The Women in Business club hosted a discussion on C-Level decisions. We got to participate in a candid discussion with Tendril executives Adrian Tuck (CEO) and Amy Marmoleio (CFO) on managing workplace culture and gender dynamics. They shared challenges, stories, and ideas for creating an inclusive culture. Tendril delivers end-to-end consumer engagement products, applications, and services via their open, secure, and scalable platform.
Adrian and Amy were incredibly generous in sharing their experiences with us; you had to be there to get the full story! However, we can share a few insights:
- On Company Goals: Adrian described his three goals as a company
- 1) Build a profitable business. After all, Tendril is venture-backed
- 2) Be the best place to work—provide meaningful work, the tools to do it with, and then get out of the way
- 3) Positive impact on the planet—the company’s core goal is to save energy
- On Humility: Tell it as it is. Be humble: people choose to be part of the Tendril team
- On Company Values: #1 is do the right thing. This is ingrained in our culture
- On Keys to Success: You have to be able to debate vigorously, yet respectively, to be successful at Tendril
- On Company Culture: If you live the values, you live the culture
We also talked about what kinds of people are successful at Tendril. Adrian and Amy talked about four qualities:
- Work ethic
- “I want to go to dinner with you”
- Are you a legit good person?
- Fun. This is essential to create a good place to work!
I’ll end with a quote from Amy: “As you grow as managers/leaders, you set the culture in your teams.”
We thoroughly enjoyed our discussion with Adrian and Amy and are so appreciative of their time! This was a great way to learn more about the really tough decisions that executive teams face.
