Speaker A

Losing reveals what doesn't matter.

Speaker A

Whether we're looking at the wrong metric or a wrong hire, losing shines that light on those cracks.

Speaker A

In order to get to this level of clarity, number one is, okay, this.

Speaker B

Is what I need to do to be successful.

Speaker B

Rishi Rana, CEO over at Ciara.

Speaker B

A tech veteran who led global product over at Microsoft and once shared the stage even with Bill Gates.

Speaker B

And in this conversation today, he reveals the exact mindset that every ambitious leader needs to hear.

Speaker B

How did you rewire your team to speak CEO?

Speaker A

We own the outcome.

Speaker A

You have to look at the bigger goal, think proactively how to deliver that business impact.

Speaker B

That's how you speak CEO.

Speaker B

You really encouraged everyone to ditch talking about features and start talking about enterprise clients.

Speaker A

This was last year.

Speaker A

In a year, we did 64 new logos.

Speaker A

Yes.

Speaker B

Okay.

Speaker A

Getting to that stage of success, I've learned a lot from what does not work in order to be successful.

Speaker B

You tripled revenue by breaking the rules.

Speaker B

How did you do it?

Speaker B

Welcome back to Lead the Team.

Speaker B

I'm your host, Ben Fanning.

Speaker B

And this conversation that you're going to hear is meant to challenge, inspire and ripple out.

Speaker B

It's not just a podcast.

Speaker B

It's a positive movement to build better leaders.

Speaker B

And you can help by taking just 10 seconds to rate and follow on Apple, Spotify and YouTube and drop a quick review over on Apple.

Speaker B

This helps more bold leaders discover the show and keeps the mission alive.

Speaker B

Enjoy.

Speaker B

Hey there and welcome back to Lead the Team.

Speaker B

Rishi Rana isn't a household name yet, but he should be.

Speaker B

He's the CEO over at Ciara.

Speaker B

A tech veteran who led global product over at Microsoft and once shared the stage even with Bill Gates.

Speaker B

Yes, that Bill Gates.

Speaker B

But what makes him truly different?

Speaker B

Well, he's the kind of leader who turns chaos into clarity, scaling revenue 3x and EBITDA from 1% to 40%.

Speaker B

And in this conversation today, he reveals the exact mindset, strategies and risk that every ambitious leader needs to hear before their big next test.

Speaker B

Rishi, welcome to lead the team, sir.

Speaker A

Thank you, Ben.

Speaker A

Thank you for the intro.

Speaker B

So how can sports build a CEO?

Speaker A

A great question, Ben.

Speaker A

Look, I was an avid.

Speaker A

Still am an avid fan of sports, all types of sports.

Speaker A

Growing up.

Speaker A

I grew up, I did my high school in India before I came over to the US And I think went to Texas A and M actually.

Speaker A

But growing up, I was an avid runner and an avid cricket player.

Speaker A

In fact, my coach at that time used to tell me that, hey, today I'm playing for the state That I was in.

Speaker A

I would play for India tomorrow if I continue with my passion, with my rigor that I need to now.

Speaker A

So I was either running or playing and I was serious about it.

Speaker A

I wanted to at a high schooler, it was just not a hobby.

Speaker A

It was like I wanted to be the top runner.

Speaker A

Running long distances, sprinting.

Speaker A

I ran actually with fire.

Speaker A

Athletics, I mean that you're talking about gave me that, I reflect back on it as discipline.

Speaker A

Cricket was giving me the identity.

Speaker A

It was the sport that I loved the most.

Speaker A

Now from there obviously I arrived, I arrived in Aggieland in Texas A and M. And there's a lot of experience that I had to let go of sports to a little bit, to that extent.

Speaker A

Now what it taught me was certainly resilience.

Speaker A

It taught me how to build humility and self awareness.

Speaker A

Failures in games, failures when I was not able to win certain races as well taught me to shut up and learn.

Speaker A

And that made me stronger.

Speaker A

So that's one I think I talked about resilience.

Speaker A

I think, you know, when.

Speaker B

How did losing make you a better CEO?

Speaker B

Because the perception of a lot of CEOs is we win today, we win tomorrow, and we win, win, win, win, win.

Speaker B

But you're, you're, you're reflecting on some of the losses and what it taught you on the way.

Speaker B

How did it make you a better CEO?

Speaker A

Yeah, no, great, great question.

Speaker A

And I think, look, I, if I look at that, losing reveals what doesn't matter, right?

Speaker A

I think the noise fades and you see what drives that impact.

Speaker A

So how do you translate that to a business world is whether we're looking at the wrong metric, a broken process or a wrong hire that you have made.

Speaker A

Loss creates clarity.

Speaker A

Winning can hide the cracks within.

Speaker A

Like if the company growing, my numbers are being met, I'm in front of the board and we're doing high fives.

Speaker A

It's all good.

Speaker A

But then underneath the covers there are always cracks and that clarity is not clear.

Speaker A

Losing makes that clarity clear.

Speaker A

Losing shines that light on those cracks and makes it where we need to fix things in order to get stronger.

Speaker B

You know, I think that's really, really valuable for CEOs to be thinking about.

Speaker B

How do you communicate that, keep that front and center to your teams when like your teams are winning, they are winning a lot in your, in your previous businesses too.

Speaker B

How do you help them maintain that clarity and hunger of like that losing can give, give you, but while you're still winning?

Speaker A

Yeah, no, see, I think a couple of things, right?

Speaker A

It makes Makes me.

Speaker A

And I've learned that over a period of time, obviously with losing both in sports and in.

Speaker A

On the business side.

Speaker A

Look, I think what, what, what the scraped knees and elbows have taught me is more than what the wedding has taught me.

Speaker A

And standing up on the podium and, and receiving those accolades and in sports or in the business arena as well.

Speaker A

And the empathy part of it is if you have lost, you understand when others do.

Speaker A

The empathy makes me a better coach and not just a boss.

Speaker A

So because in the long runs, it's the team that thrives and cricket coming back to it as a team sport, it's very important to feel supported and not judged.

Speaker A

I still remember, you know, I was, was, I was in middle school and, and getting into high school at that cusp.

Speaker A

And I was drafted into the high school team where there were seniors and obviously people much stronger than I was in throwing the ball and, and, and hitting from the bat as well.

Speaker A

But I was drafted and I did not perform while I was pitching in, in one of the games.

Speaker A

And one of the seniors who was the captain of the team at that time continue to invest in me in the next game and said, I'm going to again open the pitching.

Speaker A

And, and it's a surprise to me that why would you pick on me?

Speaker A

And that's when I felt supported and not judged.

Speaker A

Because one game, if I did bad, it does not mean I have to repeat it.

Speaker A

But if he would not have supported me, you know what, it would have been a different decision in my life.

Speaker A

Maybe I would have thought that, hey, you know what, I'm not made for this game or otherwise obviously felt supported.

Speaker A

So, so that empathy that comes in, that coach mentality that comes in and I give kudos to, you know, that leader who was there in the high school team.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker B

So having a few losses really can be the thing.

Speaker B

I like that positive perspective.

Speaker B

Like if you haven't had any losses, how can you truly empathize with someone who's having a loss?

Speaker B

And really, other than just trying to be a good person, you can only be in your shoes.

Speaker B

And I love the fact that even though you had a bad game pitching, you're, you know, you're, you're older, you know, coach or your older member of the team supported you to get right back up there and give it another shot versus sitting you for so many games.

Speaker B

And then you would have might have felt demoralized or that wouldn't have helped your growth and ultimately probably not the team longer.

Speaker B

One of the things that, that, that came up for me is how much success you've had in the U.S. but you're from India, you grew up in a different culture.

Speaker B

Different.

Speaker B

I mean, it's different.

Speaker B

Right.

Speaker B

And you, you know, you come over here and then next thing you know you're sharing a stage with Bill Gates.

Speaker B

So what was that journey like?

Speaker B

And what h. How did you.

Speaker B

Or what were some of the keys for you in terms of your adaptability, learning on the fly to be able to achieve that success in a different culture?

Speaker A

Yeah, look, I think my first six months in Texas A and M was very tough.

Speaker A

I can say that.

Speaker A

When I landed up here from doing my high school in India and coming over here for that education that I was dreaming about.

Speaker A

And look, I'd come to the US as, as a tourist with my parents and family a couple of times.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

You know, being a tourist, you think you know about the country until you end up living in the country.

Speaker B

Right.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker B

And your success is dependent upon, hey, we're not having a great trip.

Speaker B

I'm here to be a successful leader.

Speaker B

I got to figure this out.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

And that I think, look, I think coming again on that, arriving at Aggieland, I learned quickly how to adapt, how to adapt even to the basics of English.

Speaker A

I was, I was brought up in an English speaking school, so English was not, as it is a second language, but it was not foreign language to me from that angle.

Speaker A

So.

Speaker A

But then there are nuances of, of the way English is spoken certainly in America versus how it was from what I was taught in, in India was very different.

Speaker A

So I was quickly able to adapt, ask questions like asking questions as a, as a parameter sometimes in the Indian culture, asking question questions is not considered good.

Speaker A

It's considered at times disrespectful if you're asking it to your elders.

Speaker A

So how do you, how do you, how do you get to that?

Speaker A

I think adapting myself towards it, asking those questions, building those bridges.

Speaker A

Every time I was taught that or learned that, it gave me that, that humility.

Speaker A

But it also gave me the resilience, also the relationships that I built after that first tough six months.

Speaker A

I still remember calling my parents and saying, I said maybe I made a wrong decision coming to, coming to, you know, Texas A and M and.

Speaker A

But it shaped me for what my leadership style is today as well, I feel because it is from, from that learning part of it, Learn it all, not know it all.

Speaker A

Always had playing hard, playing fair as my key sort of mindset from a sports perspective, but making sure that I, I Take this, right?

Speaker A

I, I give it all I have and, and not just give up midway through because I've had some tough losses, et cetera.

Speaker B

And what was it like being on stage with Bill?

Speaker A

I was, I mean, it was, it was daunting, let me say that.

Speaker B

Bill Gates.

Speaker B

Daunting, surely not.

Speaker A

Well, yeah, and it was, we were launching our Office Developer Edition long time ago and, and I was the product manager, program manager who was demoing that portion of it.

Speaker A

So it was.

Speaker A

But you know what?

Speaker A

The moment I got that chance, I never said no.

Speaker A

I said to my, my, my, my executive at that time that I'm going to do it and I'm going to give it my best shot.

Speaker A

I prepared for three months.

Speaker A

I, I'd done maniacal focus towards precisely each and every aspect of it.

Speaker A

But then it was a product that I had worked on for over a year and a half, created that product.

Speaker A

A lot of it was, was my brainchild.

Speaker A

So demoing it to the crowd, obviously, along with Bill on the side, was, while daunting was, was exhilarating as well.

Speaker A

Humongous learning experience, humongous on types of areas.

Speaker A

How succinct one needs to be, how should I say, macro level one needs to be.

Speaker A

But at the same time having the details, should there be questions from the crowd, making sure that you're answering to those as well.

Speaker B

So would you qualify your time on stage with Bill Gates as a success?

Speaker A

Short, Yes, I, I, if I reflect back upon it, I say I could have done better, much more.

Speaker A

You know, I think I've spent a lot of years since then and I wish I knew what I knew then is all I can say.

Speaker B

And that's why you're here today.

Speaker B

I'll lead the team to share your message with those, with the younger generation.

Speaker B

Yeah, yeah, they're a big moment because you're going to be sharing your message today with people that'll be on stage doing the demos for your team.

Speaker B

Rishi.

Speaker B

They're like, okay, this is what I need to do to be successful on stage with Rishi now.

Speaker A

Yep.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Well, say, look, I think the first, first thing that I do, there are three principles that I work within my personal line and my professional life.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

I think even those three pillars that ground me as well and that makes the basic fundamentals of my, again, professional personal life.

Speaker A

That's transparency, honesty and accountability.

Speaker A

I mean, those are my pillars.

Speaker A

Within those three pillars, I want to make sure that there is trust that is going to be built between the teams.

Speaker A

That is, it is Accelerating the decision making.

Speaker A

And number three, making sure that accountability is driven.

Speaker A

And then operational excellence comes in.

Speaker A

Accountability.

Speaker A

I drive it with my kids as well.

Speaker A

Hey, if there is a task that needs to be done or there are chores in the household that needs to be performed, there is accountability.

Speaker A

You're accountable for it.

Speaker A

You can do it.

Speaker A

Great.

Speaker A

You cannot do it.

Speaker A

You raise your hand and you say, no, I need help.

Speaker B

You gotta love it.

Speaker B

It can't be just, hey, this is what I do at work.

Speaker B

This is what I do in my personal life.

Speaker B

There's a heck of a lot easier if there's congruency and alignment between that.

Speaker B

So I like that.

Speaker B

Shout out to Rishi's family.

Speaker B

So let's talk about how did you rewire your team to speak?

Speaker B

CEO, I know this is something that you've been working on with your company in the past and even today, and it's achieved a lot of success.

Speaker B

So let's deliver on that for the listeners.

Speaker A

Yeah, look, I think a couple of things I firmly believe in.

Speaker A

We have to learn it all and not know it all, certainly professions.

Speaker A

One is healthcare.

Speaker A

Doctors have huge respect.

Speaker A

My daughter is becoming a doctor.

Speaker A

So hence, I think, huge respect.

Speaker A

You have to learn it all the time.

Speaker A

And certainly in this day and age with, with all the changes that we are seeing with generative AI, the LLMs, the large learning models that are coming in, disrupting how things are, everybody has to learn it all and not know it all.

Speaker A

So there is never an end to learning.

Speaker A

I did not know this 25 years ago when I was in Texas A and M. I thought I'd get a degree and my learning would be over and I don't have to study that hard.

Speaker A

But no, it was just beginning.

Speaker A

It was just the beginning of it.

Speaker A

So.

Speaker A

So continuously learn, asking thoughtful questions again and staying flexible.

Speaker A

So that's number one.

Speaker A

Number two, good or bad, we own the outcome, not just in entirety.

Speaker A

When people come and explain problems, I often remind them, are you defining a problem or are you defining a solution?

Speaker A

Or are you doing both?

Speaker A

So you have to look at the bigger goal.

Speaker A

Think proactively how to deliver that business impact.

Speaker A

If an executive, my board member, or an investor is asking from me a certain specific tactical item, I have to take a step back and say, what is the outcome?

Speaker A

What is the intent behind it?

Speaker A

What are they trying to drive?

Speaker B

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Speaker B

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Speaker B

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Speaker B

That's BenLeads.com schedule.

Speaker B

That'S how you speak CEO.

Speaker B

You get.

Speaker B

It's so easy in tech, especially to get mired down in these dang details, the minute things.

Speaker B

Well, what's your timeline?

Speaker B

What's this?

Speaker B

What is it?

Speaker B

And you're like, no, no, what, what are we doing?

Speaker B

Like, what's the bigger impact?

Speaker B

What's the bigger vision?

Speaker B

What's.

Speaker B

Why does it matter?

Speaker B

And if you, if you show up in a CEO's office or you show up in your office or Bill Gates office and you're in the details, they've lost you in five minutes.

Speaker A

Yes.

Speaker B

It sounds like you've really.

Speaker B

So what happened when you, like, what I understand is you really encouraged everyone to ditch talking about features and start talking about enterprise clients and the impact to them.

Speaker B

You picked up like 64 + Enterprise clients at a company.

Speaker A

Yes, yes.

Speaker A

So that's with my current stint at Ciara.

Speaker A

I think this was last year in 2024.

Speaker B

In a year.

Speaker A

In a year we did 64 new logos.

Speaker A

Yes.

Speaker B

Okay.

Speaker B

So it was the language, it was the thinking that changed that.

Speaker B

Changing the company thinking.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

See, I think, let me put it this way, right.

Speaker A

I think getting to that stage of success, I've learned a lot from what does not work in order to be successful.

Speaker A

So there has been a lot of again, going back to the bruised elbows and knees in order to get to this level of clarity.

Speaker A

But with that, I think number one is how do you make sure that you're providing the value, value in the eyes of the customer, number one.

Speaker A

Number two, then communicating with clarity and intention behind it.

Speaker A

So again, just going back to it, I think if I may take a step back and look at multiple other companies as well, that I was part of resurrecting, making that difference within CRR today, I was able to get that clarity provided from the value creation perspective.

Speaker A

What is the value in the eyes of the customer and why are we doing what we are doing?

Speaker B

Yep.

Speaker B

What is the value?

Speaker B

And man, just thinking that way changes the actions of an entire company.

Speaker B

I try to keep that front and center for my company and this show.

Speaker B

What is the value to the listeners and what's the value to you as the leader?

Speaker B

And man, it's really made a big difference.

Speaker B

Now another thing that you're known for is when you worked at sum total, that was a big, that was a biggie because you tripled revenue by breaking the rules.

Speaker B

How did you do it?

Speaker A

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

I mean it was, it was my first foray into private equity LED company and it was a great learning experience.

Speaker A

Again, it was not about, you know, cutting little costs here and there or tweaking basics of the strategy.

Speaker A

It was high stakes, deliberate set of items from breaking down what was not working.

Speaker A

So the first part was looking at from an overall go to market perspective, how do you overhaul that piece from a delivery perspective?

Speaker A

We were delivering enterprise software in those days for digital transformation on the HR and the workforce management areas.

Speaker A

So we were rethinking as to how that global delivery is going to happen.

Speaker A

We were serving over 70 countries and certainly a lot in North America, which is US and Canada, predominant market capture of 80% but then going to Europe and then the rest of Asia as well.

Speaker B

Wow.

Speaker A

So making sure that how that operational excellence.

Speaker A

So.

Speaker A

And it was about changing that culture company and how are we ready to then grab the bull by the horns?

Speaker B

Wow.

Speaker B

Was there one rule you broke or one nuance that the company was like, this is the way we do things here.

Speaker B

Yeah, you saw that and you're like, boom, we're changing that and we're going to break that rule and saw a different result.

Speaker A

Yes, yes.

Speaker A

I mean, look, I think before I answer that, yes, yes to what you're saying plenty of times and a lot of thoughts go in my head as you ask question.

Speaker A

But there were moments of doubt, I have to say they were pushed back.

Speaker A

They were near, you know, coming to a failure where it was a tipping point that hey, are we going to break over here or not?

Speaker A

Or break our backs doing what we are doing, but held on to everything.

Speaker A

So I think one that comes to my mind was that when we were acquiring a company based.

Speaker A

So that was a good asset from a product perspective.

Speaker A

And it was based out in Southeast Asia.

Speaker A

It was our first acquisition in Southeast Asia and we went through.

Speaker A

See, acquisitions are easy, sometimes mergers are not.

Speaker A

And that's why I think they say mergers and acquisitions.

Speaker A

They say merger before acquisition, but obviously it's the other way around.

Speaker A

And it was a very different way.

Speaker A

I approached it without seeking, you know, sort of alignment with people and said I'm going to go and do an acquisition merger in a certain different manner.

Speaker A

And I disrupted it initially.

Speaker A

It was nerve wracking for from both.

Speaker A

From a process Technology and a people perspective.

Speaker A

But in 30 and 45 days, we saw the light right away at the end of tunnel.

Speaker A

And why that was the right decision.

Speaker A

Now, it was a huge risk, but it created that larger return as well.

Speaker A

Because taking those right risks at the right time with the right team, obviously, and the team backing me up as well towards that execution made the difference.

Speaker B

Powerful, powerful example.

Speaker B

You took a risk, you broke some rules or nuances that delivered big results.

Speaker B

So what is your internal guideline or advice for leaders?

Speaker B

Because sometimes it seems like, hey, this needs to be a big consensus decision.

Speaker B

I need to go around and ask everybody, even if they report to you.

Speaker B

Right.

Speaker B

Building that consensus and then making the move.

Speaker B

And sometimes leaders don't have that luxury.

Speaker B

Or you still maybe you feel like, hey, this is such the right thing to do, I need to go make this happen and then we're going to.

Speaker B

And then ask my team later for supporting it.

Speaker B

How do you make that call?

Speaker A

Yeah, so sometimes you can ask for forgiveness later.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker B

I mean, yeah, like that's the biggie.

Speaker B

Right?

Speaker B

And like you may be torn, like was like, what is the situation?

Speaker B

How do I, how do you make that call?

Speaker B

And it can be complicated to think about it.

Speaker A

Yeah, no, you're right, you're right.

Speaker A

Look, I think it depends and you don't have to do it all the time.

Speaker A

Like disruptions should be, the risk should be taken when the return overweighs the risk that you're taking.

Speaker A

Number one.

Speaker A

So need to take a calculated risk, not just, how should I say, put a blindfold and keep driving through.

Speaker A

So that's not what I would suggest anybody do that.

Speaker A

Instead I would go after understanding the situation and keeping it simple, straightforward.

Speaker A

My decision making process that I shared with my team, I shared with everybody, is, is this the right thing to do for the company?

Speaker A

So for CRO that I'm, I am running as a CEO today, this is the right thing to do for CRO.

Speaker A

Is this the right thing to do for the team?

Speaker A

So if it is my executive team, is this the right thing for that team?

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker A

Is this the right thing for you and is this the right thing for me?

Speaker A

In that priority order, four, if three out of four boxes, check.

Speaker A

Go slam dunk.

Speaker A

I mean there's, there's nothing for you to be afraid of.

Speaker A

Two out of four, check.

Speaker A

Okay.

Speaker A

That's the risk as a calculated risk you're taking.

Speaker A

And you gotta be then making sure that, hey, you're covering your track, making sure you covered the risks and mitigated that one out of four might not want to go that route.

Speaker A

So it depends on which risks you take, how you take, how do you calculate them, how do you create that clarity and then march through that.

Speaker B

Yeah, I like that because it can seem to people on the outside, oh, you know, the CEO is just making these big bets and making, you know, and not getting everybody on board.

Speaker B

But if you know your team, you know the organization, and I like this priority order that you said because hey, you're like, I'm doing this like on my, based on my knowledge of the company and what's good for the company and what's based on the good of my team, then.

Speaker B

And if you know your team, you know your company and you can make these decisions and move a little faster and share with us what was the financial benefit to the company.

Speaker B

Since you said you prioritize that, number one, on that specific example.

Speaker A

Yeah, I mean, see, there are three sort of.

Speaker A

I would say that there are three sort of non negotiables that I always keep in mind on the back of my mind.

Speaker A

And one should always, as a CEO, as an executive of a company, one should always keep that.

Speaker A

Number one is customer value.

Speaker A

We all are working, we are working hard on the product, on the service that we are providing.

Speaker A

The value that I'm providing, what is that value?

Speaker A

It should never be missed, it should never be met.

Speaker A

And it should be straightforward and simple for anybody to comprehend.

Speaker A

And as people say, elevator pitch, got to have that value.

Speaker A

Very well understood.

Speaker A

Number two is execution, clarity.

Speaker A

You're going to take a risk, you're going to take a path, have a clarity towards what is the timeline, basics of it, who's doing what.

Speaker A

If you have multiple players, I pass the ball to you, you pass the ball back to me.

Speaker A

I am not taking a basketball analogy, but my point being is I don't have greasy fingers, hands that I'm not able to catch and I'm ready for it.

Speaker A

So making sure everybody understands that.

Speaker B

Prepared to receive the ball.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Perpetual.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker B

Which reminds me of a funny story when I was in high school playing basketball right before he went out, everybody's like a guy was passing around like they were like, it was the winter, people's hands were like, and legs were like chapped from the cold weather.

Speaker B

And he passed around lotion to like people were like moisturizing their legs and their arms before the game.

Speaker B

That was a terrible idea because the players got out there and the ball was literally flying through our hands.

Speaker B

Not in a good way.

Speaker B

And anyway, to illustrate your point, the team's got to be prepared to receive the ball.

Speaker B

Don't moisturize before the game.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

And having that execution clarity then.

Speaker A

And what's the game plan?

Speaker A

So who's the coach?

Speaker A

Who's going to be telling what to do?

Speaker A

Not everybody can be a CEO.

Speaker A

And I'm not saying from a title, but for that instance for that project that has to be who's calling the shots and you know, you're in your game and that's it.

Speaker A

And everybody plays their game, put their A game in.

Speaker A

You know, you don't need five Michael Jordans from that angle.

Speaker A

You can have the, the topmost B team players and you can still win a game.

Speaker B

And that's how you scale revenue 3x and take EBITDA for 1% to 40%.

Speaker B

Hello.

Speaker B

Now moving on here, I cannot let this in without asking this question.

Speaker B

What was the resignation letter that you never sent?

Speaker A

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

I mean it was a tough time.

Speaker A

So without naming the company, look, I think I joined the company running that business which was bleeding in margin.

Speaker A

Customers were frustrated, took over the team, technology, operations and the teams were fragile.

Speaker A

I obviously joined in.

Speaker A

Because I joined in, I was optimistic.

Speaker A

I was like I'm going to solve the problem, I'm going to have a better kite or execution, fix it, all of it.

Speaker A

But within months of looking at it from a people, process, technology, customers, all the angles.

Speaker A

There's so many problems to solve, so many things to prioritize.

Speaker A

Not everything can be done in one shot.

Speaker A

So it was overwhelming.

Speaker A

It was overwhelming for me as to whether I've taken on the right role.

Speaker A

And, and if I remember correctly, it was after contemplation for weeks when I continued to struggle on the prioritization, explaining to the team how you got a call from one of the major customers, a multimillion dollar customer, said they are ready to walk because we have not been able to deliver on time.

Speaker A

And that's what was the thing in me.

Speaker A

I sat in my office late, I contemplated on it, questioned but that I'm the right person for the job, honest, and felt like, you know, I should type up my resignation and I should leave because maybe I'm the one who's coming in the way of the success.

Speaker A

Something within me, as I stared at that, writing my email, I stayed at it before I hit a send button for quite some time, reflected on it, reflected on all my past wins and losses and, and somehow made the decision not to do it and come back the next day with a smarter plan, with a very full thought out clarity on priorities against that grit and resilience coming from my sporting days certainly.

Speaker A

And, and, and it happened to be the turning point.

Speaker A

So really?

Speaker B

And what happened?

Speaker B

What was the ultimate, what was the result of.

Speaker B

Of that turn.

Speaker B

Of that turning point.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

If I look at it up in the turning point look, I think I started off from a people perspective number first.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker A

So looking at it from the silos angle between the teams and making sure that breaking down those silos and making sure how everybody's going to be successful together.

Speaker B

So better communication and alignment between the different verticals.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

So it's between the different verticals functions making sure that they're prioritization and there is alignment.

Speaker A

So there is clear goals that each one helps out.

Speaker A

So it's not that you can actually have it the other way around.

Speaker A

Number two restructured from a technology perspective overall on the delivery of items.

Speaker A

So in saying that the whole end to end solution because we were looking at it in silos and everybody was doing it but by the time the package solution went to the customer it was broken on fronts.

Speaker A

So what are the things that we need to do ahead in order to get to that end of it?

Speaker A

So shifted that delivery footprint to the customers which built the trust with the customers as well because they started seeing things that coming in and not getting surprised or like the build or the release that we would do.

Speaker A

And it was not, should I say dead on arrival.

Speaker A

It was something that was working.

Speaker B

Did you save that multimillion dollar client that called you to walk very well?

Speaker A

Yes, I did.

Speaker A

Not only that, I'm actually friends with the person who now is a chairperson of multiple of those companies is on the board.

Speaker A

He actually appreciated that so much on all the hard work.

Speaker A

I continue to provide him weekly updates.

Speaker A

Here's the asset.

Speaker A

You know what?

Speaker A

I'm going to be your project manager.

Speaker A

I'm going to be whatever you want me, I'll be your jockey.

Speaker A

You tell me if the horse is running fast or not.

Speaker A

I will do everything and everything because I'm not taking failure as an or our ability to deliver because we can, we will, we'll fix it.

Speaker A

We'll do it one step at a time, one bite at a time.

Speaker A

Talk to various mentors helped me along the way as well.

Speaker A

I mean there's so many, so many people who I can thank.

Speaker A

One mentor of mine taught me and asked me the question how do you eat an elephant?

Speaker A

And obviously I did not know the answer.

Speaker A

I'm a vegetarian.

Speaker A

So my point was that I, I can't answer that question.

Speaker A

So his answer was one bite at a time.

Speaker A

I'm like, okay, that makes sense to me.

Speaker B

I get it.

Speaker B

Okay.

Speaker B

I have to be a vegetarian.

Speaker B

I can be a vegetarian and understand that.

Speaker B

So, so, so good.

Speaker B

Like there's so many levels to that.

Speaker B

Number one, if you're going to write a big email, especially a resignation letter, sit on it overnight.

Speaker B

Don't send it in the.

Speaker B

It might look a little bit better in the morning.

Speaker B

And I love the fact that you had enough self belief in your team and you were willing to roll your sleeves up to be really like the CEO project manager on that one.

Speaker B

To really take it and drive it, get the alignment and how cool about the human element of you maintained that relationship since then.

Speaker B

And it's grown into something really cool.

Speaker B

Right.

Speaker B

With, with that relationship.

Speaker B

And you remember the mentorship and the.

Speaker B

And the advice that other leaders have given you, which ties back to the beginning.

Speaker B

Right.

Speaker B

Our biggest challenges can be framed for ourselves, our team and our organizations as our best learning experiences if we're willing to really sit on the resignation letter overnight and just get some clarity.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

And Ben, one other thought that comes to my mind also is I learned it very early in my days at Microsoft.

Speaker A

Again, the story just comes to my mind right now.

Speaker A

I learned it from Steve Ballmer.

Speaker A

So we talked Bill Gates, but Steve Ballmer was there.

Speaker A

He was the CEO.

Speaker A

But Bill had stepped down and he was.

Speaker A

And we were deploying our.

Speaker A

NET frameworks across multiple because NET was the bigger thing in those days and doing through HP and few large companies and there was a large bank as well without taking the names as well.

Speaker A

But Steve, being the CEO of this large company, stepped on the calls with this large customer and made sure that we would be successful in deploying that accurately with what the customer needed and how it needs to be done.

Speaker B

Send a message.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker A

Since I was taken aback, I mean we didn't have Zoom and these calls.

Speaker A

We used to be on the phones those days and dial in and everybody would dial in into a bridge.

Speaker A

And we used to talk but.

Speaker A

And I was running with my team, that thing.

Speaker A

And I was informed through my executive that Steve is going to join that call that day.

Speaker A

And he came in, he talked about it, he listened for some time.

Speaker A

Not just jump right in, took a step back and said here are the three things that I would want you all to do.

Speaker A

Think about it.

Speaker A

Here's a way.

Speaker A

Clarity, direction.

Speaker A

So that those tidbits of understanding that learning that you get from these leaders have sort of encapsulated that, learned it, and now imparting that back to my team as well.

Speaker B

Never be too big in the organization to jump on a critical call.

Speaker B

I mean, even if you're one of these celebrity CEOs, like, like Bill or Steve, right?

Speaker B

Never be too big to go.

Speaker B

And it sends a message.

Speaker B

And who knows, that might have been in the back of your mind when you, like in that moment, right for you and your career, you're like, you know what?

Speaker B

I'm going to be managing this one personally.

Speaker B

And it sends a message to the organization, to the customers, and wow, Rishi, this has been such a fun one.

Speaker B

You got a heck of a message and it's some incredible stories.

Speaker B

I'll.

Speaker B

I'll leave sort of the last question to you.

Speaker B

Maybe mention something that we didn't get to, that you want to express or a story you want to tell.

Speaker B

Just take anywhere you want to.

Speaker A

The more difficult the problem, the more fruitful results you will get out of it.

Speaker A

And.

Speaker A

And the diamonds are always hidden.

Speaker A

So I always tell my team, look for the diamonds, look for where it is, and it will be in the biggest of the problems or the toughest of the problems you would face.

Speaker A

And I enjoy that problem solving.

Speaker A

Love it.

Speaker A

Embrace that problem, because that's where you'll find diamonds.

Speaker B

All right?

Speaker B

Embrace the biggies, the big problems, big challenges.

Speaker B

Find the diamonds.

Speaker B

Rishi, thank you for a funnel.

Speaker B

And I'll lead the team today, sir.

Speaker A

Thank you.

Speaker A

Van.

Speaker A

Thank you for the time.

Speaker B

Want to boost your productivity and decision making?

Speaker B

Get vital insights from each episode delivered directly to your inbox.

Speaker B

A great resource whether you've listened to the episode or not.

Speaker B

Go to benfanning.com insight.