innovation changed over the past year or so?
It’s been such an interesting and challenging year and a half. The pandemic accelerated everyone&#8217;s timeline and forced us all to do things differently. Five-year plans became one-year plans, and innovation and transformation were accelerated. In doing so, we created a new baseline for how and how quickly businesses can and must transform. There is no going back.
Further, because organizations had to find new ways to reach their customers, employees, and partners, they began looking at how they better leverage public cloud. They considered how to scale up as needed, how to support a growing remote workforce, and how to create customer loyalty and experiences in ways they never imagined before. I really think that it&#8217;s been an acceleration of digital transformation, and in force, a rethinking of timelines.
What is your experience as a woman in the tech industry?
There were many, many cases where I was the only female at the table at internal meetings and with customers. And that brings with it a ton of challenges in terms of some of the day-to-day inequalities and discrimination that women face when they&#8217;re in these male-dominated industries. 
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Twenty-five years ago, this wasn&#8217;t even a conversation. Now, a lot of organizations are setting clear agendas in terms of equality. At VMware, we announced that by 2030, we’re committed to fostering a more equitable and sustainable work environment. Which means that for every man hired, there will be one woman hired.
I think making those declarative statements is meaningful. As a result, companies must implement different hiring practices, different recruiting practices, and different arrangements on flexible work, parental leave, and things of that nature. Ultimately, these will help women continue to rise up the corporate ladder.
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How does your commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) show up within your organization?
I believe that a commitment to DEI leads to an environment where we can be successful together. This is a top priority for the entire VMware Global Accounts and Telco Leadership team. We’re fully committed to hiring and retaining a diverse team, promoting an inclusive culture, and creating an environment where our employees feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work every day.
I encourage everyone on my team to take action in some way—big or small. They’re able to attend trainings, join DEI events, take part in our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/diversity.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Power of Difference employee groups</a> as a member or ally, or refer talent from diverse backgrounds. <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Reports-Fiscal-Year-2022-Second-Quarter-Results.49c752f5-f8ee-4f63-9dcb-4faa1ed95599.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" name="&#038;lpos=nav_footer : 0&#038;le=event52"></a>
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Vmware's SVP of global accounts share her leadership style and career journey and commitment to DEI.

Paula Hodgins: Solution Seeker - VMware News and Stories

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To: All VMware Employees and Contractors From: Raghu Raghuram Date: June 1, 2021
Team,
I remember my first day at VMware 18 years ago. I joined a company that had a vision of changing the world. I’ve stayed at VMware because changing the world is fun, hard work and a never-ending puzzle to solve. And I’m a guy who likes that kind of challenge. I also simply love the VMware community—the people, the culture, our customers and partners. Together, we’ve created one of the most influential and innovative companies in our industry.
We have an amazing track record of creating new markets and re-inventing ourselves, and we’re poised to do that once again here at the dawn of the multi-cloud era. Today, I am humbled, excited and truly honored to get to work as your CEO.
As we drive VMware’s next phase of growth, we’re going to intensify our focus on what our customers care about the most. Here’s what I’m hearing from the customers I speak with:
1. “I want to speed up our re-invention as a digital business powered by software and software operations.”
2. &#8220;I want to transform my customer’s experience by rapidly building and deploying new applications where they fit best—in the cloud, in my data center or at the edge.”
3. “I need security built for a world of distributed work.”
Against that backdrop, our role in the industry is unique. We’re the only player in the world that can conquer the complexity that our customers face—empowering them to juggle VMs and containers, existing and new apps, data centers and clouds, IT Ops and developers. We give them the freedom and control to innovate faster with the confidence that their workloads will be resilient, more secure and more cost-efficient wherever they are deployed. As the global economy recovers, we have an opportunity to seize this moment with renewed focus and commitment.
As we work to deliver gold-medal winning SaaS offerings, our guiding principles must be:
<ul>
<li>Embracing an “outside-in” mindset that puts customers first.</li>
<li>Executing with greater urgency, clearer accountability and simplified decision-making.</li>
<li>Operating as One VMware to deliver a seamless customer experience across all our solutions.</li>
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My commitment is to create an environment for you to do your best work for our customers and communities. Your success is VMware’s success. And with that, your well-being remains a top priority for me and the leadership team. <a href="https://news.vmware.com/vmwares-culture-built-epic2-values/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our EPIC2 values</a> and our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/2030agenda.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion</a> remain the bedrock for everything we do.
The pandemic will lift in time, and soon we will mark the beginning of a new chapter across the globe and across our teams. I look forward to welcoming that day together with all of you. I’ve never been more excited about the future of this company and the opportunity right in front of us.
VMware Team, let’s get going!
Raghu
Follow Raghu:
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<li>On Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/raghuraghuram" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@RaghuRaghuram</a></li>
<li>On LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/raghuraghuram/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raghu Raghuram</a></li>
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Raghu Raghuram

On his first official day as CEO, Raghuram shares his letter to VMware employees.

A Message from VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram

A Message from VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram to Employees

Title: VP and general manager, cloud automation, VMware
Base of operations: Palo Alto, Calif.
Time at VMware: 5 years
How has your career journey evolved over the years?
I have been in the technology game pretty much right from the beginning. I actually started in the chip industry back in the 90s. I was doing chip design and then worked for a startup company. That&#8217;s when I got very interested in entrepreneurship and building companies, so I went back to business school.
Post-business school, I have been in the cloud industry. I first joined Loudcloud. That was a really amazing journey, being part of that team and building out what I would call generation 1.0 of cloud.
After Loudcloud was sold, I joined a company called Marimba, where I was responsible for building out the data center management business. Within a few years, we sold that to BMC Software. As more of a startup entrepreneurial type, I didn’t think I wouldn’t fit in. But I was pleasantly surprised and ended up running data center management, all the way from monitoring, troubleshooting, the remedy platform, etc.
I eventually transitioned into helping launch another startup, and then started incubating my own startup in the container management space. I kept hearing from my customers that they wanted this capability, and I wanted to be part of a broader solution. Over the years, VMware had tried to recruit me several times, but that’s when the conversation really started. I thought this might be a perfect opportunity to take all my learnings and build it in a larger company, offering customers one solution set. And that&#8217;s how I ended up joining VMware.
<img width="1024" height="402" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-vmworld-stage.png?w=1024" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-vmworld-stage.png 1400w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-vmworld-stage.png?resize=300,118 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-vmworld-stage.png?resize=768,302 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-vmworld-stage.png?resize=1024,402 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
What are you most proud of during your time at VMware?
I really love the culture at VMware. It&#8217;s just a very kind, collaborative culture. At the same time, within the cloud management business, we were able to really create a very entrepreneurial, innovation-focused culture. We drive things really fast and make rapid changes.
Over the last four years, we&#8217;ve transformed the business. Now, as the leader of the cloud management business, I&#8217;m very excited to see how we can continue to grow. I jokingly tell customers, “You pick your poison, and we’ll be there to manage it.” There will be many things customers need in their environment, and we will never dictate that. 
Whether you&#8217;re using our vSphere-based VMware stack, our cloud stack, our application stack or someone else&#8217;s stack, like AWS or Microsoft Azure, we give you that single continuous pane of glass for visibility, cost, security, monitoring, troubleshooting. I mean, that&#8217;s the very powerful value proposition we’re bringing to the market.
<img width="1024" height="402" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-leadership-style.png?w=1024" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-leadership-style.png 1400w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-leadership-style.png?resize=300,118 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-leadership-style.png?resize=768,302 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-leadership-style.png?resize=1024,402 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
If you could see five years into the future, where do you believe the industry will be?
As a technology leader, I believe the world of the self-driving data center will become a reality. With the increase in complexity, we talk a lot about automation and cloud. Now, imagine for a moment that more and more of these systems understand our intent and automatically act on it. That is the world of self-driving.
Of course, it’s already available in autonomous vehicles, web-based transactions, on your social feeds, etc. Bringing it to the data center and to IT is one of the biggest innovations unfolding right now. Imagine that you just build your business apps, define your business needs and the rest of the infrastructure magically adjusts to meet your needs. It’s where the data center (and infrastructure) understands your application and business needs and adjusts to meet them. This is AI and machine learning becoming mainstream in our business.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
“Enjoy what you do, and you’ll always be happy and successful.” When you find that joy for what you do, long hours or a few sleepless nights won’t matter. You’ll find yourself feeding off the passion, learning from your failures and pushing on to realize your goals. I suppose that is grit: passion together with perseverance. 
<img width="1024" height="402" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-speaker-profile.png?w=1024" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="" loading="lazy" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-speaker-profile.png 1400w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-speaker-profile.png?resize=300,118 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-speaker-profile.png?resize=768,302 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/purnima-padmanabhan-speaker-profile.png?resize=1024,402 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
What advice do you have for technologists, especially younger women, exploring a career in tech?
Challenge the status quo. Please don’t hit the brakes because someone told you that you can’t do it. If the path you chose seems to be a dead end, carve out a different path to arrive at the outcomes you desire. We can’t all be waiting on the world to change. So, I would recommend that you take a practical approach to situations where you feel like you’re not being heard. I ask myself, “How would I say it differently? Could I be more precise or concise?”

"That is grit: passion together with perseverance."

Purnima Padmanabhan: Passion Principle

Title: Chief Marketing Officer, VMware
Base of operations: Palo Alto, Calif.
Time at VMware: 9 months
What would you describe as your mission in life?
My parents were immigrants from China, and they came to the U.S. for education. After my father got his Ph.D, there were very few teaching jobs available. So, we moved to a small town in West Virginia. We were one of only two Asian families in this town, so I grew up feeling like a bit of an outsider. And that stayed with me. That lesson shaped who I am and how I think about equity, inclusion and finding one’s voice.
Today, I’m committed to seeing women and underrepresented groups excel in their paths. I’ve spent time mentoring women who want a career in tech. I’m excited about making my mark through influence and building people up to have a greater impact in their careers.
<img loading="lazy" class="attachment-large size-large aligncenter" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-growing-up.png?w=1024" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-growing-up.png 1400w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-growing-up.png?resize=300,118 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-growing-up.png?resize=768,302 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-growing-up.png?resize=1024,402 1024w" alt="" width="1024" height="402" />VMware CMO Carol Carpenter (second from the right) with her father, mother and two older brothers. Growing up in a small town in West Virginia, she fondly recalls fighting “to have a seat at the (dinner) table with my two older brothers.”
Is there a quality or trait that’s become a habit in how you approach work, opportunities and challenges?
My previous chief of staff described me as “hustle and humor.” And I think of it as grit! Growing up with two older brothers with voracious appetites, I literally had to fight to have a seat at the table. My dad used to say that I have to work twice as hard to get the same recognition as the majority group. And I’ve demonstrated grit throughout my life.
As a working mother (with the support of an amazing husband), especially when our children were younger, I realized I couldn’t do it all. So, my path to success was in hiring smart people and focusing on building processes. I knew if I could put those two things together, I didn’t have to work through midnight and don’t have to be involved in everything to get to the outcomes I set out to achieve.
<img loading="lazy" class="attachment-large size-large aligncenter" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-family.png?w=1024" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-family.png 1400w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-family.png?resize=300,118 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-family.png?resize=768,302 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/carol-carpenter-cmo-profile-family.png?resize=1024,402 1024w" alt="" width="1024" height="402" />Carol Carpenter (second from right) with her husband and two children.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I’ve received a lot of guidance and career advice throughout the years. Very early on, I think my kids were 5 and 3 years old at the time, I was fortunate to understand the concept of work-life integration. This was a time when work-life balance was a relatively new term. People were working on a few emails from home, but smart devices weren’t as ubiquitous as today.
My mentor told me, “You’re juggling a lot of balls, and some of those balls are glass. Your family is a glass ball. You can’t drop it.” I still remember being on conference calls with my team in Japan while I was in the kitchen cooking meals for my family. And one of my kids would say, “Mom, I think they said your name!”
How does VMware align with your values?
I came to VMware for a few reasons. First and foremost, for the people and our culture. I love the fact that our EPIC2 values are demonstrated every single day. I’m blown away by the sense of community and leadership evident across our entire organization, from our Power of Difference communities to our individual contributors. I am grateful to be part of a company that values its people and tries really hard to walk the talk on tough issues. It’s such a huge part of how I grew up and the values that were instilled in me.
My vision for our team is that we are a more agile, strategic partner to our stakeholders, that we are data-driven and continue to embody the EPIC2 values of our company. I’m so excited to be working with the team here at VMware. I know we can and will elevate and set the bar for what world-class (business-to-business) B2B marketing can be.
You often say, “Customer first.” How is VMware uniquely aligned to support today’s businesses and leaders?
I believe in the strategic and unique position that VMware has in the tech industry and what is undeniably a multi-cloud world. <a href="https://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/cloud-solutions/vmw-driving-digital-business-with-app-cloud-transformation-vmware-market-insights-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eighty percent of companies have multi-cloud approach already</a>.* And it’s going to continue to get more complicated.
VMware has the experience and offerings to transform customers’ traditional infrastructure with modern cloud and application capabilities with an operating model to run any app anywhere. Key to this is providing companies with an unconditional path to the future. And what I mean by unconditional is that our customers can chart their own course on any cloud with more secure and resilient infrastructure and operations thanks to the experience and offerings VMware brings to the table.
*VMware FY22 H1 Benchmark, Cloud and Applications. March 2021: https://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/cloud-solutions/vmw-driving-digital-business-with-app-cloud-transformation-vmware-market-insights-report.pdf.

Carol Carpenter: Hustle and Humor

Empathy became somewhat of a buzzword in recent years. But 2020 demonstrated empathy’s timeless relevance in both our personal lives and the business world.
Last year, most of us became remote workers practically overnight. And for many, this meant juggling our families and back-to-back online meetings. For others, it meant near-constant solitude for long periods of time.
“One of the things I think people have not been speaking enough about is that concept of empathy,” said technology industry analyst Maribel Lopez in a podcast. “We see that people are starting to focus on employee wellness, as an example, whether that’s posting educational programs, whether it’s mandating ‘no work’ days or reconfiguring schedules and physical workspaces so that people feel safe and they can practice social distancing. So, I think this concept of empathy for what your employees are dealing with right now, that’s something we need to focus more on.”
Wherever we are on the spectrum of surrounded to lonely, we all have one thing in common: We need empathy from our managers, teams and leaders to make it work. To dive deeper, I spoke with several executives at VMware to learn how effective leaders use empathy to drive impact and employee value.
<h2>A Nonnegotiable Leadership Trait</h2>
As both business leaders and everyday people, practicing empathy is nonnegotiable. In fact, “it&#8217;s a requirement to be a part of our community,” said Betsy Sutter, executive vice president and chief people officer, VMware.
Sutter believes leaders can’t meet the needs of customers and employees without deeply understanding them first. And businesses won’t attract or retain the best talent without empathetic leaders. Yet, feeling, expressing and practicing empathy effectively doesn’t come naturally to us all. This is especially true when business demands seem to get in the way.
“I wasn’t always good at it,” said Sanjay Uppal, senior vice president and general manager, VMware. “I had a lot to learn and am still learning.”
Indeed, Sutter and Uppal pointed to times they were under too much pressure to be as empathetic as they should have been. Now, both believe empathy must be developed like any other leadership trait.
<h2>Empathy Begins with Listening</h2>
Problem solving is a tempting approach when a loved one, colleague or employee reaches out for support. However, problem solving often leaves the person on the other side of the conversation feeling unheard and dismissed. Instead of trying to solve the problem, leaders advise acknowledging its difficulty, asking questions and expressing support.
VMware President Sumit Dhawan shared a story about making a difficult decision that had a significant impact on his team. Dhawan focused on the logic behind the decision and the many benefits associated with it—to no avail. The team wasn’t convinced.
“I should have made more of an effort to really understand why they were so hesitant,” Dhawan reflected.
Dhawan’s situation in that moment was one we can all relate to: Frequently feeling too rushed, too stressed or too familiar to keep empathy top of mind. And this leads to mistakes both in the leader-employee relationship and for the business. According to Dhawan, leaders tend to consciously lead with empathy less and less as the relationship progresses, or in other words, take someone for granted.
“It’s easier to make assumptions when you know someone well, so it’s important to stay aware of the work it takes to continually empathize,” said Dhawan.
Another VMware leader, Fidelma Russo, asks open-ended questions to demonstrate that all ideas are welcome. She also taps on more outspoken employees to “break through politeness” in meetings. This enables colleagues to share how they really feel. It also builds a shared team understanding of acceptable behavior.
“You have to call people out when they’re being disrespectful or dismissive of norms,” said Russo.
<h2>Putting in the Hard Work</h2>
Empathy is not all feel-good, heartfelt conversation.
In Harvard Business Review’s <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/02/how-leaders-can-open-up-to-their-teams-without-oversharing" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How Leaders Can Open Up to Their Teams Without Oversharing</a>, Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy wrote, “We tend to assume that leaders are marketing to us. If a leader never shows emotion, that conviction only becomes stronger.”
Practicing empathy also requires candor, accountability and hard work—especially during such a difficult time as 2020. Challenges did not disappear with the new year—and will not for quite some time. In these unprecedented times, how we show up is more important than ever.
“You have to go there,” said Sutter, referencing the difficult conversations many leaders are now fielding around the pandemic, racial injustice and more.
Teams look to leaders for support, guidance and inspiration. Yet, they also need to understand what leaders value and how they expect individuals to behave. By leading with empathy, leaders cultivate a team culture of trust and connection, empowering people to perform at their best.

VMware Staff

Practicing empathy is a nonnegotiable leadership trait, especially in light of the pandemic, civil unrest and more.

Empathy: Leadership in the New Normal Demands a Human Touch

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VMware Names Paula Hodgins SVP, Worldwide Accounts and Telco Sales - VMware News and Stories

VMware Names Paula Hodgins SVP, Worldwide Accounts and Telco Sales

<div id="attachment_23818" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23818" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-23818 size-full" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_Square_VMware-RADIUS.jpg" alt="by Mike Hayes, chief digital transformation officer, VMware" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_Square_VMware-RADIUS.jpg 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_Square_VMware-RADIUS.jpg?resize=150,150 150w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />By Mike Hayes, chief digital transformation officer, VMware</div>
I’ve served in many roles: U.S. Navy SEAL Commander, White House Fellow, private sector asset management, sales and operations, and now, <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/leadership/mike-hayes.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chief digital transformation officer at VMware</a>. I am often asked about what leading a SEAL team has in common with a world-class software company. I tell people that it’s all about mission, meaning and impact—no matter what hard challenges you’re working on.
Leadership is leadership, no matter the setting. And solving difficult problems involves the same kinds of skills and considerations in just about every scenario. Chief among those considerations: an eye on giving back however you can and contributing to the world in your own unique way. In that spirit, I’m delighted that Celadon Books/Macmillan Publishers published my book, <a href="http://bit.ly/never-enough-book" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Never Enough</a>.
In the book, I share stories and lessons from my experiences as a SEAL, in government and in the private sector. And I believe my learnings can help us all maximize personal growth and our contributions to companies, customers and the world.
I’m especially excited, because I’m donating all my profits to a cause I deeply believe in. I named The 1162 Foundation after the date U.S. President John F. Kennedy commissioned the SEALs—Jan. 1, 1962. The nonprofit pays off mortgages for Gold Star families after a service member is killed in action. If I can help alleviate some small part of a surviving family’s burdens, my efforts will have been more than worth it.
As the book launches, I want to highlight a few lessons that I believe can apply to readers on the battlefield or in the private sector. Each proved invaluable to me as I’ve worked to improve my individual excellence, the agility of organizations and my personal impact on the world.
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23820" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons_VMware-RADIUS.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="675" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons_VMware-RADIUS.jpg 1280w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons_VMware-RADIUS.jpg?resize=300,158 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons_VMware-RADIUS.jpg?resize=768,405 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons_VMware-RADIUS.jpg?resize=1024,540 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" />
<h2>1. Doing hard things is not the same as doing risky things.</h2>
As a SEAL and in business, often the biggest risk is standing still. Putting in the hard work to plan, move and keep inventing (and reinventing) is what sets you up for success. (In the book, I share a story about the time I detonated a needlessly large explosive and nearly blew an airplane out of the sky!)
<h2>2. We are who we are at our worst.</h2>
Delivering excellence for our customers, partners and colleagues is easy when things are going well. The challenge is to be our best selves when things are at their worst. We can’t let circumstances—bad communication, broken systems, mistakes or errors —make someone’s experience suffer. We must be excellent even in the hardest scenarios. (In the book, I discuss the time I was taken hostage in Peru and lived to tell the tale.)
<h2>3. The more I hurt, the less my teammates hurt.</h2>
How can we make things easier for the people around us? How can we be problem-solvers instead of problem-creators? If something isn’t working, how can we do more than just pass it off to someone else, but work to fix it now and for the future? (This lesson certainly plays out on the battlefield as much as in the office, where we can all choose to step up and save the day.)
<h2>4. The first decision is when to make the decision.</h2>
How do you figure out all the inputs you need and when you need to actually make the call? How do you marshal all that data and put it into action? (I tell a story in the book about rationing blood in our blood bank, ultimately saving a teammate’s life.)
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23819" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons-2_VMware-RADIUS.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="675" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons-2_VMware-RADIUS.jpg 1280w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons-2_VMware-RADIUS.jpg?resize=300,158 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons-2_VMware-RADIUS.jpg?resize=768,405 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mike-Hayes_SEALs-Leadership-Lessons-2_VMware-RADIUS.jpg?resize=1024,540 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" />
<h2>5. An individual can fail. An organization can’t.</h2>
We must put systems in place that make success easy and natural. This ensures that even when things don’t go according to plan, there are backups to catch and correct the failure. We can tolerate individual failure, but we can’t allow one person’s shortfall to bring down the entire company.
<h2>6. Learn how to think, not what to think.</h2>
How are decisions getting made? And can we create systems so decisions are not one-off events? Can we put machinery in place to automate the decision process and make sure there is consistency and logic across the organization? (I open the book with a life-or-death situation that illustrates this battlefield lesson.)
<h2>7. Live with integrity and transparency.</h2>
We can’t just tell people what they want to hear. We have to tell them the truth. And we have to own our failures and commit to doing better next time. We must be driven by trust and honesty, and never be tempted by shortcuts that compromise our values. (The New York Times wrote a frontpage story about a scandal within the SEALs that happened during my time overseas. And I had to be able to look in the mirror and know I was proud of every action I took.)
<h2>8. You can never know the future, so make the best decision for now.</h2>
We are constantly transforming. We do what we can right now, and then understand that plans will change and industries will evolve. The expectation for the future is that the unexpected will happen. (My experience working in the White House for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama taught me this lesson over and over.)
“Never Enough” contains many more lessons about excellence, agility and meaning. I focus on how we can all lift the people, organizations and causes in our lives. My hope is that readers realize that mission, meaning and impact are not just central to success. They are success.
To purchase the book, visit <a href="http://bit.ly/never-enough-book" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bit.ly/never-enough-book</a>. All my profits will go to The 1162 Foundation. For bulk orders, please reach out to me and I can loop in the publishing team.
<a href="http://bit.ly/never-enough-book" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-23815" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/neil-blumenthal.png" alt="" width="1100" height="628" srcset="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/neil-blumenthal.png 1100w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/neil-blumenthal.png?resize=300,171 300w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/neil-blumenthal.png?resize=768,438 768w, https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/neil-blumenthal.png?resize=1024,585 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /></a>

Mike Hayes

Author Mike Hayes writes, "It’s all about mission, meaning and impact—no matter what hard challenges you’re working on."

"It’s all about mission, meaning and impact—no matter what hard challenges you’re working on."

"Never Enough": Leadership Lessons from a Navy SEAL

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"Never Enough" A Navy SEAL Commander on Living a Life of Excellence

Ken Denman, Technology Executive, Joins VMware Board of Directors - VMware News and Stories

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Ken Denman, Technology Executive, Joins VMware Board of Directors

VMware Board of Directors Initiates Search for Chief Executive Officer - VMware News and Stories

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VMware Board of Directors Initiates Search for Chief Executive Officer

Mike Hayes joins as CDTO, Jason Conyard promoted to CIO and Bask Iyer's new role leading the Customer Experience Advisory Council.

VMware Appoints New IT and Digital Transformation Leaders

VMware Expands Leadership Team with New Information Technology and Digital Transformation Appointments

<div id="attachment_22677" style="width: 160px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-22677" loading="lazy" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-22677" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Sumit-Dhawan-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Sumit Dhawan, President, VMware</div>
Only a decade ago, improving digital customer experience meant optimizing and mobilizing websites and e-commerce platforms. Oh, how times have changed.
During this time, the most successful organizations have focused on delivering a holistic, customer-centric digital journey. This means personalizing, streamlining, and boosting the performance of every customer touchpoint and interaction. Why? Because the best customer experiences lead to loyalty, which in turn leads to repeat purchases and top-line growth. And the digital experience is at the core—especially <a href="https://www.vmware.com/cloud-solutions/app-modernization.html">modern applications</a>.
A recent <a href="https://news.vmware.com/nologies/businesscontinues">global survey</a> of 5,000 application developers, business decision-makers, and IT decision-makers conducted by Vanson Bourne, commissioned by VMware, explores the connection between digital transformation and modern apps. For example, 79% of survey respondents say organizations won’t be able to deliver a best-in-class experience without successfully modernizing app development.<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a>
<h2>Apps At the Ready</h2>
The survey’s new findings are complemented by what others have been saying, namely:
<ul>
<li>88% of surveyed CIOs and IT senior executives agree improving app portfolios improves customer experience.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a></li>
<li>A 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%.<a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a></li>
<li>Over half of consumers say they will pay more to buy from a retailer they’re loyal to—a significant opportunity for brands to drive long-term revenue.<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a></li>
</ul>
Has the digital customer experience changed during the time of COVID-19? Absolutely. And it’s pretty clear which companies prioritize customer experience by modernizing digital offerings.
<h2>Becoming Future Ready</h2>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-22675" src="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Become-Future-Ready_VMware-RADIUS-1024x357.png" alt="" width="1024" height="357" />
<h3>Rapid Response: Phase 1</h3>
Agility and end-user experience are key digital transformation drivers at high-performing organizations. In contrast, respondents from underperforming organizations say their enterprises prioritize reducing costs.<a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5">[5]</a>
Even before the pandemic, nearly 8 in 10 agreed customer experience is tied to revenue growth. Yet, almost half (48%) haven’t improved their apps in a year or more.<a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6">[6]</a>
For IT leaders behind the customer experience curve, a <a href="https://news-editor.vmware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Blueprint-for-Modern-Apps-Success_Infographic_VMware-RADIUS-scaled.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">modern apps blueprint</a> is emerging. And from the actions of high-growth organizations, we know combining software-minded people with agile processes and automated, self-service platforms is a path to success.
To support their organizations during this unprecedented time of change, lines-of-business and IT leaders came together very quickly. They needed to rapidly make products, services, and solutions accessible to their employees and customers through contactless digital experiences. This meant reducing purchasing hurdles and hassles while empowering employees in new locations to sustain business operations. Fast and effective teamwork with proven IT partners has been a key to rapid response for many.
<blockquote class="center">
“We went from having about 25% of employees working remotely to jumping overnight to well over 90%. Having a digital workspace platform, <a href="https://www.vmware.com/products/workspace-one.html">VMware Workspace ONE</a>, and robust VDI environment, <a href="https://www.vmware.com/products/horizon.html">VMware Horizon</a>, already in place meant that, fortunately, we didn’t have to burn the midnight oil to support a nearly fully-remote workforce.”
<a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/updates/horizon-8-customer-quotes-2020.html">—Joey Toms</a>, manager of IT end-user services, World Wide Technology
</blockquote>
Related story: <a href="https://news.vmware.com/stries/remote-work-now-what-tech-leaders">The Remote Work Genie Is Out of the Bottle: Now What?</a>
<h3>Adapting to Become Resilient: Phase 2</h3>
<a href="https://news.vmware.com/nologies/infographic-software-minded-ceo">Software-minded leaders</a> are embracing phase two of the global crisis as an opportunity to reinvent workflows and processes. This triggers a shift from reactive to proactive innovation. Targeted investments help drive adaptability and speed by tapping into the power of interconnected digital innovations, including:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cloud.vmware.com/">Cloud</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.vmware.com/products/workspace-one.html">Digital workspaces</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://news.vmware.com/virtual-cloud-network/">Virtual cloud networking</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://news.vmware.com/nologies/future-of-cybersecurity-intrinsic-security">Intrinsic security</a> and performance.</li>
</ul>
The ultimate goal? Become more resilient to boost operational stability, the return to growth, customer satisfaction, and workforce efficiency.
<h4>Customer Spotlight: ZOZO Technologies</h4>
“We experience a huge surge in shopping traffic to our website, sometimes more than three to four times the usual traffic on an average day, during seasonal sales. This meant we needed to scale up our IT infrastructure very quickly to ensure a smooth and seamless online retail experience for our customers and over 1,300 store owners. VMware was successful in scaling up to 100 hosts on-demand through VMware Cloud on AWS during the 2019-2020 Christmas/New Year sales period,” <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Cloud-on-AWS-Delivers-on-Customer-Requirements-for-Agility-Business-Continuity-and-Better-Cloud-Economics.7aa53d77-e377-458d-960f-5bf151e3f90c.html">says Nobuhiko Watanabe</a>, team leader, Development Division of ZOZO Technologies.
“During the COVID-19 quarantine and summer sales event this year, there was an increase in traffic, but we achieved similar success, despite our teams working entirely from home. With VMware Cloud on AWS, we were able to scale up hosts easily and without any disruption. Both successes demonstrate the power of a consistent cloud infrastructure and operations to enable our business to scale on-demand and help meet <a href="https://news.vmware.com/business-continuity/">business continuity</a> requirements.”

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<h3>Accelerating Innovation: Phase 3</h3>
The pandemic has changed nearly every facet of life. And even when we can safely reunite in offices, stores, schools, and other public locations, our experiences will be forever changed. And that means the technologies that power those experiences must change, as well.
It’s been gratifying to see how the benefits of modern apps are directly linked to not only the developers who believed in them but also to the success of everyone across the business. Think about one of the most critical services during the pandemic: grocery shopping. Local<a href="https://tanzu.vmware.com/customers/kroger"> Kroger</a> stores, for example, quickly pivoted to curbside pickup and home delivery. That was all possible because of the company’s early commitment to modernizing and speeding its app development and delivery processes.
The challenge now is to quickly help under-performing organizations adopt the best practices of high-performing peers. To succeed during this time of unprecedented change, enterprises must embrace software-minded thinking and modern apps to deliver great digital customer experiences.
Ultimately, the businesses that do it best will thrive.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Kroger Technology Teams with Pivotal to Feed the Human Spirit" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8tPqZY_NtL0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Vanson Bourne, commissioned by VMware. “Successful Digital Transformation: Apps At The Ready,” May 2020. 
<a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Forrester Research. “Improving Customer Experience and Revenue Starts with the App Portfolio,” March 2020. 
<a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Bain &#038; Company. “The Best Way to Cut Costs Is to Make Customers Happy,” October 29, 2018. 
<a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> Yes Marketing. “The Retail Shopper’s Journey to Loyalty,” June 2019. 
<a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5">[5]</a> Vanson Bourne, commissioned by VMware. “Successful Digital Transformation: Apps At The Ready,” May 2020. 
<a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Vanson Bourne, commissioned by VMware. “Successful Digital Transformation: Apps At The Ready,” May 2020.

Sumit Dhawan

Has the digital customer experience changed during COVID-19? Sumit Dhawan, VMware's chief customer experience officer, says, "Absolutely."

Improving the Digital Customer Experience During Unprecedented Change

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