How I Went From Screw Gun Operator To Chief Customer Officer

You’ve overcome a lot of challenges during your career. What kind of advice can you give to people who are being challenged in a similar way?

Yes, I’ve gone through many personal and professional challenges. I came from a family where education wasn’t a priority. I never had anyone tell me I had to go to college, so I didn’t leave high school thinking that was something I needed to do. I actually arrived at that decision on my own. 

During my entire journey, both in my childhood and career, I never had anyone in my corner talking about my next steps or where I should go next or do next. I’ve had goals in areas I wanted to learn about, but I’ve never had this set path. 

I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have an idea of where you want to be, but I think a lot of folks tend to miss out on learning and opportunities if they’re so focused on what the end-game is. If you’re so focused on where you want to be, you could miss the opportunities that are available right now and miss out on potential learning moments. 

And just to expand on that; I never thought 10 or 15 years ago that I wanted to be a VP of Customer Success. That isn’t what I thought that I needed or wanted to do. I didn’t know that this is where I would end up. Instead of thinking that way, I thought about what I could learn today that can help me be better tomorrow. 

So when someone comes to me and asks if I want to learn how to do something like build out a training infrastructure, I would say yes without hesitation. Then someone else would come in and ask if I wanted to learn a different task - and I would also say yes! 

That was me. I always volunteered. Always said yes to the opportunities that came my way. Not because I was wandering aimlessly, but because I wanted to explore everything and approach every day as a learning opportunity. Over time, I’ve accumulated the knowledge that has made me who I am today. I’ve always had this belief in myself that I could do anything if I try. I still have that belief. And while I often fail to get things the first time, I also do not give up easily. 

You spoke earlier about your challenging family relationships. What do you do when you don’t have supportive relationships?

If you don’t have any relationships that drive you forward in a positive way, you have to seek them out. They’re not going to just fall in your lap. You have to put yourself in situations or places where you’ll have exposure to folks that you aspire to be like or learn from. 

For example, I left Michigan over 10 years ago and moved to Silicon Valley. I accepted a job with a tech startup there, and never looked back. I wanted to be around people that were creating, building, and growing. 

It changed my career from a very steady and stable one to one that has had a very different but awesome trajectory. I dove headfirst into the startup world. Startups are not generally known for stability, but the learning opportunities are endless. I put myself in places where I could meet with and learn from others. I would attend every meetup I could find about customer success and reach out to folks on LinkedIn that were thought leaders in the space. San Francisco was just flooded with folks who were available and happy to go grab a coffee and talk about their careers. They gave me advice on things that I should do to move my career forward.

Don’t ever wait or depend on someone else to pave the path for you. You have to pave that path on your own. Have deliberate conversations with your manager. Let them know about your desires and where you want to go. Don’t be afraid! If your goal is to have their job, let them know. 

Ask them, “I want to do what you’re doing. How did you get there?”

Have them talk through the skill sets that they need to learn or the gaps that would hold them back from being able to do what they do every day. A good manager is not going to find that threatening. They’re going to support you and help you figure it out. And if they can’t give you that mentorship, they’ll at least be able to point you in the direction you need to go.