In today’s episode, Billionaire Entrepreneur Tom Siebel shares some thought-provoking insights on new, leading technologies and its impact on businesses and society. He is the founder of C3.AI, a new software platform that harnesses Big Data, IoT AND AI.

Tom covers in this episode the contents of his book, Digital Transformation, as well as some intriguing ideas about huge US Tech companies.

Silicon Valley Entrepreneurial Giant

Listeners might recall Bruce Clevland, author of “The Traction Gap” and guest in episode 033. He used to work with Tom Siebel at Siebel Systems, which was the category king in the 1st wave of CRM.

In the year 1999, Fortune magazine named Siebel Systems “the fastest growing company in the United States.” In 2006, they merged with Oracle for $5.85 billion.

Digital Transformation

Tom has a brand new book entitled “Digital Transformation.” The book covers giant Megatrends and impacts on business and society. CEOs and senior leaders would find this book highly beneficial to their decision-making process.

“The coming two decades will bring more information technology innovation than the past half-century.” -Tom Siebel, Digital Transformation

Further, he discussed that companies who fail to seize this massive technological growth will be extinct in the future. In the last 30 years, companies that didn’t make the necessary transition required in their industry, cease to exist today.

Continuous Learning and Education

Tom Siebel and his company have a real commitment to their employees: to focus on continuous learning and education. Employees can take online classes via Coursera—in relation to AI, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, among others. Universities such as Stanford, MIT, and the University of Illinois offers these online courses.

“Things are changing more rapidly so to be on top of these, you must be continuously learning”  - Tom Siebel

The company recognizes the employees who completed the courses and awards cash bonuses — ranging from $1500 to $25,000.  At the moment, the company is rolling out new incentives — a 15% increase in compensation and an additional equity grant.

“These people are better equipped to do their jobs and to serve customers. This is to advance their careers professionally. They also do feel more empowered, so everybody wins.” - Tom Siebel

To hear more about digital transformation and more relevant information from Tom, download and listen to the episode.

Bio:

Tom Siebel is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of C3.ai.

He was the Chairman and CEO of Siebel Systems, which merged with Oracle Corporation in January 2006 for $5.85 billion.

Mr. Siebel is also the Chairman of the Siebel Energy Institute, a global consortium for innovative and collaborative energy research for the public domain.

Mr. Siebel serves on the boards of advisors for the University of Illinois College of Engineering and the University of California at Berkeley College of Engineering.

Mr. Siebel is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a B.A. in history, an M.B.A, and an M.S. in computer science.

Links:

Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction

Thomas Siebel - Linkedin

Thomas Siebel - Forbes Profile

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on