Business
Randal Meske, CRO of ConstructConnect, joins the show today to talk about how he approaches turning around a business, the complex network of qualities that make a good leader, and how to set up your hiring practices so that you know if the fit is right within 90 days. Today’s discussion is fast-paced and filled to the brim with advice and tips on how to cut your sales chops in today’s market and bettering your function as a team member; take your pens and pencils out and don’t miss out on any of it. ABOUT OUR GUEST Randal Meske is the CRO at ConstructConnect (a Roper Technologies company) and the Founder and CEO at Evreware, a market intelligence firm. Prior to Evreware, Randal was the President at Citation Technologies Inc., an environmental compliance solutions company. Before Citation, Randal was the Vice President of Oracle’s Global Collaboration Sales Unit. Prior to Oracle, Randal was the Vice President, Technical Publishing Business Development at IHS where he managed their worldwide content supply network. Before IHS, he served as Sr. Director of Business Development at Citrix Systems, Inc. He also had multiple international assignments in Europe and Latin America with Lotus and IBM managing regional P&L, creating go-to-market strategies, and building multiple sales organizations in those geographies. Randal graduated with honors in 1986 from the University of North Texas earning a B.B.A. with an emphasis on International Business. Prior to University, he studied abroad for one year in Germany. Randal is fluent in German and currently studies Italian. He lives in the Denver area with his wife and 3 daughters. GET IN TOUCH WITH RANDAL ON LINKEDIN THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Podfly Productions: Podfly.net Veterans of Foreign Wars: VFWpost1.org OC Executive Search: OCExecutiveSearch.com KEY TAKEAWAYS [1:52] Michael introduces Randal and asks him to share an interesting tidbit about himself — Randal was part of a men’s barbershop chorus called the Vocal Majority — and some information on ConstructConnect. SALES CHOPS [8:05] Randal offers a few possible avenues for newcomers to start gathering some direct sales experience — just make sure it’s something you can believe in. C-SUITE QUALITIES [11:50] The advantages of having had good, and bad, leadership in shaping your path to the C-suite. Randal touches on what qualities factor into reaching the C-suite. SIZE OR PRIDE [14:37] Randal shares his biggest, and his proudest deals — they are not the same. JOB REWARDS [18:11] With regards to the rewards of his work, helping people do the best work of their lives is the answer that comes up spontaneously for Randal. CXO DIFFERENCES [19:00] Randal touches on the differences in titles between CSO and CRO. Sales will limit the person to sales whereas most times CRO will encompass marketing as well. #1 CHALLENGE [21:05] Though it depends on the business, Randal talks about the pressure of hitting the number and target objectives you’ve established. He also touches on culture and how important it is to take a business to the next level. TURNING AROUND A BUSINESS [23:44] Randal talks about his management style as an example of how a turnaround might go — he breaks down the details and reminds people in that position to shut up and listen in the beginning. MAKING TALENT CHANGES [28:35] Sometimes you walk into a situation where someone is being inappropriate or abusive, in blatant cases, you address them right away, but if your hiring practices are right, you give people 90 days. LEADERSHIP HIRING [31:19] Randal shares the long version of what he looks for in leadership hires as well as the two most important points: grit and problem resolution. ADVICE FOR VPs [38:05] Learn, learn, and learn is the basis of Randal’s advice, as well as talking to younger people and becoming a better teammate. BEST ADVICE RANDAL STILL USES [42:02] Executives are busy; when they give you time, you have to respect that — don’t take half an hour to make a five-minute point, Randal is a talker, he had to learn this skill. BEST WORST JOB RANDAL EVER HAD [44:38] Digging ditch for a local gas company at $2.87 an hour — Randal shares an ego check story from that time. [52:03] Michael thanks Randal for coming on the podcast to share his insight and closes out the podcast with his favorite takeaways. We hope you learned something today and enjoyed the conversation. Please give us 5 stars on iTunes and share your comments so we can improve and ask the questions you want to hear. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE ConstuctConnect SPECIAL THANKS TO Jalan Crossland for the music Angela Johnson at OC Executive Search Joseph Batty at Podfly Corey Coates at Podfly