Staying power is the key What lesson in business do you try to pass on to others? Who do you think is a great innovator?
Software expert Mike Carden knows the benefits of pesistance and tenancity when reaching for success,
Software as a service (SaaS) is the ability to use the internet to deliver applications that can help your customers – and your business.
And Mike Carden knows all about it. He founded Sonar6 in 2006, an SaaS business for human resources. Sonar6 won a slew of awards, including Pwc Hi-Tech Emerging Company, Deloitte Fast 50 and Gartner Cool Vendor.
In 2012, Sonar6 was acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand and is listed on the NASDAQ exchange.
Carden is a winner of the Writemark Plain English and the Bayer Innovators awards, and is now involved as an advisor or board member in high-growth tech companies around the world, providing expertise in sales and marketing. He also writes the startup marketing blog halfway2.com and is a speaker on hacking marketing.
Who is a leader that you learnt something incredibly valuable from and what was that lesson?
I used to work for a big corporation. My boss was a guy called James Radford. He gave me a lot of autonomy, to the point where, through a perfect storm of bad decisions, I managed to not accrue for a very large sum of money that we ended up owing a customer at year end.
I was so nervous about coming clean on the issue, but as soon as I did he diffused it by saying: ‘‘This is no longer a Mike problem, this is now a company problem’’. You are never bigger than the company, and that is a good thing. If you are small and new you can make your products feel rare and unique. These are things big companies struggle with, so they’re the advantages you need to use. Small, new companies can build authentic human-to-human connections, and that is gold. There’s a quote that says, ‘‘If you’re the sort of person that everything you start, turns out successful, you should think very carefully about what you start’’.
I’d have to choose Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, not just because of the success that follows him, or even the audaciousness of his goals, but more because of the choices of where he puts his energy. If Tesla is successful, it’s good for everyone.
What has been your biggest learning in business?
For all of the business smarts that we learned, Sonar6 was primarily about putting one foot in front of the other. It was about perseverance. We were a ragtag bunch. We made more mistakes that you could possibly imagine. But we kept showing up. And that right there is the most important thing I learned: you may not always know where you’re heading, but keep heading.
If you were 21 years old again, what would you be?
I love software. I love the way that you can effectively create something out of thin air. You don’t need any ingredients, other than your own time and your own capability, and I’ve loved that idea since I first got a Commodore 64 as a kid at school.
Mike Carden will be talking about ‘‘Hacking growth: lessons from tech companies for all businesses’’ at the Nurture Change Business Retreat runs November 2 to 6. Details online at www.nurturechange.com. Nurture Change and Fairfax are giving away four scholarships to the event, worth around $4500 each. Shortlisted entrants in four categories will be announced next week.
We made more mistakes than we could possibly imagine. But we kept showing up.