33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Treating all colleagues with respect regardless of job title, having the courage of your convictions and acting with integrity were just some of the recurring themes that cropped up when we asked 125 top UK channel executives about their most important business lessons in the CRN A-list 2023, in association with Agilitas.
Here we round up some of the best answers...
Neil Murphy​, CEO, Bytes
A very wise woman once said: "Do you want fries with that?" The classic upsell opportunity is not only omnipresent but it is everywhere, all the time.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Celine Cazali, UKI chief partner officer, SAP
As a people manager, one of the learnings that I've taken from some great leaders is that you need to be prepared to let people go. Obviously, we don't want people to leave, and at SAP we have fantastic programmes to nurture and develop our talent, but our role is to help people get to where they want to go and become who they want to become. If our only focus is retention and keeping hold of someone that clearly wants to move on, it rarely works out. The focus should be building them up to go on to achieve what they want to achieve. It's natural to feel hurt or abandoned when this happens but they have helped the business to grow, and the feeling is reciprocated. You're a better leader if a colleague is a better professional when they're ready to move on.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Mike Norris, CEO, Computacenter
Always have an audit trail for the decisions that you make.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Howard Malloy, senior vice president, Europe, Ensono
Invest time in others, and you'll find you get the time back. People want to do things and feel engaged in what they're doing. So spend time with your peers and encourage a shared vision. That is the biggest lesson I've learned, building an environment of trust will give you faster solutions and an empowered team. Simply investing your time into them, you'll find you have more hours to work on yourself because you have a team you trust to do the job right.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Richard Blanford, CEO, Fordway
About 15 years ago a fellow business owner pointed out to me the importance of winning and delivering contractually recurring revenue. At that time Fordway had very little. We rebuilt our business to focus on it; it's been my guiding principle driving Fordway's growth and success ever since.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Matthew Reeve, CEO, Modern Networks
Shaun Frohlich, the founder of Bytes, repeatedly tells technology leaders to invest in the best FD they can. It's still the best advice he's ever given me.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Anna Assassa, CEO, Tisski
Worry about the things you can change. I know it's easier said than done, but I think it's really important not to get too wrapped up in things out of your control, otherwise you could end up lying awake at night worrying about the economy, and all sorts.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Chris Gabriel, chief strategy officer, Sapphire
Tom Kelly OBE was the master of vendor partner engagement and he taught me that you are always selling to them as much as they are selling to you, so engage, engage, engage. If I am asked to do anything by our partners I say "yes of course", and make sure I thank them for the opportunity. Never ever say no. Debbie Beale another put it another away: "If they are with you then they aren't with somebody else." Wise words indeed.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Melissa Mulholland, CEO, Crayon
The importance of listening. You need to listen to your employees, customers and partners around what their needs are and it keeps you relevant on how to run the business and what you need to do to solve and help others
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Rye Austin, chief commercial officer, Core Technology Systems
Not someone I've had the privilege of working with directly, but I've really embraced the well quoted stance on hiring from Steve Jobs, of hiring people better than yourself and hiring smart people so they can tell us what to do.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Joseph Castle, CEO, Tecnologika
Never be the smartest person in the room. That could be interpreted in a multitude of ways, but from a leadership perspective, I think it means surround yourself with big brains that think big ideas, people with experience and wisdom that can challenge your way of thinking. From a recruitment perspective, it's simple: hire the bright people.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Dino Cooper, CEO, Viadex
Integrity, summed up by what you would do if you knew others were not watching you. My father had an incredible work ethic and sense of what was right, regardless of circumstances.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Holly Anschutz, channel director UK&I, Extreme Networks
To remain calm - my immediate boss has been a really good mentor and advocate for this. The way he approaches tasks and challenges is very simple and structured. While he is incredibly organised, he also manages to distil things down and eliminate the unnecessary noise. He taught me to keep a level head and not to be pulled into the drama and chaos, which is a good lesson to learn and put into practice in our industry.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Vicky Critchley, CEO, Bam Boom Cloud
Business needs a purpose - making money is not a purpose.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Anushka Davies, head of talent, engagement and diversity, Softcat
To always ask for feedback to help you learn and grow. Feedback can be hard to take, but it's crucial to your development and helps you be more aware of your blind spots.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Darren Hedley, UK MD, Insight
One of the most important lessons would be that it is important to be clear in your communication and intentions. Everyone can interpret directions and plans differently, so being coherent can streamline projects and make teamwork a lot more productive.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Chris Dunning, CEO, TechQuarters
There have been a few really good lessons learnt over the years. The first entrepreneurial lesson was to just give it a go with what you know, and you'll learn stuff along the way, and this just avoids procrastination - nothing is ever perfect from day one.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Jeanette Forbes OBE, founder & CEO, PCL Group
Be kind, especially after Covid. The people who you regarded as strong people, with strong personalities, have weaknesses too. So be kind to yourself and to others.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Mukesh Gupta, CEO & co-founder, e92plus
Debt is not something to be afraid of; it can help make things happen and avoid being too comfortable.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Howard Hall, founder and managing director, DTP Group
I won't say who, but it is constantly asking the question of yourself "am I listening to respond, or am I listening to understand?" as I think in today's always-on, constantly changing world, we maybe don't do enough listening to understand.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Guy Golan, CEO, Perfomanta
Do mix business with pleasure. At the end of the day, we spend nearly half of our lives working. We owe it to ourselves to have fun. Quite often I motivate my employees who travel overseas to stay a bit longer and enjoy the place, as tourists should. If they are on their way to a meeting and feel like having an ice cream - why not!
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Yvonne Matzk, founder, Coachere
Focus on your strengths and find someone else to cover your development areas.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Andy Corcoran, UK&I channel sales director, VMware
Your business is your customer. That's by far the most important and effective piece of advice that I was given early on.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Neil Muller, CEO, Digital Space
There are a few - "Maintain the aim and morale" is a key military principle which applies to every business, and Peter Drucker's "culture eats strategy for breakfast" always resonates. But "Keep it simple" is the main principle that I try and work towards in executing our Digital Space strategy.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Scott Nursten, CEO, ITHQ
Warren Buffet has been an inspiration for as long as I can remember. It is from him that I learned about value investing, but he also taught me way more: to not be afraid of swimming against the tide, to seek opportunity in chaos and to be patient and look for value when the world is knee-jerking. These are all lessons that I've drawn on again and again - particularly when we launched ITHQ as the world disappeared beneath Covid.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
David Grant, CEO, Westcon-Comstor
A great phrase which I always remember when I'm about to dive into action or a response: "Act in haste and repent at leisure." It helps me pause for thought every time. I heard it from channel legend, David George, who founded Crane which is where I started by distribution career.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Mark Halpin, CEO, CloudCoCo
If you can't count it you can't control it, from an amazing man called Colin Elcock when I was 17.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Michelle Senecal de Fonseca, Global vice president - strategic alliance partnerships, Citrix Systems
I need to go back to my baseball coach who used to say life is like baseball: it's all about getting the fundamentals right. Stay humble, not timid. Stay confident, not arrogant, for champions are defined not by their natural talent but by their determination, their mind, their grit, their passion and compassion for the team. I have applied the same lessons to business my whole life .
Trust your gut instinct and if on occasion it's wrong, acknowledge it and change course fast.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Colin Blumenthal, CEO, Complete IT
Never judge anyone based on what someone else says about them - make your own mind up.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Hayley Roberts, CEO, Distology
Over the years, I've received a lot of advice from other business leaders. However, I think the piece of advice that has resonated with me the most is always trust your gut and don't be afraid of making mistakes. It really is ok to not know everything and it's more important to be authentic about that, rather than pretending you don't ever make mistakes.
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Angela Whitty, CEO, Ampito
I have been fortunate to have many good mentors over the years and all of them have offered different things but here are my favourites: Never forget where you came from and show respect to everyone across the business - they all have their part to play; Be self aware and appreciate the impact you have on others - it may not always be the impact you intended; Spend company money as if it were your own and let that guide your decision making; A firm handshake is really important - that one was my dad!
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
Colin Williams, business line CTO, Computacenter UK
Learn how to say "No". but ensure the other party understands why. People pleasing fails to help the most important person, "You".
33 CRN A-listers reveal their biggest business lessons
Mike Norris, Angela Whitty, Neil Murphy and other channel luminaries spill the beans
David Watts, managing director & senior vice president, UK & Ireland, TD SYNNEX
A very basic one - walk fast and smile as you move through the workplace. People are watching you and will gain or lose energy based on how you appear.