Bill Horne has always wanted to be a CEO but says it’s not a job for everybody. Being an executive is a lifelong learning experience that requires different skills at every company. Bill knows from experience - after a decade in sales for IBM, he began his journey as President/CEO or board member at eight different companies. Bill is currently the chief executive at Quovant, a legal spend management and data analytics business. Tom and Bill talk about improving the things you can control and accepting the things you can’t, step 2 of the 12 Steps of Product Management. And Bill explains how he brings customers into board meetings.
Bill Horne built the foundation of his career in sales at IBM and realized his dream of becoming an executive at age 40. He is a committed lifelong learner who believes in active listening - and it shows. Bill follows staffing advice he learned from a rug merchant on a flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City in the 1980s. And credits his mentor with teaching him how to gather and be discerning about data in new and difficult leadership situations. He also reflects on advice from IBM sales legend Monte Stern and the kind and accepting example of his wife’s “Meemaw.”
Tom asks Bill how you decide where to focus your energy as a leader. Bill says that the key is to start with five disparate data points before you make any decisions. But it’s crucial to dial in and really listen to what you’re being told - don’t listen to see what fits the story that you’re looking for. Tom and Bill discuss the limits of what you can control as a leader. Tom asserts that investors don’t talk about customers enough in board meetings. And Bill explains that you have to tell the customer story in a language that expert money managers can understand. Bill talks about how hard it is to fire people and Tom confirms that you can’t fire your kids when they fail at the tasks you’ve assigned them to do.