Fireside Chat, Interview
How to Make Marriage Work as a CEO w. Procore Founder and CEO Tooey Courtemanche
- Gary Tan anticipates Procore remains deeply intertwined with his identity, though a permanent family firewall exists where his wife attends fewer than 10 company events over 21 years and avoids business discussions at home.
- He asserts that surviving and performing effectively as a CEO requires his wife's support in providing time and space to regroup, while warning that neither marriage nor business will ever become easy despite challenges evolving rather than disappearing.
- Tan predicts the "Nirvana" state of completing all tasks is a misconception for founders and expects the current difficult global economic conditions to strengthen individuals by forcing greater adversity and resilience.
- He notes that young people are currently "pretty delicate" due to a lack of prior adversity in a productive global economy, whereas the resilience of the "Greatest Generation" stemmed from extensive adversity that precluded complaining about minor issues.
- The outlook indicates that top job priorities for most people have shifted away from pleasing bosses or earning paychecks.