Saleema Syed

COO- Business Operations

[Saleema Syed @SaleemaSyed2]

For a change to happen in the way things operate, one has to break the “structure of power” that exists, else your effort is like a pulling an elastic band, all the work just takes it back to original state!

[Sam Altman @sama]

One of the most fun parts of OpenAI is watching people here level up so fast and do such excellent work.

We are operating at a high level across many different disciplines and many of the people doing it have never done it before, and joined us at the beginning of their career.

If you believe in people and give them a lot of responsibility and support (and pick the right people to bet on) you will be surprised on the upside more often than you think.

I would love to see more companies operate this way and think we would all benefit.

(This was also one of the most fun parts of startup investing.)

[Shelly Kramer @ShellyKramer]

Honoring the life and contributions of Jay Patel as we kick off ⁦@Cisco⁩ ⁦@Webex⁩ #Webexone event today

[Craig Durr @craigdurr]

Very powerful start to #webexone. @jpatel41 opening the keynote with a heartfelt memory of Jay Patel.

@Webex @webex_cpaas @Cisco

[Chuck Robbins @ChuckRobbins]

Today at @CiscoLive US, we shared AI-driven innovation from across our portfolio. I believe these are some of the most important announcements in my 27 years at Cisco, & I could not be more excited about our future. Here is a great summary: https://t.co/09W0Iush30

[Saleema Syed @SaleemaSyed2]

@jpatel41 The best representation ! This is so true in the world of what AI is bringing as well. Knowing everything is not needed, where can we focus and get deep. Knowledge is no longer power, but the ability to decipher the knowledge in ares that matter is!

[Adam Grant @AdamMGrant]

Elon Musk has succeeded in spite of the way he treats others, not because of it.

Belittling is not a leadership strategy—it reflects a lack of self-control. Demeaning doesn't get results—it thwarts productivity.

Disrespect for the status quo can be a virtue. Disrespect for people is a vice.

https://t.co/eDoek3qtQb

[Chuck Robbins @ChuckRobbins]

Thrilled to be expanding our partnership w/ @nvidia, helping to remove barriers for customers & ensuring they can optimize their infrastructure investments to unlock the power of AI. Thanks Jensen & team for continuing to be great partners! https://t.co/qQ4y3HXuy9

[Benjy Sarlin @BenjySarlin]

Jon Stewart’s 2-minute history lesson here is worth everyone’s time before we start confidently breaking out our theories of what happened

[The Daily Show @TheDailyShow]

Jon Stewart on election night: "We're all going to have to wake up tomorrow morning and work like hell to move the world to the place that we prefer it to be." #DailyShow

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

It took several days to count every ballot in 2020, and it’s very likely we won’t know the outcome tonight either. So please keep a few things in mind as you make your voice heard today:

– Thousands of election workers around the country are working hard today. Respect them. Thank them. 

– Don’t share things before checking your sources. 

– Let the process run its course. It takes time to count every ballot.

[Tata Communications @tata_comm]

Tata Communications and @cisco_in have joined forces to introduce Webex Calling in India! 🇮🇳 This cutting-edge cloud-based solution, powered by the Tata Communications GlobalRapide platform, is set to revolutionise communication for enterprises, offering reliability, scalability, and compliance. Say hello to enhanced collaboration and unforgettable customer experiences: https://t.co/YKthRoKANh

[Cisco @Cisco]

Introducing Cisco AI Assistant.
#CiscoAI Assistant accesses an unmatched breadth and scale of data to more intelligently guide and inform decision-making, helping you to work faster, safer, and smarter.

[Webex @Webex]

We're excited about everything we shared today during our #EnterpriseConnect keynote - but what did the industry analysts think? Let's take a look!

[Aruna Ravichandran @aruna13]

Was wonderful connecting with many of our analysts at @enterprisecon at the @Webex analyst exchange @Roopamjain @DaveMichels @javed_khan @SaleemaSyed2 @blairplez

[Saleema Syed @SaleemaSyed2]

“Breaking the Cycle: Why True Change Requires Challenging Power Structures” by saleema syed
https://t.co/yMOxVBhnuS

[Saleema Syed @SaleemaSyed2]

https://t.co/XsDcsFfEGI

[Aruna Ravichandran @aruna13]

Was such a fantastic #ciscoliveemea - the best part spending time with the team and customers @Webex @SaleemaSyed2 @damien_mccoy @carriepsandstad

[Saleema Syed @SaleemaSyed2]

@WIRED had warned us. Funny how this edition was one of my favorites and had read every article! Looks like it warned us. Don’t worry AI won’t ruin humans, we humans are dang good at it ourselves #openAI #SamAltmanIsBack

[Varun @varun_mathur]

Dear Mira and Ilya - congratulations on your coup at OpenAI. Since both of you have together never raised a penny as entrepreneurs, let me explain what happens.

Oh, and you *will* need to raise since your venture’s unit economics don’t make sense. Remember, you pay $0.30 every time someone asks a doofus question to ChatGPT. Heck, I sometimes ask the same thing 5 times.

Also, the last deal at $80 billion valuation - is as dead as the Egyptian pharaohs. Glorious to write about and visualize. But super dead, under the sand, not coming back.

Not only that - but you sideswiped your biggest partner, Microsoft. Of course publicly they will say the right thing, but you know and they know it and a random fellow like me knows it - they must be seething mad about it.

Few of your top researchers have already quit, and if there is one thing Sam Altman is especially good at, it is raising and deploying capital. Before the sign with your name and title as “CEO” and “Defacto CEO” gets emblazoned in the OpenAI offices, Sam would have a new company, $1 billion investment and offers out to all your, soon to be ex, top product people and researchers.

So you head into next week having lost your top dealmaker, top researchers, top product visionary, top partner and top investor, and with a business which has terrible unit economics.

And let’s not forget - the two of you are not entrepreneurs. Most people in your board have never held a proper tech job ever. You have never had to face the abject rejection which follows from pitching many investors, going through the process, and getting to close. Getting to close is the toughest. Sometimes investors say yes, but they don’t actually mean it. Sometimes they even sign, and still don’t wire the funds. You will need to live through all of it, the pain and rejection, and feel intense amount of pressure of having to provide for your team members - who pays their mortgages, car loans, kids school tuition - the ones whom you played with at the last company picnic.

After you are exhausted with the realities of the market - you will sell out OpenAI to Microsoft entirely, and be housed as Global Principal Product Managers in building 4 in Seattle, where it rains non-stop. Microsoft will never fire you, Satya will always say the right thing about you - because he is an honorable person.

But deep down in your heart, as you are watching the Netflix movie on OpenAI and Joseph-Gordon Levitt’s wife plays herself as a board member who fired Sam Altman over Google Meet, you will think and realize that you had it all - you could have been at the helm of a $1 trillion company. History will forget you. Sam and Greg and everyone else would have moved on and forgotten about you. e/acc would have built out fundamental OpenAI alternatives in anycase..

[Saleema Syed @SaleemaSyed2]

@cisco_brad @wfaaweather Send that rain to Plano please 🙏