Internal Correspondence — Office of the Chief of Staff

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Rajesh Iyer, VP Engineering
Date: Monday 14 October 2024
Subject: Introductory meeting — the Business

Rajesh,

As part of my first-ninety-days listening tour, I’d like to schedule a meeting with the Business to understand their priorities and how we can better support alignment with the technical organisation. Could you point me to the right person to set this up? Happy to work around their calendar.

Best,
Diana

From: Rajesh Iyer, VP Engineering
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Monday 14 October 2024
Subject: RE: Introductory meeting — the Business

Diana,

Welcome aboard! You’ll want to talk to Product — they own the roadmap and are essentially the voice of the Business on the technical side. Lena Marchetti (SVP Product) is who you’re looking for.

Rajesh

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Lena Marchetti, SVP Product
Date: Tuesday 15 October 2024
Subject: Meeting request — Business alignment

Lena,

I’m scheduling introductory meetings with key stakeholders and would love to meet with you as the representative of the Business. Rajesh pointed me your way. Let me know what works.

Diana

From: Lena Marchetti, SVP Product
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Tuesday 15 October 2024
Subject: RE: Meeting request — Business alignment

Hi Diana,

Happy to meet, but I want to flag that Product isn’t really “the Business” — we synthesise inputs and make trade-offs, but the actual business priorities come from Sales and GTM. If you want the Business perspective, Marcus Chen (CRO) is who you need. I can give you the product perspective separately if that’s useful.

Lena

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Marcus Chen, CRO
Date: Wednesday 16 October 2024
Subject: Business priorities — introductory meeting

Marcus,

I’m trying to set up a meeting with the Business to understand priorities for the coming year. Both Engineering and Product have pointed me in your direction. Do you have 30 minutes this week or next?

Diana

From: Marcus Chen, CRO
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Wednesday 16 October 2024
Subject: RE: Business priorities — introductory meeting

Diana — always happy to talk, but I want to make sure you’re getting the right meeting. Sales is a revenue function. We execute against targets that are set by Finance and Strategy. If you’re looking for “the Business” in the sense of who decides what we’re building and why, that’s not us. That’s Strategy (Caroline Osei) or possibly Finance (David Lam), depending on what you mean by “priorities.”

Let me know if you want the sales perspective anyway, but I don’t want to waste your time if you’re looking for the strategic layer.

Marcus

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Caroline Osei, VP Strategy
Date: Thursday 17 October 2024
Subject: Meeting with the Business

Caroline,

I’ve been referred to you by Sales as the person who can represent the Business perspective on company priorities. Would you have time for a 30-minute introductory meeting?

Diana

From: Caroline Osei, VP Strategy
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Thursday 17 October 2024
Subject: RE: Meeting with the Business

Diana,

I appreciate the referral but want to set expectations: Strategy advises, we don’t decide. Our recommendations go to the executive team, and the actual prioritisation happens through the budgeting process, which Finance runs. If you’re looking for where business decisions are actually made, David Lam in Finance is closer to the source. If you want to understand the strategic framework behind the decisions, I’m your person. But I wouldn’t call us “the Business.”

Caroline

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: David Lam, CFO
Date: Friday 18 October 2024
Subject: Business priorities — who owns them?

David,

I’m now a week into what I expected to be a simple scheduling exercise. I’ve spoken with Engineering, Product, Sales, and Strategy, and each has directed me to the next function as “the Business.” You are, at this point, the fifth referral. I would like to meet with whatever entity in this organisation considers itself the Business, and I’m told that might be Finance.

Diana

From: David Lam, CFO
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Friday 18 October 2024
Subject: RE: Business priorities — who owns them?

Diana,

Finance is not the Business. Finance is the function that measures the Business. If we were the Business, we’d be measuring ourselves, which would be a conflict of interest.

I think what you’re looking for is Operations. They run the actual business — fulfilment, logistics, customer operations. If anyone is “the Business,” it’s them.

Sorry for the runaround. Welcome to the company.

David

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Patricia Novak, VP Operations
Date: Monday 21 October 2024
Subject: The Business — are you it?

Patricia,

Apologies for the blunt subject line. I am looking for the Business. I have been looking for the Business for a week. I have been told it is Product, then Sales, then Strategy, then Finance, and now Operations. If it is not Operations, I would appreciate knowing who it actually is so I can stop sending emails.

Diana

From: Patricia Novak, VP Operations
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Monday 21 October 2024
Subject: RE: The Business — are you it?

Diana,

Ha — no, we are definitely not the Business. Operations is the infrastructure that the Business runs on. We’re plumbing. The Business is the customer-facing revenue side: Sales, Marketing, Partnerships. Have you talked to Marcus?

Patricia

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Monday 21 October 2024
Subject: NOTE TO SELF

The cycle is: Engineering → Product → Sales → Strategy → Finance → Operations → Sales.

I have been referred back to Sales. I am where I started.

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: ALL-EXEC
Date: Tuesday 22 October 2024
Subject: Request for clarification — “the Business”

Executive team,

In my first week, I attempted to schedule a meeting with “the Business” to discuss alignment and priorities. I have now spoken individually with Engineering, Product, Sales, Strategy, Finance, and Operations. Each function identified a different function as “the Business.” No function identified itself. The referral chain is circular.

I would like to propose a brief agenda item at next week’s executive meeting: Who is the Business? If we can resolve this, I can complete my listening tour. If we cannot, I will note it in my ninety-day report as a finding.

Diana

From: Rajesh Iyer, VP Engineering
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
Date: Tuesday 22 October 2024
Subject: RE: Request for clarification — “the Business”

Diana,

I wouldn’t put this on the exec agenda. It’s one of those things that everyone understands informally. The Business just means the non-technical stakeholders.

Rajesh

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Rajesh Iyer, VP Engineering
Date: Tuesday 22 October 2024
Subject: RE: RE: Request for clarification — “the Business”

Rajesh,

Every stakeholder I have spoken with considers themselves a technical stakeholder.

Diana

From: Lena Marchetti, SVP Product
To: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
CC: Marcus Chen, Caroline Osei, David Lam, Patricia Novak
Date: Wednesday 23 October 2024
Subject: RE: Request for clarification — “the Business”

Diana,

I discussed your email with a few people and I think the issue is that “the Business” doesn’t mean one specific group. It’s contextual. When Engineering says it, they mean Product. When Product says it, we mean Sales. It’s a relative term, like “upstream.”

Maybe instead of trying to meet with the Business, you could meet with each function individually? Which, it sounds like, you’ve already done.

Lena

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: Lena Marchetti, SVP Product
Date: Wednesday 23 October 2024
Subject: RE: RE: Request for clarification — “the Business”

Lena,

I appreciate the clarification. To confirm: I was asked to align the technical organisation with the Business, and the Business is a relative term that refers to whoever is not in the room. I have now met with every function individually. Each meeting included a discussion of the Business, referring to a function I had already met with or was about to meet with. At no point was I in a room with the Business, because the Business is defined by its absence from the room I am in.

I will note this in my report.

Diana

From: Diana Ashworth, Chief of Staff
To: James Yoon, CEO
Date: Friday 25 October 2024
Subject: Ninety-day listening tour — preliminary finding

James,

One finding from the listening tour so far. You asked me to improve alignment between the technical organisation and the Business. Having met with all functions, I can report the following:

Everyone is aligned with the Business. They are also aligned against it. These are the same alignment, because the Business is the name each function uses for the source of demands it does not control, and every function is the source of demands some other function does not control.

The organisation is not misaligned. It is aligned in a circle.

I have a few thoughts on how to proceed and will share them when we meet on Thursday.

Diana

Filed: Office of the Chief of Staff / Listening Tour / Q4-2024
Classification: Internal
Status: Unresolved