Last week Workday announced the appointment of Mike Stankey to president and COO. Outside observers could conclude that with Mike’s background, a
partner at Greylock, prior chairman and CEO of PolyServe and a successful stint at PeopleSoft, this was a good placement for Workday. I contend, however, that this is an exceptional move for Workday.
What qualifies me to make such a statement? I’ve had the opportunity to have direct interaction with both Mike Stankey and Workday. I worked with Mike for almost five years while at PeopleSoft, two of those years working directly for him. And on the Workday side, I had the good fortune to be included in meetings with Aneel and Dave regarding the formation of Workday almost year before they officially founded the company (in Chicago, during the HR Tech Conference). Our company, MIPRO Consulting, then became one of Workday’s first partners. We were also the first partner to implement Workday’s HCM solution and the first customer ever to use Workday’s Financial Management solution.
So what makes the Mike Stankey/Workday combination incredible? Simply put, it’s the perfect fit at the perfect time. Over the past three plus years, Workday has created a solid product, landed 100 customers and developed a strong development, sales, support and services infrastructure. Now it’s time to execute, to catapult Workday to the next level. Mike Stankey is the one to help take them there.
First, Mike exemplifies the same core values as Dave and Aneel. Working closely with Mike you quickly learn that he truly cares. He cares for the employees 
and cares for the customers. No matter how busy, he takes to time to hear what you have to say, then provides support or direction. Email him and you’ll get a response immediately. He’s a leader that earns the respect of his team, creating a loyalty that turns into a desire to follow him anywhere — a similar trait possessed by Dave.
A story: I remember working for Mike years ago as a salesperson. A large deal had pushed past year end and closed in the very beginning of the next sales year. I was in the enviable position of having achieved my annual quota within the first two months of the year. It would have been easy to coast through that year, but Mike was not going to let that happen.
We were at a regional sales meeting in Chicago and he called me out publicly, challenging me to commit to a sales goal well beyond my quota. He did it in a way that was complementary, but put the pressure on me publicly. It worked. Sold more that year than ever in my career.
Those that know Mike have many examples demonstrating where he has executed effectively as a leader. And that’s exactly what will enable Workday to explode. With the foundation that Aneel and Dave have provided, the incredible team Workday has amassed over the past three years and the leadership that Mike Stankey will bring to execution, Workday is in very good hands.
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Good write up. Mike is a very strong leader that knows “where the puck is going to be” (a hockey reference), vs. just chasing the puck around the ice.
Great personal story about Mike calling you out during a sales meeting.
Were you involved with Corporate Visions when PSFT rolled it out?
Thanks Zeev. Living in Detroit, completely get the hockey reference and agree.
Was with Psft ’96-’05, so believe that was during the Corporate Visions era, but was not directly involved with the roll out. Saw, and lived, many changes through those years. Greatest of times and most challenging of times. It’s been rewarding to hear how many of our friends have moved on since the Psft days.
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