CEO.com | Dispatches from the frontiers of leadership

Not only is Matt Hulett our guest on this episode of For Leaders, but he's also the CEO of PetMeds, a seasoned pro in the tech space, and is a leader in both world-class private and public companies. Matt shares 5 questions from his book every leader should be asking themselves that help to score where their company is within its growth journey. They talk about the major differences between leading a private company and a public company, and tactics he's adopted in his approach to both. There's a science to hiring the right talent and Matt boils it down to two things: to not lose money, and to make more money, which can be achieved through hiring solid talent aligned with the company mission. They also touch on the subject of AI and how it will impact employee roles and creativity, but ultimately, how we can stay human-focused. "Whatever you decide to do, make sure you're elite at it. You're the best at it."

On this episode of the CEO.com Show, Clint is joined by the esteemed Michael Hyatt, the bestselling author, business coach, and Founder of Full Focus. In this inspiring conversation, Michael delves deeper into the principles of audience understanding and obstacle removal, shedding light on the keys to entrepreneurial success. They talk about the impact of his work and how he built a successful business from blogging to writing his book, and now, selling products at Full Focus. Michael has spent years researching productivity and goal setting, discovering exactly how he can help people achieve their dreams and actualize even their most unattainable goals in business and leadership. A major part of goal achievement is learning how to lead yourself because it takes a self-aware person to positively lead others and Michael is an advocate for helping leaders become aware of their impact on the world. "If you can figure out the people in your target audience, what they aspire to, what they dream about accomplishing, what they wish they had, and then if you can figure out what are the obstacles that are keeping them from getting at, and if you can help them remove those obstacles and make progress toward their goals, you can build any kind business."

The CEO of Arctic Wolf, Nick Schneider, joins Clint on this episode of For Leaders for an in-depth conversation about cybersecurity and modern solutions for modern threats in this space. They discuss how AI is being used for nefarious reasons to scam and bait unsuspecting people, and how security is evolving to fight against it. Leveraging new technology is key to keeping customers secure and Nick's on a mission to use it for good. Nick talks about his experience going to market and how he navigated scaling in a repeatable way. Explaining your 'why' as a leader is key to finding the right talent and integral to the success of a company and its teams. "The role of a leader is not necessarily to be the most popular person in the room, it's to make the decision that they feel is best for the organization as a whole."

Esteemed actor and retired United States Marine Officer Rob Riggle joins Clint on this episode of For Leaders for an insightful conversation about his career as an actor and an officer, and how he juggled the two responsibilities. Rob's list of acting accomplishments is long, including classics like The Lorax, 12 Strong, The Hangover, and 21 Jump Street. Family is what ultimately drove Rob to seek a drastic career change, starting him on the path to stardom. They talk about seeking constant growth and changing how you respond to failure because adversity is a necessary part of life and it's important to stay strong when your character gets tested. Rob is hugely inspired by Teddy Roosevelt and strives to be reliable and authentic, just as he was. "I love entrepreneurship and I love entrepreneurs because in my opinion, small business, business owners, innovators, people that think and do and build, those are the people I want to be around."

Raj De Datta joins Clint Betts on this episode of For Leaders for a conversation about understanding what your customers are seeking and delivering beyond their expectations. Companies are always on the hunt for authenticity and this requires reflection and inspection to discover exactly what to stand for as a brand. They talk about training AI to represent brands individually because AI doesn't know what to do automatically, likening it to training a new employee. Additionally, modern business demands creating the best customer experiences possible, so consumer data is an extremely effective tool that every leader should be optimizing. Raj talks about the underappreciated attributes of failure and celebrating overcoming difficulty just as much as we celebrate success. Tune in to learn more! "People agonize over the what. Like what do we stand for? What is the brand about? But more important is that you stand for something."

Ted Elliott, who is the CEO of Copado, joins Clint for a conversation about leveraging AI in the workplace and what a fascinating time it is to be a part of the tech industry. With the recent advancements of modern AI, people are understandably afraid of what this could mean for their jobs in the future, especially in fields like technical writing. Ted explains how this new technology is becoming so widespread that it's actually increasing productivity and will be a tool used for boosting technical writing and similar jobs in the coming years. Family is the main tenet in how Ted operates in life and business. He shares important lessons learned as a CEO and family man, and how family can be your biggest driver for success. "That's a big lesson that my dad was really great at was stepping back and letting me fail on my own. And that's a hard one to learn."

David Alvo Verdugo joins Clint on this episode of For Leaders to share his story of investing and how he's making a positive impact in his community and the world. His story proves that one person's words can forever change your life and it's up to you to learn, grow, apply, and evolve with new information. They discuss the twists and turns of the entrepreneur's journey and dealing with the unexpected along the way, particularly for tech startups. David advises entrepreneurs to not be afraid to ask for help from other leaders because they've likely experienced the same hardships and can provide feedback. They talk about the common traits of great leaders and how building up a community is so important for the success of startups. Tune in to learn more!

Tony Jamous from Oyster joins Clint on this episode of For Leaders to talk about transforming the world through the power of business. Tony is empowering companies all over the globe to hire talent no matter where they live, through democratizing opportunities of employment, equality, and growth. Having a unique and inclusive workplace is so important today because it harbors an environment of emotional safety, which promotes creativity and allows employees to ask questions without fear of judgment. They discuss Oyster's mission and what the future of work looks like for employers. Creating a culture of connection and mental wellbeing in the workplace takes a little bit of engineering and a lot of dedication, which is something all leaders should strive to uphold. "They feel that they are a part of community. It's more about belonging than controlling."

Jeff Hoffman joins Clint on this episode of For Leaders for a fun conversation about entrepreneurship and investing. Jeff executive produces a series called Going Public where people pitch their ideas and you, the public, can go online and "click-to-invest" in their company. They talk about things every single entrepreneur should do to get their buisness off the ground and how it's dangerous to be a solo-preneur because a team with a diversified skillset will help you grow faster. Jeff explains that every single day, entrepreneurs need to get out of their office chairs and spend time walking in the shoes of their target customers so they can understand their needs on a personal level. They discuss how leaders often give themselves too much work in startups managing all these different facets rather than hiring the right talent, which can be detrimental to the company. "A good idea, doesn't matter, doesn't care where it came from. If someone loves your product, they don't care if you are White, Black, male, female, Muslim, Christian, old, young, none of those things matter. Good ideas that make things better for people will always win."

On this episode of For Leaders, Clint meets with Aaron Katz who is the CEO of ClickHouse and an integral part of the Salesforce story. Aaron has been in the enterprise software industry for 25 years, making him an expert in funding expansion and identifying solutions for customer needs. They discuss the stages CEOs and entrepreneurs go through when deciding what to do next with their careers, whether that's investing or starting another company, ultimately weighing the tremendous risk involved with such decisions. Aaron explains how this industry is not for the faint of heart because there are so many factors to take into account when making decisions and maintaining customer expectations. They also talk about self-leadership and how Aaron governs himself impacts his ability to lead others. "I think AI is fundamentally different from what we're seeing. I don't think any of us really know what the next few years are going to look like but it's evolving very, very quickly."