Being a CEO is not as Glamorous as it Seems: Business Tips with Craig Malloy

By Casmin Wisner
“While the CEO title sounds glamorous, it’s often not. You are solely accountable. You are solely responsible. You are the person losing the most sleep… See the pattern here? But hey! That is the sandwich I ordered!”
I had the pleasure of interviewing Craig Malloy, CEO of Lifesize, a cloud-based HD video, audio and web conferencing company based in Austin, Texas. For more than a decade, Lifesize has been at the forefront of video collaboration, delivering innovative solutions designed to bring people together. Since last year, Lifesize has increased its customer base by more than 110 percent and provides its cloud-based service to customers in more than 100 countries across the world.
Thanks for doing this with us. What is your backstory?
I’m one of those founders who started a company, sold it, worked at the giant firm that bought us, hated it, and subsequently, left. I then came back as CEO to re-invent the company, save it, and buy it back. Not too many of us around! In hindsight, that journey was the hardest thing I have ever done in my professional career and definitely not for the faint of heart. Why did I do such a difficult, stressful and all-consuming thing? Because I love it. I love the video communications market in which we compete, love the team that stuck around through all the craziness, and frankly, loved the challenge of it all.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
For me, the most interesting part of leading Lifesize has been the evolution of the video communication market over the past 14 years. From an expensive, complex, luxury item — exclusively for boardrooms — to a must-have, everyday, simple, accessible tool that is perfect for any type of worker to communicate with other professionals. When I started in this business more than 23 years ago, I assumed that the market would be mainstream and huge in just a few years. Boy, was I wrong! That said, it’s here now, and that’s really exciting.
So, what exactly does your company do?
At Lifesize, we believe that simple-to-use, amazing quality video communication — available in every conference room, on every device and for every worker — has the power to transform an organization. That’s it. That’s what we do. And we deliver that transformational promise through our exceptional conference room devices and mobile and desktop apps. Our thousands of customers around the world constantly tell us how their use of Lifesize has supercharged their employee relationships and productivity, and now they can’t run their business without it.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
What makes us special is our best-in-class conference room devices deeply paired with our global service and mobile, desktop and web apps. No one else has the unique combination of hardware, software, service and UX as we do. Lifesize is truly a secure, easy-to-deploy-and-manage global communication solution from one experienced company. In a highly competitive market that is seeing companies partnering to piece together a working solution validates our offering, and it’s truly magic to see Lifesize working at scale.
A few years ago, before the transition to cloud, video communication was an occasional special event, set up and tested far in advance with an army of IT folks on call in case a problem arose, which it invariably did. Now, as with consumer apps, customers expect a perfect experience the first time, every time and with premium performance. We’ve had to up our game in quality and reliability as our customers expect more and more from us. We make the full customer experience our №1 priority.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped you get to where you are?
My degree is from the United States Naval Academy, and I was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy. My first naval position was as a division officer aboard the USS Fletcher, a destroyer, home-ported in San Diego. I was the anti-submarine warfare and nuclear weapons officer as well as regularly in charge of the watch team on the bridge of the ship as the Officer of the Deck while underway. The commanding officer on the ship was like a god to a young ensign like me. He was tough, intense, demanding and set incredibly high standards for all of us onboard, officers and crew alike. “Attention to detail” was one of his favorite lines. (I now use that with my kids; they hate it!) Anyway, at the Naval Academy, while I took leadership courses on the meaning of responsibility and accountability, those qualities didn’t really resonate until I stepped aboard the USS Fletcher. The recent collision of two Navy ships, over a hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii resulted in terrible consequences for too many sailors. It reminded me of a time when I was responsible for the 300 sailors aboard my ship in the middle of the night in the open ocean, precisely where those ships had sailed. The lessons my commanding officer drilled into me to help keep us safe kept playing in my head. While nothing we do at Lifesize has those kinds of life-or-death consequences, very few days go by where I do not appreciate the 30 months aboard the USS Fletcher under the watchful eye of CDR Francis K. Holian.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
One way I like to think I have brought goodness to the world is through the leadership opportunity I have been afforded at my various companies. My LinkedIn profile says, “I love helping people build a great company,” and one of my all-time favorite leadership quotes is, “When a good leader has led, the people will say we have done it ourselves.” I truly want every employee at our company to feel like the eight hours or more that they spend with us every day is helping them to achieve their personal, financial and professional goals. That is very important to me and gives me great pride and satisfaction in my work.
I recently received an email from someone whom I hired years ago when he was first starting out in tech. I always knew he would do well because he embraced the company vision and was committed to success. In his letter, he thanked me for the opportunities I had given him and told me that the financial stability of his career experiences allowed him to buy a house and send his children to college. That was very rewarding and humbling to hear.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became CEO” and why?
- Firing people sucks, but you better get good at it. You have to get the right people in the right seats on the bus and wrong people off the bus just as soon as you know in your gut they are no longer the right fit for the position they are in. Your team expects nothing less, and you lose respect from them longer you delay because they know what needs to be done before you do.
- Hire and retain an “A” class team. Building off my first point, but again, your team is the reason for any success your company achieves. Without the right people on board, you have no chance.
- Articulate an achievable vision around which the team can rally. Work with your team to create core values that help to achieve the overall mission. If everyone throughout the company lives and fosters those core values, success is achievable.
- Don’t run out of cash. I’ll try to keep that point as simple as possible, even though it is much, much more complex.
- While the CEO title sounds glamorous, it’s often not. You are solely accountable. You are solely responsible. You are the person losing the most sleep. You have to deal with the board members who want every metric to be perfect every quarter, when that is literally impossible and it doesn’t feel like they even understand your business sometimes or what you are going through. If there is a bump in the road, you have to make the final decision on how many employees to lay off and which ones. You are the person that checks in, at least briefly, every single day of every single vacation. And the Sales VP always makes more money than you do … See the pattern here? But hey! That is the sandwich I ordered!
Is there a person in the world, or in the U.S. whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?
I’ve been asked this question a number of times over the years, and I try and draw inspiration and ideas from multiple endeavors, not just business. My current choice would be Kelly Slater. He is the greatest competitive surfer of all time and should be considered one of the greatest professional athletes of all time. He is an 11x world champion, the youngest and the oldest to do so over a span of 20 years. His dedication and commitment to his profession, and the innovation and progression he has brought to the sport and business of surfing is truly inspiring. He always conducts himself with dignity, class and respect for his competitors. Plus, he seems like a really cool guy! My second choice is Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots football team. I love his process, planning, attention to detail and willingness to adjust to the circumstances. He never leaves anything he can control to chance.

