How to Master the Career Marathon | Belkin CEO Steve Malony

(upbeat music) Welcome back to everyone talks to Liz. You know, the other day somebody was asking me, how long have you been at Fox Business? And honestly, I just cannot believe that I've been at Fox Business for 18 years. It's gone by so quickly, but 18 years. Believe me, that's really rare in television, but it's very rare as well to stay anywhere in the same job for that long these days. Everybody jumps around, right? I mean, and I had been at a bunch of places before then, but 18 years of the long time. So I looked it up because I was wondering how many times do people change jobs? And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person holds approximately 12 different jobs during their career. Listen, sometimes you have to leave a job to get a better job because often there's somebody at the top of the ladder, how many of you have had this happen to you, that's stepping on your fingers or outright trying to kick you off it. I know, I know some of you are like that totally happened to me. And by the way, it's happened to me too in the past. That's what makes today's guest so unusual. When he first started at his company, which by the way, none of us could have lived without, especially during the pandemic when we suddenly had to work from home, he was a door to door salesman, cold calling businesses, more than a few I'm sure who slammed the door in his face. But today he is the boss of the whole place, Belkin, which he helped grow into a global consumer electronics company that makes, I mean, everything. You guys have it in your house, trust me, charging cables, power banks, wireless charger, screen protectors, audio products, literally more than one billion products sold worldwide. But none of it, especially his climb from salesmen to CEO came quickly or easily. So today, you're about to get a lesson in how to make it to the top slowly, but surely, from Steve Maloney, today, the CEO of Belkin. Steve, welcome to everyone talks to Liz. - Thank you for having me on this. I appreciate it. - Of course, of course. And I was thinking about that. I mean, so many people have to change jobs. Either they are, as one major league baseball player once told me, well, I was playing for this team, but then I was invited to leave. Sometimes we are invited to leave. Other times we choose to leave. And in this day and age, you always hear, oh, there's no loyalty. But you've been at Belkin for 20 years now, 20 plus? - 20 plus. Yes, it's been quite a journey at Belkin for me. - Let's talk about the first time you walked in the door. - Boy, you mentioned perseverance earlier, and our founder at the time was a target of mine at the place that I was working. I kept trying to get in, trying to get in, trying to get in. I must have left 1,000 voicemails for him. So by the time I walked in for my first interview, he's like, I know that name, Steve Maloney. Who is this guy? Why can't you get rid of him? So I think that probably got me in the door for the second interview with him, which ultimately got me the job. And that job was as a basic sales buy, right? - Yeah, I was a national account manager calling on Belkin's B2B customer base in Southern California, which meant I was getting in my car, oftentimes stopping by a pay phone to try and get an appointment with somebody, and understanding what was going on in the market, trying to learn about their business, and really get in tune with the sorts of things that they needed from a company like ours, which makes a wide range of things that you mentioned at the top. So yeah, I was calling on people, building relationships, walking in with a suitcase full of stuff, and trying to identify opportunities to help them make their business better. - How many miles would you put in in, I don't know, a week or a month in that car? - Boy, I would go from San Diego up to Fresno and back a couple times a week. - That's a long drive for those of you who don't come for you. - Yeah, you know, thousands of miles, every week on that car that I bought, just getting out of college. - And by the way, everyone, hello, pay phones. This was well before any cell phone, forget flip phones, any cell phones, right? - Yeah, it was right at the beginning. In fact, you know, Belkin has quite a robust mobile accessories business now, but at the time, we were doing nothing like that because it just didn't exist. And, you know, we've had a fortunate NAC to be able to identify new trends that are happening in the market and get on board with those. But, you know, at the time, it was, as you said, search protectors, cables, stocks, hubs, people that were using, you know, PCs needed these sorts of accessories for them to work in the best way possible. And, you know, understanding what consumers needed, hearing this kind of solutions that we're being put together, you know, that put us in a position to be able to design things and create things that people needed. And, it's really, you know, help me to be able to establish myself, to find solutions for people. I had to learn a lot. I had a lot of stumbles along the way, to really figure out how to put the solutions together for people. But, you know, that's been something that's really paid off over the years. Is that time of grinding it out on the street, trying to understand what people need? - Years and years and years. Before that, though, let's talk about your life growing up in Viserlia, California. That's sort of the middle of the state, isn't it? - It is. It's almost in the dead center, largely known as more of an agricultural community. My mother was a teacher, my father was a pharmacist. My grandfather was a merchant. He was in the Napa Valley, and he had a grocery store. And, he used to teach me a lot about understanding when a customer walks in the door, how you make sure they have the best service experience. So, that really helped me understand what I thought I needed to do to be successful in my career. But, yes, you're right. It all started in Viserlia. - Viserlia, I know Viserlia well, because I was editor of my yearbook staff in my high school in California, and the printing presses for the yearbook company were in Viserlia. And, if we missed our deadline, the big threat was, you'll have to go from Southern California to Viserlia yourself. If you missed your deadline, so it was like a threat, because it was a schlep. I mean, just from there. But, clearly, you learned from your dad, how to deal with people, but that's a little bit different from then getting in front of them, knocking on the door and trying to convince them. How did you fail first and learn more from those experiences? Give us some examples. - Yeah, I think, you know, one example that I would highlight would be, I would be calling on somebody and walking in the door with a set of solutions that I thought they needed. And they would turn me away and send me on my way. And I was fortunate that I had some pretty persistent leadership around me at Belkin that sent me right back in the door with a different solution. And I think I really needed to learn to listen to people. I was going in with my idea, my plan, I had fought through exactly what I was going to do, but I wasn't really listening enough around the things that they really needed to create the solutions that were going to help us be successful. And through that process of being told no enough, I figured out that it needed to start with listening to really understand and assess the needs and then create the solution. But it took a long time, and, you know, as fortunate, I've been in my career, it took me a long time to figure that out. It takes a long time, everybody listening. (laughs) 18 years at Fox, that was on top of nine years at CNBC and nine years before that, going from Columbus to Cleveland to Boston to start in local news. There's no, no, no, no, no. You don't get to be the CEO of a global electronics company like that, just because you're, you know, what makes Sammy run your big talker and you can, you know, charm the boss, et cetera, right? I mean, it's so much more than that, isn't it? - So much more, and I've been lucky that I've had a chance to immerse myself in the customer bases around the world to put me in a position to be able to do the job that I do now. I moved around the world. I lived in Europe for a couple years. I lived in Asia, big sacrifices for me and my family to make those moves. But by being on the ground and really understanding different cultures, different ways of working, it really helped me understand ways that we need to adopt and adapt ourselves to be able to, you know, lead and help people understand what they need to do to be successful, to be able to put plans together in place to help people develop themselves. But it was a great opportunity to really get in deep and, you know, we said it earlier, a lot of it comes down to listening. You need to be able to absorb these things and learn from those around you to be able to apply those things. And yeah, I've been very fortunate to be able to have those opportunities. It really helped me. - So here's something that I hear from a lot of our everyone talks to these guests. No is not a no, no is a maybe. How can you give me an example of how you turned a flat out? No thanks, Steve. We don't want or need your products into a yes. Was there one? really big win that you're most proud of where initially it was no thanks. Yes, I can. Many years ago we were trying to identify ways to help people keep their routers alive and their networks alive in their house and we were making a live battery backup unit that we thought would help solve this need and we went and talked to a major carrier about this and they told us we were crazy and they didn't need it and it would never be a requirement for them and then we made the solution. We actually went and made it and brought it back to them the second time and demonstrated for them in a hotel room a power outage situation where this product basically kept the network alive and it turned the whole situation around for them to see it real time. So that was one that I can think of. There are others of course. What's the lesson there? The lesson there is no is not a no it's a maybe and that's up to you. It's not up to them right? Well you sometimes you need to be able to also demonstrate to people what the opportunity is and what the potential is of something and in that case we were able to show that to them real time in a way that they could see it visually with their own eyes and I think that turned the maybe or at the time to know into a well maybe let's go deeper and let's learn more which ultimately got us to a yes. What did you learn in those years during your climb about rejection and absorbing it like a body blow and then getting back up again? Boy it's it's hard to hear no. When you get through enough nose to a yes I think you start to understand that the journey you go through to get to that yes is quite rewarding and not to be discouraged by that and instead to lean into that because the yeses are so satisfying and they have such a positive impact on not only what you're trying to accomplish but everybody around you it energizes you right it's almost even more satisfying than getting the yes right away is having to work for a little a little bit and I think for me also you know another thing I would add is I I think we learned a lot around how to prepare and why preparation is so critical to success at the end of the journey. Oh yeah definitely you've got to be able to refine these things also you got to take on more the feedback you get refine your preparation from before and take another run at it and I think those things help you with long-term planning strategic planning of course tactical execution but you know all those lessons have really helped us me figure out how to even strategically plan better than I could have 20 years ago. My mom was a formerly trained theater actress and she'd say never wing it darling never over prepare refine just as you said persist practice over and over if you if you're gonna go pitch something to somebody whether it's could I have a raise or I would like this promotion or would you buy this product you have to practice right to do ever practice your speeches. All the time I got tired of looking at myself in the mirror. I mean that's often well so different hearing your own voice and seeing your own self-on video but yes we used to do exactly that we used to set up video recorders because we didn't have the ease of the mobile device with the camera at the time to be able to do it so seamlessly like like we can today but yes we used to videotape those things play them out we would often be in a room together practicing the pitch to refine it we do a lot of that even today of course we'll make sure that we're thinking about how we want to present ourselves but I did get tired of looking at myself in the mirror getting ready for a pitch. Steve all those years that you were in your car driving and sometimes getting rejected and spending hours and hours and days and days on the road did you think and I'm talking about the early years did you ever imagine you would make it to be the CEO of the entire company? When I was grinding and out in the way that I was talking to you earlier no I don't I don't know that I ever did I always had aspirations to do as much as I possibly could and to to reach for the greatest heights that I could I always approached it with the mentality of if I do the right thing the good things will come for me and so I remain focused on the job at hand of course I had big dreams did I think I would be the CEO of Belkin at the time I can't honestly tell you that I did but I knew that if I kept working hard and executing in the way that I thought I could that I could achieve some pretty impressive things in the future and just as you got the nod to finally run the company after having been their years and years the pandemic comes and it disrupts supply chains all around the world I can't tell you how many times I was on your website pressing refresh like did they did they refill the you know these cables that I need or or these chargers that I need everybody needed what you guys sold what was it like at that time boy it's a little bit of shock when you say that and remind me of those moments of course we think about those things often it was a very difficult time and to be in the situation where I was assuming responsibility for the organization overall and have all those dynamics at the same time was extremely difficult I was fortunate however that I haven't always been surrounded by a great team of people and we were able to manage through many of the supply chain issues better than most and you know we made a bunch of changes at the time we moved to a new office we established new space we expanded our engineering labs all very very risky things to do in that moment but because they felt like the right thing to do I think it's paid off for us in a meaningful way I mean where the phones ringing off the hook everybody it seemed at the same time was told go home work from home and for somebody like us here at Fox where they immediately had to build out 42 studios for all the anchors on both networks in people's houses and apartments we all needed connectivity we all needed we all needed cables and chargers because suddenly we had to have well as as my friend at Lenovo Matt Zelinski says you need a rig honey we all needed computer screens and stuff and we were stuck home what was it like from the business end of that boy it was it was busy and phones ringing off the hook as you mentioned we're working super hard with our suppliers to help build all the product that we need we're refreshing forecasts sales people are calling me looking for extra allocation for their particular customer we're creating new marketing materials that talk about exactly what you need for your home setup so fortunately everybody's running in the same direction with the common goal so we're able to react very quickly to those things but to your point a million miles an hour and couldn't get enough for a long period of time it was it was crazy it was exciting it was very very different than anything we experienced before so yeah you're right it was it was a fun time but it was also very difficult and you know I feel really good about the essential nature of what we made because what we make in our product lines because I think it did make a difference when people needed it the most. Oh are you kidding me everybody was saying just go on Belkin just go on the website order from Belkin did you get massive orders from individual companies and things like that or and people saying look let me jump ahead in line and and I need I need a hundred of these or something like I mean what were the orders coming in like. Thousands of units you know fortunately we built a good channel relationships over the years so many of our B2B customers some of who I was calling on when I was driving my car down the road were calling us directly to work with them so it was thousands of orders and it was it was a rig like you said before a kit of items I need a doc I need a cable I need a search protector I need this I need that and we were scrambling to pull those things together fortunately we were able to do a pretty good job of it and we did it in collaboration with our partners but our team at Belkin just did an amazing job responding to the need. This is everyone talks to Liz and we will be right back. What do you think founder Chet Pipkin got right all those years ago when he founded the company in a garage making I think it was computer to printer cables and that was the first product. What do you think he really got right that still rings true and matters today. Yeah those those foundational elements you know started with Chet the people product and planet philosophy but I think what he really got right what we've really gotten right that I think is going to be enduring for Belkin for years to come is we help people connect things together and get the most out of their technology. Technology is always going to evolve when I first started mobile devices we're just starting and And there's going to be a next generation of things that need to be accessorized, that need to be connected, that people need to have great experiences with. And that's really what it comes down to for us, creating great experiences for consumers. And I think Chet had the vision to see that 42 years ago in his mom's garage, which is less than a mile away from our office here in Southern California. So, we continue to strive to try and honor that vision. And continue to take things to the next level, which I think technology is always going to change, and there's always going to be a space for Belkin because of what we do. - You are, and your company is all about connecting with cables, wireless. I was watching the next game on TV, and I saw a fan who was sitting very close to the floor and he was on a cell phone. His head was buried in his phone, and the nicks were playing, and it was so dramatic and exciting. So, this is kind of a flipping your business on its head for a minute question, but how do you strike a balance with your family when it comes to this constant connectivity, but then also that human connection that I think has taken a back seat in many ways. - I see it all the time for people, and sometimes I see it in myself. So, I set reminders from myself around taking time out to make sure that I'm not locked in or always connected or always on all the time. And it's difficult to do when you're as busy as we all are and as available as everything is. For me, a huge foundation is my family and my kids, and I really try to make sure that I carve out time to be present when I'm with them. I want to send an example for them to make sure that they understand that there's more outside of just the screen that you're looking at in that moment. They can be very productive and very helpful, but the one-to-one personal experience and conversation is crucial. And it's for me, it starts with my family. It's easy to do because I don't get enough time with my kids, even if I was with them all the time, it wouldn't be enough. So, when I'm with them, I really want to make sure that I'm present and I make it a point to make that happen. Finally, I just got to ask because the whole point of what I feel is the heart of this conversation is, it's okay to go slowly. The climb sometimes, you want it to be fast, but a slower climb, it's like tortoise in the hair, isn't it? What is your advice to people who've been toiling at the same company for quite some time and do dream of eventually being the top dog? Boy, I think that's a really interesting question. One thing that I tried to do as I was in my career was to set objectives and goals for myself that I felt like I could achieve and to stay consistent to doing a great job around those goals and objectives. And when I could see that I was on the path and the journey was taking shape, I would try to make sure that I was spending the time to influence those around me and share my successes with those around me and seek guidance on how to get to the next level from those who were my mentors at the time. And I think that perseverance, consistency, and execution gets noticed whether it's faster slow. And so I think doing the right thing will often end up in a great result and that's certainly what's happened for me. Yes, and by the way, let me just add to this, all of you listening, being great and doing the best job you can and having successes. That is the absolute foundation. But if a tree falls in the forest and nobody's there to hear it, to make a sound, you have to in sort of a graceful and somewhat delicate way, let people know. People have to notice you. Isn't that right, Steve? It's 100% right. And I think the way you described it, doing it in an appropriate, elegant way, sometimes you need to let people know because they like to receive it in a straightforward kind of way. So you really gotta let them know. Yeah, otherwise they don't know. No, they don't know, they're not gonna pay attention. You don't have their attention. Other times, there's people that are gonna respond better to a softer approach. So that's one of the things I learned in sales over many, many years of getting knows was you need to be able to adjust and adapt your approach to your audience. And when you can do that and say it in the appropriate way, you'll often get the result you're looking for. Oh, I love your story. Thank you for telling it to our listeners. I so appreciate it. Thank you for having me on today. I appreciate it very much. And yeah, we all needed Belkin and we needed today, especially when we're so connected in so many ways and working from everywhere. It's not just work from home. So I hope you guys, I have this resonated with you because I think it's such an important story that needs to be told it's okay if it's several years, maybe even a decade or two before you get to the top just keep going because you cannot lose, you cannot fail if you don't ever quit. So it's not entirely original. Thank you very much Liz. Tell us something we don't know, but there you are. And I just think Steve's story completely encapsulates this and crystallizes what you need to hear. Sometimes about these things. So thank you so much for tuning in and oh my God, it's been such a crazy time in news and we're doing so well on the show. And number one, we're beating the other guys, the NBC, thank you very much. And there's a reason we care about you, we care about your money, we care about helping you protect it to grow it and to tell these types of stories, bring in leaders who have had real success. So I'll see you Monday through Friday, three PM Eastern on the claim in Calda. 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