Henry Schuck - Creating Ambitious Teams at ZoomInfo - EP.266 [Replay]

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Apr 29, 2025

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INSIGHT

Culture Over Process

Problems in companies like Boeing often stem from culture, not process failures.
Over-relying on process adds complexity without fixing core cultural issues.

ADVICE

Make Values Tangible

Codify and clearly communicate your company values to employees.
Use vivid examples to show what living those values looks like day-to-day.

ADVICE

Hire for Cultural Fit First

Prioritize hiring people who align culturally, even if it takes longer.
Resist pressure to fill roles quickly at the expense of cultural fit.

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My guest today is Henry Schuck, founder and CEO at ZoomInfo, one of the most successful data businesses in recent times with a market cap today around $12B. I’ve been looking forward to this podcast for a long time because Henry has proven to be an effective founder, acquirer, and public CEO capital allocator, which is a rare combination of skills to find in a single CEO. He’s thought very deeply about building high performing organizations, sales functions, and how his own role needs to evolve as the company grows.

We talk through lessons learned building vs acquiring capabilities, M&A and integration lessons learned, fixing problems with a process vs culture approach, and how data businesses will succeed in the future

Listen weekly and follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker, and TuneIn.

Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

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Links:

Zoominfo

Henry on X

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:03:49) - What would you focus on if you were running Boeing?

(00:07:26) - How have you seen other CEOs solve culture vs. process problems?

(00:12:47) - How do you approach hiring?

(00:20:28) - How can you incentivize employees to buy into company values?

(00:23:11) - What have you learned working with investors and other CEOs to be a great founder and M&A executive?

(00:26:52) - How do you incorporate new tools or partners into Zoominfo?

(00:33:53) - What have you learned about integrating acquired companies?

(00:36:24) - How do you get a conviction when doing due diligence on a potential acquisition?

(00:38:49) - What skills around M&A are you looking to improve?

(00:41:19) - How will data companies in the future succeed?

This episode was originally released on April 9th, 2024