Mahe Bayireddi of Phenom: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO

An Interview With Doug Noll

You don’t always have to get everything right all the time. In baseball you’re considered an all-star if you get a hit 33% of the time, but in business you’re expected to crush it out of the park every at-bat. I used to think I had to have a 1.000 batting average.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Mahe Bayireddi. Mahe is the CEO and co-founder of Phenom, a global HR technology company with a purpose to help a billion people find the right job. One of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing private companies, Phenom’s revolutionary Intelligent Talent Experience platform ensures candidates find and choose the right company faster, employees develop their skills and evolve, recruiters become wildly productive, and managers build stronger-performing teams. A passionate entrepreneur, Mahe has co-founded several successful technology companies with his extensive knowledge in predictive intelligence and machine learning.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Ever since I was young, I’ve always been curious about business. A lot of that inspiration came from my dad, who owned several small businesses. My dad used to tell friends and family, “My kid will give jobs to thousands of people one day.” And that prediction eventually became not only my purpose, but the purpose of Phenom.

Some of his businesses were successful, others weren’t. Regardless, he used to explain why a particular venture did or didn’t work out. That helped me and my brother think about different parts of the business — what worked and what didn’t.

I also learned that business is more than making money for your own reward; it’s an evolution from an individual to a group of people who come together for a common purpose. That stuck with me throughout my career journey. Long before I was a CEO, I started out as a software developer and launched a few different companies after I came to the United States. The first was a complete failure. The second was a slight improvement. Now Phenom is the strongest by far, yet a continuous work in progress.

Those early experiences and failures taught me how to build a company with purpose, and think about leadership from a different spectrum.

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

Since starting Phenom over 10 years ago, we’ve discovered that purpose and passion are essential to success. And if you want unreasonable success, you need to be prepared for unreasonable failure. One cannot exist without the other.

It’s the pain and pleasure of growing a business that makes you who you are. The toughness builds character in a way few things in life can. If you can get through those early years and keep a company going, you come out of it a changed person for the better. You can accomplish pretty much anything. You find yourself bouncing back even stronger from adversity.

But if you don’t have a clear purpose and intense passion, long-term sustainability becomes impossible.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The fundraising process was a big learning experience. I was timid and quiet because I wasn’t familiar with how to raise money at first. I acted brashly in the hope that people would think that wasn’t the case.

A big startup investor gave me some valuable feedback that I carry with me to this day. He said I was trying too hard and was too forceful.

From all of this I learned that it’s extremely important to know your audience — in fundraising, and in all areas of business. Tonality is important; some people like a certain style, while others are turned off by it. You have to do that research ahead of time so you know how to act accordingly.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

There are many people who I am grateful towards. My father definitely had the most impact. He taught me so much about running a business and having the vision and strength to bounce back from adversity.

My mom and my wife have also been instrumental throughout my journey, and influenced who I am as a person today. My wife and I are opposites, and there is tremendous value in having someone in your life who views things from a different perspective.

People come from different directions. If you can accept that we all view the world through different lenses and we each have our own opinions, that can teach you a lot about building a successful company and connecting with employees in a meaningful way.

There are many others who also provide a fresh perspective about running a business and the entrepreneurial thinking process. Rudy Karsan, who sits on Phenom’s board of directors, has been a long-time mentor and friend. My brother, Hari, is another. We have many things in common, but our approaches to problem-solving are very different. I can’t stress enough how important that yin and yang has been to Phenom’s success.

Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?

When the pandemic hit several years ago, we took an approach that allowed us to weather the storm and keep the company whole. Instead of sizable lay-offs, we elected to do pay reductions, which preserved cash and kept us agile. We restored all back pay when things started to return to normal.

We learned that leadership during tough times is mostly about making a decision, and then standing behind it, whatever the outcome.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

The most important job of a CEO is recruiting. People are the most complex part of a business. Developing products is comparably easier. Almost everyone on my leadership team, for example, was hired based on my weaknesses. Some people think of a CEO as having all the answers, as being all-knowing and all-powerful. That’s not true. Good CEOs are aware of their blind spots and hire people accordingly.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?

The biggest myth is that CEOs are “all-knowing” who will take a company to the promised land. That’s simply not the case. Success is a shared responsibility.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

Becoming a “CEO” was not something I sought out, so I didn’t have any preconceptions about the job. I just built a company with other people, and proceeded with the purpose of helping a billion people find the right job. My job changes every day, so it’s critical to change along with it.

Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

Self-awareness is the most important gauge of whether someone will be a good leader or not. If you don’t know what you’re good at, you can’t build a solid team around you that can sustain the vision of a purpose-driven company. Perseverance and agility are critical too.

You should have strong opinions, but be open to the opinions of others and willing to change. Most company founders are open to being persuaded.

What advice would you give to other business leaders to help create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?

Be a leader who supports your employees and knows when and how to challenge them constructively. Create an environment where you can hold them accountable for their actions, and they can take responsibility.

An amazing work culture also hinges on giving people the room to grow, evolve, and push their boundaries. Give your employees the trust and the tools to own and actualize their career paths.

At Phenom, we have a #notnormal workplace culture. Our people are free to be themselves, which gives them the creative, innovative drive to deliver amazing experiences for our customers.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

At Phenom, we are driven by our purpose of helping a billion people find the right job. To me there’s nothing more powerful than someone getting a job that aligns with their values, challenges them, and keeps them coming back for more. Technology makes that happen in a phenomenal way.

Just think of anyone you know who’s unhappy in their current roles. They’re like a square peg in a round hole. But what if there was a tech platform that could easily assess someone’s skills and suitability for a position and make actionable recommendations for the best fit? That’s just what we’re doing.

Fantastic. Here is the primary question of our interview. What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. You don’t always have to get everything right all the time. In baseball you’re considered an all-star if you get a hit 33% of the time, but in business you’re expected to crush it out of the park every at-bat. I used to think I had to have a 1.000 batting average.

2. You can build a better company faster if you think about three important things: the customer, the product or service that will solve the customer’s problem, and whether or not a team can deliver.

3. Creating a great product or service is only part of the equation. Knowing how to sell and support it are equally as important. Our customers are global enterprises — in addition to the purchaser, we must think about how people are actually using the technology. It’s our job to make Phenom platform users more valuable every time they use the technology.

4. Raising money is a multi-step process. For example, how do investors raise capital? Who raised it with them? What do they like to invest in? And who is in their network? Knowing the answers to these questions will help entrepreneurs starting that process.

5. Build a culture and stay true to it. Different from traditional Silicon Valley-based tech companies, Phenom is based in the greater Philadelphia area. Our annual IAMPHENOM conference brings together HR professionals from around the world. We could host it anywhere. We host it in Philadelphia to support the local economy.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be?

When people are able to connect with mindfulness or their inner-being, they’re able to do things that are more impactful and beneficial for the world. With that foundation, the goal is for everybody to be employed in a job that fulfills them and makes them want to stay with an organization for the long haul. It’s not a pipe dream, but an actual movement that is gaining steam as more people look to grow their careers and their skills with the same company.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the great Indian humanitarian and spiritual leader, said: “At the time of death, only two questions will be before us; how much love have we shared, and how much knowledge have we gained in our lifetime?”

I focus on three things in my life: Phenom, my family, and my spiritual evolution. Everything I do between those three priorities is give love and seek knowledge.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

In business, the person whom I admire most is Jeff Bezos for his unique ways of building a scalable business. Nobody has ever done what he has accomplished to that level of scale. Another business leader whom I regard highly is Bill Gates. Politically, I’d have to point to Gandhi and Lincoln. Both understood people from a different dimension and truly lived by their values that have influenced generations.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.