About the Author

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 “Why, hello. It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds.” - Doc Holliday, Tombstone

For those of you who know me personally, have heard me speak, or are one of the more than 150 million+ people who have read my essays on LinkedIn, you know that writing a book has never been on my bucket list.

I am not creative enough to write fiction, and I’ve never understood why authors of business books feel like they’ve got 200 pages worth of wisdom in their brains -- I certainly don’t.

Still, as my online essays have gained more and more traction, I’ve begun to be arrogant enough to think that I’ve got something of value to bring to the business community. 

I pray this book will not prove us all wrong.

Before we get started I think it is important to lay out for you exactly why I decided to write this book, as well as a bit of my background and the background of my co-authors.

Before you continue, you need to know a little more about me.

You will only be able to decide if the lessons I teach are applicable to you if you understand the uniqueness of my life’s experiences. The fact is, while the lessons I teach are sound for many, they may miss the mark for others. It is for that reason that I have asked some amazing, yet different, experts to take my lessons and add to them the nuances which have been applicable in their careers.

Please indulge me for a minute.

I was born in the late 1970’s, and with undeniable advantages.

My father is a retired trial attorney; my mother a homemaker and, frankly, the best business partner my father had. Her wisdom and support paired with his dogged work ethic produced a thriving practice. While we never had rapper money, we were more than comfortable. Even though we had a normal home, in a normal neighborhood, driving normal cars, and eating normal food, we enjoyed the only true luxury: there was never a minute in our lives when any of us feared that we wouldn’t have all of our needs met.

My parents adored each other, and their children. And I have brothers and a sister who were instrumental in my development as a human.

I was also blessed with a decent face and a sound mind. I only struggled in school when I was bored. I was good at sports and always knew that my test scores or my baseball bat would get me into college. Both did, and I had the chance to play baseball and major in political science at Brigham Young University.

I have a smart, driven, successful, smokin’ hot fox wife of 20 years and one truly special 11-yr-old son. They understand my workload. They enable me to be productive. They keep me honest and ensure I am caring for them and myself as much as I care for my work.

As for my career, I always thought I would become an attorney and join my brother to take over my father’s firm. However, it became clear at BYU that I just didn’t want to go to law school. 

So, I did what any other self-respecting lost soul would have done … I got into sales.

Since the beginning of my Sales and Leadership career, I have made or led just under $1.2 billion in new revenue … but it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

My first sales job was at a company called Emergency Essentials. In my first month I made more than twice the sales of the second ranked salesperson. I was thrilled, until I got a bonus check barely over $100. I quit the same day and got a job selling jewelry at Goldsmith Co. Jewelers in Provo, UT, the marriage capital of the world. I loved my boss, Will Feller, who was my first sales and career mentor. I still remember when I made a $45,000 sale and we made ourselves sick on apple pie to celebrate.

After BYU I got a job selling pharmaceuticals at a small specialty company, Andrx Laboratories. I got the job not because I was qualified but because they “needed some youth on the team.” I hated every minute of that job. I don’t exaggerate when I tell you there were countless times I sat in “El Toro,” my Ford Taurus company car and cried, trying to figure out why I didn’t have the courage to leave. I knew I needed to. I knew my boss, Tim Holley, deserved better. But I was terrified -- if I hated the cushy pharma job, how would I ever find something better. Finally I had the courage to leave. 

I then stumbled into a role in Inside Sales, and my career hit its stride.

I've spent the last 15+ years leading Sales, Customer Experience, and Operations for start-ups to billion dollar behemoths. 

I've employed more than 2,000 people in six countries and have generated nearly $1.2 billion in revenue.

In addition to my “jobs,” I have run a thriving consulting practice with a heavy focus on inside sales, GTM strategy, and growth management. 

In short, my life is gooood. Really good.

But it hasn’t been without challenges.

The biggest challenges in my career have come from my own pride, failure to learn quickly enough, and failure to embrace change. Fortunately, my failures have turned into my strengths and I hope to share those with you.

I sincerely believe that, by reading this book, you will avoid many of the unnecessary difficulties which I had to endure. 

Great, you just read my life story … what’s the point?

As you can see, the vast majority of my experience has been in managing high velocity, short cycle sales. I have limited experience leading long cycle sales. 

While I have been an executive at several companies with market caps in the hundreds of millions or even billions, I have never been more than a few places away from the CEO. I am an expert in phone-based sales leadership and in business operations. I excel at financial planning and analysis and can forecast and strategize with anyone. 

On the other hand, I am very good, but not an expert, in long cycle, retail, and outside sales. I am not a genius in the technology of Sales Operations. Hell, I still don’t know the right way to leave an impactful voicemail. The point is, I’m great at some things, but not at everything, and you need to know that. 

Nevertheless, there are few types of Sales, Revenue, or Operations disciplines where I haven’t either been personally exceptional or, at the very least, have managed truly exceptional people carrying out those disciplines underneath me.

When I’m not an expert in something, I will make that clear but, through the help of various co-authors, you will be able to take the principles I teach and see how someone very similar to you applied them in various situations.

Why you should trust me

You shouldn’t trust me. You don’t even know me. I never ask people to trust me. If I do, don’t.

However, I do believe the following: the lessons you’ll read in this book are real. 

Each experience actually happened to me or a co-author, and some variation will happen to you. It is my belief that if you carefully read this book and apply its lessons, over time, you will begin to trust what I am teaching. 

The proof, as they say, will be in the pudding. And pudding is awesome.

As for this book’s other contributors, you’ll learn to trust them as well. I know I do. My career and life simply wouldn’t be the same without them.

Oh, and, yes, the mustache is real.