250 million customers in 200 countries, servicing 19.5 million merchants, 8.7 billion transactions (1:6 internet transactions that use money go through his organization); while the numbers are astounding, for Robert Clarkson (’88), General Manager for PayPal North America,  “it’s always about the people.”

For the 2018 Grossman School of Business’ Dean’s Leadership Speaker and UVM alum, the mission of PayPal to democratize the ability for all to access financial services is everything.

From his early days at UVM to his current role, now jokingly describing himself as a “world-class worrier,” he spoke to a packed Keller Room in Ifshin Hall, of waking up every day not necessarily worrying about earnings, but about if PayPal is fulfilling that mission. He urged students as they move forward into their careers, “to look for a place where you have passion for the results and not just the interim steps that might just be financially motivated which actually have a greater impact on the world. Those people tend to be happier in their jobs.”

Clarkson took the audience on a fascinating journey through his career and leadership philosophy, and how he has incorporated his learning beliefs and principles into PayPal, “what shaped me here was UVM introduced me to all the concepts, ideas and diversity of thought that I’d never heard before. I never had the focus to know exactly what I wanted to do when I left, and always worried about what I didn’t know, so I had as many conversations as I possibly could.  At PayPal we are more concerned about what we don’t know than what we do know.”

He spoke to the differences between east coast and west coast careers describing it as “Think Blockbuster v Netflix.  East coast is more about perfecting the machine, west coast is the machine is obsolete, so let’s start there with the problem statement. Think bigger than the problem.”

On careers he stated “In your career journey, there are going to be highs and lows, and these change the definition of your career. Nature abhors a straight line. If you have a perfectly linear career path you’ve probably missed opportunities. You need the up and down and sideways paths; that means you’ve probably grown more personally and professionally and you’re more valuable as an employee.” He continued “Making mistakes is part of the journey and you will build off these diversions. It’s almost more dangerous to be successful early on, because then you think you’re infallible, and that leads to Blockbuster, Sears and Kmart.  All companies who thought they were so awesome with their current business model and that nothing could touch them until in Blockbuster’s case, Netflix woke up and created the exact same experience only a customer-centric version, versus a merchant-centric version, which is a huge differentiator and the reason why Netflix is having such massive success.”

When hiring Clarkson boils down to what he’s looking for into three things, empathy for the customers plight, citing his grandmother’s mantra of “you have 2 ears and 1 mouth, and you should use them in that ratio.” Curiosity, “I want people who are interested in finding out why they could be better, more than explaining to me how awesome they are” and intellect. “It isn’t your mental capacity it’s your ability to digest information and come up with original thought.  It’s about can you tell me what I don’t know about my business. Tell me what you’ve heard and how that translates to how I grow the business going forward.”

And for new hires Clarkson’s advice went beyond typical leadership platitudes;

·      “50% of doing your job, is doing your job. The other 50% is making someone else successful at their job.

·      Create an environment that will make you most successful. If everyone is afraid to tell you the truth and point out areas for potential improvement, then all you have is group think. You have to create an environment where free conversions, and ‘collaborative collisions’ happen.

·      We know you can do your job that’s why we hired you, so show us all the things you do know that you didn’t tell us at the interview. Past experiences and ideas that will help us make a better business.  Your total value to an organization is not just your performance against the job you were hired to do, it’s all the other experiences that you bring with you.

·      Stay human, stay healthy. At the end of the day it’s always about people, people you work with and people you serve.  Staying human and being authentic means understanding that you have faults as a leader. I want my team to have the freedom to call me out and say I know you think this is an awesome idea, but here are 5 reasons why it’s stupid.  They are all empowered to do that.

·      You want to be successful enough to gain autonomy. You want to be able to make decisions that matter. But more important than earning that autonomy, is providing that autonomy for the people that work for you. And the best thing you can do is to foster the autonomy that they need to be successful in their careers. The least successful model I’ve seen in business is that 1 genius and 9000 people that execute on their vision. Invariably something falls apart in that vision.”

Clarkson also encouraged students not to ignore the concept of “Return on Luck.” A reference he explained from a book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, about what transforms companies. Luck is around us all the time, it’s the return on luck that’s the great differentiator, i.e. it’s the ability to see the opportunities within, that luck provided.

Abby Collins, a senior at Grossman, said “Robert Clarkson was by far one of the more insightful and inspirational alumni I have had the chance to interact with throughout my four years at UVM. He engaged the students in a relatable way and stressed the continual pursuit of new ideas and opportunities, all while maintaining as he says a ‘healthy sense of paranoia.’”

She continued “Clarkson stated that the most important participant in the system to consider is the customer of your customer, or the last to benefit from the transaction. This bottom-up approach lays the foundation for Clarkson’s customer-centric approach for PayPal. This combined with his personal motto of family first and his west coast spirit in pursuit of the next big thing, are just some of the traits that left Grossman students buzzing with exciting following the Dean’s Speakers event.”

Abby's sentiments were echoed by Maddie Stoops, a junior at Grossman who commented "'Perfection is the enemy of good.' This idea is something that Mr. Clarkson reiterated in his discussion and is an incredibly important thought for students to keep in mind as we move forward in our careers. Perfection leads to dissatisfaction and disappointment, which no one likes to experience. As we learn and grow, we need to focus more on improvement and learning from our failures. This path will lead us further in life than striving for perfection."

She continued "Clarkson looks at every problem he is presented with as an opportunity. 'It may not be your fault, but it is your problem.' Using his empathy and intellectual curiosity, he collaborates with his team to solve problems that don't benefit him but benefit the rest of the world which is his goal. His passion is an inspiration to myself and many others that want to change the world for the better, whether that is in the finance world, or another domain."

In addition to his talk, Clarkson also hosted a working breakfast for students and met with UVM president Tom Sullivan. Before joining PayPal, Clarkson has enjoyed a long career primarily in financial services, working for among others American Express, Citi, GE Capital and Paine Webber.

The Dean’s Leadership Speaker Series provides students with an unparalleled view of the current trends facing business leaders today.  Our mission is to equip students with the knowledge and resources to become innovative, responsible managers who are engaged and passionate about building better organizations and a better society.