All of the leaders featured in the inaugural UC All-Stars series are undoubtedly successful in their fields.
But, that’s not to say there haven’t been some hiccups along the way.
As part of our inaugural UC All-Stars series, we asked more than 50 UC Leaders to name the biggest business mistake they’ve made and what they learned from it.
Below is a snapshot of some of their answers. You can view their complete answers to these questions and more in UC All-Stars or click a leader’s name to view their full profile.
The shared mistakes among these industry leaders span from career transitions made too late to prioritising personal pride over seeking help when needed.
Others have learned the hard way about the perils of inadequate team onboarding and the repercussions of overestimating market readiness.
Career Moves
Ilya Bukshteyn, Vice President of Microsoft Teams Calling and Devices at Microsoft, focused on the aspects that have driven career progression decisions.
He states: "I have in the past made job / role changes motivated primarily by a desire for career advancement, and my learning from those has been that really the most important thing for me is who I work for, and how aligned I am with that person's values, priorities, and leadership style."
Graham Walsh, Director of Global Technical Sales and Alliances at Neat, highlighted a pivotal career move that didn't go as planned.
He said: "Leaving the UC industry to try something different. I learned that I should focus on what I did great at and evolve myself in that industry."
Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Chief Analyst at ZK Research, reflected on a particularly decision in his career.
"I can't think of any mistakes I've made in my career per se; my only regret was staying at Yankee Group too long,” he said.
“The ship was clearly sinking, and I had been thinking of splitting out on my own for some time. I could have done that earlier but things have worked out fine so perhaps that was meant to be."
Irwin Lazar, President and Principal Analyst, Metrigy, shares a significant learning moment from his career. He says: "Taking a job in an organization that thought we could 'fix' token ring rather than migrate to Ethernet. I learned very quickly that absent coherent support from senior management, an IT plan is doomed to fail."
Early Career Choices
Several All-Stars highlighted situations from their early career.
Patrick Kelley, Distinguished Architect at Zoom, reflected on the challenges of seeking help when he was starting out.
"Being too proud to ask for help early in my career,” he said.
“My ego always got in the way. I always wanted to be the best and smartest in everything. That isn't possible.
“Once I learned I don't have to know the solution 100 percent of time I just have to know how to 'GET' the solution, my career became much more enjoyable and productive. Know how to get results and that doesn't mean knowing the answer, it means knowing the right people that can get you the answer."
Graham Fruin, Senior Research Analyst at IDC, talked about the pressures of early career expectations.
"Stressing myself out that I needed to learn every single aspect of all companies involved in the market and thinking I was a lot worse than everyone else because I didn't have that knowledge,” he said.
“Learning that nobody has a full picture and to focus on what is important helped me become a better analyst."
Tim Banting, Practice Leader - Digital Workplace at Omdia, recounted an early mistake in data presentation.
"Early in my career, I made a mistake by providing senior executives with raw data instead of actionable insights,” he explained.
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“When I shared data regarding our competitor, one of the executives responded by saying that they weren't concerned about the competitor because it would take years for them to reach the same market share that our company had at the time.
“This experience taught me an important lesson that as a competitive intelligence professional, it is crucial to present data in a way that C-level executives can understand it without any misinterpretation due to their biased perspectives."
Melissa Swartz, Technology Consultant, Swartz Consulting, LLC, discussed her early career missteps in a corporate environment.
She said: "After college I worked for a large, bureaucratic phone company. I was young and idealistic and thought that success in that environment would be based on achievement and merit, so I worked on producing results instead of cultivating a network of people who could help me advance.
“I learned that, in a large organization, politics outweigh performance. Eventually, I left the company and started my own consulting business, taking those political lessons with me that provide insight when working with client organizations."
