Latest news with #EmmaGrede
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘There is no doubt': CEO makes bold WFH claim, sparking big debate
An Aussie boss has revealed the big problem with working from home after an American CEO claimed remote work would have stopped her from becoming such an success. The working from home debate certainly isn't one that will be settled anytime soon, and American CEO Emma Grede has just stirred the pot all over again. Ms Grede appeared on the podcast Diary of a CEO and claimed that if she'd been WFH in her twenties, she'd never have achieved such success. 'If I had been a work from home person in my twenties I would not be where I am today. There is no doubt,' she said. The 42-year-old is the mastermind behind Khloe Kardashian's denim brand Good American, and she co-founded Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand Skims. Skims has been valued at over $4 billion and Good American has been valued at over $3 billion. It's a big statement, but Australian boss Jessy Marshall, 36, founder of the PR agency Hive HQ, can't help but agree. Ms Marshall said that working from home can hold back people's careers 'depending on the role', and this is something she is hyperaware of. 'If you are taking my role as a publicist as an example, we work with many Australian start-ups and us being together as a team in the office is where we get our energy, our creativity, and how we best execute,' she told 'Our job is entirely about execution. If we were doing this from home, we would have no vibe, no hustle and we wouldn't be achieving the results we are.' The 36-year-old doesn't doubt she'd have succeeded if she had worked from home in her twenties, but she doesn't think it would have been on the same scale. 'Maybe because of my personality, I would have been driven enough to get here anyway, but learning on the job fast-tracked my ability and success,' she said. 'You have to learn and fail and learn again; you simply cannot do that as sufficiently by yourself at home. Seeing examples from good and bad bosses helps build your career and your skills.' Ms Marshall's opinion echoes Ms Grede's who spoke at length on the podcast about the downsides of flexibility. The CEO explained that, since the pandemic, her staff has worked only four days in the office and one day from home. Ms Grede said people talk a lot about flexibility but don't talk about what WFH 'takes away from work' and how Zoom life has impacted businesses. 'I met my husband at work, I made my best strongest relationships in my life. (They are) the most important things to me and they're the foundation of my happiness,' she said. Ms Grede finds it 'interesting now' that there's an aversion to working from the office, saying young people are missing out as a result. 'It is so interesting to me because I'm like an in-person person. I want to be with people, I want to collaborate. I want to do things quickly and the culture of work right now makes that so hard,' she said. Ms Grede believes rise of fully-remote jobs is making it harder for young people to learn from seniors at work, which is something she finds that disappointing. 'All of that is lost,' she said. 'I feel a little bit sad for the way that we're working right now because I don't think we're having that exchange of what happens when you're in a really dynamic environment and you're able to learn from people around you.' The CEO's working from home opinion immediately divided workers, with plenty quick to disagree. 'Maybe not everyone wants to be a CEO. Some people want to work to live not live to work,' one argued. 'I would never work in an office again,' another said. 'Interesting perspective! It's important to evaluate how working from home impacts long-term career growth and success,' someone else said. 'Remember half of us are introverts who prefer to be home. We're just as valuable. I also don't want to spend hours of my precious life commuting,' one said. 'Life is not just work,' someone wrote. 'WFH is overrated,' another declared. Someone else argued that some workers get more done working from home, but another said that when she worked WFH, it was the 'loneliest' she'd ever been. Recruitment expert Roxanne Calder said bosses are 'spot on' if they say working from home is holding back young people's careers. 'When you are starting out in your career you need to be around people to learn,' she told 'If you're not among people then you can't learn as quickly. It is critical in that career stage.' Ms Calder said it is invaluable to be able to turn to your co-worker and ask a question or even observe their habits and learn from them, and this isn't happening over Zoom. The recruitment expert said that, despite the 'pushback' and the clear benefits of working from the office, workers don't want to come back. 'I find a lot of people don't want to come into the office still, despite the pushback that has been evident now for 18 months,' she said. Ms Calder said that workers know that 'learning is better in the office', but they'd rather have flexibility over career growth. 'The advice I'd give to anyone in their twenties or in your thirties is definitely to be in the office; it is important for career building,' she said. 'It is relationships that get you places and people seeing you do things.'
Entrepreneur
23-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Emma Grede Shares Her 'Military Operation' Daily Routine
Grede is a CEO, founder, and serial entrepreneur. Here's how she prioritizes her day. Emma Grede, 42, is the co-founder and CEO of denim company Good American, which did $200 million in sales in 2022, and the chief product officer and founding partner of Skims, a $4 billion shapewear brand. The serial entrepreneur, worth a reported $390 million, is also a mother of four, with an 11-year-old, an 8-year-old, and 3-year-old twins. In a new interview with Entrepreneur, Grede disclosed that she works five days a week, in person, at the office, but still prioritizes quality time with her husband, Skims CEO Jens Grede, and four children, by setting strict schedules for her household. For example, she asks that everyone be at the breakfast table by 7:40 a.m. for a half hour of family time before school and work. And evenings are dedicated to family. Related: Khloé Kardashian and Emma Grede Drove $200 Million In Annual Sales With Size-Inclusive Fashion Brand Good American "I run my house like a military operation," Grede told Entrepreneur. "It's important for me to bring my family together, even for 30 minutes. Touching base and looking at each other is important." Emma Grede. Photo Credit: Jamie Girdler She also says she has "a lot of help" running her household. "I don't have four kids that I get to school myself in the morning," Grede said. "I have a lot of help around me, and I rely on all of that help to get through the day… I'm not superwoman." Grede says while her routine is detailed, it allows her to work, spend time with her family, and still be flexible when needed. Related: Good American CEO Emma Grede Talks Management, Navigating Outside Noise, and Why You Should Always Stick to Your Mission "As much as I like to have my routines, when things happen, they happen, and you can't control it," she said. "I have to have an element of flexibility to ensure that I can get things done." Here's Grede's weekday routine — in military style: 0500 hours (5 a.m.) - Wake Up Grede sets an alarm for 5 a.m. and either works out or uses the morning time to figure out her schedule for the day. "I have a little quiet moment before all my kids get up," she said. After her workout or day planning session, Grede makes a smoothie, then wakes her kids up. 0700 hours ( 7 a.m.) Getting Ready By 7 a.m., everyone is up and getting ready for the day. It can get chaotic. "At 7 a.m., my house is like LAX, JFK, Heathrow," Grede said. "It's nuts. Everyone does their get-ready bit." 0740 hours (7:40 a.m.) Breakfast at the table Grede asks everyone to be at the breakfast table at "exactly 7:40" because that gives the family a half hour to sit at the table together before everyone leaves for work and school. "Now, what state of undress they might be in, I don't know," Grede said. "Is your hair done? Are you moisturized? Are you ready? You know, one shoe on, I don't care. But everybody has to be at that breakfast table." Grede's family usually chooses from a buffet of breakfast items, including eggs, cereal, and yogurt. 0810 (8:10 a.m.) - Commute to the office After breakfast, everyone leaves the house. Grede works from the office 5 days a week, stating that the nature of her role at Skims as a "product person" requires her to work from the office. "I make physical product that has to sit on people's bodies, so I will always be a five-day-a-week in-person person," Grede stated. Related: A Billionaire Founder Admits He Had 'Horrible Habits' — Then He Started a Morning Routine That 'Transformed' His Life 0900 hours (9 a.m.) to 1700 hours (5 p.m.) - Meetings Grede says her workday consists of back-to-back meetings all day, every day. She oversees over 150 people at Good American and around 400 staff members at Skims, and says she spends "an enormous amount of time" hiring new employees. "I hire the right people to compensate for where I might not be particularly strong," Grede said. Her philosophy is to hire well, then get out of the way. She leaves the office without fail every day at 5 p.m. 1800 hours (6 p.m.) to 2200 hours (10 p.m.) - Dinner and time with family Grede dedicates her evenings to family. She comes home and has dinner with her husband and kids. "I do bath time, bedtime, and a little story with the kids before they go to bed," she said. 2200 hours (10 p.m.) - More work and bedtime Grede will answer work emails at 10 p.m., if she has to. "I work all the time," she disclosed. "If there are emails to be answered at 10 p.m., there are emails to be answered at 10 p.m. I'll be on the phone. I do whatever I have to do to get through the day."
Entrepreneur
20-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Skims Boss Emma Grede: Here Are My Tips for Business Success
Emma Grede, 42, is a founding partner and chief product officer at Skims, a shapewear brand worth $4 billion. She also serves as the co-founder and CEO of apparel brand Good American, which recorded $200 million in sales in 2022 (and $1 million on its first day live on October 18, 2016, marking the biggest denim launch in history). She's worth a reported $390 million. She's also a high school dropout raised by a single mother in East London who began working a paper route at 12 years old to earn extra money. By 16, she had left school and started working at a fashion production company. While there, Grede came up with the idea for her first business, a marketing and entertainment agency called Independent Talent Brand (ITB) that matched fashion designers with funding. She founded the company in 2008 at age 25 and grew the agency before selling it 10 years later to marketing firm Rogers & Cowen for an undisclosed sum. Related: Good American CEO Emma Grede Talks Management, Navigating Outside Noise, and Why You Should Always Stick to Your Mission Now, Grede is based in Los Angeles with her husband, Skims CEO Jens Grede, and their four children. She also co-founded the sports apparel brand Off Season and the chemical-free cleaning company, Safely. She appeared as a guest investor on Shark Tank in seasons 13 and 14. And now she can add podcast host to her resume. The serial entrepreneur just launched a new podcast called Aspire, which aims to educate and inspire business leaders through in-depth conversations with leading executives and celebrities. Emma Grede. Photo Credit: Jamie Girdler Grede sat down with Entrepreneur to talk about her new podcast, how she manages several businesses, and what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Why did you start your podcast, and how is it different from other business podcasts? I left school when I was 16 years old. So, I don't have a traditional trajectory. I'm trying to unpack as much as the success that I've had, the mistakes that I've had. I wanted to give something that I thought would have been useful to me when I started my businesses. What kind of advice would have been useful? To start, you have to love what you are doing. I say that because it's tough to start something from scratch, and it'll test every fiber of your being. So you have to really want to do it. It has to be more than just a single goal, like I need to make money, or I just want to leave the place where I work. It has to be something that fuels you. What kind of mindset does it take to be successful in entrepreneurship? Is there a trait or skill that stands out? I think you have to have unwavering self-belief. There's a part of this that is really about a mindset that won't take no for an answer and can see around and through problems and adversity. That works every time. How did you decide on entrepreneurship? It's something I fell into. Like so many of us, I worked a corporate job for many years. I left that job because I didn't think I was being remunerated well enough for what I did. So I fell into entrepreneurship. And that's why I started my own thing. If you could start a side hustle today, what would it be? I would want to be a florist. That's the only thing I've ever wanted to do that I've never touched. I would love to have a job that is just about the beauty, and is artistically fulfilling. That would be my little dream side hustle. A flower shop somewhere in a lovely place. What's your leadership style? At [Good American], there are over 150 people. I'm the chief product officer in another company [Skims] where there are probably 400 people. So, it's a lot of people, but I tend to hire the best people and get out of their way. One of the things that I do well is hire. I'm particularly good at putting teams together. What do you look for in new hires? I hire for attitude over experience often. That's not in all positions, but I think especially when you're starting a company, having people who have the energy, who have the passion, you can't put a price on that. What keeps you motivated? I honestly feel that I've created the life of my dreams. I'm grateful every day that I get to do what I do. I think that keeps me motivated, that I have made this life for myself, and it's of my choosing. What is it like working with your husband on the same C-suite leadership team? Do you keep a separation between the family and work dynamics? I've worked with Jens for a very long time, and we had a solid professional relationship before we were a couple. He handles the marketing and day-to-day running of Skims while I focus on the product. So our roles are very defined, and we do different things. We have different skills, which makes us very compatible as business partners. We also have a lot of separation in our actual roles. But if I'm honest, we love what we do so much. So does business spill into home time, and do we talk about what we do all the time? Absolutely. Yes. There's a part of that that's inevitable. Do you have a lot of help at home? I have twin three-year-olds, and then I have an 11-year-old and an 8-year-old. At home, I don't have four kids that I get to school myself in the morning. I have a lot of help around me, and I rely on all of that help to get through the day. I think it's very important to be honest about that because I don't want anyone to look at me and think, Oh, wow. She's some kind of superwoman. It's like, No, I'm not superwoman. I'm just a woman. I'm making choices every day and making lots of sacrifices every day. This interview has been lightly edited and cut for clarity. Related: Kristin Cavallari and Emma Grede Reveal How They Built Brands That Stand Out in a Saturated Market — and the Secret Isn't Star Power
CNBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
SKIMS co-founder is worth $390 million, but she's still careful with her budget: 'I question the price of everything'
Even with a reported net worth of nearly $400 million, SKIMS co-founder Emma Grede still counts pennies. The 42-year-old serial entrepreneur — she co-founded the apparel company Good American as well as natural cleaning product brand Safely — said in a recent appearance on the "Richer Lives by SoFi" podcast that her "very interesting relationship with money" comes from having grown up without much of it. Grede was raised by a single mother in East London, and said that her mom instilled in her the value of meticulously looking after her finances. "She would sit down every weekend and go through her budget meticulously, planning out down to the pint of milk," she said. "Paying attention to what is coming in and what is going out, but also knowing the price of everything." Indeed, Grede said that she has held onto that attention to detail even though her ability to afford the things she wants has grown exponentially. "To this day I literally know the price of everything and I question the price of everything," she said. "It doesn't matter if it's a massive line item in the company or some powder that I got from Erewhon." Remembering what it was like to struggle to make ends meet and "trying to make money any way possible" has made Grede determined to give back. The executive said that while she is extremely ambitious and is always looking to grow her businesses and try new things, she is also focused on how she can help people who grew up like she did. "Thinking so much about where I come from, and how lucky I got, I think about how those opportunities can be extended," she said. "Success becomes much less about me and much more about what else and who else I can affect." In a 2021 conversation with CNBC Make It, Grede said that the "frustration" of not making as much money as she wanted in her first post-college job is what led her to think about starting her own business. "I have a rule: You have to do things that scare you," she explained. "I think that's so important for growth." Early on, there were points in her first venture — entertainment marketing agency ITB Worldwide — when she hired employees who were paid more than she herself was earning. Bringing in the best talent, she said, helped her compensate for the gaps in her own knowledge. "Some people, they'll be like, 'I'm the CEO. I'm the top dog. I should be getting paid the most money,'" she told Make It. "For me, it was never about that. I wanted to win by any means possible." Grede elaborated on this in her conversation with SoFi, saying that part of what has helped her become so successful is her willingness to mess up. Every quarter she writes down the things that have happened, both good and bad, and "digests" her learnings to see how she can improve. "When you're doing a lot, you're going to make a lot of mistakes," she said. "The thing that I worry about the most is not making mistakes, it's inaction."
Forbes
13-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How To Fix Work-Life Balance: A Systems-First Approach Companies Need
Business achievement concept with happy businesswoman relaxing in office or hotel room, resting and ... More raising fists with ambition looking forward to city building urban scene through glass window A recent episode of Steve Bartlett's podcast, "The Diary of a CEO," sparked fierce debate across social media. The guest was Emma Grede, CEO of Good American and founding partner of the billion-dollar shapewear company, Skims. She said: "Work-life balance is your problem. It isn't your employer's responsibility." The clip went viral, with TikTok views topping two million, LinkedIn timelines flooded with reminders of why balance matters, and Reddit threads dissecting every word. But this viral moment exposes a deeper failure in how we think about work: We're stuck in an endless debate about who's responsible for balance while missing the real problem: poorly designed organizational systems. The truth is, work-life balance isn't about responsibility. It's about clarity. When organizations build clear systems and set clear expectations, employees can make clear decisions and boundaries. Vague scope, urgency, and outcomes lead to assumptions; an underground playbook takes hold, and the rift between companies and their people turns into a full-blown chasm of misunderstandings, burnout, and stalled deliverables. Want to see the difference between clear and unclear systems in action? Here's what happens in two different organizations: It's Monday, 6:30 p.m. Lilly, the VP of Product, wraps up her day and drafts a Slack update for Liz, a project manager on her team. Liz is responsible for pulling together Thursday's all-company presentation on the latest product launch. Rather than fire it off immediately (it's 8:30 p.m. in Liz's time zone), Lilly tags it FYI (one of five team-agreed tags), adds a note to review it in their next 1-on-1, and schedules the message for 8:00 a.m. Liz's time. Meanwhile, Liz is catching up with her parents, who are visiting from out of town. Her phone is on, but she doesn't hear any pings because there are none. She enjoys an uninterrupted family dinner. At 8:05 Tuesday morning, Liz logs on, coffee in hand, and reads Lilly's Slack message. She adds a comment and the link to their shared 1-on-1 doc for discussion that afternoon. By then, she will have a few drafts for Liz to review. There is no adrenaline rush, no after-hours scramble, just clear information. That's dual ownership in action: leaders leading with clarity; employees executing with agency. Unfortunately, that's not the reality in most companies. Without clear systems, a different pattern emerges that damages both work quality and team trust. It's Monday, 6:30 p.m. Lilly, exhausted, scans her "before-I-log-off" list. The executive team has asked for one more slide in Thursday's all-company deck, so she fires off a Slack to Liz with no tag, context, or delay-send. She closes her laptop for the night since she is having dinner with the executive team. Meanwhile, Liz's phone buzzes at 8:35 p.m., right after they ordered dessert. One glance at the message from her boss and her stomach tightens. She thumb-scrolls attachments, mentally rewrites slides, and promises a late-night update. Her parents understand, they get the check and leave without finishing dessert so Liz can tend to her "work emergency." By 9:15 p.m., she's back at her laptop, cobbling together a new slide for Lilly to review and sends it off by 10:30. Tuesday morning, Liz skips the gym after a restless night. With no response from Lilly in Slack, she spirals. Did I miss the mark? She pings Lilly again, but Lilly's in her usual back-to-back meetings marathon. When they finally meet for their 1:1, Liz nervously presents two versions of the deck. Lilly loves both options and has no idea about the stress she caused Liz. They chose the slide to work on with the team and moved on to other topics. An unintended micro-system is born: vague ping, frantic fix, zero boundaries. It creates inefficient work patterns (double work, late-night revisions), eroded team trust (unclear priorities, mixed messages), normalized crisis mode (everything becomes "urgent"), and quality risks (rushed work, fragmented focus). These harmful patterns didn't emerge by accident. They're the product of thirty years of technological evolution that changed how we work before we could design systems to manage it. Email, smartphones, and chat started as innovations to increase productivity but evolved into always-on tethers to work. To understand how to fix these systems, we need to understand how they broke in the first place. Before digital communication, work boundaries were physical. My parents could bring work home. Dad reviewed his audiology charts, and Mom updated her lesson plans. But after-hours collaboration wasn't expected because it wasn't possible. Email created our first always-available communication channel. By 2002, according to Pew Research, 57 million U.S. employees had internet access, and 98% used email. The system challenge? Distinguishing between FYI messages and urgent needs. In 1999, the BlackBerry arrived, merging tech and questionable fashion into one clip-on accessory. But this fashion faux pas had serious consequences: The majority of Americans feel significant pressure to reply to emails promptly, with over half of us being so chained to our inboxes that we respond to non-urgent emails in less than 4 hours. The system challenge intensified: When every notification could be urgent, everything becomes urgent by default. The iPhone's arrival in 2007 put the entire internet in our pockets, and Slack's launch in 2013 eliminated the last natural breaks in our workday. Together, they created a perfect storm of constant connectivity. Microsoft's 2022 Work Trend Index reveals the result: Teams chats after hours increased 42%, creating a "triple-peak" workday of morning, afternoon, and late night. The system challenge reached its apex: Instant messaging became a constant interruption without clear protocols. While U.S. companies normalized these always-on patterns, other regions designed intentional boundaries. The contrast is striking: The U.S. remains the only developed nation without federal mandates for paid vacation or holidays, while European countries require at least four weeks. However, the real difference isn't in policies but in system design. Take Owkin, an agentic AI company in the healthcare space based in France. Their Chief People Officer, Mariabrisa Olivares, doesn't just rely on France's mandatory 35 vacation days. Their system includes specific practices: summer hours ending at 1 PM on Fridays, leaders walking the office at day's end to encourage junior staff to leave, and clear protocols for urgent versus non-urgent communication. The result? Better-rested employees who are more creative and collaborative, with no loss in productivity. But the system design challenge isn't just geographical—it's generational. A recent TRUCE Software study revealed a telling divide: 57% of employees over forty-five see boundary-setting as personal responsibility, while less than half under forty-five agree. It makes sense: those who started careers before smartphones learned to draw their own lines; those who entered an always-connected workplace expect organizational guardrails. This generational shift, combined with cultural differences, makes clear system design more crucial than ever. The evolution from physical boundaries to digital chaos to intentional system design shows us both the problem and the solution. As technology dissolved natural work boundaries, it created a vacuum that must be filled with intentional design. The question isn't whether we need systems (we do), but how to build them effectively at every level of an organization. Creating effective work-life boundaries requires alignment across the entire organization. Success depends on clear organizational systems, consistent leadership modeling, and confident execution by employees. Here's how each level contributes to a culture that works: Organizations must create the infrastructure that enables healthy boundaries. This means moving beyond values like "work smarter" to establish specific, actionable behaviors and practices: Leaders turn organizational practices into lived reality through their daily actions. Their behavior sets the tone for what's valued versus what's said: When leaders consistently model these practices, teams feel empowered to protect their boundaries, knowing they have their managers' support. With strong organizational systems and leadership support in place, employees can confidently manage their boundaries: Personal responsibility becomes meaningful, not as a replacement for organizational support, but as the final piece that makes sound systems work. When Liz knows she has both the tools and the backing to maintain boundaries, she can confidently finish dinner with her parents, knowing work will be there tomorrow. This three-level framework shows how effective cultures work. But the path from chaos to clarity isn't simple. As organizations begin these changes, they face two key hurdles: The most immediate obstacle is pushback from those who've mastered, succeeded, and even rewarded, in the current chaos. High performers who thrive in always-on environments often see new boundaries as constraints rather than enablers. When a team first implements communication protocols or meeting-free days, the initial resistance usually comes from its most successful employees. The ultimate challenge is finding the sweet spot between chaos and bureaucracy. Too few boundaries create the burnout-inducing environment we see today, and too many rules can create rigid systems that stifle innovation. Global operations make this especially complex when teams span Singapore, London, and San Francisco, what constitutes "after hours"? What about headquarters versus global hubs? Smart organizations solve this through tiered systems. My global teams implemented "core collaboration hours" (10am-2pm in each major hub's time zone) for cross-regional meetings, while protecting local team time for focused work. Three guidelines came with this tiered approach: This approach provides structure without rigidity, allowing teams to maintain both global consistency and local autonomy. While these challenges may look different for startups versus enterprises or local versus global teams, the core principle remains: intentional system design must scale with the organization. When Emma Grede declares work-life balance "your problem" and Jamie Dimon tells students, "If you're frenzied, it's you," they reveal how deeply entrenched our broken systems have become. Their success in high-pressure environments proves their adaptability—but trying to implement that individual approach across an organization doesn't scale. What if these influential voices focused less on work-life balance altogether and championed better systems? What if Grede shared how Good American's communication protocols protect creative time? What if Dimon explained how JPMorgan's leadership practices prevent that frenzy in the first place? These conversations could dramatically shift how we work. The path forward isn't perfect systems, but intentionally designed ones. Well-designed practices, consistent modeling, and confident execution create more than balance—they create success. And that's not just better for employees, it's better for business.
