A Verio lesson taught to me by Buddy Cunningham.
In the early days of running marketing/sales for Verio’s Boston office (circa fall 1997), we had few resources (including no marketing budget and no heat in the sales office). Meeting our sales targets was challenging. My boss (who would end up being my mentor) called me into his office and asked if I thought that we could make the current month’s targets.
“No,” I replied, “I honestly do not.”
“Well,” he replied without missing a beat, “you had better change your thinking. Because you are the leader. And if you don’t lead by believing, then your team won’t follow and you will fail.”
We never missed a target again. We always exceeded them.
It’s a good lesson. We should all periodically take a hard look in the mirror and “change our thinking” for the greater good.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: In the summer of 2025, Clocktower Intern Mark Magyar used artificial intelligence (AI) software to shorten over 100 Clocktower articles by 17%. The shortened articles are included as comments to the original ones. And 17 is the most random number (https://www.giantpeople.com/4497.html) (https://www.clocktowerlaw.com/5919.html).]
* Startup Strategies – Change Your Thinking
A Verio lesson from Buddy Cunningham.
In Verio Boston’s early days (fall 1997), we had few resources—no marketing budget and no heat in the sales office. Hitting sales targets was tough. My boss (later my mentor) called me in:
“Can we make this month’s targets?” he asked.
“No,” I answered honestly.
Without hesitation he replied, “You’d better change your thinking. You’re the leader. If you don’t believe, your team won’t follow—and you’ll fail.”
We never missed a target again. We always exceeded them.
It’s a powerful lesson: periodically look in the mirror and “change your thinking” for the greater good.