10 Things You Didn’t Know about Rowan Trollope
Who is Rowan Trollope, the CEO of the cloud communication firm Five9? Maybe you’ve been following him off and on in the news. Perhaps you’ve never even heard of him. As it turns out, there are quite a few things that make him interesting. Here are 10 of them.
1. He’s a mover and a shaker
There’s no doubt about it, he’s not somebody that just sits around and waits for things to happen. As opposed to doing that, he prefers to create his own destiny by deciding what he wants and then taking the steps necessary to make it happen. He has said himself that this is one of the easiest things in the world when it comes to achieving the things one wants out of life, yet it’s also the very thing that trips most people up. Whatever the reason, many people just don’t do what is necessary to achieve their dreams. He says that he’s living proof that if you’re willing to put in the time in the effort, anything can happen.
2. He doesn’t let anyone push him around
He also doesn’t tend to let other people tell him how he should be doing things. He’s never been one to follow the crowd, nor does he let other people tell him how he should think about things or what he should do about them, for that matter. He makes up his own mind and he ensures that he gets what he wants out of life. He also fully realizes that everything he does has an impact on countless numbers of other people. As a result, he works hard to make sure that he makes the most responsible decisions, not only for himself, but for all involved.
3. He understands all areas of business
He definitely understands everything to do with tech, but that isn’t where it stops. He also understands things like research and development, marketing and customer relations. It’s one of the things that makes him such a sought-after individual in the world of business. In every area and stage of business, from an entrepreneur working on a startup to a seasoned executive who can handle virtually all forms of business, he knows how to get the job done. More importantly, he doesn’t waste time doing it.
4. He knows how to negotiate
He definitely knows how to negotiate when it comes to working with other businesses. In short, he knows how to work with other business executives and major corporate corporations alike in order to ensure that good things are happening for the company he is responsible for. At the end of the day, that’s what everything is riding on. He’s well aware of the fact that there is a great deal riding on every decision he makes, so he moves forward with purpose and caution in order to make sure that things go in his favor.
5. He understands that customers want to feel seen
He knows that customers want to feel like they’re being heard and seen. In fact, there are few things more frustrating than being a customer who is trying to get your point across, only to end up feeling like no one hears you and no one cares. He works diligently to ensure that the customers associated with his company and never feel this way. It’s something that he actively works against all the time. If he does hear a complaint, he addresses it then and there in order to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
6. He used to work at Radio Shack
One of his first jobs was at Radio Shack. Remember, this was back in the early 1980s when Radio Shack was considered cutting-edge. The only thing that he had available to him was an old Commodore 64 computer. He never let that stop him, either. He achieved remarkable things on the computer that most people can’t do with today’s modern equipment, as you’ll see in the next paragraph.
7. He taught himself coding, among other things
While he was working on that old computer, he taught himself coding, as well as a number of other things. He even wrote several programs, something that was virtually impossible to do with the technology that was available at the time.
8. He holds all kinds of patents
Over the years, he’s created a number of programs, and he holds patents for many of those programs to this day. He’s also received a number of awards. Suffice it to say, he definitely understands virtually everything there is to know about computers and software. It’s clearly something that he has an innate talent for.
9. He tends to listen to his customers
As previously mentioned, he wants to keep his customers happy. As such, he actively speaks with select customers in order to find out whether or not they’re happy and if not, why. He also gets active feedback from his customers in order to determine what they would like to see from his company. Perhaps the most important thing is that he takes that information and then follows up with it as opposed to merely initiating the conversation and then doing nothing about it. That is precisely what makes him and his company different.
10. He’s not opposed to merging if it means bigger and better things
Most CEOs are absolutely terrified of the idea of merging with another company unless they are capable of being the one to initiate a takeover. That isn’t the case here. He has often commented that he’s never been afraid of such events because it could potentially create something that is even greater than what already exists. If that’s what ends up happening, he says he’s in favor of mergers, even if it means he has to take a step down once everything is said and done.
