LiveOps Blog
Go Big or Go Home: It’s All About Doing Big Things
Maynard Webb, CEO
As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m very passionate about what we do at LiveOps – not only because of the role we play in evolving the customer service industry, but because it creates an innovative and quality model for work. I couldn’t help but think about our work as I read the State of the Union address. A number of points struck a chord with me as a CEO but the one idea that resonated the most was: ”We do big things.”
It reminds me of my time at eBay – we did so many big things – and this same spirit and opportunity is the reason I chose to join LiveOps. We have been doing many big things. But, amazingly, the most rewarding part is not in the “bigness,” but in the individual pieces that are ultimately responsible for building a powerful (and big) story.
In the Internet world we used to have a phrase – you probably know it (and you probably loathe it): Go Big or Go Home. Although I believe that anything worth doing is worth doing with every ounce of your being or not at all, that’s not what I’m talking about here.
Going Big in this era is about something else. We at LiveOps are proud of the innovation and leadership role we play in transforming how sales and service work is done in contact centers. (more…)
Innovation Beyond the Hype
Maynard Webb, CEO
Innovation has become an overused buzzword. That’s dangerous because people could tune it out and that would have big ramifications. All great change in the world comes from innovation; it is so vital to building a better future. We can’t afford for it to become overplayed and tired.
We love talking about innovation because it’s inherently attached to hope and wrapped in inspiration. It sounds a lot less scary than previous topics I’ve written about such as Meritocracy or The Spirit of And. And, yet, innovation actually carries much more risk. True innovation rests on trying, failing, and trying again. (more…)
The Power of Giving Back: Nothing “Yeah, But” About It
Maynard Webb, CEO
I just returned from Aspen where I participated in Fortune Brainstorm: Tech, an annual gathering of tech leaders, media visionaries, entrepreneurs, and a variety of other big brained folks to talk about trends and changes in technology, culture and society as a whole.
The event, and particularly the public discussion I participated in about how technology can supercharge a new generation of nonprofits, left me newly inspired. It also further convinced me of the role giving back has in empowering businesses. (more…)
The “Spirit of And”: Part 2
Maynard Webb, CEO
Miracles don’t only happen on the ice—they happen every day in the workplace.
I’ve been lucky enough to experience several in my career. When I went to eBay in 1999 the company was battling some significant technology issues. Many people said I was crazy to join in the midst of such turmoil. Certainly during those dark days at eBay, no one believed it would evolve into the world’s largest online marketplace and transform the world of e-commerce. But the real miracle I witnessed was not eBay’s rise to greatness, but rather the many moments when I saw teams unleash their potential and brilliantly solve what was previously deemed impossible. (more…)
The “Spirit of And” – Part 1
Maynard Webb, CEO
The U.S. versus Ghana World Cup match that aired on ABC and Univision attracted 19.4 million U.S. viewers—the same number that Fox averaged for last year’s World Series. Good for soccer, and for the networks; I just wish we could have had a U.S. victory to celebrate.
Soccer fever was sweeping the states, and then, with the loss to Ghana, the energy evaporated. Watching that defeat, I couldn’t help but remember one of our more inspirational moments (and one of the greatest games ever): the U.S. hockey team’s comeback in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. (more…)
Meritocracy Part 2 – Overcoming the Fear Factor
Maynard Webb, CEO
As the CEO of LiveOps, I talk a lot about the opportunity of flexibility for both companies and workers. Flexibility has become a modern day value that everyone wants.
But flexibility comes with a cost. The cost is accountability, which is necessary to gain the opportunity to work where you want, when you want, and how you want. Just as it is in pro sports (http://blogs.liveops.com/2010/06/16/meritocracy-part-1-world-cup-fever/), being managed by outcomes, maintaining an outstanding record, and doing something to get voted onto the team every day is mandatory to make our system work. (more…)
A Letter to the Class of 2010: Carpe Diem!
Maynard Webb, CEO
Many of you will be starting new jobs in the coming weeks. Others might still be searching. Either way, many will tell you it’s a less than ideal time to enter into the workforce. Recent news headlines point to a grim job outlook that doesn’t exactly offer the inspiration for grads to conquer the world.
As the CEO of a fast growing company, and one that creates work opportunities for hundreds of people (contractors and employees) a month, I see the world of work very differently than the one that’s being reported in the headlines. (more…)
Adjusting Our Work-Life Balance in the Internet Economy
Maynard Webb, CEO
Recently, I was honored to be a guest blogger on The Huffington Post. For those who missed it, below is what I had to share:
I came out of retirement to run a start-up. Over the span of my career, I have rarely used my vacation time and, if my recollection serves me, the last time I called in sick was in 1992. Some think my dedication to work is a bit extreme and unbalanced. (more…)
Leader in Cloud Computing runs their Global Customer Support on LiveOps
Maynard Webb, CEO
I am pleased to share that salesforce.com recently went live with LiveOps On-Demand Contact Center platform in Japan, Australia and the U.S. (Europe will be added soon too.) It may be no surprise that salesforce.com “walks the talk” by running their Global Customer Support organization in the cloud, but the results and the reaction from customers is certainly worth attention.
LiveOps’ solution is tightly integrated with salesforce.com’s Service Cloud, so when a customer calls, the CTI capability pops up on the CSR desktop and the customer support representative knows right away who is calling. (more…)