In this episode of Tea with Rich, we welcome Erik Dodier, my business partner of 3 decades, who is two days from his retirement after 30 years at the helm of PixelMEDIA (aka RafterOne). 

This episode is a doozy, as I surprise Rich with our guest, and we get into a number of way way back stories about Erik and I as collaborators, business partners, and learning to trust and work with each other.

We start, ish, with a discussion on Erik's upcoming transition from an ultra-structured work-life to the unknowns of retirement, and he shares some his early thoughts on how he may spend his first few weeks and months, and the emotional challenges of stepping away from a long career. The group of us reflect on our personal experiences with retirement, and the anxiety that can accompany significant life changes.

We then, sort of, let Rich take over the Podcast, and ask questions of Erik and I around our personal and working relationship together over three decades, how we got through the hard times, and our thoughts on culture.

Erik Dodier and Rich Lyons reflect on how they met, their journey together in the business world, and the importance of building relationships. We then dive into the dynamics of our partnership, Erik and I, and the magic that was Pixel.

We share insights on overcoming challenges, the evolution of company culture, and personal growth, including the significance of tattoos as a form of self-expression. The discussion continues with an emphasis on the value of trust, communication, and the realities of entrepreneurship, providing listeners with a candid look at our experiences and lessons learned over the years.

Chapters

00:00 - Introductions and Shooting the Sh!t

01:38 - Erik on “Stepping Away" and Transition Plans

04:21 - Potential Hobbies Post-Retirement

09:55 - Eriks Health Gadgets and Wellness Routines

11:09 - After 30 years of work - How do you Make the Transition Out

20:35 - Erik's Discusses his Background and Decision to Step Away from Pixel/RafterOne

31:37 - Navigating Life After Retirement

34:52 - Erik Recalls the First Time He Met Rich Lyons

36:25 - Erik Talks About the Art of Transitioning Clients Between the Two of Us

38:00 - Erik on the First Time TJ/Thomas Swore in Front of Clients

40:27 - The Hidden Magic of Being 50-50 Partners from the Start

43:08 - The Dynamics of Friendship and Business

47:30 - (Q) How Did You Guys Get Through the Hard Times?

54:52 - Perspectives on the Evolution of Company Culture

01:00 - Erik's Talks About His Desire for a Tattoo. Maybe.

01:02 - We Are Constantly Evolving and Maturing. Embrace it.

01:06 - Erik Summarizes His 30 Years in the Entrepreneurial Arc.

01:09 - Closing comments.

Peace. -t

...

In this episode we welcome Mallory Rosen, a long-time friend we met through our Strategic Alliance and Partnership collaborations.

After a good deal of opening banter, our conversation explores themes of partnerships, self-advocacy, and the balance between work and family life.

Mallory discusses her experiences with chronic illness, the importance of mental health, and how her career in partnerships has shaped her perspective on business and relationships.

This episode emphasizes the value of good partnerships and the need for open communication in both personal and professional settings. We each provide a perspectives on the critical role of partnerships in business, emphasizing the importance of communication, enablement, and building trust.

During the Q&A dialogs, Rich and I share personal stories and reflections on our careers, highlighting life lessons and mantras that guide us. The discussion also touches on the challenges of navigating the always pesky work-life balance, especially for working parents, and concludes with book recommendations that have influenced our perspectives.

Chapters

00:00 - Opening Chit-chat and personal anecdotes

01:57 - Babies. Time shifts. Travel packing. And Crosswords.

07:54 - Mallory Shares Her Story

13:05 - Transitioning to Partnerships and Consulting

17:57 - The Importance of Relationships and Trust

20:58 - Finding Downtime and Recharging as a Working Mom

26:48 - Supporting Each Other and Building Strong Partnerships, at Work and at Home

29:11 - Mallory on "I'm only allowed to be messy in my closet."

33:11 - Sidebar - The Great Underwear and Socks Debate

34:14 - Cleanliness Habits and Relationship Compatibility

38:25 - The Importance of Partnerships and Alliances

42:31 - The Three Legs of a Great Partnership Program

46:58 - The Critical Role of Partner Enablement

Q&A Time. Mallory Gets to Probe Rich and Tea

52:47 - What is a Job You Did That is Not on Your Resume

01:02 - What are Some of Your Personal Mantra's

01:14 - Pivoting from Career-focused to a Mom with a Job

01:19 - Making Your Relationship as Parents, Priority #1

01:23 - Final question. What's One Book you Should Read?

01:26 - Closing Comments

A bit about Mallory..

Mallory Rosen,

Director of Strategic Alliances, Hero Digital

Mallory is focused on the company's Salesforce Alliance and GTM Strategy. With a diverse background on the Client, ISV Partner, GSI and Growth Consulting Partner sides of business, Mallory brings a diverse lense to her thinking, collaboration, and overall partnership management approach. Mallory prides herself on being a trusting, loyal and appassional collector of good people, with a track record of success in strategic partnerships. Her number one job is being a mom, a wife and a friend.

You can find her on LinkedIn obvs...

Peace. -t

...

In this episode we welcome back Rob Garf, and get into questions from Rob that we each send time pondering. Like, how we view our purpose in life, and how we stay motivated to succeed.

We start with the usual - shooting the shit, including Rich’s Iceland trip, Tea getting bored on sabbatical, and Rob discussing his dream to live on the Cape. I open up about having never visited the Cape, despite spending may entire life an hour away. 

We then shift the more serious topic of our purpose and how to stay motivated after achieving ‘success’. 

Thomas expresses his desire to be one less worry in peoples day, while Rich talks about the importance of maximizing potential and serving others.  We also discuss the idea of living well and making a positive impact on others. Tea reflects on his current state of zen and contemplates next steps in terms of where to apply his energy to make a difference.

Rob Garf reflects on the importance of work-life balance and being present in all aspects of life, and we spin up a dialog on the myth of what balance really is.

Rob shares a story about meeting the founder of Life is Good for a mentoring moment, and learning about prioritizing family, friends, work, and charity. Rich and Thomas answer a question from Rob on pivotal moments in our careers - where we discuss key turning points with Demandware, and growing through the experience.

Chapters

00:00 - Catching Up and Rich’s Iceland Excursion

05:29 - Signs That I Might be Getting Bored

06:25 - Check-in with Rob Garf, and his Dream To Live on the Cape

07:28 - Rob's Discusses "No Airplane August"

08:55 - Rob Educates Tea on What “The Cape"

12:16 - The Boys Pressuring me to go do Dreamforce

16:16 - Storytime. The Nudist Chased by a Homeless Guy with a Blowtorch in San Francisco

17:32 - Q&A Time - Rob Asks How We View and Define Our Purpose, and Plans for the Future

20:54 - Rich on Purpose, Staying Motivate, Serving Others and Paying It Forward

28:00 - Sidebar - The “I don't know how much time I have left” topic

29:39 - Living Long vs. Living Well

30:48 - Tea Rambles on How He Views His Purpose and Staying Motivated

37:20 - Contemplating Next Steps, and Focusing on Helping Non-profits

43:08 - Using LinkedIn for good, and why we publish there.

44:28 - Rob on Contemplating His Own Values, and Serving Others

47:11 -  Mentorship and Work-Life Balance

52:20 - Q&A - Rob Asks About Key Inflection Points to Success That Stand Out

55:27 - Tea Tells a Series of Early DWRE Days Inflection Point Stories

01:02 - Rich Tells a Few Amazing Inflection Point Stories

01:08 - Rich on early PAB's and a proper Partner and Customer Success Program

01:11 - Closing out and a bit (more) of shooting the shit

Peace. -t

---

In this episode of Tea with Rich, we welcome guest Rob Garf, a retail and digital insights legend. This is part one of a two part dialog, and is 100% focus on Rob, his history in commerce, and his current role at Salesforce. 

Rob is currently the VP & GM of Retail and Consumer Goods at Salesforce.

We begin with the usual shooting the shit, and then move into the more serious topics where Rob shares his background in retail and digital, starting from collaborating with his dad, his early digital days at LIDS (1999, ish) and as an analyst at AMR Research and IBM. Rob also talks about his journey at Demandware (2011) and the challenges they faced before becoming a successful company. The conversation drifts between personal and professional quite a bit, and wraps-up with a discussion about the first we met and plans to record a Part 2 of with Rob. 

The conversation between Rich Lyons, Rob Garf, and Thomas covers various topics, including their experiences with different platforms and services, the importance of building trust and relationships in business, the balance between work and personal life, and the significance of community and authenticity. 

We also touch on the creation of the Garfie and the phenomenon it has become, and the impact of finding your purpose in life. The conversation is filled with personal anecdotes, insights, and a sense of camaraderie.

We end with a promise to shoot a Part 2, soon, and give Rob a chance to ask questions of Rich and Tea.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Welcoming the Guest

09:02 - Rich gets food poisoning at Taylor Swift in Paris

09:50 - Rob Garf Introduces Himself

10:23 - Rob's Background in Retail and Technology

18:02 - How Rob and Tea Met

19:59 - Rob swears for the first time, I'm pretty sure...

20:34 - How Rich and Rob Met

24:01 - Rob on his current role at Salesforce - GM for Retail and Consumer Goods

25:43 - Rob on Industry Insights and Building Trust and Relationships

27:56 - Rob talks about a proud parenting and travel moment

33:36 - Rob explains the Garfie, and finding his persona online

40:06 - Closing chatter and PSA - there will be another Garfie episode

Peace. -t

---

In this episode of Tea with Rich, we are joined by Frank De Maria, the Vice President of Digital Engineering and Platforms at Miller Knoll. Frank is a brand-side legend, and one of the most experienced, kind, and bright leaders in the technology and e-commerce field. 

We of course being by - you know it - shooting the shit and catching up before Frank shares his story and background in the industry, where he started as a developer and eventually moved into a number of senior leadership roles. Frank touches on the importance of having in-house expertise and control over his technology stack, as well as the challenges of standardizing design systems across multiple brands. 

We then get into a dialog on the role of a leader (e.g. blocker and tackle for your team), the most productive hours of our days, and the constant challenge of balancing work and family, with an emphasis on the the importance of loyalty, hard work, and building strong relationships. 

We get into a some gnarly questions (see Chapters below), including franks perspective on maturing the tech stack, how we deal with failure and what’s next for me (Tea) - which is a challenge to answer so I basically ramble on the reality of my head space right now, how we handle failure, and what we do to reset/recharge - and how we manage the short, mid and long resets.

We end with Franks final question for us - our perspective on the state of the Digital Agency/SI (and ISV) industry and the what opportunities might lie ahead for them.

Chapters

00:00 - Welcome and Shooting the Sh!t

07:00 - The time Tea tried to steal Frank from Rich’s

08:00 - Frank De Maria Introduction

09:16 - Rich and Franks first meeting - 25 brands launched in a year

11:41 - Frank on how his journey started with late 90’s web production work

16:29 - Frank tells the story of meeting Tea (aka TJ, Thomas, etc.)

20:03 - That one time Tea talked Rich out of a Vegas Tattoo

23:37 - Frank talks about his team at Miller-Knoll, and Experience Design Collaboration

30:09 - A day in the life of Frank

32:17 - Open dialog - our thoughts on the most productive hours of the day

33:31 -(Q) Tea asks Franks advice for the next generation of leaders in our space?

35:00 - Imposter syndrome, just wanting to do a good job, having an impact and helping others

40:38 - (Q) Teas asks Franks perspective on tech stack maturation (e.g. moving toward composable)

47:40 - Commercial break, ish - Rich and Tea talk about their Herman Miller chairs

51:05 - Rich and Frank talk the importance of strong relationships

54:14 - The sacrifices we have made to be successful - and the urban myth of balance

57:02 - (Q) Frank asks Rich about ‘the late 90's bankruptcy story’

01:06 - (Q) Frank asks Tea - what's next for you? Everyone wants to know.

01:10 - Everyones superpower should be networking (and the power of making introductions)

01:14 - (Q) Frank asks us how we reset and recharge, and how we handle failure at this stage of our careers?

01:15 - Tea goes first and answers the reset and failure-handling questions 

01:21 - How Rich resets, and deals with failure

01:30 - The BEST way to disarm a leader when you need help...

01:32 - (Q) Frank asks us what we think about the current state of the Agency industry

About Frank

Frank is the Vice President of Digital Engineering and Platforms at MillerKnoll (NASDAQ: MLKN, https://www.millerknoll.com/) supporting its collective of dynamic brands. In this role, Frank oversees the technologies responsible for driving the global digital and retail business, including systems such as ERP, WMS, POS, OMS, CRM, and various web, commerce, content, marketing, and integration technologies supporting both B2B and B2C businesses. Prior to joining MillerKnoll, Frank spent over sixteen years in progressively more senior technical roles at consumer goods giants Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) and Jarden Corporation (NYSE:JAH) transitioning from hands-on engineering roles and into leadership roles.

Peace. -t

---

In this not-so-short Rich and I catch up on our recent activities, including my evolving golf game. Rich decides to inject a PSA slash commercial break on skincare, where we comically get into our routines, including beard and hair. Us talking about skincare is probably worth the listen, as I butcher a few words and make up some news ones.

We then get into a dialog around our recent trips, like Rich in Paris, Ireland and Malta, and my recent trip to Stagecoach and The Robb Report Culinary Masters event in Cali, where our team won the cooking completion under the tutelage of Chef Jamal James Kent, a Michelin starred legend, whom sadly passed away unexpectedly the day before Fathers Day.

This. Like most of our shorts. Is Rich and I just shooting the shit and catching up with each other, talking past guests, and a bit on our industry, a few of my recent LinkedIn posts, and our love of the SFCC platform. We end the freestyle session with me admitting I joined a proper Country Club. Like. Super proper. 

We then get into our favorite part of these gatherings. Random questions for each other. If you only listen to a small part of the show, head down to the 29th minute - where Rich and I get real with each other.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Catching Up

01:02 - Commercial Break. Sunscreen. PCP's and Skincare freestyle.

03:15 - More Skincare chatter. BBL. Moxy. And Cryofacials. 

08:05 - Forehead real estate. And Beard care.

11:50 - We will not be talking about my doctors appt.

13:50 - Taylor Swift and Jelly Roll // aka vacation updates.

16:13 - Tea talks about his trip to the Robb Report Culinary Masters Event

21:50 - Music Festivals and Appreciating Performances

24:28 - The Impact (good and bad) of recent Social Media Posts

29:02 - (Q) What's one thing you wish people would stop doing?

34:36 - (Q) What's one of your worst fears?

41:30 - The burden and gift of accountability - to our Customers and our Staff 

45:06 - The Power and Responsibility of Entrepreneurship

Peace. -t

...

On this episode we talk with long-time friend Adam Grohs. A man with as much if not more experience in the  eCommerce and Agency lead space than Rich and I. Adam is also the cofounder of agnoStack, which provides seamless, commerce-platform agnostic, customer support for orders across all channels.

Today. We get deep, quick, on a number of topics related to commerce and tech, and of course the the occasional question for Rich and I, and some drift topics that creep in - like how Rich manages his email - and Adam and I don’t. 

With Adam having 20+ years in the Agency space, specifically leading and managing Commerce engagements, we jump into the deep end to discuss his take on some of the confusion surrounding headless and composable commerce, and the potential for a new platform in the market. Including a dialog around the commoditization of commerce and the need for agencies to provide valuable services on top of the “new basics” and foundational tools.

We hit the platforms, mentioning Magento, Shop, BigCommerce, Salesforce, etc. - and Adams appreciation for how Commerce Tools has approached things. We also touch on some of the true newcomers, like Vue, and some of the more modern architectural approaches and needs for the emerging brand, while also waxing poetic on the challenge for the Enterprise to pick-up new school ideas and tools before their moment passes.

We then dig a bit deeper, and discuss the importance of creating differentiated experiences and focusing on post-purchase customer support and loyalty (a relatively new and uncharted area IMO), and go as far as highlighting the need for modernizing organizational structures and strategies to adapt to the changing landscape. 

After a LOT of that talk Adam gets to probe Rich and I a bit, and we share our personal experiences and some regrets as young leaders, highlighting the importance of accountability, empathy, and wanting everyone to succeed in our businesses. This leads to a dialog about our friendship and the camaraderie within the industry. 

Bottom line, we go deep on tech and the challenges and misconceptions, while also making some predictions of our own on how the Agency of the future can flourish in this new world of service opportunities.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Background

02:18 - Fathers Day and College Orientation Updates

06:02 - Tea’s Birthday in Miami Adam

07:38 - Adam Grohs Introduces Himself

14:51 - How Adam and Rich Met

17:11 - Adam on (re)Becoming a Developer and Entrepreneur.

19:14 - Adam on being Commerce vs. Digital focused.

20:36 - Exploring Buzzword Bingo and Commerce Industry Confusion

23:50 - Adam on the Shift to Serverless and Microservices Architectures

28:02 - The Need for New Platforms in the Commerce Space

31:50 - The Real Shift in Customer Touchpoints

33:24 - Has Commerce Been Commoditized?

41:07 - Has Tech Become Overly Romanced?

43:18 - What is the New Battleground?

45:00 - Post-Purchase Experiences and Loyalty

49:04 - The Ability to Drop in Anywhere Along the Experience Chain

53:05 - Adam on Being Humbled by Modern Tech and New Experiences

53:34  - The Need to Modernize Organizational Structures

55:03 - Macro trends and Generational Preferences on an Experience or Brand

58:45 - The Opportunities Within the Commoditization of Technology

Adam Gets to Ask Some Questions

01:02 - (Q) What Are Your Essential Day-to-Day Tools That You Wish Existed When You Were Starting Out? 

01:06 - Drift Topic - We give Rich Anxiety as we Talk Email Management and our 50K+ Unread Inboxes 

01:12 - (Q) What Are Some of Your Regrets and Lessons Learned Looking Back, That You Would of Done Differently With What You Know Now? 

01:20 - Adam Expresses Appreciation for how Rich and Tea Operated 

1:25 - The Power of Friendship, The Idea of Working Together, and Closing Comments

Peace. -t

In this half-episode, Rich and I get real with each other, slow things down a bit, and just shoot the shit.

We cover topics like my evolving golf game (in the cold), some of our favorite wins as agency leads, and our favorite movies (we have zero in common). Rich talks about a recent speaking engagement on best practices for selling and the importance of knowing your customer. I reflect on the importance of celebrating milestones in business and we both share a 'favorite project' win. 

We drift off into the challenges of working with RFP's, poor expectations, and outside creative collabs. I ask Rich about his favorite movies (one of his picks is Warrior).

We wrap up with a chat on the importance of living well, staying functionally healthy as we age and our goals to live to 100.

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Golfing in Cold Weather

06:30 - If you could relive one biz moment - what would it be, and why?

13:30 - Moments, looking back. I wish we celebrated more often

15:28 ish - Rarely shared facts about responding to RFP’s, and deciding who not to work with

19:36 - Favorite movies

27:32 - Aspiring to Live to 100

31:53 - Reading to my kids - shutdown

32:51 - The Importance of Exercise and being Health focused

Peace. -t

On this episode we talk with a long-time friend and collaboration partner Vicky Aisenberg. Rich and I met Vicky nearly 15 years ago (woh), as an new inside sales rep at Demandware.

This episode is about balance. At work, as a mom and wife, and as a mentor and sales leader. We also give Vicky a chance to ask Rich and I questions about what we look for when interviewing and hiring, and what we'd like to be doing next, if we could do anything.

There's a lot of shooting the shit, too, per usual.

We start by reminiscing about the early days in industry and discuss the importance of authenticity and being human in sales. Vicky shares her journey from starting as a BDR to becoming an RVP.

We touch on work-life balance, and how Vicky balances her career and her family life. The conversation takes a lighthearted turn as we discuss professional fashion choices, including "growing" into the role and dressing for your personal style.

Rich and I briefly debate tennis shoes vs. sneakers, as a name and term. He has lots of sneakers. IMO. He don't even play tennis.

We snap back to reality, briefly, with Vicky discussing her vision for work and home, and emphasizing the importance of seeking the unknown unknowns.

Rich and I share our perspectives on maintaining a strong couple relationship and the importance of being authentic and vulnerable, at all times, with all things.

From here we transition to a few gems on career growth, emphasizing the need to have a strong personal brand, actively networking, and continuously interviewing for opportunities.

Chapters, ish, for quick looks...

00:00 - Intro and Welcome

01:35 - Vicky's Intro

05:25 - Memories of working with Vicky

08:03 - Vicky on being a Role Model

09:37 - The Importance of Hard Work and Authenticity in Sales

13:44 - What was your professional attire go-to?

16:04 - Fashion Choices: Sneakers and Personal Style

21:32 - (Q) How have you managed being a professional and a Mom of 4

26:51 - (Q) What's your couples maintenance look like?

35:03 - (Q) What was the most challenging part of your growth path?

37:03 - Building a Strong Personal Brand

44:26 - The Importance of Having a Support System

50:00 - (Q) What are the types of people, in your businesses, that stood out to you? What did you look for in a hire? A question for Rich and Tea.

01:00 - The Value of Mentorship and Teaching

01:05 - (Q) What would be your dream job? A question for Rich and Tea.

A bit about Vicky..

Victoria Aisenberg

Regional Vice President of Digital

Salesforce. 

By way of introduction, my name is Vicky Aisenberg and I have three main roles in life: Mom, Wife, and Sales Leader.

Each has their own importance in my vision for success as they fill my cup in different ways. I'm a mom of 4 young children - twin 9 year old identical boys named Aiden and Liam, a 6 year old girl named Paige, and a 2.5 year old boy named Parker. To say I'm "going through it" would be a vast understatement.

I'm also a wife to my wonderful husband of 12 years Avi. We both shared the same vision for our future - lots of kids, big house, social and active lifestyle, career focus - and honestly that's what's made our relationship last.

Lastly, I'm a career junkie. I love the purpose that my work gives me. I love the feeling of helping people and feeling all the feels of hitting a goal that you've worked so hard to hit.

I love the camaraderie of a team and I love challenges and taking risks. All of which to say why being a Regional Vice President of Sales for Digital at Salesforce is my job. I've been with Salesforce, via an acquisition of Demandware, for 14 years, and I still feel like I'm making a difference every single day.

*She's also on LinkedIn, Obvs. An easy find.

Peace. -t

On this episode we talk with long-time friend Kathryn Murphy, whom we met and collaborated with while she ran Product (imo) for Demandware (aka SFCC).

We begin with the usual banter, discussing each of our "first time meeting" stories at the Partner Advisory Board gathering in LA during Shop.org 8 ish years ago, and Kathryn gives us a bit on her journey in the tech industry (she started coding at 18 folks).

The serious, ish, dialog starts as we move into a discussion on the challenges and importance of building strong partnerships between software vendors and systems integrators (SIs), and ISV's too. The conversation touches on the need for shared incentives, alignment with customer needs, and investment in enablement and onboarding. We also discuss the value of an open dialogue and collaboration among competitors for the betterment of an industry.

We then move into Q&A time, with this episode focusing on Kathryn asking Rich and I our opinions on topics like "when did you know it was time to take a break and/or stop"?

Rich shares his experience of having his role eliminated at Capgemini and deciding to transition into advisory boards. Tea talks about his decision to leave RafterOne (fka PixelMEDIA) and the toll the last few years took on his health.

At some point the questions get blurry, but the dialog stays magical as we talk about the parallels and importance of of staying top of mind with customers (and anyone really) and providing a positive unboxing experience - which is more than what we may think - and deserves a deeper look and focus by ALL software and service companies.

A bit about Kat...

Kathryn Murphy

SVP Product at Twilio

Kathryn leads product management and user experience for Twilio Segment, Twilio Engage and CustomerAI.

Additionally, Kathryn is a board director for SuiteFiles, a cloud-based workspace management system built on Microsoft’s Office 365 platform.

Kathryn is a seasoned Saas product and engineering executive with over 20 years of experience in retail, commerce, payments, customer data platforms and analytics. Kathryn has built and sold companies as well as held senior leadership positions at Salesforce, Pluralsight, and Twilio. She has been active in the tech community including serving as the chairman of the Utah Technology Council. She is an investor, advisor and board member for many startups in the Saas technology space.

*She's also on LinkedIn, Obvs. An easy find. If you were to ask Rich and I to describe her, it would as a Unicorn-level product leader and partner.

Peace. -t