The Predictable Revenue CEO addresses the team about George Floyd's killing and the Black Lives Matter protests, apologizing for the delayed response. He shares his personal connection to Los Angeles, where family and friends have been affected, and calls for open conversation and support within the company.
Hey everyone, just got off a leadership meeting and wanted to reach out and just talk a bit about what's going on with the Black Lives Matter, with George Floyd. I know this topic consumed most of the meeting, and that's something because normally a topic is like 5 or 10 minutes, but we know how important it is to us and to you and to the world. So I just wanted to share a few thoughts. I'm sorry we didn't say something on Monday. Honestly, I don't really watch the news. I really, I tend to avoid it and have for a long time, for years, 5 or 10 years, 15 years. So I usually get it secondhand. So I hear about this through like my wife and through my kids. And my wife was watching a lot of the Los Angeles burn because that's where we're from. In fact, a lot of the parts of LA that were looted were parts where we spent a lot of time with. And one of our daughters is still in Los Angeles. We have friends in LA. And learning about it, I mean, all I can say is that I think, just speaking for myself, but I think for either most or all of the company, because we tend to hire people who are values-wise or like us, it's just, it's horrible to see how people, how humans treat each other. This is just one example. It's the most visceral and obvious example of obviously racism, but just so many people are horrible to each other. And whatever the reasons are, because a lot of it comes out of fear, uncertainty, and doubt, unfamiliarity, the way people are brought up. But it's, it's really discouraging to see that in the world and scary in a way. And think how far we've come, but how far we have to go, right? I don't know if this is And it may never really be solved. I mean, we're all just different, and people dump— sometimes some people like things are different, and then some things they, they don't like that's different. That's human nature. But I know with our family, um, it's really hit especially some of our kids and my wife. And I think I can't tell how much of it is racism, how much of it is seeing places that we know burn or people that we know kind of being— we feel like maybe be in danger. But it's not okay. I'm not really sure what to do other than to again talk to people right now. You know, sometimes some big things happen in the world and you just feel so helpless. I feel so helpless, like I'm one person, what do I do? So I mean, this is a step. And if you felt like there was something that you wanted to hear from myself or other people at the company, whether senior or not, and we didn't, right? That's kind of missing a chance. I like to think that I'll, I'll be more responsive next time. And I guess I really care about you and our company. I really care about my family here. I care about all the people in the States. It's like we already have the COVID thing going on, and then it's like it just keeps getting piled on and piled on. So I hope this leads to something better. I mean, at least awareness can be a step. So again, I'm not sure what to do this moment besides this. Maybe you don't know either. Maybe this is enough as a step. But, uh, anyway, I just hope you follow what's important to you. If you feel like you need to say something to a friend or not, or to me, great. If you feel like you need to do something, go for it. You know, we'll be behind you, whatever that looks like. And again, I just, I hope this is another step towards getting to a better place within the company and within the states and within the world, because even when something bad things happen, it can bring other things together. So thanks for listening. And Sid, I hope this starts a good conversation.
