Dive deep into the essence of leadership in our latest podcast episode where Rick Hill, an experienced sales leader, shares transformative lessons that challenge traditional notions of success. With years of wisdom and experience, Rick offers a perspective guaranteed to shift how you approach leadership, influence, and collaboration.

Why You Can’t Afford to Skip This Episode:

✅ Do you want to be right or rich? 🌟

Rick delivers an eye-opening piece of advice from one of his early mentors that strikes at the heart of decision-making in leadership:

"Rick, do you wanna be right or do you wanna be rich? You can choose one or the other, but you can't choose both."

This poignant moment acts as a guidepost for anyone seeking collective success rather than personal validation.

✅ Humility Matters 🤝

Ever wrestle with maintaining influence and productivity while keeping your ego in check? Rick highlights critical examples of how humility shapes effective leaders. He contrasts his approach with a mistake he witnessed firsthand—a hyper-controlling leader who sabotaged team meetings, deaf to input and collaboration.

✅ The Power of Reflection 🔍

Rick leaves listeners pondering a powerful reminder for those navigating the challenges of leadership:

"Remember why you started."

This episode is packed with actionable wisdom and relatable anecdotes, perfect for aspiring leaders, seasoned executives, and anyone striving to balance ambition with teamwork.

You’ll Learn:

• How to prioritize collective success without compromising authenticity.
• Key strategies for fostering collaboration and flexibility within teams.
• The dangers of ego-driven leadership and how to avoid these pitfalls.

💡 Most leaders think culture is about perks, pizza parties, or slogans on the wall.

The truth? Culture shows up in how your team communicates when no one’s watching.

I sat down with Curtis, a seasoned organizational leader, and here’s what stuck with me:

👉 Communication is the baseline.

“If I’m 100% and you’re 100%, that makes 300%. The invisible entity is teamwork. And that all starts with making sure our words mean the exact same thing.”

👉 Red flags in culture are always visible.

Watch for inconsistent actions, lack of shared ownership, or behavioral drift in how teams interact.

👉 Ego-driven leadership kills trust.

Curtis said it best: “If you come in forcing your will over what’s already existing, you’re not gonna get the result.” Observation before action builds buy-in.

👉 Empowered leaders own their results.

“I don’t set goals for my leadership team. We’re the leaders. Why would I try to do something I have 100% control of? I expect it.”

👉 Culture must outlast the leader.

The ultimate win? When the team can “call their own plays and still score touchdowns” without you.

For executives in hardware, software, or tech integration companies, this isn’t just philosophy—it’s survival.

High performers won’t stick around in a broken culture. Neither will your customers.

The challenge for leaders isn’t building culture for today.

It’s building culture that lasts beyond you.

🚨 Most leaders fail at transformation before it even begins.

Why? Their team doesn’t believe them.

In our latest conversation, I sat down with Ehrika to talk about the brutal realities of leading through change.

Here’s what stood out:

👉 75% of communication is nonverbal. Your team reads your body language before they ever hear your words.

👉 Top performers disengage quietly. If you’re not paying attention, you’ll lose them without warning.

👉 The hardest truth? Leaders usually know who won’t make it through transformation on day one. The challenge is respecting the people who got you here, while preparing for who will take you forward.

Ehrika nailed it when she said:

“Isn’t leadership the key part of anything we’re doing? People are looking to the leader. Culture is at the heart of every transformation. How you communicate dictates how fast your organization will move.”

If you’re a CEO, CRO, VP of Sales, or Ops leader inside a hardware, software, or technology integration company—this episode is for you.

Because transformation isn’t just strategy.

It’s people. It’s talent. It’s leadership.

🚨 Most sales leaders underestimate how brutal transformation really is.

The truth? You can’t wait for people to get on board; you’ll lose the race before it starts.

In our latest conversation, I sat down with Larry and Paul to unpack what it takes to lead effective sales team transformations, especially in private equity-backed businesses.

Here’s what stood out:

👉 Impatience is a strategy.

“The biggest mistake is not being impatient. You have to be impatient.”

Waiting for people to adapt costs time and kills momentum.

👉 Team transformation is the hardest job in sales leadership.

Shifting teams—whether inherited or rebuilt—to align with new goals is where most transformations stall.

👉 Frontline leaders reveal the truth.

If your frontline managers resist, your sellers will too. That’s the first red flag of deeper misalignment.

👉 Sometimes you have to let go of top performers.

Larry put it bluntly: “You may have to move away from high performers if they don’t buy into where the company needs to go.” Yesterday’s results can’t outweigh tomorrow’s vision.

👉 Succession planning is a blind spot.

90% of companies lack it. Which means when transformation hits, they lose talent they can’t afford to lose.

👉 Compensation drives behavior.

Shifting from hardware to software models? Incentives must reward the new direction—or the team won’t follow.

Transformation succeeds not by strategy alone, but by talent, urgency, and the strength of your leadership.

Thinking about jumping into sales?

Here’s the truth: it’s not about perfect timing—it’s about the mentality you bring to the table.

I sat down with Mark, a tech professional who made the leap from engineering to sales, and here’s what stood out from his journey:

👉 Perseverance beats instant results.

At the 6-month mark, Mark thought he was failing. His boss reminded him:

“You’re calling customers. You’re prospecting. You’re building relationships. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

👉 Adopt a hunter’s mentality.

Mark thrived in roles where he was compensated for opening new doors. His advice?

“Where do you start? You gotta pick up the phone and just go for it.”

👉 Stick to what you know.

Shifting industries was one of Mark’s toughest challenges. His lesson?

“Stay in your swim lane. Sell what you understand.”

👉 Culture and leadership matter.

Great management vs. poor management can make or break your sales career. Do your due diligence before jumping in.

Mark’s story is a reminder for anyone in hardware, software, or tech integration:

Sales isn’t about being flashy—it’s about consistency, trust, and putting yourself in the right environment to succeed.

The leap might feel risky.

But if you’ve got the mentality, it can change your career trajectory forever.

Most Tech Integrators say they want recurring revenue… but few are actually set up to sell it.

🎙️ Just recorded a powerful episode with Andrew Gross from Xyte — and this one’s packed with insight.

We talked about:

✅ What’s changing in buyer behavior across tech

✅ Why managed services still feel out of reach for many integrators

✅ The mindset shift companies need to compete

✅ What type of Talent is needed

✅ Where the industry’s headed — and how to stay ahead

This wasn’t just talk. It was the kind of convo that cuts through the noise. If you’re a Technology Integrator in:

➡️ Workplace Technology (AV, Video Conferencing, Digital Signage)

OR

➡️ Building Technology (Access Control, CCTV, Structured Cabling, Data Centers)

And you are navigating industry shifts and exploring new ways to serve your clients while growing revenue — this one's worth your time.

Ever heard of a "skip level talk"? 🤔

It's a powerful leadership technique where executives bypass the chain of command to connect directly with frontline employees.

This means stepping out of your office to chat with IC's (Individual Contributors) who see everything on the field.

It's not about micromanagement... but about staying in touch with the real pulse of your team's process on what is going very well and what can be improved, sometimes even immediately addressed.

Why is this important?

Because the view from the top isn't always clear, skip-level talks help leaders stay grounded and make informed decisions.

If this is not a strategy you are using in your organization, I would highly recommend it. From the talent acquisition lens and from the feedback we get from talent in the market, this is a strategy that could provide a huge ROI.

The 30-60-90 Day Plan? Straight to the Trash.

Let’s be real – no one actually uses that thing. You put one together for your final interview and straight to the trash it goes

The traditional 30-60-90 day plan is a waste. It’s filled with shallow milestones, checklist-ticking, and rushing through “stages” that don’t move the needle. Plus, the whole process takes way too long.

So, what should a new sales leader focus on when they step into a company?

I’m 100% aligned with Larry on how he views his entry as a CRO/Global Sales Leader/US Sales Leader.

⚠️ Forget arbitrary timelines and pointless checklists.

The best Sales Leaders I’ve worked with, recruited for, and strategized with, focus on these things:

🟢 Who’s my top talent?

🟢 Who are our best customers, and what do they really think of us?

🟢 Who are our top vendors or partners, and how do they view us?

🟢 Is our sales compensation driving the right behaviors?

No predetermined plan here.

This is about being strategic, not reactive. Your best sellers, customers, and Vendors/partners will tell you exactly what’s working – and what’s not.

The real planning starts when you figure out what's broken and what’s actually working.