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| Home - CEO Spotlight - Nov 05 Issue |
COO Spotlight: Scott Raskin, Telelogic AB
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Angel Mehta: Tell me about some of the challenges in growing via M&A. What have you found to be the biggest surprise, if any, with the company as you acquired it?
Scott Raskin: I would say the biggest challenge is to quickly eliminate uncertainty in both the company you're acquiring and your existing employees. Let's face it; we are all motivated by our fears. Change creates uncertainty and fear of not knowing what the future holds. The simple formula is to go in with a solid plan, make the necessary changes quickly and communicate clearly about everyone's role moving forward. And you have to do this fast.
An example of this is with our latest acquisition. We consummated the deal on a Sunday night, and Monday morning I was in the New York office communicating to the employees. By Wednesday, we made the necessary changes to the organizational structure. It is key you make your changes once and as deep as possible vs. a number of small reorgs and cuts. We moved quickly and made sure everyone could see the future roadmap, why it made sense for them personally and their role in it. Everything should be personalized, as people need to know what's in it for them. We were then in business, full form, and didn't miss a beat. Within the week, we also communicated with customers and partners why the acquisition was good for them, what value this provided and assured them it was business as usual otherwise.
Angel Mehta: How do you spend most of your time these days?
Scott Raskin: I spend most of my time in front of customers, analysts and our field organizations. This keeps me traveling 75% of the time but carrying the flag and setting the beat is extremely important. This allows me to keep a pulse on what's going on not only in the industry, but also within our organization, and helps identify where we need to adjust our strategy. I spend the remaining 25% on strategy and future growth plans.
Angel Mehta: Sounds as though you put in lots of hours…
Scott Raskin: It's scary when the flight attendants now ask me how my kids are doing in school. But, it comes with the job. We are in a fast growth mode and want to take advantage of the window we have. We have set our sights on a 5x5y strategy, which keeps us all busy. Last week, I visited five countries in five days. I leave again next week. When you are traveling the demands are 24/7, but the results speak for themselves. When I'm not traveling though, I typically work a normal 40 - 60 hour week. I start my day by trying to get a work out in before making it to office to check in with Europe. I'm typically home early evening to have dinner with the family, then check in with Asia and call it a night. It's a long day but it's exciting to see how business can truly operate round-the-clock.
Angel Mehta: What part of your job do you dislike the most?
Scott Raskin: When I started with Telelogic, we were 1,500 employees but needed to reduce staff post acquisition. We dropped to 650 employees during 2001-2002. This was the toughest thing I had to go through, for it affected so many people during an already difficult time. This had to be the roughest time in my career but knowing in the end it would help us survive let alone succeed made it a little easier. Looking back, we made the right moves and are back up to over 1,000 employees today.
Angel Mehta: How relevant is luck? How relevant do you think it has been in the Telelogic story?
Scott Raskin: You know the old saying, "You create your own luck?" I would like to believe this is the case with Telelogic. We compete against many respected companies who challenge us daily. This keeps us on our toes and constantly looking for ways to improve and be more efficient in our execution. But, as a result, we are good at what we do and never rest on our laurels and constantly deliver the results. Is this luck? Either we are very lucky or very good. Maybe a little of both!
Scott Raskin is the COO of Telelogic AB, a global software company with 1,000 employees in 22 countries. Telelogic's products are used by over 7,000 companies and 400,000 users. He joined Telelogic in 2001 bringing 17+ years of software industry experience. Previously, Scott held senior management positions at Nexgenix, Inc., Bachman Information Systems, MAI Basic Four and Bluebird Systems. Scott can be reached for article feedback at: scott.raskin@telelogic.com
Angel Mehta is Managing Director at Sterling-Hoffman, a retained executive search firm focused on VP Sales, VP Marketing, and CEO searches for enterprise software companies. He can be reached for feedback at: amehta@sterlinghoffman.net
 
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