>> Announcer: From Palo Alto,
it's the CUBE
covering Women Transforming Technology 2017.
Brought to you by VMWare.
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>> Hey, welcome back everybody.
Jeff Frick here with the CUBE.
We're wrapping up a full day here
at the VMWare headquarters.
I always want to say VM World and not VMWare
for the Women Transforming Technology Conference.
Been a fantastic day.
Kicked off by Kara Swisher,
wrapped up by Gloria Steinem,
and a whole lot of interesting sessions
and topics in between, and really
happy to have Rebecca Knight hosting all day.
Thank you Rebecca for carrying
the freight. >> It's been great.
It's been a lot of fun.
>> So I want to kind of turn the table.
You've been doing all the interviews all day,
and interview you, kind of.
You know, you live in Boston,
so you're not out here all the time.
Kind of what is your perspective?
A lot of conversation of kind of
the Silicon Valley bubble
and the Silicon Valley point of view,
but it doesn't necessarily represent every place.
It's a unique little spot on the world.
So what's been your take on that piece
of the interviews today?
>> I think that that is exactly
what I've been thinking about.
As an east coaster, I mean I live in Boston.
I don't live in Nowheresville, I mean,
but it's also a center of innovation
and technological change. >> Jeff: Right.
>> Particularly Cambridge,
but there is a real special magic about Silicon Valley,
and yet, Silicon Valley also believes,
it drinks it's own Kool-Aid,
and so has it's own feeling of specialness too.
So it's interesting to be here and watch it all happen.
>> Right.
Other areas that you cover when
you're not hosting the CUBE is
management and leadership, and obviously,
Boston is a hotbed of acadeem.
I think, what Harvard was the first college
set up in the United States. >> It was indeed.
>> So when you look at some of the issues,
there's a lot of topic today on Uber,
what's going on at Uber,
and some of the kind of overt sexism if you will.
When you look at the kind of leadership,
and the study of leadership and management,
what are some of the things that you're seeing
that are kind of new and innovative?
You would think it's 2017 for God sake.
You'd think we'd be past some of these sophomoric issues,
but we're not, and not by a long shot.
>> It is very depressing, I'm going to be honest.
And I think particularly with leadership right now,
I write a column for Harvard Business Review,
and Harvard Business School is
teaching the next generation how to be leaders,
how to be responsible and be the
next captains of industry, and yet in Washington,
we have this real example of how not to do it
in the sense of not listen to experts,
not take other people's perspectives,
not be willing to collaborate and listen really.
>> Right, right, but by the same token,
I mean one of Kara's themes was,
you know, many of the great entrepreneurs
that are driving innovation,
we heard from, you know the stories of jobs all the time.
They don't collaborate, and they don't
kind of tow the line, and they do
break glass and break barriers
'cause they think differently,
not to steal directly from that line.
>> Rebecca: Yeah, yeah. >> But so,
it's an interesting kind of juxtaposition of
you know, maintaining individuality.
>> Rebecca: Right. >> Yet you also have to,
have to operate in the world in which we live.
>> Yes, and I think that that, exactly yes.
Those are very successful people
tend to have that kind of driving personality,
and yet, an other part of Kara's speech
was talking about the virtues of graciousness.
>> Jeff: Right, right.
>> And, and how that really can also be
a powerful part of leadership.
>> Right, so as the study of management evolves,
kind of how do you see that changing over time?
You've been at it for a while, I mean,
is it kind of more of the same?
Is it fundamentally different what
they're teaching in schools or as we study leadership?
I'm always struck by, you know,
we don't spend more time studying,
you know, the Marines at Parris Island.
I mean, they teach young kids
that are 18 years old, 19 years old
to turn into 23 year old leaders,
that are, you know, sending people to their
deaths for the cause of the greater good
that they're objectives, they're trying to achieve.
It's fascinating to me that, you know,
we don't draw kind of more leadership studies
from a broader range of perspectives
or am I just missing the bell?
>> No and I think you're absolutely right
in talking about the military
and talking about wartime, I mean,
those are high pressurized situations
where it's not just, oh, we're not
going to make our numbers this quarter.
It's my... >> Jeff: Right, right.
>> My platoon is going, I'm sending them into their death.
>> Jeff: Right.
>> If this doesn't work out they way I'd
like I've strategized.
So, no, I think that they're,
I think that increasingly business schools
are trying to take lessons from other parts of
the military for example,
and also using philosophy and art.
Design thinking is another hot thing
at business schools right now.
Trying to take other disciplines
and finding the best bits, and what they can apply
in terms of how you run your business.
>> It's interesting, the whole design thinking
'cause that's getting a rebirth at Stanford.
>> Rebecca: At Stanford. >> I know too.
>> Exactly the D school, yeah.
>> It funny, we interviewed Dan Gordon
from Gordon Biersch Brewery who is
introducing a new apple, a malted apple beverage,
and he had this gal that worked at
or was from Stanford, played softball at Stanford
and they were doing this design thinking,
and they decided white label,
and apparently you just go out,
and you go meet people and you
show 'em the white the label,
and you see how the whole thing shapes out.
So, there does continue to be this kind of evolution.
>> No, it's absolutely true.
>> So, biggest surprises of the day?
>> Biggest surprises of the day?
I mean, I first of all just want to congratulate VMWare
of choosing Gloria Steinem to be the keynote close.
Like I said, I think that that was such a bold choice,
an unexpected choice.
Yes, it's a women's conference,
but she is a real feminist icon,
so I think it was, I just, I'm so proud
to be here. >> Oh good.
>> And listen to Gloria.
>> And how 'about some of your favorite
moments from a few of the interviews?
>> Oh, so many great interviews.
Yanbin Li really an energetic presence.
>> Jeff: Yes. >> And she just had
a lot of interesting things to say
about mixing sort of her personality,
her role as a mother and her role
as a leader and technologist.
>> Jeff: Right. >> I think that was great.
I loved listening to Nicola Icott talk about
how she uses design thinking
to devise a sustainability strategy
here at VMWare,
and Lily Chang talking about her childhood in Taiwan.
The daughter of a mother who had
to fight for everything including
an education for Lily.
And now what she does here
in the office of the CTO at VMWare.
So so many great women.
>> Yeah, it's, you know, it's really
my favorite part of the CUBE
is we get to talk to so many people.
I just, for whatever reason,
there just isn't necessarily a format for them
to sit down and really
tell their story. >> To tell their story.
>> Jeff: They're all terrific stories.
>> Yeah.
>> Well Rebecca, I want to thank you
again for making the big trip west.
>> It was great, it was great.
I love it, I love this place. >> And we look
forward to many more events with you.
>> Yes.
>> As we get deeper into 2017 conference season
which is going to be crazy by the way.
All right, well thanks again Rebecca.
>> Thank you.
>> She's Rebecca Knight, I'm Jeff Frick.
You're watching the CUBE from VMWare headquarters
at the Women Transforming Technology conference.
Thanks for watching.
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