This episode is brought to you in part by Activate Your Great Consulting Agency
It was 1999 and Tom Bartholomew, Owner of Bartholomew Media Group, built his first website for his family construction business. Taking over after his father retired, Tom focused on digital marketing and it paid off.
Building an Exterior Remodeling business in Northern Michigan, Tom knows the struggles of marketing a construction business and what it takes to make it successful.
Entrepreneur, Mark A. Wilson is the President and CEO of Chime Solutions, Inc. based in Atlanta, GA. Chime Solutions is a leading provider of business process outsourcing services, primarily focused on customer care.
Wilson has over 25 years of experience in the business information services industry and has held senior level sales and operations management positions with companies such as D&B, ABF Freight Systems and Whirlpool Corporation. Wilson also served in roles responsible for strategic marketing, service process improvement and customer service within the call center and business information services industries.
Wilson’s success as an entrepreneur has been highlighted most recently by his leadership with eVerifile. After acquiring eVerifile, a contractor screening company in 2012, Wilson was responsible for driving double digit growth while
making significant technology changes within the company. Wilson was also responsible for establishing eVerifile CS, a subsidiary that was focused on BPO services. Wilson acquired eVerifile CS in May of 2016 and merged the operation with Chime Solutions.
Prior to acquiring eVerifile, Wilson founded RYLA Teleservices, Inc. a true start-up launched in his basement and named after his two children Ryan and Lauren. As President and Chief Executive Officer, he established RYLA as a nationally-recognized customer support and contact center with more than 3,000 employees and revenues in excess of $100 million. Wilson sold the company in 2010.
Beyond growing his businesses from an operational perspective, Wilson focuses on building an employee-centric culture seeking to provide “the best job you’ve ever had.”
Wilson’s vision and leadership has earned him a number of prestigious honors, including Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award® for 2010, TiE Atlanta’s 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year and induction into the Hall of Fame for the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University in 2014. His latest accomplishment includes recognition as the 2016 Small Business Person of the Year by The Atlanta Business Chronicle, for his work at Chime Solutions.
Wilson serves on the US Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and the Georgia Board of Advisors for Kaiser Permanente. He is also Chairman of the Wilberforce University Board of Trustees, serves on the Kennesaw State University Coles College Advisory Board, as well as on the Steward Board at Turner Chapel AME Church.
A native of Arkansas, Wilson and his family now live in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his degree in Business Administration and Management at Wilberforce University in Wilberforce Ohio. He is also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Wilberforce University and a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
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This episode is brought to you in part by Activate Your Great Consulting Agency
Distinguished Toastmaster, LaShon Bowers, began her toastmasters’ journey in 1994 with a speech impediment which caused her angst for many years. She is currently a Lead IT Security Specialist employed by the government.
When she began her government career, she was that told she was best suited for a nonverbal position. LaShon was placed in the mail room. That was many years ago. In her current position, she communicates daily with customers and trains team members on security procedures.
LaShon was elected District 28 Director in 2016 and was responsible for directly overseeing the District’s day-to-day operations. Recently, she was again elected District 28 Director and will service in the position until June 30, 2021. As she serves, she also mentors others by hosting Youth Leadership and Speechcraft programs designed to help improve communication and leadership skills. 
LaShon credits the toastmaster’s program and her fellow toastmasters for the vast improvement in her leadership and communication skills. Their evaluations and mentorships were key to her professional growth.
She knows from experience that Toastmaster is where leaders are made.
Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to BRX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, a lesson that we’ve learned and begun to really take to heart as we continue to scale and expand the Business RadioX network is build standard operating procedures.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:19] Yeah, I think the sooner you can do that, the quicker you can be scaling and growing. And the reason they’re so important is because they allow you to delegate. And once you can delegate, now, you can get stuff off your plate, so you can focus on the more important things that only you can do. And these high-leverage activities are the things that will take your business to the next level.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] So, I think we’ve said it before that if you do something more than twice, you should be writing it down, and you should be building a standard operating procedure around it. And if you’re doing things every time feels like you’re kind of recreating the wheel, that’s not good. That’s a waste of your time. Your time can be better served doing more important things. So, you got to get that stuff off your plate and think in terms of kind of as if you were franchising your business, whether you’re franchising it or not. I think it was Michael Gerber who talks about this a lot in his book, the E-Myth. And just build these kind of standard operating procedures, so that you can do that high-leverage work and not waste time doing work that can be delegated.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:29] I am a big believer of delegation. You just got to make sure that you do it right. And if you have the mindset of, “I’m going to build standard operating procedures,” then you’re going to be able to build a structure that you can build, and scale, and grow.
Karwanna Dyson, CEO of She’s Got Goals, is a female Black entrepreneur helping other women and minorities build successful and sustainable businesses by becoming government contractors. Her path to success, however, wasn’t an easy or straight one.
Growing up in San Francisco, Dyson’s environment was far from idyllic. Stepping outside her home was an obstacle course seeing her dodge bullets, step over alcoholics sleeping off their latest bender on the sidewalk, avoiding the drug dealers hanging around on street corners and mourning yet another friend murdered simply for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Not wanting to be yet another statistic in her neighborhood, she made the decision to study hard, finish high school and go to college so she could move to a better area.
Tangela Davis is the COO and Co-Founder of CEHT, LLC (Cyber Experts Highly Trusted). She has 30 years of IT and Business experience with emphasis in program/project management, software development, cyber security, business process management, education/training, business intelligence and information management and IT professional staffing services. During her career, she has worked in banking/finance, commercial real estate, retail, government, security services, non-profit and technology industries.
She currently has a Cybersecurity Consulting practice that specializes in Cybersecurity Consulting, Customized Training and Solutions to enable enterprise-wide success and revenue growth. She brings this broad-based expertise to the commercial and government marketplace.
Her background includes overall responsibility for staffing key IT resources at various levels of the client’s organizations. Tangela currently assists client companies with their cybersecurity and information technology needs, serving as an external consultant and trusted advisor, which allow her to bring current behind-the-scenes information and expertise to further increase their growth and performance.
Tangela completed her MBA at the University of Phoenix and Bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for Trinity Strategic Consulting, Inc. and formerly Board of Directors for Unique Caring Network and Unique Caring Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Advisors for Mitchell Community College and has served as a faculty member for the University of Phoenix and Mitchell Community College.
Tangela has been published in the Mecklenburg Times, Charlotte Business Journal, Charlotte Woman Magazine, and The Black Pages and interviewed by various other newspapers and publications. She has published an eBook, “If I Knew Then What I Know Now, An Entrepreneur’s Guide for Avoiding Costly and Dumb Business Mistakes”.
Connect with Tangela on LinkedIn.
Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business, and this is going to be a good one. Today, we have with us Tangela Davis with CEHT. Welcome.
Tangela Davis: [00:00:28] Thank you, Lee. Glad to be here.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us about your work. Who do you serve them and then what are you up to?
Tangela Davis: [00:00:36] Well, I am very happy to announce that we are CEHT, which stands for Cyber Experts Highly Trusted. And we are considered an advanced IP cybersecurity innovative company. And we serve global markets in the areas of manufacturing, health care, sports and entertainment. And we also service the retail area as well. What we’ve been doing, as you well know, with 2020, we’re seeing unprecedented times right now with cyber attacks where we’re seeing companies are deploying all of their workforce remotely and virtually. So, that has really increased our spike in cyber attacks. So, we have been helping our clients in that space, really, to be more diligent in protecting their data networks. That’s what we’ve been up to.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:37] Now, how did you get into this line of work?
Tangela Davis: [00:01:39] Well, one of the things that we did was, we took a look around and really saw there was certainly a need for a company such as ours. I am actually the co-founder as well as our co-founder is a service disabled veteran woman-owned, who spent 25 plus years in this space working at the highest level in the Pentagon. And we decided to form CEHT because we saw there was a very big need in this space. Not only there was a lack of female in this space, but there was also a lack of minority females in this space. And so, we felt that with our combined efforts and the experts and teams that we have worked with over our careers, that we could really bring something of tremendous value to our clients. And that’s, hence, how CEHCT came to be.
Tangela Davis: [00:02:39] Now, what is something that maybe a CEO doesn’t fully understand when it comes to these kind of cyber attacks and these kinds of threats when it comes to, you know, even their supply chain or, like you mentioned, these remote working opportunities now. There’s an assumption, I’m sure, of safety for a lot of folks that maybe there’s a lot more threats out there that kind of the lay person doesn’t really understand the scope of things.
Tangela Davis: [00:03:09] Well, that is something that we do ongoing with our clients. There are three core areas that we support our clients around. One is consulting, the other one is customized training, and, finally, the last, are solutions. And some of the areas that we work with closely with our CEOs, CIOs and CISOs, which, obviously, are the chief information security officers, are ways to really keep, not only their enterprise, but their supply chain secure from cyber attacks. So, some of the things that we have to think about is how do they demonstrate due diligence on the ship of effective management when it comes to matters of cyber risk. We are asking them to think about, are their risk maps developed to show current risk profile as well as timely identifying emerging risks so that they can get ahead of the curve? Do they have the right leadership and organizational talent? Because that is extremely critical.
Tangela Davis: [00:04:17] And so, those that have some familiarity of this space, there is a shortage of key cyber talent globally. And so, we have been fortunate that we haven’t been faced with that issue and we have been able to be successful in helping our clients identify the right cyber talent to fill those gaps. Some other areas that we’re helping them to think about is, beyond the enterprise systems, who is leading their key cyber initiatives related to their incident command systems and connected products. Also, they need to consider a more established and appropriate cyber risk escalation framework that includes their risk appetite and reporting thresholds. There’s just many things, Lee, that we work with our clients around that they should consider.
Tangela Davis: [00:05:12] And I’m not going to go into some of the more detailed areas, but I think I’ve given you enough. Some of those, our audience and listeners might get an idea of some of the more critical things that they should be considering when they’re looking at securing their enterprise.
Lee Kantor: [00:05:31] Now, when it comes to securing the enterprise, are the threats more likely to come from an outside source or an internal source, like a disgruntled employee or some vendor or something like that?
Tangela Davis: [00:05:48] We’re seeing that it’s coming from an outside source. And, especially, if we’re talking about domestically here in the United States, we’re seeing that it is occurring outside of the United States. And those that are seeking to do undue hardship to our supply chain or anything that would impact our financial systems, that’s what we’re seeing. So, some of the things that we are very diligent about is keeping our clients, as well as some of our audiences, apprised of some of those threats that we’re seeing on the horizon, some of the malware that’s coming, and ransomware that’s showing up. And we have a publication, it’s actually a biweekly publication, called Cyber Insights, where we’re keeping our audience and our clients up to date on some of those critical things that we’re seeing and coming through. So, those are just some of the things that we’re seeing out there.
Lee Kantor: [00:06:53] And this isn’t something that’s a set it and forget it solution, right? This takes due diligence every single day in order to stay ahead of the bad guys, right?
Tangela Davis: [00:07:03] Yes, it does. And, Lee, you have nailed it. And what we’re also seeing, and this is a part of how they are leveraging CEHT, is, because we’re facing these unprecedented times, we’re seeing high stress levels when it comes to the sideburn leadership as well as their cyber workforce. And so, some of the things that we are proposing and supporting in how they can manage their stress levels is to really develop a framework that identifies minimal level of organizational capabilities, such as in the areas of managerial, operational, and technical. We’re also asking them to map out their supply chain for business continuity scenarios in the event of a threat. That is very, very key.
Tangela Davis: [00:07:53] Also, they should adopt a standard set of rules that apply to all firms along the way of their supply chain, because there are customers that we have that may have in excess of 30,000 vendors that is a part of their supply chain. So, that is not always an easy thing to manage, any security around their vendors, so that’s an area. We have a block chain solution that really helps to help our clients manage both the large and global supply chains.
Tangela Davis: [00:08:26] Some other areas in terms of how they can help manage those stress levels is to apply rules to regular, enforceable, digital security and audits to prevent lapse in downstream suppliers and also to adhere to the standard set of definitions for whatever security protocols have been developed. More importantly, to really involve cyber and privacy breach reporting practices, policies, and controls. Because with some of the upgrade protections for organizations, there is also the sharing of information and be able to share some of the cyber incidents that are occurring.
Tangela Davis: [00:09:05] So, those are just some of the ways that our clients, or even the audience that might be listening today, can help manage some of the stress levels. And then, more importantly, obviously, to contact us, where we can come in and give you some advisement and insight in navigating the tremendous wave of some of the risks that may be occurring within their current enterprise.
Lee Kantor: [00:09:31] Now, do you find that during these kind of crises, whether it’s a pandemic or even just the fact that it’s, you know, the holidays, that those kind of situations open the floodgates of bad guys trying to penetrate, using that as a lever, to kind of get into, you know, either through phishing or some sort of hack into somebody’s website. They’re kind of piling on to this onslaught of information you’re seeing and hearing. And you don’t know that someone’s being sneaky during these kind of chaotic times.
Tangela Davis: [00:10:09] You’re dead on. You’re dead on, Lee. And that is attributed to the fact that a lot of people are distracted right now with what’s happening with the pandemic, what has been going on with our election, post-election, the holidays occurring. Also, we mentioned the virtual remote workforce. You have the workforce that are working virtually there. Also, being the baby sitter and helping to support the educational initiatives for their children that are at home. So, when you have those kind of distracters, you may not have people that are as intuned or attentive to the things that are required and necessary to help secure your environment. And, particularly, now that we are in a more remote environment setting, their control, we’re having to have more control measures in place to be much more strategic in securing the environment.
Lee Kantor: [00:11:14] Now, is there any kind of low hanging fruit that an organization can do kind of on their own? Or is this something that you really do need an expert to kind of audit what you’ve got going on and then have an expert kind of just check to make sure that you’re protecting yourself to the best of your ability?
Tangela Davis: [00:11:37] It’s actually going to take a blend of both. But there are things that the organization can look at certainly on their own. But if they feel that it’s over their head and they just don’t know where to start or really have a better control over it, that’s where they can turn to us. But to really look at how organizations can further strengthen their cybersecurity posture within their organization, I’m going to give you or give the audience a few highlights of some things that they can do. The first is to remind employees to stay focused and diligent. That is very, very important. And we’ve already talked about their distractors that are occurring right now that really prevents people from really doing that. But we have to continuously remind them, remind employees that security policies are still in place to protect corporate information and to build mechanisms to reinforce policies. And then, also seek staff augmentation to support the company’s already stretched resources. Because of the climate that we’re in, a lot of companies are still working in a very lean capacity, despite the fact that the workforce is remote.
Tangela Davis: [00:12:56] There are some industries where they’ve had to cut back. And as a result of that, they may not have the level of support that they once had to manage and navigate certain initiatives within the enterprise. Add a security operation center support as an extension to their existing monitoring. We’re finding that our clients may already have 24/7 monitoring, but there are still gaps that they’re experiencing where they’re still turning to us. We have a 24/7, 365 days a year security operation center. It’s actually based in the State of North Carolina. But we are here to be that extension as needed.
Tangela Davis: [00:13:40] And then, finally, conduct testing to identify gaps, which is something that we do frequently for our clients just to stay ahead of the curve and to kind of help identify some of the cyber attacks that might be heading our way. But those are just some of the things that we would encourage companies to be proactive on their own, to really do for themselves. And then, leverage our services and leverage our company and support and expertise as an extension of that. We consider ourselves to be that extended family, so to speak, that extended support.
Lee Kantor: [00:14:20] And this level of due diligence or diligence when it comes to this, your radar has to be kind of distrust first, like if you get an email, even. I heard recently someone told me this, that they got an email from somebody that it looked like it was somebody they knew, a vendor they knew. But when they looked closely at the email, two letters were switched. So, at a glance, it looked like the firm’s email. But it really wasn’t. It was some other URL, you know, on the email side. And then, they were trying to hack into their system and get information by sneaking this through. And these bad guys, this is what they’re doing every day. This is their job. Like, this isn’t, like, a 14 year old hacker, you know, eating Cheetos in the basement. These are professionals that are doing their best to trick people.
Tangela Davis: [00:15:16] That is correct, Lee. And to your point, when you’re looking at emails that are coming, particularly if you’re in a situation where you have lots of emails that are flowing through on a daily basis, or if you are seeing links that are coming through, you really have to be diligent before you click on that link, before you open that email. And particularly some of those emails that come through that have attachments, because some of that malware could be embedded in the attachment of that email. So, you do have to operate from a perspective of not being trustworthy.
Tangela Davis: [00:15:56] And to your point, there are emails that are coming through – and I’m saying this because even our own company, we had to report this up to the highest level, once again, to the Pentagon, where there are those bad guys out there that are leveraging high level people within government, within corporations, and sending these emails out. The people that may not think twice to open, “Oh, such and such actually sent something to me.” Or, particularly, if it’s a small business and they’re seeking out new business opportunities, they may think that it’s a new opportunity for them and they click on that email.
Tangela Davis: [00:16:35] Or we’ve even seen a scenario with a customer where there was a bad guy that had sent an email for a job shipment of computer equipment. And after further due diligence, we found that the location where this – because it was actually in the form of a purchase order in how it was sent via email. And after further research and due diligence, it was all fake. And it was going to be a scenario where it was going to be, I think, it was like a $300,000 purchase order of computer equipment that would have been shipped at this location that wasn’t even real.
Tangela Davis: [00:17:17] So, it’s stuff like this that we have to be mindful and intuned to in terms of the fraudulent activities that’s all associated with the cyber attack. And so, I would just ask everyone, I know we have a lot going on right now during these unprecedented times and this turbulent climate, but let’s still remember to be diligent. Because not only is it protecting you and your family, it’s protecting your employer and your ability to earn your income. Because there’s a lot of damage that can occur when systems go down, when business go down, and people are not able to receive the level of service or care that’s needed. And if you can imagine, when we talk about care, speaking of health care, just imagine if their systems went down, the doctors and nurses and health care providers were unable to really treat their patients accordingly.
Lee Kantor: [00:18:20] Now, the show is GWBC Open for Business, can you talk a little bit about why it was important for you to be part of the GWBC community and join and become a member and a certified woman business owner?
Tangela Davis: [00:18:38] Well, I can’t tell you enough about GWBC. It has really enabled us to access channels that we may not have been able to access on our own. And Roz Lewis, who is the GWBC president, and her team, they are just phenomenal. There are no words to describe how they are such an advocate for women in business and really developing and being the trailblazer to enable us the opportunity to connect with the major corporations. What we’ve seen in our business is the ability to access those markets that we have a desire to access and really just present our solutions.
Tangela Davis: [00:19:28] And, particularly, with us being an MBE and services-abled business enterprise, it really has enabled us to just change the paradigm and bring just a top level of services to our customers that are just as passionate as we are in, really, the work that we bring, the innovation that we’re bringing. And I just can’t speak enough about GWBC. They’re just really doing tremendous work and continue to do this tremendous work to enable companies such as ourselves to access those channels and those opportunities that are there.
Lee Kantor: [00:20:12] Now, regarding your company, CEHT, what is the ideal client for you? Are you working primarily with the largest companies or do you work with companies of all size? I know you mentioned, you know, health care, fintech. You have certain niches that you serve. But what does an ideal customer look like for you?
Tangela Davis: [00:20:36] Yes. And we normally work with larger corporations. Lee, that is a good question. Our profile ideal customer will typically be $500 million to billion plus customer. They will be in the industries that I mentioned earlier, health care, finance, manufacturing, supply chain, sports and entertainment, and retail. Those customers, they’re typically looking for staffing support or block chain as well as stock services or that extension. And so, those are just some of the customers. If we’re talking about problems they’re seeking to solve, lots of times they’re seeking to solve problems in terms of just ensuring their networks and systems are secured properly. They will often have us come in to help do audits of their existing systems and everything, particularly from a supply chain perspective. I’ve mentioned already our block chain solution and how we’re able to track everything from inception to completion.
Tangela Davis: [00:21:53] And we have actually received awards for that block chain solution. But if I had to say why CEHT? Here’s what I’d leave with our audience today, we are a global service provider. We operate right now in five regions within the United States, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Singapore, Hawaii, Honduras. Also, our team is extremely advanced in terms of red and blue cyber teams and possession, [inaudible], professional expertise of penetration testing. We also understand the dynamics of the successful cybersecurity experience. And more importantly, we successfully navigate enterprise wide security solutions in extremely complex environments. We do what we say we’re going to do and we are very eager to work with you. We want to work with you. So, if we had to sum it up, why CEHT? Why should companies work with us? I would leave it at that, Lee.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:00] Well, congratulations on all your success. And thank you so much for doing the work you’re doing. It’s important and we appreciate you.
Tangela Davis: [00:23:10] Well, we are so happy to be a part of this morning’s radio, GWBC Radio. And I hope that the information shared with our audience will be something that will be extremely helpful. If they would like to learn more or feel that they need to certainly have some added support, they can reach us, of course. Visit our website, www.ceht-jv.com or email us at info@ceht-jv.com. And they can also find us on LinkedIn, we actually have a CEHT LinkedIn page. And, certainly, we welcome you to follow us for behind the scenes information about cyber security.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:58] Well, thank you again for sharing your story today.
Tangela Davis: [00:24:01] Thank you for having us. And certainly feel free to reach out anytime.
Lee Kantor: [00:24:05] And once again, that website is ceht-jv.com. All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on GWBC Open for Business.
The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®) is at the forefront of redefining women business enterprises (WBEs). An increasing focus on supplier diversity means major corporations are viewing our WBEs as innovative, flexible and competitive solutions. The number of women-owned businesses is rising to reflect an increasingly diverse consumer base of women making a majority of buying decision for herself, her family and her business. 
GWBC® has partnered with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation through our guiding principles to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Laura A. Davis is the CEO and Founder of Laura A. Davis & Associates, Inc., an Atlanta-based transformational executive coaching, leadership and team development, and DiSC assessment training firm.
Since 1998, Laura has been coaching leaders at all levels of Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies to become more emotionally intelligent, agile, and aware of their role in creating a healthy, engaged corporate culture. Organizations must become agile in today’s world of disruption and agile organizations are made up of agile, emotionally intelligent people.
Laura and her associates also focus on assisting teams within organizations to become more cohesive by building cultures of high trust, productivity, accountability, and collective results. Laura and her team offer leading-edge mindsets, skillsets, and toolsets needed to create high performance and inspired success.
Prior to starting her business, Laura held both line and staff marketing management positions at Exxon, Equifax, and UPS. She was an Adjunct Professor of Business Studies at Mercer University and holds an MBA in Marketing from Emory University. Laura earned the coveted Master Certified Coaching designation through the ICF in 1998 and maintains that credential through her ongoing study and dedication to the profession.
Her ongoing thought leadership is demonstrated in the talks she gives at professional industry conferences around the country. She is a contributing author to “A Guide to Getting It: Self-Esteem” and has published articles in leading industry publications such as Choice magazine, ATD newsletters, and more.
She has appeared on “Good Day Atlanta” and numerous internet radio shows to talk about emerging organizational leadership best practices. Laura A. Davis and Associates, Inc. is also a certified woman-owned business through WBENC.
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business, and this is going to be a good one. Today, we have with us Laura A. Davis with Laura A. Davis and Associates. Welcome, Laura.
Laura A. Davis: [00:00:28] Thank you, Lee. Great to be with you again.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:30] I’m excited to catch up. And for the listeners who aren’t aware, can you tell us about your work? How are you serving folks?
Laura A. Davis: [00:00:37] Absolutely. Well, we have been in business for 25 years. And my team and I help organizations strive through change. We help people to be more emotionally intelligent and more agile. And we do that by helping them understand how to really leverage their strengths and learn social and emotional skills to survive in today’s ever changing world of work. We work frequently with cohesive teams as well. Help make virtual teams more successful.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:12] Now, in today’s world, I guess, there’s a few different schools of thought when it comes to strengths. Is it better to kind of lean in and get the most out of your strengths? Or, is it better to shore up your weaknesses? Can you talk about the kind of the pros and cons of each?
Laura A. Davis: [00:01:31] Sure. I am of the camp that believes in capitalizing on your strengths. That said, we all have blind spots in areas for growth and development. So, you need to be aware of those. And that’s where emotional intelligence comes in. And a lot of people have heard of emotional intelligence, but they’re not really clear what that means precisely. And I would define it as, people really understanding how they react to situations, what their strengths are, what their blind spots are. And beyond just being aware of your own strengths and challenges, it’s extremely important to understand the strengths and needs of the people that you work with, so that you can adapt your behavior to meet the needs of the other person or persons if it’s a team, which generally is, as well as the needs of the situation.
Laura A. Davis: [00:02:28] And, too often, leaders and teams have been promoted or trained to only look at technical or functional skills. And where the rubber really meets the road or where people are successful or not is how well they can really relate to people. Do they have a high level of emotional intelligence, particularly in today’s virtual and remote environment more important than ever, to have these skills? So, that’s what we help people to develop.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:59] And aren’t these skills, even if you were great at in-person, maybe emotional intelligence, when you’re doing things virtually, that’s a kind of a slightly different skill set, right? Because you have to pick up cues in ways that maybe you hadn’t been able to rely on previously.
Laura A. Davis: [00:03:16] That’s very true. And most of us now are becoming very familiar with all the online platforms. And I happen to use Zoom in the virtual trainings and the executive coaching that my team and I does. But, really, there are ways you can leverage the tools to be more successful. I’ll give you one quick example, when you’re trying to create a psychologically safe environment – and by that, I mean an environment where people feel they can raise questions and concerns, and share dissenting opinions and have, what I call, productive conflict – sometimes you need to think about how are you phrasing the question. A poll, for example, can be a nice way to get candid feedback.
Laura A. Davis: [00:04:00] I’m doing some work right now with Habitat for Humanity International, and it’s a real privilege. We’re working through the five behaviors of a cohesive team, which is based on Pat Lencioni’s famous book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. And they have a beautiful concept called graceful candor. And what that really means is, it’s the intersection or balance of two mindsets, candor and grace. So, candor, of course, is being clear and direct and truthful in calling out critical matters. Sometimes that is hard to do. Virtually, it can be facilitated. And, again, the team leader or whomever is running the meeting, ideally, everyone on the team, helps to manage that by being graceful, by having kindness and respect, and listening intentionally. But those skills are hard. People are not often trained in how to give and receive feedback.
Laura A. Davis: [00:04:56] People, again, have challenges sometimes having an open mind and looking at diverse perspectives. If it’s not our own, it’s a very human tendency to look for data or evidence that supports our existing beliefs. So, all of these skills can be learned. That’s the good news. But there’s a level of finesse that needs to happen in a virtual environment. You’re absolutely right.
Lee Kantor: [00:05:22] And the level of nuance becomes extremely challenging, I would imagine, for those folks that aren’t trained or at least kind of aware that even these biases can exist in themselves and in others. And then, you multiply that by with, you know, kind of this world is flat, especially now with remote, where you’re having global conversations, and you’re dealing with cultural issues, and you’re dealing with gender and age, and all of these things coming into play. There’s, like, landmines everywhere.
Laura A. Davis: [00:05:56] Well, all is not lost. And, in fact, you bring up a great point, everything that we do in my company is about creating an emotionally intelligent, agile culture. And we start with the Everything DiSC assessment, so people see their interpersonal style, what their strengths are, and challenges, what motivates them, and what stresses them. And we do some facilitated sessions where people learn that, not only about themselves, but about their team members. And then, there’s a number of suggestions and concrete behavioral ways that you can adapt to meet the other person where they are and speak to them in their language, if you want to use that particular metaphor.
Laura A. Davis: [00:06:40] And it’s magic, you develop a lot more trust and teamwork. You can have more effective, productive conflict about the issues and not the personalities. And you get buy-in and clarity towards collective results. And I mentioned previously, the importance of peer-to-peer feedback. All of those things certainly can be taught. And when people practice them and experience the benefits, they’re sold. And we’re just delighted to introduce those skills to people because, again, often, as you say, they have not been exposed to them. And it makes such a difference in terms of their satisfaction and performance at work. So, all of the CFOs are happy too.
Lee Kantor: [00:07:27] Well, I’m sure they are.
Laura A. Davis: [00:07:28] Business case for social intelligence.
Lee Kantor: [00:07:30] Yeah. Because it, probably, becomes obvious pretty quickly. And this is one of those things where it might have been considered nice to have, you know, when we were all meeting in person and seeing each other day-to-day. And we can kind of get a feel just through body language and these other ways to see how people are doing. And, now, it gets that much more difficult. And if you’re not kind of on top of this stuff, bad situation and a bad culture can spread pretty rapidly, I would imagine.
Laura A. Davis: [00:07:59] Yes. And even in-person, sadly, the bias in many companies is on technical skills or on traditional performance measures, and all of that is important. That said, there’s a very clear connection between return on investment by investing in people, developing emotional intelligence, and understanding their behavioral personality style that we do with DiSC and so forth. It creates business results, and people are more engaged and more committed to the organization than ever before. And we’re seeing now a fair amount of attrition even in this job market. People have choices and they are moving to different opportunities. If the culture doesn’t support them, particularly millennials, then they will not stay with an organization. Perhaps, their parents did or their parent’s parents in many cases.
Lee Kantor: [00:09:03] And then, this is one of those things where people say, “Well, what if I train them and they go? And then, worse is, what if I don’t train them and they stay?” And if they’re not learning these skills, you’re hurting your organization, number one. But number two, if you’re training them on these skills, this is a gift to them where they’re going to appreciate it because this bleeds into their real life, too, not just their work life. These are skills that can affect their parenting, their being a good sibling, a good child. This stuff is important work foundational, I would think, for just human to human interaction.
Laura A. Davis: [00:09:41] Absolutely. And we take a whole person approach. And, in fact, when we conduct or have an engagement around an executive coaching initiative, we will ask people for a brief life history so that we understand their values and their beliefs and the context in which they work, because you do bring your whole self to work.
Laura A. Davis: [00:10:02] But, you know, I wanted to comment on what you said, Lee. Even beyond being a gift to them, if they leave, “Oh, well.” They’re going to leave comments on Glassdoor, and your reputation as a company certainly is more transparent than ever before with social media. We see that, there are multiple examples of that that I could cite. But they will become customers and they will become advocates for your brand even if they are not employees anymore. So, I think it’s important to recognize that as well.
Lee Kantor: [00:10:36] Now, can you share a story about maybe an impact you made in an organization? Maybe they came in, maybe, somewhat skeptical. And then, you went through this training and they got a result that was kind of more than they anticipated.
Laura A. Davis: [00:10:50] Oh, I’d love to. Yes. Fortunately, there are many such examples, and I’m thinking of an example with Dupont actually, where they were looking at trying to be more innovative. And, certainly, that’s a critical need that many organizations have today. And we worked with a team of life scientists and a team of material scientists. So, basically biologists and chemists. And this is just one example of many. But the people that were charged with working together and creating new products or services, they have very different backgrounds. They have very different worldviews, very different biases. And we introduced them to the personality assessment that I mentioned earlier, the Everything DiSC. We talked about collaboration skills, communication skills, set them up to really understand one another, and have more productive, real, candid conversations. And that was very, very powerful. I don’t have it off the top of my head, but they increased the number of new ideas that were brought to the pipeline to market, which was the intent of this, is to come up with a better generation of viable ideas that could be put into the new product development pipeline.
Laura A. Davis: [00:12:18] But we worked with many different industries. We did some work with top [indiscernible] last year, and Habitat, as I mentioned. Many, and they’re all mentioned on my website, which is lauraadavis.com.
Lee Kantor: [00:12:34] Now, Laura, you mentioned the importance of kind of creating this environment of trust and safety in order to be vulnerable to share. And I think that that’s critically important, because if you’re not feeling that level of trust and vulnerability and safety, you’re less apt to share ideas. And the ideas are the ones that matter for the organization to grow. Because if you can be getting ideas from your personnel reliably and predictably, some of those ideas are going to be good. I mean, you don’t know which ones are going to be good. The only way to get the good ones are to get the bad ones, so you’ve got to get all of them. So, if you don’t have an environment that lets those ideas happen, you’re never going to get the good ones that can really create exponential growth in your organization. You have the resources. You might as well do what you can do to get the most out of them.
Laura A. Davis: [00:13:28] Beautifully said. And these resources, the people who are closest to the work often really know what’s going on. They have the best ideas. So, one of the challenges, however, in hierarchies, is it’s not natural to speak up. Sometimes we’ve spoken up and perhaps the manager didn’t seem receptive or seemed to get angry that their position was challenged. And so, that can really dampen people’s candor. It’s important, not only for good ideas, it can be a safety issue.
Laura A. Davis: [00:14:02] Think about in a hospital – actually, I will mention one of my favorite resources is Amy Edmondson. She’s a professor at Harvard and she’s written a number of wonderful books. But her book, The Fearless Organization, cites a number of examples in various industries, health care, nuclear plants, mining, et cetera, where, because people didn’t speak up, they had a terrible accident or fatality. Where, that could have easily have been avoided. And, often, in the five behaviors programs that we run, we talk about the Challenger accident, and many of the challenges that NASA had with [indiscernible] psychological safety. It’s a cultural issue many times.
Lee Kantor: [00:14:54] Now, this show is GWBC’s Open for Business, can you talk about the impact being a member of GWBC has meant to you, maybe personally and your organization?
Laura A. Davis: [00:15:05] Yes. Absolutely. I have been a member for three years now. And every year, I think, my participation grows. GWBC has wonderful educational programs, networking opportunities, opportunities like this for me to talk with you and highlight some of the things I’m passionate about and the results that we create for our clients. So, it’s a wonderful organization. And I think that I would encourage anyone new to business or even experienced in business that hasn’t participated in the past to participate.
Lee Kantor: [00:15:39] Now, in your work with leaders or people who are trying to train leaders, can you share, maybe, that pain that they’re having where it might be a good idea to call you or somebody on your team to help them. Like, what are some symptoms of maybe problems or things that maybe they can get better or maybe not, and maybe not even necessarily problems, but just areas that could have an impact down the road that the result is to call you or somebody on your team?
Laura A. Davis: [00:16:09] Yes. That’s a great question. What are the catalyzing events? Well, often, when a leader is promoted, as I mentioned before, too often people have been promoted because they have the technical skills, but they don’t necessarily have the leadership skills and the teaming skills through no fault of their own. There is an art and science to that. So, transitions in leadership would be one. When teams are not as effective as they’d like to be, and that can take a variety of forms. People are coming on and off the team or the team is not getting the results. There are delays of time. Deadlines are not being met. Budgeting deadlines are not being met. When you’re trying to hire the right person for the right role. We also do selection and succession planning and hiring and so forth.
Laura A. Davis: [00:17:07] But, you know, many times leaders may experience attrition and they think they have the right product, they have the right people. What’s missing many times is an understanding of the interpersonal dynamics. And that’s what we can really help leaders and teams do, promote truly collaborative interactions – and as you mentioned, whether that’s virtual or in-person, either one – so that you have top performing individuals and great leaders of cohesive teams. And you reduce all the unnecessary politics, and the waste of time meetings, and all the pain and angst of people on a team not getting along with one another or passive aggressive behaviors. I could go on, Lee, but you get the gist.
Lee Kantor: [00:17:56] Absolutely.
Laura A. Davis: [00:17:58] That common everyday challenges that people have in communication and collaboration are what we help with to achieve those results.
Lee Kantor: [00:18:05] Well, Laura, if somebody wanted to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or a member your team, what’s the website again?
Laura A. Davis: [00:18:12] Yes. It’s www.lauraadavis.com. That’s L-A-U-R-A-A-D-A-V-I-S.com. Or you can email me, it’s laura@lauraadavis.com. And the mobile phone for the office is 678-637-8977. And we’d be delighted to see if it’s a match, if we can help. And I’m very passionate about this work, as are my associates, because it does make a difference to your whole life, as you said. When you are happy at work and bringing your best self to the table, everyone benefits personally and professionally.
Lee Kantor: [00:18:53] Well, thank you again for sharing your story, Laura.
Laura A. Davis: [00:18:59] My pleasure. Thank you so much, Lee.
Lee Kantor: [00:19:00] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We will see you all next time on GWBC Open for Business.
The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®) is at the forefront of redefining women business enterprises (WBEs). An increasing focus on supplier diversity means major corporations are viewing our WBEs as innovative, flexible and competitive solutions. The number of women-owned businesses is rising to reflect an increasingly diverse consumer base of women making a majority of buying decision for herself, her family and her business.
GWBC® has partnered with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation through our guiding principles to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Ian Varley is Founder and CEO of Eagle Business Credit, a traditional factoring company based in Atlanta, GA. Eagle specializes in both domestic and export receivables as well as purchase order funding facilities from start up to around $5Million funds employed and has a specialist transportation division called Cashway Funding.
Ian has 30 years experience in the industry both in the US and UK and is joined at Eagle by a team of seasoned industry professionals whose focus is on the delivery of expert and efficient service to all clients.
Prior to setting up Eagle Business Credit Ian was with Bibby Financial Services having previously run the Bank of Scotlands export factoring division and also worked in the retail sector for Barclays Bank.
Connect with Ian on LinkedIn and follow Eagle Business Credit on Facebook and Instagram.
Vanessa Black is Head of People Programs and Engagement at Tanium. Her focus is on creating a high-purpose environment where people do the best work of their careers.
In her time at Tanium, she’s launched the company’s global social impact program, Pledge 2%, created a high profile showcase of diverse leaders in Tanium’s Unstoppable Speaker Series and partnered across the business for extended parental leave.
Previously, she spent nearly a decade between IBM and Slalom, advising Global Fortune 500 companies on people, strategy and change.
Follow Tanium on LinkedIn.
Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for Learning Insights. Brought to you by TrainingPros. When you have more projects than people, TrainingPros can provide you with the right L&D consultant to start your project with confidence. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:28] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of Learning Insights. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, TrainingPros. Without them, we could not be sharing these stories. Today on Learning Insights, we have Vanessa Black with Tanium. Welcome, Vanessa.
Vanessa Black: [00:00:44] Lee, thank you for inviting us to your show. Very happy to be here.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:47] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us about Tanium. How are you serving folks?
Vanessa Black: [00:00:51] Yeah, it’s a great question. So, the Tanium is a technology company. We were founded in 2007 by David and Orion Hindawi. And the Tanium platform provides endpoint management and security built for the world’s most demanding IT environments. So, I got a little technical here, but our approach decentralizes data collection, aggregation and distribution right down to the endpoint to deliver real-time visibility, comprehensive control and rapid response.
Vanessa Black: [00:01:17] So, just to give you a little bit of example of who’s using us, many of the world’s largest and most sophisticated organizations, including half of the Fortune 100 top retailers, financial institutions, and all of the branches of the US Armed Forces. They’re relying on Tanium to make confident decisions, operate efficiently and effectively, and remain resilient against disruption.
Vanessa Black: [00:01:40] And then, if you just think about the scope of these mission-critical organizations, the result is that through our technology, we’re safeguarding a way of life. And that’s something we’re really proud of. But, Lee, to that end, our founders also recognized that one of the most important things besides just putting technology forward is to build a company that, at its core, has a deep understanding of people, processes and technologies in order to deliver the best product to our customers. And I think that’s probably why you asked us here today.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:12] Now-.
Vanessa Black: [00:02:12] We’ve been … yeah, sorry. Go ahead.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:14] Can we talk about your role? Like, what is your role with the organization?
Vanessa Black: [00:02:18] You’ve got it. Head of people, programs and engagement.
Lee Kantor: [00:02:21] And then, what does that mean for the layperson and to every company has, I guess, somebody in charge of those type of things, but they all call it something a little different? But tell us how Tanium deals with people, programs and engagement.
Vanessa Black: [00:02:35] Yeah, yeah. So, our job, Lee, it’s to create a high-purpose, connected environment where people do the best work of their careers. And that can show up in a lot of different ways. Like you said, most companies have roles and functions like this, but a few of the ways that we think about it at Tanium, so a few examples, the launch of our company’s global social impact program that we called Pledge 2%, the creation of a high-profile showcase of diverse leaders in our Tanium Unstoppable Speaker series. We have volunteer time-off for all employees. And every year, we have an annual yearbook called Life at Tanium. But I guess it’s not always earth-shattering stuff. So, for example, right before hopping on here with you, we just had a virtual festive mixer for all of our employees. So, the bottom line is we’re interested in anything that makes for a magical employee experience and working collaboratively across the business to bring that to life.
Lee Kantor: [00:03:28] Well, let’s talk a little bit about it and maybe we can help some other folks out there that are listening in their own worlds and maybe are trying or aspire to do some of the work that you guys are doing. Now, let’s take that global social impact program, Pledge 2%. Talk to me about how that idea first comes about, because I’m sure there was lots of choices of what initiatives to pursue. And then, somehow, you landed on this one. And then why did that resonate? And why was that something that you all decided to kind of put some attention to?
Vanessa Black: [00:04:00] Yeah, I’m so glad you asked because this one’s near and dear to my heart. And I think the really important thing and why we decided to put such an emphasis on giving back is the tech sector, generally speaking, we’re doing pretty well, but the question is, how do you take that success and add a greater sense of purpose to it? So, that’s what was really important to us and everyone has core values. We’re unstoppable. We win as a team when we do the right thing. And this is a big part of us doing the right thing, taking our privileged position in tech, and giving back to the societies that we work in our communities and something that we all feel great about.
Lee Kantor: [00:04:48] But when it came time to choose what initiative, like what were some of the things … You don’t have to name the ones that didn’t make it, but what was the thought process of? Because you could have picked anything, right? As long as it fit kind of that umbrella of kind of social impact, but you landed on that as the cause. How did you narrow down? What was kind of the thinking? And what was kind of the strategy behind that?
Vanessa Black: [00:05:15] So, I’ll give you, there are a few parts. The first is I mentioned the program is Pledge 2%. And so, as part of that, we have all our employees, two percent of their time dedicated toward giving back. So, that’s about five days per year. And then, we also pledge two percent of our profits annually to select organizations.
Vanessa Black: [00:05:36] And those select organizations, which I guess is probably part of the other part of your question, it’s not hard to just cut a check and mail it out to whichever organization, but what was important to us is that we were more than just philanthropic partners, and we actually spend a lot of time finding organizations where we had strategic and skills-based synergies, so that we can be partners, truly partners, and not just supporters on the sidelines. So, we work very, very closely with each of the partner organizations that we selected. And that’s been a couple of years since we launched the program. So, I’ve been privileged to be able to see those relationships grow and those routes getting deeper. And more of our employees feeling connected to each of their missions, we’ve been focusing a lot on creating opportunity through education. So, that’s a big part of our work. And yeah, I guess, did that answer your question?
Lee Kantor: [00:06:39] Sure. Now, is this something that you kind of have a measurement associated with this? Like how do you know if it’s working the way you’d like it to work?
Vanessa Black: [00:06:51] Well, there’s lots of ways. I mean, I think … And probably lots of folks listening in on your call, there are multiple stakeholders who you want to make sure that you’re checking in really closely with. The first is, obviously, our employees. So, we check in with them regularly through our engagement surveys and ask them point blank, “How are you feeling about the way that our company is giving back?” And people are really excited about it. Lee, if I can show you the Slack channel I have opened right now, it’s #taniumgivesback, the outpouring of employee interest and activism in that space shows us that we’re on the right track.
Vanessa Black: [00:07:32] And then, on the flip side, when it comes to the partner organizations that we’re with, I mentioned, it’s a relationship. So, on, what was it, Tuesday night, I was in a late-night meeting with one of our partners. And then, tomorrow, I have a panel of folks from Tanium who are going to be part of a series for, I guess, I can name the organization [indiscernible]. It’s an incredible organization, and we’re all going to be taking part tomorrow. So, I think it’s less of a check the box, “Did we do good?” Ana more of a relationship where we’re always checking to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by all of our stakeholders.
Lee Kantor: [00:08:10] Now, you mentioned earlier that part of the culture is you want Tanium to be the place where people do their best work, something that I would imagine that goes beyond the actual work that they’re doing there, but to kind of work in the world outside of the walls of Tanium, right?
Vanessa Black: [00:08:27] Sure.
Lee Kantor: [00:08:28] Now that the world has kind of gone remote, has that changed anything or were you always a remote organization?
Vanessa Black: [00:08:38] Well, so, we have around 1500 employees around the world, 13 countries. And before, I mean, let’s call it March, 10 months ago, before March of last year, around half of our employees were already working from home. But I think it’s a little bit more complicated than just being all remote right now. And so, when we’re thinking about it, living through a global pandemic, kind of the first and most important thing that we’ve been thinking about is how to be incredibly supportive, empathetic and tuned in to how our teammates are experiencing a tough year.
Vanessa Black: [00:09:17] I think we’ll get into what’s a remote first workforce after the pandemic ends because, certainly, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to being remote first, and we want our employees to have flexibility to live where they want and work however they’re happiest and most productive, but we’re still in that middle stage where it’s been a tough year. And so, we have things like, Lee, all employee days off, and programming for kids of Tanium because kids have become a mainstay in our Zoom meetings, virtual yoga, virtual meditation, subscriptions for all our employees to – I’m not sure if you’ve heard of this – Calm. It’s a meditation mindfulness app. And then, obviously, a regular drumbeat of information. It’s transparent, it’s honest, it’s to the point from our leadership team to take as much uncertainty out of the system as possible. And so, that’s been our first leg of the journey in terms of all being in this kind of forced all-remote posture.
Lee Kantor: [00:10:19] And then, do you find that by moving to this all remote kind of workplace that a lot of companies are kind of navigating that you find that the employees are giving each other a little more grace maybe than they had pre-pandemic, where people are it’s okay that their kids walk by or the dog kind of wanders into the frame, and people are kind of giving each other a little more slack in terms of kind of accepting that, “Hey, we’re all in this together and we don’t have to kind of be all business when it’s business. Everything’s kind of bleeding together”?
Vanessa Black: [00:10:59] Yes. Well, the answer is yes. And I think there’s something really special about that that I don’t think we’ll ever go back. Now that you’ve seen it, you’ve seen this executive sitting at their desk with a dog barking and a kid on their lap, it’s just you get to see your co-workers and your team in a different way. And I think that the net of it is we all feel closer, more accountable for each other, more empathetic, and I think more focused on how not only can we help Tanium succeed and our customers succeed but how we can help each other succeed. So, that, to me, if there’s a silver lining in any of this, it’s really getting the opportunity and our teams having the opportunity to come together like this.
Lee Kantor: [00:11:52] Now, have you had any kind of surprises in terms of just kind of the humanity of the surprise of, “Hey, look at how well we rose to the occasion here. Look at how much people are giving back and want to help in this area”? Is there anything that’s kind of surprised you as these initiatives kind of roll out?
Vanessa Black: [00:12:13] Well, it’s funny, Lee, because I mean, everything was happening so fast, but one of my instincts was folks are probably feeling a little overwhelmed. Let’s not push too much extracurricular stuff for them. And so, each year, we have this, we call it our Month of Giving. And it is we all get together, team-based, and contribute to local organizations. So, this is a little bit different from our Pledge 2%, which is kind of from the top super strategic. This is more grassroots. Our employees come together in groups, and we all count the number of hours, we share what we’ve done. And so, we’ve done this annually.
Vanessa Black: [00:12:54] And I didn’t know if people are going to have the energy for it this year. And I wondered if having the risks of engaging with other organizations and other people in the pandemic would hamper some of the enthusiasm. But my gosh, I was blown away by how our team members came together. One, they sourced all of these incredible remote volunteering opportunities. They got together and wrote letters to senior citizens homes. They gave how to make a mask sewing classes, and put them all together, and then shipped them off to different organizations. And even a couple of times, there is something that’s called Walk My Workday, where we just had a global virtual walkathon, and everyone kind of pitched in, and donated, and then contributed to charity.
Vanessa Black: [00:13:50] But I guess, to answer your question more specifically, what has amazed me is that unstoppable spirit and the desire to just keep giving even when it’s tough and how folks will come together, even if it’s not something that we’ve handed them on a silver platter, gosh, they’re just doing it anyway. I think it’s because it’s part of who we are as a Tanium culture.
Lee Kantor: [00:14:13] Now, are you having a more difficult time kind of onboarding new people into the culture remotely as opposed to when there was a mix of in person and people can kind of look over someone’s shoulder, sit in, and kind of have those collisions, accidental collisions that happen when you are in person?
Vanessa Black: [00:14:34] Yeah. And I think that’s probably true across the board, but we’re not doing it same old, same old. We’ve been really intentional around completely revamping our onboarding programs, so that, obviously, it’s virtual but much more interactive. Folks, when they join, get assigned a buddy. There’s a cadence of how often they’ll meet up and check in. And then, of course, we have tons and tons of … they’re optional, but they’re there, tons and tons of programming for our employees. So, on any day of the week, if you wanted to get involved in something and, of course, it’s screen-to-screen, so it doesn’t quite give you that same feeling, but lots of opportunities for people to get to know one another in that virtual setting. And a lot of people, though, I’m sure, are looking forward to the day when we can see each other in real life, but when they see people in real life, I don’t think it’s going to be like, “Hi, nice to meet you.” It’s going to be like, “Wow! We finally get to see each other in person.” We certainly haven’t lost that team and connection aspect.
Lee Kantor: [00:15:42] Now, are you finding that, like for mentorship, that you’re finding more people wanting mentors and mentees, or is there kind of more engagement in that area because people hunger for those kinds of connections?
Vanessa Black: [00:15:54] You’re spot on. I think what typically happened really organically is now happening in a very much more intentional and structured way. So, we have a Tanium mentorship program and guidelines. And we didn’t even launch it with the pandemic but, previously, I think people took it as a “Well, it’s here. And I can take a look at it for pointers,” but what we’ve seen are people really adding that structure in regard to the program, making sure that they have their meet-up times, being really clear with their managers about their individual development goals and how they can achieve that through these really different times. And then, we complement that with a ton of new learning and development opportunities for people both on the leadership development side and, also, some just brand new. We really need to be able to communicate effectively in a virtual world of training courses. So, the answer is yes. Definitely yes.
Lee Kantor: [00:16:56] Now, how do you see things when you forecast into next year? I guess, you plan for some version of at some point the pandemic will end, and then there’ll be a new new normal.
Vanessa Black: [00:17:09] Right, right.
Lee Kantor: [00:17:10] How do you kind of plan for that when there are so many unknowns out there?
Vanessa Black: [00:17:15] So, I don’t know that there are so many unknowns anymore. I mean, we just got through – I mean, all of us, including you and your team, but I think we all deserve a little pat on the back for the last 10 months of our lives. But at some point, it’s just going to go back to a world where if we choose to, we could go back to normal. I don’t think we will ever go back to normal. I think the Overton’s window has shifted. And so, the way that I think it will be different in the future, one, remote first doesn’t mean everyone’s remote but it does mean that you build programs to support remote as the default way of working as the new normal. So, that will be different, but it’s certainly something that we’ve already kind of put in place.
Vanessa Black: [00:17:58] The big thing, I think, is the flexibility. Flexibility to center work around supporting our team members with choice. So, if I want to go into an office, I should do that, I can do it every day if I want to. If I want to go in one day a week, okay. If I want to pop around to different countries where we have an office and work in that office sometimes or work from a coffee shop sometimes, that’s okay too. And I think flexibility is actually going to be the thing that takes us to the next phase of work.
Vanessa Black: [00:18:31] More than anything else, it’s the recognition that we can trust our employees to do the right thing and trust them to know the ways in which they’re most productive, the ways in which they contribute best to our mission and, also, allowing them to center their experience around their needs while still delivering on the things that are critical for their job roles. I think that will probably be the biggest change and I think biggest net benefit moving forward.
Lee Kantor: [00:18:59] So, you think that your employees could be anywhere in the world, really? And then, as long as they’re doing what they got to do, it’s not going to matter as much. Like there isn’t going to be that everybody’s got to move to New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco in order to make this go. They can live in Omaha, and they can be just as good as anybody else that’s in San Francisco.
Vanessa Black: [00:19:24] I mean, the future is here. And I don’t know, Lee, if you read the news, we’ve actually moved our headquarters from the Bay Area to Kirkland, Washington to allow us to tap into a part of the country that offers significant livability and flexibility in favor of a positive business climate, amazing talent and just a completely different pace of life.
Vanessa Black: [00:19:50] So, one of the things that was really important to us. So, this, the pandemic, we keep talking about it, but when we realize just how well our team was working together, especially under these conditions, you saw probably some big names make similar announcements, but we said, “Look, if you want to leave the Bay Area and go set up shop someplace else, we support you. We want you to do the thing that works best for you and your family.” And so, I think, yes, be where you want to be.
Vanessa Black: [00:20:21] And I think that is going to become … we might be in a little bit of a downturn right now. I know Tanium is hiring like crazy, but when we get back to talking about that war for talent, which is kind of cliche, but we talk about it all the time, I think this is one of the things that is going to differentiate a forward thinking, progressive company from people who are following the model that has been disproven as essential. We don’t all need to be co-located. But I will say, some savings that we’ll have kind of inevitably on real estate, we’ll be reinvesting that in some really amazing in-person events, team-building experiences. And I think we’re all really looking forward to that.
Lee Kantor: [00:21:04] Right. I think I agree. I think that that’s the future is kind of we’re all leaning into this world is flat though. That means that people can be anywhere. And as long as they’re getting the job done, and you do mindfully kind of put in these initiatives that encourage getting together online or in real life, and create those events that are memorable, that’s what people are looking for. I mean, we hunger for in-person but it doesn’t have to be every day.
Vanessa Black: [00:21:32] Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Lee Kantor: [00:21:35] Well, congratulations on all the success. You mentioned the war on talent. So, you’re hiring, I would imagine, pretty aggressively.
Vanessa Black: [00:21:42] Oh, my gosh, we are.
Lee Kantor: [00:21:42] How do people get your attention? Like, what kind of skills are you looking for right now?
Vanessa Black: [00:21:48] So, here, I would love to give you a handful of things that we’re looking for, but I will say kind of just the top of the line, we look for people with with three main things – intelligence, integrity and passion. Those are the three big screens. Everything else, I mean, we hope that you have the experience. We hire based on job competencies, not just charisma. Can you whiz by a question? But really looking for behavioral examples of a time where you demonstrated some of these core competencies for our business, but it’s those three things – intelligence, integrity and passion.
Lee Kantor: [00:22:25] And Lee, we’re hiring right now. We’re hiring so much, and it’s making our collective head spin, but it’s sales and go-to market, partner development, channels and alliances, technical account management, software architects, technical writers, technical solutions engineers, technical sales engineers, cloud security engineer, software engineers. There are hundreds of roles, like I just mentioned. So, if anyone’s listening to this, and they’re interested, our careers page has everything there. And I should add, we’re already accepting applications for our summer 2021 internships. So, that’s something that we’re really pleased to be offering as well.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:02] Good stuff. Well, congratulations on all the success, Vanessa. And thank you for sharing your story today.
Vanessa Black: [00:23:08] That’s great. Thank you so much for having us today.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:10] Now, the website for the folks that want to get a hold of you or learn more about what’s out there at Tanium?
Vanessa Black: [00:23:18] Tanium.com.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:22] All right. Well, thank you again for sharing your story.
Vanessa Black: [00:23:24] Yeah, it was great talking with you.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:26] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Learning Insights. And remember, this show could not be done without the support of our sponsor, TrainingPros. Please support them, so we can continue to share these important stories.
Outro: [00:23:41] Thank you for listening. For more information about TrainingPros, visit their website at training-pros.com.
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