this week the rare opportunity to interview a ceo before he actually becomes ceo. we'll take the reins at intuitt in a meat of daatter of days. someone who knows ipos better than anyone in the valley. we talk about the race to markets. our reporter mirabelle lopez and matt giles from m.i.t. technology review this week on "press: here." good morning. i'm scott mcgrew. we talked to fortune 500 ceos on

this show every week but someone who is not the ceo but soon will be. we caught up with sasan goodarzi's holiday party. two weeks from now he'll take the reins from current ceo brad smith. he's been a star player at intui for many years but never before has he been the top executive. intuit the financial software company, makers of turbo tax and other popular programs, joined by mirabella and martin giles. thank you for being with us this morning. let me ask you just, what, 10, 15 days before you become ceo, are you losing any sleep over the idea? >> i'm sleeping like a baby. i'm up every two hours. i'm excited about it. i'm look willing forward to it. >> you've been at intuit for 11 years. you' you're hardly just out of business school, i understand

that and you've been ceo at nexton some years ago. there must be some nervousness about takeni intaking the reins many people who have known you that long. what does that feel like? >> i do think there's an element when you go to sleep at night, you've got the lives of 9,000 employees you have to think about. i'll tell you, i'm really excited. we have an incredible culture. it's an incredible company. you know, we serve small business and consumers. our goal is to help put more money in their pocket and improve their lives. that part is exciting. the part that i do l a sleep -- >> right. i know you're employing to say it's an incredible company with l y can do ist up. which mea >> brad's done an incredible job. i have to watch what i do. >> when you think wheut the company's been. it's had a lot of growth both in terms of revenue and product category. what do you see as the next big

inning. how do you keep the ball rolling? >> there's such an opportunity to do two things. one is improve the success rate of small businesses. 50% of small businesses go out of business after five years. when it comes to consumers, one of the biggest issues is improving their household savings. so we believe we have such an incredible opportunity to help small businesses improve their success rate, find ways to put more money in the pocket of our consumers and we're just starting internationally. so, we just think that we've got so many runway to help customers. >> that sounds great. but there is a risk as you come from the inside. people say, we know sasan. we know what he does. nothing's going to change. no sweat. we can continue as we're going on. how are you going toattention? to shock them, but eloyees >> well, i don't know if i want get their heart beat going when we talk about customers. one of the things i started doing on august is going on a listening tour.

i've been listening to employees across the company, really trying to understand what they're excited about, where they believe their opportunities are. i've talked to many soft partners and ceo like mark and microsoft just to name a few to get an assessment of our potential of what's possible and almost treat it like day one that i don't know anything about the company. we're going to be sharing all those insights in the new year and just really building in the moment. >> i want you to share an insight right now. i know corporate code speak and opportunities are things we need to change. give me some insight about something in which you're like, okay,et? >> i'll tell you an insight that ind it was more feedback on the company than me. his feedback was day one, have confidence. walk into the job like you've done it for ten years. have confidence in what you're doing and really inspire the employees as to what's possible

and i'm going to take that on day one. i thought it was incredible insight. >> there's that moment in which the teacher greets a new class, right? i think that was martin's point -- >> that was my point. >> there is sort of when the teacher walks into the class and they put their name on the board. my name is mr. mcgrew, sit down in alphabetical order. you say, man, this is the stricter teacher in the world but what is really happening is saying, hey, i'm confident, i'm in charge. i think that's where you're going. >> that's right. >> is there an awkwardness about if you do change something that wasn't -- that's different than the way brad smith did it that you will feel particular about that, as if it's a criticism of something brad did? >> one of thead has given mn t last ten years. he's completely transformed the company because he's questioned what we do every year. so it's probably the biggest gift he's given me is no handcuffs, question everything, do the right thing. but when you make a change, make sure you're clear about why you're making the change. >> what is the core skill set or

value you think you're going to bring to intuit that it's not leveraging today? >> i think we're leveraging it today but i want to maintain and accelerate it, which is kindness and caring for one another and deeply, deeply caring about our customers. at the end of the day the only reason we show up to work is to deliver for our customers. but the kindness and caring for one another is what really brings the organization together. my view of my job is just to amplify that and unleash the power of what our employees are capable of. >> is there a set of business practices that you just think are not applicable in you the d say, if i were ceo, i would do this? >> that's a great question. not to dictate but to inspire. because in an organization, the higher you go, if you start telling people what to do, people lose the love for why they show up to work every day. i would say that's the number one thing. don't dictate but to inspire. >> it's kind of -- you need kind

of a change mandate here. there are some ceos, i'll take elon musk, for example, he would go on tv and smoke weed and he'll tweet outrageously, criticize the fcc. those are -- that's kind of like a shock element. and he pushes and he incenses people to innovate. you might say, he's actually terrible to work for. it's one kind of method. your seems to be softly, softly, more gently method. i wonder if there's something in between you should be aiming for as a new ceo. one's change is okay, but -- >> i think the approach is actually not about softness. there are two i personally believe in that are really important. one is getting people grounded on what's happening around them externally because we have a huge burning platform with a number of competitors around, a number of rivals around the

world. that is really important to have context around. the second is talking to customers or bringing the voice of the customer into the conversation because customers are never satisfied no matter how good your products and services are. those are the two things we do to inspire our employees. i think the softness is about how we work together but we're very deliberate about the momentum. >> i'm going to take a quick commercial break and come back and talk about the future of intuit and i want to talk about your past as well. "press: here" will be back. we're tracking an approaching storm system expected to bring strong surf to the bay area. this is pacifica ahead of the swell tonight. we're tracking possible waves

upward of 40 feet with breakers hitting potential 50-foot waves. we're definitely expecting to see that high surf warning in effect through tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. avoid the area at all costs, if possible. admire the waves from a distance. here's what it looks like in down ton san jose, it's dry. we have cloud cover out there. temperatures waking up in the 50s. the winds are starting to pick up, but this is what satellite/radar is tracking. we have a nice circulation of low pressure system and that's expected to sweep in within the next couple of hours. we saw light rains but gusty conditions er's auick rundown o we can expect this afternoon. that line of rain, heavy bhrou 1:00 through 6:00, 7:00, es specialtily near the south bay. isolated thunderstorms are a possibility. we're talking about locally gusty winds, 15, 30 miles per hour. of course, that hazardous surf and breakers, 20 to 40 feet possible through the afternoon. keep in mind that we could see the possibility of some ponding water on the roadways along with downed power lines and trees,

especially for the higher elevation areas in through the morning commute as you head out monday morning. as far as the microclimate weather, we'll keep you up to date as far as we can. video of the iranian revolution in late 1978, just a few months later thefamily, wegoodarzi, incoming ceo of intuit. you were born in tehran. how much of that do you remember? you would have been 9 when you came to the united states. >> i remember it like yesterday just because the revolution was starting. when i left, my father passed away. we came back to visit his grave and i almost didn't get out. it was the scariest feeling in the world because, in essence, they locked the country down. i miss being back, but i

remember it like it was yesterday. >> now, you have not stravld back since? >> i have not. i have not. one day i would love to go back and visit family, but it's an unstable part of the globe so i've been careful not to go back. >> it's not unusual to have ceos, because what a great country, from so many different places. how does being an immigrant inform your decision-making or o . one of the things i remember vividly when i came to the u.s. is i was probably bullied basis because people blamed me for the fact that iran took the hobl hostages. >> i never thought about that. >> that was a very tough experience. that went on for four or five years. one thing it taught me, you have to be a dreamer. you have to assume tomorrow will be a better day than today. the second thing is inclusion. you never know what someone's been through. you never know people's experiences. you never know what's under the iceberg and you really have to make sure that you create an

inclusive environment. those are the two biggest things from my childhood that have shaped who i am today. >> what do you think really creates an inclusive environment and a culture? in silicon valley we're having a real problem with that term inclusion. what do you see as thethat envi environment where you're listening more than talking. >> i think creating an hearing different points of views. people have very different approaches, very different styles. they bring forward their experiences in many different ways. so, it'st environment -- one of the sayings we have is we want to create an environment where you can bring your whole self to work. it's important so that you work hard at doing that, that allows people to feel comfortable in their environment they're in. by the way, we serve a very diverse set of customers. the more diverse you are internally, the more you'll make better products for your customers. >> now, i know this isn't really your area, but you look at what's happening with social media today. you know, there was a lot of sort of optimism around social

media, you know, allowing unrepressed people to get up and challenge authority. now it's kind of like moving the other way around. i mean, from your perspective, given your background, how do you see that? what do you think they could be doing to address the concerns that have arisen? >> first of all, i think balance is what matters. you can get tainted by looking at one social media versus another. i think what matters most is sticking to the facts. what matters most is balance in terms of what you're paying attention to, how you talk about things and knowing that for every story there's another side to it. just being very inquisitive to really learn what's most important versus what you're reading and seeing is the truth. >> i want to end on a positive note. in the future ahead for you, you've got -- we've got major changes to the tax law in 2018. come april people will be using your software to go, what? i don't even understand what happened. you have a change in technology

where millenials are less about. pcs and laptops. what technology is ahead? >> for us, the most important thing that everyone talks about is artificial intelligence. there's just an element of artificial intelligence. i liken it to when the internet days came, it was a platform for the most explosive growth for years to come. i think we're on that next platform of innovation, which is called ai. in essence, ai is all about leveraging massive data sets to be able -- >> which you have. >> that's right, for customers, where they never have to lift a finger. it will reinvent experiences. we believe there will be a world where customers will never even have to hold a device. they'll just talk to sensors and their surrounding and the work will get done for them. that's happening today. and i believe that we'll look back three to five years from now and things like taxes, accounting, running your business, finding ways to save money is going to be at your fingertips. >> and a shudder went through

every household -- >> oh, completely. >> we love our accountants, first of all. >> thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> my next guest is pete gronk who has shepherded three companies from their ipos. we'll talk about ipos in 2019 when "press: here" continues. co kari hall and nbc bay are storm ranger will be tracking the storm that )s expected to brace for a wet monday morning commute. we'll be tracking this storm that's expected to bring a lot of rain across the area. join us monday from 4:30 to 7:00.

welcome back to "press: here." uber and lyft have filed the early paperwork to go public in 2019, go through an ipo, start trading shares on the open markets. lyft was the first to file but uber may beat them to the punch. meanwhile, reports say airbnb and slack are considering a less traditional route to the ipo called a direct listing. bottom line, some of silicon valley's biggest unicorns are set to go public in 2019 and billions upon billions of dollars are on the line. he's taken three companies public, success with three, up 300% on first day of trading. and angie's list in 2011, chairman of the board there. and docusign which he took public earlier this year.

keith is chairman of docusign. i want to ask, you're set to leave the corporate world on january 1st, right? you'll step down as chairman at the company which is coincidentally over start being. is there advice -- you heard the interview with him. is there ou've been ceo twice, chairman of the board three times if you include purdue university. advice you would give him? >> yes. so, my advice would be don't be afraid to ask questions to brad. brad is extremely wise. >> brad, the outgoing ceo. >> the outgoing ceo. most of all, it's about the executive team and building that team into a tight, cohesive unit. you know, really think about what he wants to accomplish over the next, you know, seven to ten

years in terms of taking intuit to the next level. it's a company with a great culture, a great business model but what is that next act? >> right. you were ceo for the first time of areba? >> yes. >> mistakesk ceos that a hiring question, probably 90% will say in my particular case, when i was ready to move the -- i put my coo in the ceo slot. he was a great number two guy but not a great number one guy. i had to come back one quarter later and take back the ceo position. it really comes down to the people's side of the equation more than anything else. >> let's talk about those ipos. 2019, you've gone through three. i think i added this, this was just internet searching, but $705 million you've raised over

the course of three companies. >> probably more than that. >> at least three-quarters of a billion. when you raised $115 for ariba, you've done this successfully three times. let's say i'm a young company and ready to do this, first of all, should i be d business absolutely. i think the most important thing about taking a company public is that focus on the long-term. it's about the value creation. to make sure, number one, you have a strong middle management infrastructure because you're going to be spending a lot of time as the ceo out in the public market. second thing is make sure you have the systems to know where you are every time. that predictability is key.

that whole game of beat and raise, it's almost everything. and a great way to do it is to prosecute. >> beat wall street's expectations, raise the next -- martin, go ahead. >> let me ask you, scott mentioned both uber and lyft are coming up for ipo. big companies. if you were running them, would you want to go first or second? if you're both in the ster to be outquestion. you want to go first because you want to be the leader. the category king, i think, gets about 80% of their resources traditionallily, 80% of the market cap. it actually reminds me back when we took ariba public. we took it public after 2 3/4 years. there was another company called commerce one. i don't remember if you all remember that in terms of

following our tail on the b2b commerce. they ultimately went bankrupt but they were right behind our tail. they were about a week later and i remember running into them in talking to the investment e ba fst and it doesn't work very well, you can go, oh, i know all the mistakes washes -- no. i think there's a much bigger advantage to be the leader. >> ishe that trying to overdeliver in that first 6, 12-month category you've seen happen again and again? >> yeah. you see a lot of companies sometimes go too early because they don't have that predictability in their model. it's that push to do an ipo. now, these -- all these companies, the big six that are

looking to going next year, have the scale behind them to be able to do that. and my recommendation always to the young ceos is take your time, wait. you know, docusign, we raised probably $500 million before we went public. we were a scale, got a chance to practice, build up our middle go >> there's a number of companies we've seen go public in silicon valley where the founder has kind of basically retained control. facebook, for instance. there were voting shares and different kinds of voting shares. that doesn't always work out very well, does it? if you had the opportunity to retain control, if you were them, would you do so or say actually, no, it's better to just let it go? >> yeah. by the way, i think one of the most important things when you're a public company is your

governance model. if you retain all those voting shares and all that, you know, maybe for that individual, that's a good thing. but if you're -- if your true north is the company, then i think the governance model really matters. >> is there a way of keeping firstaly that, but there will be a subset of employees who did not benefit. contractors, maybe people who came in late, et cetera, and then a set of people who benefitted quite nicely, can buy a car, can buy a house. first of all, how do you manage that? >> by the way, that's a great question when you have tremendous wealth creation. you know, at ariba everyone became a millionaire. first of all, focus on your noble cause. that's the long-term sustaining -- >> i'm not sure bob down in the cubicle is like but the noble cause and everyone -- >> but, you know, i actually do

think that resonates. also what goes along with that is the culture of the company. and the tightness and that team spirit. i think that i always say, hey, not lookey're like, don't hit t , team that, look, this is going to go up and down. you can't control it. focus on satisfying the customers and the stock price will take care of itself. >> sure. how do you pick -- some pick nyse and some pick nasdaq. i've never gotten a pretty good answer as to how you pick one over the other. >> yeah. by the way, that's a great question. they're always kind of neck and neck. and there's advantages of going on both. my recommendation always to ceos is what's the best deal you're going to get from nasdaq or new

york stock exchange -- >> never taking a company public, what deal do you get? >> you get plenty of swag. here's what you want. if you want advertising in some way, shape or form, you want introductions to ceos, particularly if you're an enterprise software company. so the network they provide, what they provide in terms of notoriety, in terms of getting you out there, in terms of free pr really big. that's one of the great reasons. if for example you're an enterprise software company, a benefit you get in an ipo, not lot of credibility but you get people really get to know you. >> i didn't get a chance to list everything. harvard business person of the year, president of sigma ki, twice chairman, twice ceo.

ernst & young -- i gave you an award there. >> thank you. >> you earned it. you got 30 seconds to tell me, what do you do now if you step down as chairman -- >> it's time for me, i think, at this point in my career to give back and pay it forward. one of the things i'm doing is creating the virtual mentor network which is all about developing the next generation traformative -- transformational leaders. it's an exciting program. i appreciate that. >> thank you for being with us. "press: here" will be back.

that's our show this week. my thanks to our guests and my thank you for making us part of your sunday.

happening now, if you're looking outside your window you're probably thinking where is the rain. we're under a mike crow climate alert. you can see we have plenty of cloud cover right now in san jose. 56 miles per hour. but this is what satellite/radar is showcasing right now. we have this system that will start to move from n especially into the afternoon we've got storm ranger up and scanning. here's a quick rundown of what you can expect in terms of the hour-by-hour outlook. heavy rain after 5:00. i'm damian trujillo, and today, efforts across the bay area to make your communities better on your "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with the monthly visit of the mexican consul general in san jose. with me is the embajador juan manuel calderon here on "comunidad del valle."

welcome to the show, welcome back. l caeron: is that i have--he new title i belong to the mexican foreign service. and the mexican president give me the-- they signed me as ambassador, but i will be in san jose the consul general of mexico. damian: does that mean that as the title of ambassador, the president of mexico can say, "i need you to go to italy,"