Scott O'Neil

Congratulations on your 1st anniversary at Creative Force! It’s been a busy year for you and our Go-to-Market (GTM) teams. Looking back at the past year, what stands out to you?

Oh, geez. It has been a year of big change. Our top priority was creating a solid base for long-term success. There is a lot of growth and scale in the pipeline for Creative Force and the biggest strategic task was to ensure we had the right people in the right roles to ensure our teams were positioned for success.

How did you approach building a strong foundation you felt confident would put our GTM teams in the best position to succeed?

Well, it starts with leadership layers. At the end of the day, I am sort of irrelevant, and I mean that wholeheartedly. I am relatively hands-off when it comes to my leadership style. In my experience, micromanaging doesn’t foster motivation or give people the freedom they need to perform. My job is to give my leaders the tools, mentorship, and the right coaching so they can guide and empower their teams to be successful. 

When building a team, it is also important to be aware of how adding or removing pieces can change a team’s dynamic. We’ve built our teams with diversity in mind because, in my experience, the best teams are diverse teams. And not only diverse in terms of race, color, gender, and background but also in terms of personalities. Teams composed of people with similar personalities, that are too homogenous, miss out on the differing perspectives or opinions that might challenge the status quo. But if you create an open environment where everyone brings something unique to the team and each person feels comfortable being themselves, it creates an amazing dynamic where all those different perspectives can come together, challenge one another, and the whole team benefits.  

What about on a personal level? How do you define success in your role?

When I get up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror(which I never do), I am focused on a few things—besides the increasingly grey hairline. I want to see someone who is building a platform for people to grow. If people can’t grow, they are not going to feel enriched, which makes them unlikely to stay. And I am not just talking about a “career path.” To me, growing is not just about climbing the corporate ladder, but about growing as a person, developing new skills, or taking on more responsibilities. 

I believe each individual can and should create their own path and it doesn't matter if it’s up, sideways, or diagonal. Just because you were hired for Sales, for example, doesn’t mean you can't jump into Customer Support if that’s where your path takes you. My job is to help people find a role that works for them and where their talent can thrive. 

That sounds amazing. And the grey hairline suits you. ;-)
So, now you have the foundation set. People are ramped and ready to go! What is going to happen in 2024?

2024 will be a year of execution and refinement. We will still add to the team here and there when needed, but 2024 is about putting all this hard work into action and harvesting the fruits of the changes that we’ve made. 

We kicked off that process with a big GTM meet-up in Holstebro, Denmark in January. It’s was the first time we’ve gathered the entire GTM team together. The fact we even got to do it is pretty amazing considering we span over 10 countries and three continents. 

Most companies have yearly Sales kick-offs, but there is a lot more to the customer-facing organization than just sales. It’s one big machine that needs to work well together. The better the synergy is between Marketing, Sales, and Customer Experience, the better we perform as a whole. Getting together in person provided the opportunity to sit down as a group and break down silos, foster open communication and build a cohesive team culture. Coming out of the meet-up, it was clear that everyone was on the same page about the direction we want to go. I think everyone also left with a greater understanding of how their work contributes to the company’s overarching goals. 

It really was a great event! Any final thoughts or reflections on the journey ahead for you and the Go-To-Market teams?

Looking ahead, I'm incredibly excited about where we're going. I want to emphasize the importance of embracing change and seeing it as an opportunity. For my teams, I hope they see change as a catalyst for growth, both professionally and personally.

We're entering a phase where our collective efforts will start to materialize in tangible results. It's going to be a test of our strategies and a celebration of our hard work. We've set the stage for success, and I'm confident that together, we'll achieve great things.