These aren’t the only questions the inquisitive Harvard Business School grad asks, but he knows that if he as leader can draw teammates in conversation, they’ll get to know each other better and trust will develop.
He sets the example himself. “In my leadership meeting every Monday, I always spend the first five minutes talking about a weekend experience with either my boys or my wife, or the dogs, or a drink that we had or food that we had,” Tony said. “And I do that on purpose because then it gets other people started talking about their weekends and creates a safe psychological space.”
A former football player at Lafayette College, Tony built and currently runs the new Global Digital Center of Excellence for the Customer First/Customer Success organization at SAP. His team is responsible for helping SAP customers realize the full potential from the cloud products they have purchased to help them run their organizations.
Early in his tenure as the center’s leader, Tony was charged with understanding more about how SAP was helping its customers. So, he charged his team with opening up the lines of communication and starting the conversation, preferably by telephone, one customer at a time.
In the years since, that outreach program has grown from a handful of customers who picked up their phones to some 30,000 offering feedback either on the phone, online, or live. To keep the momentum going, Tony began opening quarterly staff meetings with a rundown of the top four client success stories. The practice proved so effective in team building that it led to team members competing to provide the best customer success stories to begin each meeting.
In the podcast, Tony shows how attention to the “human side” of competing in the global technology sector fosters resilient teams and more trusting customer relationships.
You will learn:
"Don is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever met. I’ve known him for a long time and every time we talk I walk away wiser and more inspired. He is the best in the business at teaching you a skill – storytelling – that will last you a lifetime.”
“The ability for athletes to get hired is carried on through you because you are putting out the message that lessons learned from sports are important in life. It is embedded in this podcast, what you’re doing is significant.”
We speak the same language. I am inspired by the stories you tell, the people you have met, and the things you’ve done. Those of us that are competitors like to follow others that have been down that journey, so it is always fun talking to you!”
“Many of the leaders I have worked with were excellent athletes, and I think there is a direct correlation. You’re one of the few people that really has pursued this study, Don. Keep up the great work. What you are doing really makes a difference.”
“Don, you have mastered the skill of interviewing and asking great questions. That is a great skill all leaders need in order to understand their team members’ thought processes.”
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