DisrupTV: Building a Business Around People
Aubrey (Levinstone) Coggins manages Constellation's marketing and communications programs and is the producer of DisrupTV, a weekly Web series on innovation and the enterprise.
She previously served as a senior manager of corporate communications at Egnyte and held account roles at Access Communications and The Hoffman Agency. Born and raised in Texas, she received a bachelor's degree in Public Relations from The University of Texas at Austin – Hook ‘em!
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It’s all about the people.
Top companies hire great employees and focus on those who buy their products. Especially for B2B selling, it’s not a company that is the target but the people who will be using the products and services. Last week on DisrupTV, we caught up with strong leaders with missions to build and expand their companies’ or clients’ cultures and brands by focusing on the people who matter.
Building a Culture Within Creates a Strong External Brand
Mike Ettling (@mikeettling), president of SAP SuccessFactors, believes leaders should invest in and focus on their talent (aka employees); it’s one of the things he admits to “keeping him up at night.”
When recruiting, Mike believes the talent shortage is a myth. It really depends on the pond where you are fishing. Leaders need to think outside of just poaching the competition and get inspired by diversifying where to find good talent around the globe. Once your teams are in place, he advised that a company needs to nurture and value its people in the context of its business model and how it operates.
The cloud-based business model is extremely different than other types of businesses, and companies should understand this and how to best build and maintain their cultures. Mike explained that his company works in a “sprinting all the time” culture. While this can be exhausting, providing the right tools and support for teams can help boost innovation and growth. Building a strong, supported team within the company’s “four walls” should trickle across to external-facing stakeholders - e.g., partners and customers.
This can be difficult for leaders when they’ve come from different types of business models. David Cancel (@dcancel), CEO at Drift, echoed this sentiment by saying that leaders need to check their egos at the door; to learn and grow, it cannot get in the way. Be open to new ideas and focus on the people that make a company successful.
People Not Places Are Your Customers
To truly innovate and really disrupt a market, everyone across the company should be focused on the customer outcome. Building plans around charts, dashboards and spreadsheets doesn’t really offer much learning. Focusing on the people and delighting customers is the key to creating scale for companies, explained David.
To do this, leadership needs to take a stance at where they want to be and define what customer service means for their companies, discussed Shep Hyken (@Hyken), Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations. Walmart focuses on lower prices and big selections, while ACE Hardware focuses on helpful, knowledgeable experiences with trained salespeople. Invest in the right tools for your vision combined the right teams now or your competitors surely will, warns Shep.
He continued to explain that customer service hasn’t gotten worse; it has just become a “spectator sport.” When people complain, they have numerous channels to broadcast their disapproval - e.g., Twitter, Yelp, and Facebook - and others feed off of these comments.
Based on the “instant-gratification” culture we live in and the extra information we have at hand, companies are held to a much higher standard for customers. Just remember - mistakes happen, but if a company alleviates the problem quickly, the customers will know they can count on your company during good experiences and even the bad.
To build a strong, respected company, always focus on the people. They are what keeps your company moving and thriving each and every day.
For the full interviews, watch the video below, and be sure to watch DisrupTV on Fridays at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET on blab. BONUS: Catch Shep’s top recommendations for toasted ravioli! Interested in networking with executives and leaders like those in this post? Check out the Constellation Executive Network, which puts on DisrupTV each week.
DisrupTV Episode 0027 Featuring Mike Ettling, Shep Hyken & David Cancel 8.5.16 from Constellation Research on Vimeo.
