Kris Krake Reply
120 days agoI am looking forward to seeing you bring life to input LLC.! I've been watching you do this for years and have enjoyed the fruits of your labor. Congrats, my friend!
After almost 30 years at Cisco...
by Rick Sexton
01 January 2021
Business Management
I accepted a generous early retirement package, and shortly after launched input LLC. The name “input” describes exactly what we do. We provide our clients “input” to help them understand, document and articulate the business value associated with their investment in IP Communications and Contact Center technologies.
During my tenure at Cisco, my passion was always about the value of the investment. Many of my colleagues and channel partners often (jokingly) referred to me as the “business value specialist”, “Mr. business value”. That branding was not a Cisco title, it was a brand that was “earned” through actions of behavior. I’m now acting on that passion.
Yes, I was in sales and had a growing quota every year. You likely have heard a consultant is a salesperson that did not make it. After 29 years of service with Cisco, I only missed my number once. That’s an outstanding record. A strong team (account managers, engineers, partners, management, strategic alliances) helped me be successful. However, the customers ultimately provided my success.
Customers (especially executives) want to understand how their investment is going to impact their business. Often the CFO is focused too much on hard dollar ROI, yes, every company wants to reduce costs. But if hard dollar is the only focus, just throw away all your productivity tools (MS Office, computers, cell phones, web sites, etc.) and you can save a ton of money.
You see, all companies have invested in productivity tools but perhaps did not get “input” on the business value. Most CEO’s are trying to increase revenue per employee, that’s called increasing productivity (soft dollar ROI). Often soft dollar ROI can have a short payback period and a high IRR that sometimes is hard to believe. However, I always use the customer provided numbers not industry averages. Finally, most leaders want to understand the strategic value of the investment.
The strategic ROI is top of mind for sales, customer service, marketing, HR, product operations, supply chain and most other lines of business. The strategic ROI is very difficult to measure even with industry averages. As such, the customer “input” will require validated measurements with a focus on the largest outcomes. The strategic ROI always offers the largest return and is the most exciting. Obviously, knowing the ROI is key to any investment.
I will now be able to truly focus on my passion, helping customers reach their potential with strategic business impact services. Thank you to everyone for helping me be successful.
I am looking forward to providing you with “input” in the future.
Rick Sexton
Business Impact Specialist :)
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