Scott Cutler, now VP of the Americas at eBay, talks about presence and reflection. He digs snow caves on Mount Hood, finds breakthroughs on long bike rides, and credits his Eagle Scout training for survival skills that shape how he thinks about creating value.
Chapters
Was there something there that you kind of, like, really still sticks out to you as, man, we screwed that one up?
Oh, like, on deals? I mean, there's so many. There's so many to describe. I mean, there's lots of situations that, you know, I'm trying to think of one catastrophic, catastrophic failure, nothing's coming to mind. Again, I would just think it's just that attitude of learning. I think where I've failed the most as a leader is losing those moments or those opportunities to be present in the moment, focused on this conversation and not thinking about the 20 other things that I've got to do tonight, tomorrow.
That's tough.
And that's been a focus of mine, a failure of mine, a focus of mine to try and be a little bit more here all the time.
Yeah, yeah. Do you have like a meditation practice at all, just that I can—
I'm not— yes and no. I'm not great at it.
Me either.
And I'm working at it. And for me, it's actually being conscious of trying to find the time for that. I actually find, while this isn't— I mean, most people that would say, hey, meditation just requires you to sit still, I do find that when I'm on my bike, I am reflecting and working on lots of different challenges. I was on a bike, a 20-mile bike ride the other morning, and I literally couldn't even remember the any aspect of the ride because I was just thinking about a couple of different things that I needed to work through in my mind.
Have you had any big breakthroughs while doing your rides?
I've had all my breakthroughs come during those hours. They really do. They, you know, it's—
they—
that's to me where the ideas— I'm not like in the moment. I have the opportunity to give myself time to reflect and to think, and I've got no other distraction. And I've found a lot of great ideas during those moments.
And besides bike riding, you're also out exploring the outdoors.
Yeah, I love to climb and ski and fish and do anything outdoors.
And speaking of solving problems in the moment, I heard that there was a story with a spoon about something about digging your way out with a spoon.
Yeah, I kept myself alive by digging a snow cave on the side of a mountain. side of Mount Hood with the back of an ice axe and lived to tell another day. But it was—
What happened? What was that moment?
You know, it was actually in between college and law school and I was climbing Mount Hood and got stuck in a whiteout condition and literally had to dig a snow cave to stay alive. I have a picture of it on my desk.
Just you yourself or did you have—
I got separated from my climbing partner.
Wow.
And dug this snow cave and was fortunate to get out. But there was a moment sitting on the side of that mountain where I prayed to just be taken off that mountain. And the reality is I literally just needed to dig in and dig a cave and stay alive and did. And for me, it was a teachable moment of my own power to, Like, do something.
Did you know that you had to dig a cave, or would that just kind of come to you?
You're a Boy Scout, right?
Yes. You're an Eagle Scout.
You're better than I am. I learned as part of a— I don't know if it was like Snow Cave Merit Badge or something.
I don't think that exists.
No, it was a scout campout on the side of Mount Rainier. I grew up in Seattle. I learned how to dig a snow cave and stayed in it overnight. Then later in life, when— classic Scout story— but later in life when I actually needed it, I actually knew what to do.
That is actually amazing. I love that. I knew what to do. Taking it back to StubHub before we wrap it up, you recently got a position change from StubHub to VP of Americas at eBay.
