On this episode of the Unlearn podcast, hosts Asher Mathew and Kelly Sarabyn connect with Eron Sunando, Asana's Head of Channels & Alliances. Fresh from Asana's Partner Summit, Eron brings a unique perspective on how partnerships can simplify the increasingly complex world of business technology.

Drawing from his globe-trotting career that spans from UBS to Salesforce, Eron unpacks the challenges facing today's businesses – from overwhelmed SMB owners to sales teams juggling multiple tools. He shares an insider's look at Asana's fresh approach to partnerships, including their new partner program and the game-changing AI Studio. Join us for a practical conversation about reducing tech complexity, building meaningful partnerships, and finding the sweet spot between AI automation and the human touch in partner management.

Chapters -

00:00 - Introduction and Eron’s career journey

04:20 - Complexity of modern tech stacks

10:00 - Reducing Complexities for SMBs

16:00 - Asana's Partner Summit and Program Relaunch

22:00 - Partnerships with MasterCard and Other Ecosystem Players

28:00 - Balancing Competency-Based and Outcome-Based Partner Programs

34:00 - Asana's Use of AI and the Launch of AI Studio

40:00 - Managing Partner Relationships with Asana's Internal Tools

45:00 - AI and Partner Management

50:00 - Asana's AI Studio and the Shift Towards Customizable AI Workflows

52:00 - Evolving Partner Program Structure

Key Takeaways -

1. Complexity of Modern Tech Stacks: Customers, especially SMBs, are overwhelmed by the growing number of applications and tools they need to manage, highlighting the need for partners to simplify and integrate these solutions.

2. Asana's Flexible Partner Program: Asana is launching a new partner program with distinct paths for different partner types (solution, services, tech, referral), allowing for a more tailored approach to partner engagement.

3. Leveraging AI for Partner Management: While AI can automate certain partner management tasks, the human touch remains crucial for building strategic relationships and providing customized support. Asana's AI Studio offers a flexible, customizable platform for partners to create AI-driven workflows.

4. Centralized Partner Relationship Management: Asana uses its own collaborative work management platform to facilitate communication, task tracking, and coordination with its partner ecosystem, providing a unified system for managing partner activities.

5. Balancing Competency-Based and Outcome-Based Models: Asana opted for a competency-based partner program structure, citing the complexity of implementing an outcome-based model that would require sophisticated backend systems and processes.

Key Quotes -

"I was excited to talk with you because, traditionally, a partnership leader’s worst nightmare is working with a CRO. Few people have experienced both roles firsthand, but you’ve done exactly that." - Asher Mathew

"What's top of mind for me is that, as you know, AI is everywhere. But what I often hear from our customers is that their tech stack has become very complex." - Eron Sunando

On this episode of the Unlearn podcast, hosts Asher Mathew and Kelly Sarabyn welcome Rich Gardner, a partnership maven with a knack for turning industry insights into actionable strategies. Fresh from events like Catalyst and Dreamforce, Rich shares his take on peer-to-peer learning and aligning partnerships with the big picture.

Drawing from his time at Klaviyo, Rich dives into the nitty-gritty of being a true partnership operator. Join us for a candid conversation about where partnerships are headed and how to keep everyone – from your team to your partners – rowing in the same direction. It's a down-to-earth look at the future of business collaboration, sprinkled with Rich's real-world wisdom.

Chapters -

00:00 - Introduction

03:14 - Reflections on Catalyst and Peer-to-Peer Learning

09:47 - CEO Involvement and Partnership Strategy

14:02 - Challenges in Measuring Partnership Impact

20:23 - Operator Mindset

29:01 - The Future of Partnerships and Marketplaces

39:38 - Challenges in Collaboration with Product Teams

47:41 - The Evolution of Partnerships and Future Opportunities

50:55 - Closing Remarks

Key Takeaways -

• Partnerships leaders need to better communicate the value of partnerships to CEOs by understanding the CEO's priorities and speaking their language in terms of business metrics and growth.

• Measuring and attributing partnership impact is a complex challenge that requires rigor and instrumentation, which partnership leaders need to focus on.

• Product teams can be resistant to co-building or allowing third-party integrations, so partnership leaders need to frame partnerships as a way to help product teams achieve their goals faster.

• Partnership leaders need to adopt an operator mindset, understanding the entire business and being able to translate partnerships' value across different functions.

• The rise of platforms, marketplaces, and the democratization of integration/development due to AI presents both challenges and opportunities for partnership leaders to navigate.

Key Quotes -

“Now is the perfect time to claim a seat at the table, given the shifts in the market. The key for leaders is to focus on being effective operators” - Asher Mathew

"To succeed as a partnerships leader, regardless of your title, you must understand your product, customer success, sales, and what matters to finance. You need to grasp it all—essentially acting as a mini-CEO." - Rich Gardner

"It's complex to map out these dynamics. Crossbeam has attempted to visualize the cloud, but when you consider hyperscalers and their marketplaces, they're now incorporating business software, not just IT and dev tools. This creates layers of ecosystems within ecosystems. Even hyperscalers are part of others' ecosystems, so no one is just a platform anymore—everyone is both a participant and a platform." - Kelly Sarabyn

On this episode of the Unlearn Podcast, hosts Asher Mathew & Kelly Sarabyn engage in a compelling discussion on the impacts of social media. They are joined by author Tobias Rose-Stockwell, known for his book "Outrage Machine,"

Tobias, a seasoned researcher in technology's societal impacts, shares insights gathered over a decade of study. His expertise sheds light on how platforms like Slack can disrupt workplace dynamics and productivity.

The episode delves into the complexities of social media's influence, exploring themes of workplace disruption, productivity challenges, and strategies for enhancing online trust and fact-checking. Listeners gain valuable insights into navigating the evolving landscape of social media and its broader implications.

Chapters -

00:00 - Social media's impact on workplace productivity and interpersonal relationships.

7:56 - How digital communication changes social dynamics in the workplace.

12:38 - How social media impacts moral emotions and mental health.

16:32 - Social media companies' ethical issues and how they prioritize engagement over morality.

21:03 - LinkedIn's algorithm and its impact on content visibility and toxicity.

27:51 - LinkedIn algorithm and content optimization.

31:50 - Creating and managing online communities, with a focus on engagement and outcomes.

35:30 - Content moderation challenges in social media platforms.

39:19 - Improving social media fact-checking through community-driven, AI-augmented platforms.

43:35 - Building trust in social media with a focus on verification engines and trust and safety teams.

Key Takeaways -

• Social media platforms like Slack can negatively impact workplace productivity and creativity due to constant distractions and performance-based interactions

• Writing text removes non-verbal cues and context, making online communication more open to misinterpretation compared to in-person interactions

• Prioritizing engagement alone can incentivize the spread of misinformation over truthful information on social media

• Community-driven fact-checking and citations from reputable sources can help combat viral misinformation spread on social media platforms

• The concept of building a "market for trust" by prioritizing validated information over viral hits in the long run could create more value for social media platforms

Key Quotes -

"I feel like LinkedIn is really changing. When I first started using it, it was a straightforward network where people had small circles. Now it seems like there are ccircles within circles. Different content is shown to different people, even in different countries. There was this creative explosion initially, but now every week I hear people frustrated because their reach and impressions are down. It feels like we've fallen into the situation you're describing." - Asher Mathew

"There's some really interesting research and history regarding LinkedIn's efforts to make its feed less toxic. Back in the day, most social media platforms didn't even have a news feed. When LinkedIn started, it was more about who you were connected to rather than having a feed. They implemented a feed early on, but then they actually turned it off due to spikes in garbage content, spam, and other issues typical of user-generated content networks. After a hiatus, they restarted the feed, around 2017 if I remember correctly, in a read-only format. They also selected specific influencers who could post to the feed, aiming for global reach with a small number of chosen influencers in the early days." - Tobias Rose-Stockwell

"I do think Wikipedia is a great example. People perceive it as very neutral, right? I've never heard anyone say, 'Wikipedia has a liberal bias' or something like that. It just comes across as neutral. I think it's hopeful that this neutrality can be embedded into social networks." - Kelly Sarabyn