SBI | GTM Insights

The CEO's Guide to Navigating Commercial Complexity

Written by Matt Sharrers | May 22, 2021 5:00:00 AM

Being a CEO during a large Go-to-Market transformation is difficult, and with multiple acquisitions, this adds further complexity, such as:

  • High Customer Acquisition Costs
  • Low Employee Morale
  • Inaccurate Fact Base
  • And more

On today’s show, Steve Smith, CEO of Zayo, joins us to discuss how he navigated these challenges during his first few months in his role and shares how harnessing the power of listening and an efficient cadence has brought unity and clarity to his team.


Click here for the full podcast version of this interview.

Solving the Biggest Challenges of Inorganic Growth

  1. Creating a unified voice throughout various acquisitions. minute 5:23
  2. How to prioritize transformation efforts as a new CEO. minute 8:18
  3. Change management lessons. minute 13:46
  4. How to create a winning culture. minute 19:28

Skip to minute 16:21 to hear Steve's take on how new CEOs should approach a transformation and the impact of strong operating mechanisms in an organization:

“I do think anybody coming in to lead a company today, you have got to do three things really well. You have got to be thoughtful about strategy. Whatever your current advantage is, figure out how to keep pressing it. Make sure you're positioned to catch the next wave, and you want to scale that company… The second thing you got to do while you're making changes is you have got to stay hard-nosed execution on your key metrics… Then at the end of the day, people will follow you if you bring inspired leadership. I want to push inspired leadership all the way to the front lines."