“Diversity Is Difficult, But Makes A Team Stronger” 5 Leadership Lessons With Russ Reeder, CEO of OVH US

“Diversity Is Difficult, But Makes A Team Stronger” 5 Leadership Lessons With Russ Reeder, CEO of OVH US

“Diversity is difficult, but makes a team stronger. The easiest thing you can do as a leader is bring together people that are like you. If you have a similar context — background, business or otherwise — it’s often easy to mesh. But the “easy” thing is rarely the best for your long-term business. Recruiting and fostering a diverse workforce helps a business grow beyond the bounds you can imagine for it. To do it effectively, you must create a structure where swim lanes and expectations are clear — and not just to you, but to your team.”

I had the pleasure of interviewing Russ Reeder, Chief Executive Officer of OVH US and a veteran technologist and chief executive to software and cloud businesses. By focusing on the employee and building amazing cultures, Russ transforms technology companies to realize their full potential, break into new markets, and achieve success.

Yitzi: Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your “backstory”?

I started my career at Mobile Oil and AMS, where I was a computer programmer in the early ’90s. The challenge I faced was that the environment was structured so specifically that you could tell what your title was going to be just based on the amount of time you served. Putting in time was the only way to get ahead, regardless of your performance. I saw a very different opportunity at Oracle, where it’s long been known to be performance-driven, even to a cutthroat extent. Eventually, I shifted away from engineering and into sales and marketing. I worked as an account manager and regional sales manager at Oracle where I sold software to some of the biggest companies at that time, including Nike, Bank of America, Time Warner, Disney, and others.

My first chief executive role was at RightsLine, Inc, one of the first companies to launch an Intellectual Property licensing software platform. Since then, I’ve been a chief executive at NxTV, LibreDigital, Media Temple (acquired by GoDaddy in 2013), and most recently, I was the co-founder and CEO of icitizen, an app that encourages civic engagement by connecting users with their elected officials.

Now as the CEO and president of OVH US, I find myself drawing from my experience as an engineer and sales professional, as well as my experience as a founder and a leader. OVH US is a unique company in that it’s a wholly owned subsidiary of OVH Group, a France-based company and the largest hosting provider in Europe. My executive team is one of the best. I’ve known them for years and many of us worked at Media Temple and GoDaddy together.

Yitzi: Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

It’s not exactly a funny story, but it’s true to the joys of business travel and might make those who say, “I’m so lucky to travel for work” think twice.

After I hired my executive team for OVH US, we flew on the redeye to Paris, took the train to Lille, an Uber to Roubaix, and then worked until after 8pm. By the time we got to our old and small Ibis Hotel, all the regular rooms were sold out and they wanted to put us in smoking rooms — We were going to be there for two weeks. When I called another hotel and we started to walk out, they amazingly found non-smoking rooms for us to stay in.

Yitzi: So what exactly does your company do?

OVH has reinvented cloud hosting to provide the highest performance at the best value. OVH enables mid and large-sized organizations to protect, expand and optimize their digital business operations and applications for today’s speed of business. OVH is innovative in that the company builds its own servers, network, green data center cooling system, and security capabilities to deliver a stronger, more efficient service to businesses around the world.

Yitzi: How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I figured out a long time ago that I had a gift; the gift was that I could motivate others. I’ve made it a point in my life, and especially my career, where I not only focus on giving back, but also help to create cultures that can give back at scale. We give free time off for anyone that wants to help in the community and have done everything from donating money and goods to helping build houses.

Yitzi: What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became CEO” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

1) You can’t change people. As a CEO, I see the potential for success in the people I interview. However, as an executive, my role is to create the structure that enables success. This includes clear job descriptions, KPIs, coaching, and a culture that is supportive of growth. Even with all these elements in place, a person has to choose to seize the opportunity and push their limits. No one can make that choice for them.

2) Your role as a CEO is to create a successful team. Many executives go wrong in setting goals, presenting those to the team and then acting surprised if they’re not met. Your chief goal as a leader is not to set the goals, but to build a team and support them in delivering more than they dreamed possible. Servant-based leadership approaches frame this well. Leaders are attuned to their teams and identify how to support them. This doesn’t mean that the team drives the direction or that the leader does their work. It means that the leader sees obstacles and works with the team to overcome them to ensure forward momentum.

3) Diversity is difficult, but makes a team stronger. The easiest thing you can do as a leader is bring together people that are like you. If you have a similar context — background, business or otherwise — it’s often easy to mesh. But the “easy” thing is rarely the best for your long-term business. Recruiting and fostering a diverse workforce helps a business grow beyond the bounds you can imagine for it. To do it effectively, you must create a structure where swim lanes and expectations are clear — and not just to you, but to your team.

4) Do not get upset when the small things do not go your way. I have learned from experience that focusing on the big picture and the final goals and outcomes helps people not get too upset about small setbacks. I’ve seen so many great people get wrapped up in the small details that are not going as planned and stop everything else they are doing. Remember, no plan survives battle without a few scars, but a bad attitude about details that do not matter will kill moral.

5) Focus on the customer. It’s easy to say than to do! So many companies fail at the expense of their customer. Executives build marketing plans, build products, spend millions on bringing in new customers, and then forget about the customer once they’ve signed. I’ve had the luxury (and good fortune) to have seen this play out in so many companies. Whenever we make the effort to make the customer’s journey more enjoyable, the paybacks are awesome.

Yitzi: I have been blessed with the opportunity to interview and be in touch with some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might see this, or I might be able to introduce you.

I would love to facilitate a dinner with the leaders and influencers of the world. Just imagine having Putan, May, Steinmeier, Marcon, Abe, Kovind, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Nieto, Jinping, and even Kim Jong-un to talk freely about their goals and ambitions.