TECH TITANS: Mastering Patience and Overcoming Cynicism with Kevin Scott, CTO at Microsoft

(Intro Narrator at 00:00:00) Today, we're bringing you an episode of Tech Titans, and this one is a throwback all the way from 2018. Kevin Scott, CTO of Microsoft, joins us in this episode to share his best advice on being patient as a leader and more. You're listening to Joel Beasley, Tech Titans.

(Joel Beasley at 00:00:21) I'm not surprised at all that Microsoft is involved in working on big picture stuff because that's what Bill Gates has chosen to spend the rest of his life doing, right? Yeah, that guy's awesome.

(Kevin Scott at 00:00:33) I mean, it's—I mean, like, that's another thing. Like, you spend a little bit of time talking with Bill about some of the things that they're discovering. Like, he gave a talk to—Microsoft does this CEO Summit every year where we bring, you know, the CEOs of a bunch of big companies. And one of the things that Bill does every year there is he gives a little talk. And, you know, it's really inter—I find this whole notion of engineers and technologists being optimistic to be the funniest thing in the world because, like, I was this cynical little grump when I was growing up.

(Kevin Scott at 00:01:11) And, like, I still am, just, you know, as an engineer. Like, your job is to look at the world and identify everything that's broken or suboptimal so that you can go fix it. And so, you know, like, the fact that we're able to summon any optimism, I wouldn't strike money.

(Joel Beasley at 00:01:33) Thank you so much for coming on and hanging out with us. I do have one last question if that's okay.

(Kevin Scott at 00:01:39) Yeah, it's totally okay.

(Joel Beasley at 00:01:40) Okay. Are you a fan of Elon Musk?

(Kevin Scott at 00:01:43) I am. I admire Elon a lot. I mean, there aren't many folks who can go off and create a space company and a payments company and a company that, like, solves—maybe will solve both the transportation and the energy crisis that we have.

(Joel Beasley at 00:02:01) So let's say that he creates a time machine, right? Yep. He invites you over. You jump in the time machine. You get to go back ten years and give yourself one piece of advice. What would it be?

(Kevin Scott at 00:02:12) That's a super interesting question. And so I have learned a ton of painful lessons over the years, and I think most of them, like, I wouldn't want a shortcut because the process of learning them has been just as valuable as the lesson itself. But there are a few things that, you know, like, that I would give myself some advice on. Like, one is—and, you know, maybe this would have been more useful like fifteen or twenty years ago than ten years ago—but I've had a number of points in my career where folks told me that I needed to be more patient. And it sort of sounds like a reasonable thing, like you should be patient.

(Kevin Scott at 00:03:02) Like, you know, you don't need to run around like you've got your hair on fire if you have hair all the time. But, like, I think I would have advised my younger self to ask the question or, like, try to get to why it is that the person's asking me to be patient. You know, so, like, sometimes people, especially when you're thinking about a career development conversation—like, you want to be promoted, like, you know, you want somebody to give you the next degree of responsibility or whatnot—and they tell you to be patient, like, it's just not actionable. Like, there's nothing to do, you know, with that other than wait around. And, like, that's not a productive use of your time.

(Kevin Scott at 00:03:50) And, you know, like, sometimes people are telling you that just because they're being lazy, and sometimes they tell you that because, you know, they're waiting for you to ask the next question about, like, what really should I be doing while I'm being patient to make myself more ready for this next thing. And sometimes they're just stalling because they've got a problem that they're trying to solve. Like, I can't give you this job because it's gonna piss off these other people. And that's not your problem. That's theirs.

(Kevin Scott at 00:04:24) And it's a real problem, but, like, they should just tell you upfront, you know, like, why they're asking you to wait rather than have you walk around being frustrated. So, like, I, you know, like, that would be the advice to my younger self is, like, don't just accept "be patient" as, you know, sort of a prescription for how you should behave.

(Joel Beasley at 00:04:45) I like it. That's great advice. Awesome, Kevin. Dude, we did it. We made a podcast together.

(Kevin Scott at 00:04:54) It's been fun.

(Joel Beasley at 00:04:55) Yeah, and now it's complete. It's been just the most amazing time ever with you. I'm out in San Francisco next week, but it looks like you're traveling. So I'm gonna have some lunch with Fred at SIF Science and let you know how that goes and see all those great people out there. But if I'm ever around and you're around in the same town, I would love to see the Microsoft offices, you know, take a look inside the empire. I'm super interested personally in HoloLens. I'm gonna get one the next time I can get my hands on one so I can program up on it a little bit more free time. But, yeah, it would be really cool to shake your hand, say hello, and see what you're working on in person if our travel schedules ever collide.

(Kevin Scott at 00:05:35) Yeah, for sure. When you're in town, let us know. Like, somebody on my team, at the very least, would be more than happy to give you a tour of Microsoft even if I'm not in town. But I would love to meet you and maybe go grab a coffee or lunch.

(Joel Beasley at 00:05:47) Sure. Your team, by the way, interacting—like, I have my Jackie and my Jake interacting with your team—nothing but the most beautiful, amazing things to say. It's been an absolute pleasure interacting with Microsoft from the moment I reached out and until we've wrapped up this podcast. It's just been awesome.

(Kevin Scott at 00:06:04) Awesome. Well, I really appreciate that, and I'm sure they will be happy to hear it.

(Joel Beasley at 00:06:10) If you ever need anything at all, anything at all, just let me know. Send me an email, reach out, and I'll be there, whatever you need.

(Kevin Scott at 00:06:18) Awesome. Thank you so much, and vice versa. Don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need something.

(Joel Beasley at 00:06:23) Fantastic. Thank you so much, Kevin. Alright.

(Kevin Scott at 00:06:25) Talk to you soon.

(Joel Beasley at 00:06:26) See you.