In this Voice of Value podcast episode, Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight, shares tips on leading with passion, transparency, and vulnerability.
- [0:59] – Who Nick idolized growing up and who he still looks up to
- [2:23] – How Nick brings the composite of his passions (music, science, and family) to be a better leader.
- [4:28] – “Finding that intersection that lets you find your creativity is powerful.”
- [5:03] – Nick’s perspective on the greater purpose of a company beyond profit and Success For All.
- [7:22] – How Nick optimizes time with company stakeholders in his day-to-day operations.
- [9:20] – Nick intentionally spends about 17% of his time with customers.
- [9:55] – Tips on how you can keep the discipline of spending more time with customers on a weekly basis to become more customer-centric.
- [10:12] – How Nick built a culture of his own team and has been working on becoming a more authentic leader by openly sharing personal aspects of his life.
- [11:38] – The scary journey of vulnerability that Nick has been on and how the world around him has been responding.
- [12:25] – An anecdote on vulnerability and how it grows support for one another on the team.
- [13:18] – There’s an inverse relationship between expertise and creativity. How do you stop doing things that you know and start working on things that you don’t know? Shoshin –beginner’s mind.
- [13:47] – “In any new field like Customer Success, there is expertise there, and there is experience, but there’s a lot more to be learned in the future than has been learned in the past.”
- [14:15] – Having a beginner’s mindset is absolutely critical. You need that 80% to be standardized and that 20% to be willing to learn.
- [15:06] – Just because you’re new doesn’t mean you can’t contribute value.
- [15:27] – “I learn so much from a 22-year-old, first-time CEO, just as much as a long-time CEO from a big company.”
- [15:55] – How do you create resiliency or adaptability in people at scale? Celebrate change.
- [17:42] – Something popular in leadership today that Nick disagrees with: It’s important to find the “A” players. There’s a missed opportunity to see the genius in the person on your team and put them into the right role.
- [19:13] – What Nick thinks about most.
- [20:15] – A school of thought that Nick no longer buys into. In a world where the buyer has a lot of the power, having more sales reps is absolutely important but it’s not really the only thing anymore. It ends up being a lot more about your customers being successful. Just because you hire more sales reps, doesn’t mean everything else works like magic.
- [21:34] – Where and how Nick found his unique voice and value. His journey of being comfortable with being extremely open and hoping everyone can feel safe being themselves in the world.
- [23:18] – “Don’t focus on things you’re not good at. Focus on the things that you are good at and keep getting better at them.”
