How do you navigate multiple industries, climb the corporate ladder, and build a career you’re passionate about? Joshua Grollman, Director of Limited Partner Relations at Silicon Valley Bank, shares his top 10 lessons from a decade of career pivots, leadership roles, and startup experiences. From automotive logistics to startup operations, Joshua’s insights reveal what it takes to thrive in today’s dynamic workforce.
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Lesson 1: Pursue What Pulls you In
Joshua began his career at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, working as a Global Supply Chain analyst. While he learned invaluable lessons working directly with warehouse and factory managers, he ultimately found himself wanting to work on the strategy side, influencing key business decisions. He therefore began working in consulting at Deloitte, where he created and influenced business strategies for leading US automotive manufacturers.
Lesson 2: Cross one Bridge at a Time
Joshua’s transition from supply chain management to consulting went seamlessly, because he stayed within the automotive industry, only changing his job function. His experience working in warehouses and factory managers made him a domain expert in managing specific manufacturing processes, giving him the room to grow his consulting and strategy skills while providing immediate value to his team.
Lesson 3: The Product Matters
Joshua transitioned from his job at Deloitte to a management position at Procter and Gamble, eager to gain experience managing large accounts and building key relationships. However he quickly realized that he didn’t feel a fascination or purpose connected to the product he was selling, consumer packaged goods such as diapers and deodorant. He learned that a key part of any job is having a sense of purpose or fascination attached to the company product.
Lesson 4: It’s a Game of Shots on a Goal
Realizing that Proctor and Gamble wasn’t the perfect fit for him due to a lack of passion and interest in the product, Joshua began applying elsewhere. Trying to enter both a new industry and a new job function, his search became a numbers game. In total, Joshua sent in 300 applications to a number of different companies before landing his new role, as a Strategic Execution Lead at a marketing company based in Chicago.
Lesson 5: Relate to Everyone’s Background
Joshua landed his Strategic Execution Lead role by relating to the hiring manager’s background in industrial manufacturing, which gave Josh the opportunity to showcase the transferable skills he learned in his early career in automotive logistics and supply chain management. By framing his experience in a way that the hiring manager had experience with, he gained a competitive edge over the other candidates.
Lesson 6: Your Mobility is only as constrained as your Network
Ultimately, Josh didn’t feel that the company he was at was poised for the growth he was targeting. His next career move, to a role focused on building relationships with early stage technology companies at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), was facilitated through a friend Josh made at his MBA program many years prior, who was working at Silicon Valley Bank at the time. Although Josh wasn’t sure he was the perfect for for the role, Josh reached out to his friend, letting them know that he was interested in the position, and they vouched for Josh’s skills, eventually helping him land the position.
Lesson 7: Don’t join a startup just to join a startup
Working with startups on a daily basis at SVB, Josh started to wish he worked at one himself. He was drawn in by the fast-moving work, and the autonomy given to startup workers, so he left SVB to join Warmly, as the first business hire outside of the two cofounders. Joshua’s tenure at Warmly taught him to move quickly, iterate extensively, and think critically, but ultimately, Joshua felt the dynamic-teetering-on-chaotic startup life wasn’t for him. Josh chose to return to Silicon Valley Bank, but kept some of his key startup leanings with him.
Lesson 8: Bend outcomes to your Will
Josh returned to Silicon Valley Bank, after learning that they were implementing a proposal that he had made in his previous tenure at the company. His strategic thinking and habit of going above and beyond by suggesting new ideas to the leadership team at SVB rewarded him down the road - he became the champion of implementing his proposal, and led a major regional expansion effort.
Lesson 9: The Hottest fires make the strongest steel
A little over a year after Josh returned to lead the regional expansion project, SVB collapsed. This time was incredibly difficult for Josh and the SVB team he led, but Josh believed in SVB’s resilience. He continued to push forward, and 9 months after the collapse, SVB’s deposits and profits began to stabilize once again. He thinks the difficult patch paid off in the end, making him more prepared for any unexpected events that come his way in the future.
Lesson 10: Never Run Away, only Toward
In the months following SVB’s collapse, Josh was evaluating his future at the company. He had multiple job offers on the table, but ultimately, he chose to stay with SVB, and continue chasing the innovation that SVB considers one of its most important principles. This time of flux also gave Joshua the opportunity to redefine his role, letting him focus on the things he felt most passionate about.
From starting in automotive logistics, to now being the Director of Limited Partner Relationships at SVB, Josh’s journey taught us a lot about what it takes to build a successful career that you’re passionate about.
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