![]() This individual was so grateful and wanted to thank every Gainster that had mobilized to help this individual find a new role at a new company. They had been laid off from a previous job when they were a client of ours. Recently, one of our customers reached out to me. It’s been exceptionally common in the last couple of years and is something we can all empathize with. Here are just a few lessons on how to be human-first that we’ve learned from Ted. Just like Ted, I, and every other Gainster, try to think about our stakeholders as human beings first. The person I find who most exemplifies empathy and optimism is Ted Lasso. The reality was, and still is, we all need less fighting and more empathy. Many people thought that with COVID and all of the dislocation, we were headed into war and should prepare for battle. Two years ago, I wrote The World Needs Human-first CEOs, Not War-time CEOs. ![]() The past 24 months have highlighted the fact that companies don’t live in a vacuum. We sometimes miss the fact that all of these companies exist to serve human beings. ![]() We are human beings first and CEOs second. We are human beings first, and customers second. Our core motivation was the idea that we are human beings first, and business people second. “To be living proof that you can win in business while being human-first.” At Gainsight, we thought, “maybe there’s a different way to win?” Which led us to create our purpose: Whether you believe it or not, we’ve all heard these stories over and over again the best way to be successful in business is to be less human. Indeed, the world has hammered into us all: We’re not even Apple producing Ted Lasso. We are not Moderna making a vaccine for COVID. Now, we’re not SpaceX we’re not moving humanity to Mars. Customer Success software will help companies retain their customers, but, for us, that honestly wasn’t enough. He asks readers: What’s the purpose of what your company does? So we sat there for a while thinking. There is a section in the template from Scaling Up that says, “Purpose: Define the reason why your company exists – not what you do, but why you do it.” Some of you may recognize this phrase, originally canonized by Jim Collins in the book Good To Great. If you haven’t read it, it’s a practical book that helps you define your purpose, values, goals, and everything else needed for a growth-stage company. We forced ourselves to answer the big question: What is our purpose? We started by reading Scaling Up. Shortly after that dinner, Gainsight held a leadership offsite at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay (the kind of location decision you make before you learn about financial discipline). So, what am I doing with my life? Why do we do what we do every day? Start With Why I don’t know if you’ve ever had your career choices existentially questioned by your mom, but it got me thinking: What is the purpose of what I do? What is the purpose of Gainsight? What is the purpose of Customer Success? Sure, we build enterprise software, and our software is great, but we’re not traveling to Mars or curing COVID. While this story certainly illustrates my George Costanza-like childhood, it also sent me, and Gainsight, down a path of self-exploration. Two things to know about my mom: She is a science nerd, as am I (don’t get me started about the parallels between SaaS TAM and quantum physics), and she can be extremely direct.Īs we drove to the restaurant, she looked at me and said, “Nick, it’s too bad you didn’t go into science, you really could have done something with your life.” Now, my dad, a business-minded person, tried to smooth things over with his perspective by saying, “Meena – he’s only 40 – he still has time to do something with his life.” Without missing a beat, my mom replied, “No – he’s too old – but maybe his kids can do something with their lives.” ![]() It was a big night out, so of course, we went to P.F. The year is 2017, I took my mom and dad (both in their 70s) out to dinner. But before Ted Lasso was my role model, like many people, it was my parents that inspired me. As such, I (and millions of other humans) find his leadership style to be beyond inspiring. He does this even though he knows very little about European football – he gets by as the new coach mostly by staying optimistic and caring for his team. Ted Lasso (portrayed by Jason Sudeikis) is a US football coach who travels to England to coach a British “football” (let’s be honest – it’s soccer!) team. What do Ted Lasso and my mom have to do with leadership? Or worse, you might be asking, “Who is Ted Lasso?” Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t seen Ted Lasso yet, stop reading and subscribe to Apple+, so you can watch the best. ![]()
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