Episode6: Venturis Stories: Praerit Garg - Business is a Team Sport

In this podcast episode, Praerit Greg, Chief Product Officer and EVP of Engineering at Smartsheet, discusses the impact of generative AI and customer focus. He emphasizes the importance of understanding customer pain points and using technology to address their needs. Praerit also shares his approach to balancing his role as a technologist with being customer-centric, highlighting the importance of creating human impact. The conversation touches on the importance of diversity of thought in building a complementary team. The episode explores Praerit's Growth Mindset and how he looks for books that he terms as “framebreakers” when building his reading list. We discuss his views on lessons from team sports and his belief that “Business is a Team Sport”. The hype cycle of generative AI (00:01:15) The discussion revolves around generative AI and how enterprises can keep the innovation customer-focused. Striking a balance between being a technologist and customer-centric (00:05:07) Praerit talks about how he balances his role as Chief Product and Technology Officer, focusing on creating human impact and serving customers while also staying updated with technology trends. The learning mindset and the power of books (00:11:34) Discussion on the importance of staying away from shiny objects, delivering purpose, and the value of continuous learning through books. Business is a team sport (00:15:27) Exploration of the parallels between sports and business, emphasizing the need for a complementary team, trust, and diverse skill sets. Applying lessons from sports to business (00:17:11) Drawing lessons from sports like cricket and the Seattle Seahawks to highlight the importance of teamwork, specialization, and strategic thinking in business and product development.