Q&A with one of my favorite CEOs

Welcome to the new readers who’ve joined us this week.

If you’re not subscribed, click here or the subscribe button below and join 8,300+ growth-minded leaders who receive stories and insights on personal improvement every week.

Now, onto Issue 13.

A message from Houck’s Newsletter

90% of startups fail and most successful founders don't share their insights.

That's why I'm a fan of my friend Houck and his newsletter.

He raised over $10 million from a16z and shares resources and deep dives about startups in an easy-to-understand, actionable way every week.

Whether you're interested in startups or a founder yourself, join me and 8,500+ others here:

Today’s Issue

Today’s newsletter is a brief Q&A with Nate Randle, the CEO of Gabb Wireless.

Nate is phenomenal guy, and Gabb has a phenomenal mission.

We cover 9 questions on leadership, startups and building a personal brand as an executive.

Let’s dive in.

Q&A with one of my favorite CEOs

I met Nate Randle through LinkedIn earlier this year.

He’s quickly become one of my favorite CEOs (and people, in general).

Nate is a deeply compassionate leader, which you can see in his writing on LinkedIn.

He’s one of the best examples I know of a leader building a personal brand online and using it for good.

I’m also a huge supporter of his company, Gabb Wireless.

Gabb’s mission is to provide safe technology for kids and families.

I have two young girls.

They will grow up with technology in their hands.

Companies like Gabb are doing extremely important work and deserve to be supported.

Prior to Gabb, Nate has held executive leadership roles at several different companies, including Qualtrics, Nike, the Utah Jazz and others.

I asked Nate if he’d share a few of his insights and lessons learned from his career, and he graciously obliged.

Below are 9 questions covering leadership, startups and building a personal brand online as an executive.

Leadership

What’s the first leadership lesson you remember learning in life, and how did you learn it?

Own your mistakes and apologize. I got into a bit of a scuffle with another kid in our neighborhood. I went home and told my Mom what a punk he was. She made me go back out with a bag of popsicles and apologize. Never had a problem with that kid again.

What’s the hardest leadership lesson you’ve learned in your career, and how did you learn it?

Toxic and abusive work cultures should never be tolerated. Earlier in my career, I saw several instances where the line was crossed and I may have waited too long to say something. Now, I take immediate action. No work title gives anyone the right to bully or intimidate someone. I’ll do whatever it takes to remove the abusive individual to provide a safe and healthy place for everyone else to grow their careers and the business.

You have 1 hour to teach a leadership workshop. What topics are you covering and why?

Leading with understanding and empathy. Why? Especially after the past couple of years and now the recession we’re in - you can’t lead without understanding and empathy. Soft Skills and managing with care are as important (if not more important) than the technical skills or educational background. Give me a leader that values people and we can grow any business together.

Personal Brand

You’re a great example of a CEO building a strong “personal brand” through your writing on LinkedIn. To ask an overly simple question: Why do you invest time in doing this?

I’m at a point in my life where giving back genuinely matters to me. Without it, the day-to-day can feel like an endless rat race at times. LinkedIn has given me a unique opportunity to support others at scale. I have been able to help multiple people land interviews, get jobs and change career paths. I have been able to support college students during the pandemic and single parents with Gabb Wireless gifts for Mothers Day and Christmas. I am willing to invest time in anything that delivers a positive impact. Time + Action = Impact.

Most of your posts are personal stories. You’ve written about your Dad and your sister. You’re often supporting single parents. You write about the families of Gabb colleagues. It’s rare for a CEO, in my experience. How do you choose what to write about?

I care about people, so I write about those that matter to me. In life and business. I rarely plan out a post in advance. I write and share what comes to me based on something I’m thinking or experiencing.

Plenty of CEOs write about business performance and funding they have raised. I don’t think the general LinkedIn connection cares about that. They want to be seen and heard, and they want to connect with relatable people and stories. I do my best to genuinely be relatable.

How would you summarize the impact your writing has made on you personally and Gabb as a company?

I want Gabb to be recognized as a brand and place that cares about protecting kids and giving back. If my writing helps establish that, it’s a win. Our people and our mission are the reason we are successful. My LinkedIn posts help support that.

Startups

What’s the most impactful lesson you’ve learned as a startup operator?

Inventory is a beast. You can’t grow without it and you can’t grow with too much of it. With supply chain challenges and an unpredictable market - it is a constant challenge. Staying on top of it is a daily part of our offense. We always need to know where we stand so we can make adjustments to our plans.

What’s one thing you wish you would’ve known about business when you started your career?

Do your due diligence on who you are going to work for. The company, the executive team and your specific manager. For the most part, I’ve had great success working for top notch individuals. I have made a few mistakes on who I worked for and without question, it sets you back, personally and professionally. I only want to work with good people that want to do it the right way.

You’re starting a new business from scratch. What are you doing in your first 30 days and why?

Customer, customer, customer. Obsess over their needs. What are their pain points? How is your product or service going to solve their problem? If you don’t know that, you don’t have a viable business…you’re just kicking around an idea.

Thank you, Nate.

Please go follow Nate here on LinkedIn.

Also, please support Gabb Wireless and share them with anyone you know who has kids (just in time for Christmas!).

There’s no more important mission than keeping our kids safe.

Teddy’s Recommendations

1) My wife and I visited Zion National Park for a few days this past week as a belated anniversary celebration (my wife was giving birth on our actual anniversary this summer — God bless her!).

On our trip, I read Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art and loved it. It’s a short and powerful read on the mindset it takes to be a professional writer and creator (or professional of any kind, really).

2) I’m excited to share I’m launching a new newsletter called The Daily Creator. It will feature simple tips to write well and grow your audience online, every weekday.

I’ve been writing online daily for the last 15 years. I will share everything I’ve learned from journalism school, to being a writer and editor at ESPN and Fox Sports, to leveraging writing skills in leadership roles in tech, to growing my audience alongside you online.

If you want to improve as a writer and/or learn how to build an audience, I think you’ll get a lot of value from this newsletter. The first issue publishes on December 26.

Join 300+ others who’ve subscribed early here (for free):

I’d love to hear from you

What’s your biggest takeaway from this issue?

Reply to this email and let me know.

I personally read every email.

Thanks for reading.

See you next Sunday.

If you enjoy The Process, please share it with a friend!