June 23, 2025 • 42 mins
On this episode of the Sell Me This Podcast, Keith Daser talks with Cassie Jeppson, Director of Channel Programs and Operations Strategy at Lenovo. From hobby-farming in Tennessee to leading one of North America’s largest channel teams, Cassie has a diverse background that informs her dynamic perspective on leadership, technology, and the evolving partner ecosystem.
They dive into her journey across marketing, sales, and enablement, and explore how channel partners are leaning into specialization to stay competitive. Cassie also shares her take on the massive impact AI is having on both SMBs and enterprises, and what it means for those who want to stay ahead of the curve.
Whether you work in the channel or just want a deeper look at where the tech industry is headed, this conversation offers practical insight on leadership, strategy, and the power of adapting to change.
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If you believe you deserve more from your technology partnerships – connect with the team at:
https://www.deliverdigital.ca/?utm_source=videodescription&utm_id=youtube
Sell Me This Podcast is brought to you by the team at Deliver Digital, a Calgary-based consulting organization that guides progressive companies through the selection, implementation, and governance of key technology partnerships. Their work is transforming the technology solution and software provider landscape by helping organizations reduce costs and duplication, enhance vendor alignment, and establish sustainable operating models that empower digital progress.
This episode of the Sell Me This Podcast was expertly edited, filmed, and produced by Laila Hobbs and Bretten Roissl of Social Launch Labs, who deliver top-tier storytelling and technical excellence. A special thanks to the entire team for their dedication to crafting compelling content that engages, connects, and inspires.
Find the team at Social Launch Labs at:
www.sociallaunchlabs.com
Sell Me This Podcast is brought to you by the team at Deliver Digital, a Calgary-based consulting organization that guides progressive companies through the selection, implementation, and governance of key technology partnerships. Their work is transforming the technology solution and software provider landscape by helping organizations reduce costs and duplication, enhance vendor alignment, and establish sustainable operating models that empower digital progress.
If you believe you deserve more from your technology partnerships – connect with the team at:
www.deliverdigital.ca
This episode of Sell Me This Podcast was expertly edited, filmed, and produced by Laila Hobbs and Bretten Roissl of Social Launch Labs, who deliver top-tier storytelling and technical excellence. A special thanks to the entire team for their dedication to crafting compelling content that engages, connects, and inspires.
Find the team at Social Launch Labs at:
www.sociallaunchlabs.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
From an ecosystem perspective, the collaboration
that is happening in the channelis nothing like I've ever seen
before, and so we have partnersthat are banding together and
understanding the unique valuesthat each of them bring to the
table and in supportingcustomers in really unique ways
(00:22):
really unique ways.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to Sell Me this Podcast, where we explore
the strategy, innovation andleadership shaping the world of
business and technology.
Today, we're joined by CassieJepsen, director of Channel
Programs and Operations Strategyat Lenovo.
From hobby farming in Tennesseeto leading one of North
America's largest channel teams,cassie brings dynamic
perspectives on tech leadershipand the evolving tech ecosystem.
(00:50):
We'll dive into her journeyacross roles in marketing sales
and enablement explore howchannel partners are embracing
specialization and unpack themassive impact that AI is having
on both SMBs and enterprises.
Cassie also shares a candidlook at work-life balance,
scaling with tech and how Lenovois helping organizations
(01:11):
navigate a rapidly shiftingdigital landscape.
If you're in tech sales ortrying to do more with less,
this episode is packed withinsights.
Let's get into it.
Cassie, welcome to anotherexciting episode of Sell Me this
Podcast.
We are super grateful to haveyou today.
Where am I finding you?
I know that you're across thecountry here, so where are you
calling me from today?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, keith, super excited to be here and I'm happy
to report that I'm actually athome today.
So I live about an hour outsideof Nashville, tennessee, a
little town called Dixon.
It's nice to be here andenjoying the warm weather.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
I love it and I remember so.
When you and I first met, weimmediately connected over
something that you leapt intothat I feel like I have
incredible admiration for.
So you are a hobby farmer aswell as an executive at Lenovo.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, we have more animals than I can count at the
moment and quickly growing, soit's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Very cool, very cool.
I'm going to jump right intothings.
Do you want to share a littlebit about your journey in the
technology space and how do youfind yourself in your role at
Lenovo today?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
It has been a journey , that's for sure.
Over the years then I've heldpositions in marketing, in
channel management, direct sales, operations, programs,
enablement, you name it.
I've done it and my journey hastaken me.
Before Lenovo, I worked for acompany called MarketStar, and
they support Fortune 500s andgetting started in the channel
and building their business withsome outsourced support.
(02:33):
I worked with Citrix, sothey're a software platforms
provider, and I actually workedat Office Depot as well on
helping them to get theirchannel started several years
back, and then I've been an enduser sales rep as well.
So just a little bit ofeverything and the power of
relationships is really whatbrought me to Lenovo.
I was a series of connectionsand relationships and I was able
(02:57):
to meet the notorious JeffTaylor I'm sure you know him as
well and so Jeff and I reallyhit it off and he had an
opportunity running channelprograms at Lenovo.
So I started about five and ahalf years ago and my role has
evolved and changed many timesover the last five and a half
years.
So now I'm responsible forprograms, operations, enablement
and channel strategy for theNorth America team at Lenovo.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
So that is an incredibly impressive portfolio
and you're a channel veteran.
I know that you know your wayaround the channel from a bunch
of different angles.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about what that role and
what you're doing on a dailybasis entails?
Speaker 1 (03:33):
There is no daily basis.
It definitely is a differentadventure every day, but the
best days I get to engage with alot of partners and to gather
their feedback as to what theyneed in the market and what
they're expecting of theirvendors.
And then I have the privilegeof turning that feedback into
action and creating things likechannel incentive programs,
(03:55):
revamping, enhancing ouroperations to really focus on
ease of doing business andmaking sure that we're simple
and that we're consistent in theway that we do things.
And then, from an enablementperspective, that's all about
the tools, the information andthe resources and making sure
that the partners have what theyneed when they need it.
I look at it as the I'm thechoose your own adventure book.
That is Lenovo, right, and myteam is supporting all of that
(04:19):
and they're incredible.
So we operate extremely agileand almost 100% based on partner
request and feedback.
So I don't want to putsomething out there that isn't
used or isn't beneficial in themarket.
We don't want to just launchthings for the sake of checking
a box and launching something.
It needs to be valuable,meaningful and applicable and,
of course, relevant to thepartner's business.
(04:40):
So that's what we're about If apartner needs something or has
feedback, then I'm all ears andlove to hear it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I love it, and so are you mainly focused on the
programs and the kind ofmechanisms that allow you to go
to market on that front, or doyou deal with the product side
at all, or a combination of both, in terms of that feedback?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So I'm not creating products but we're certainly
creating the support, theoperations, the enablement and
making sure that our partnersare well positioned and
comfortable taking those thingsto market with and for us.
Now, certainly, if there'sfeedback about different product
features or hey, I would liketo see X, y, z then I do connect
with the right people to beable to bubble that feedback up
(05:18):
and make sure that those voicesare heard and or get those
people directly involved withthe partners.
I'm like that.
Our team is kind of like thatswitchboard they call in and we
connect you with the rightpeople, the right places, the
right tools and the right thingsto be able to support your
business.
So you can consider me thenon-sale support for anything
that the partners need.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
And so you're really the conduit for all of that
information, all of that insightthat's coming from across North
America, from what the face ofLenovo, which is a lot of the
channel partners, are reallysaying.
That must be an incredibleamount of information and
insight that you receive.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I don't know how you handle that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But are there trends that are popping up?
Are there things that you'reseeing that are happening across
the channel right now thatreally come to mind and express
what's going on in the, we'llsay, the end user and technology
channel side of things?
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Yeah gosh, it's such an exciting time to be in
technology right now.
So Lenovo covers the wholegamut of technology.
For the most part, we say thatwe have everything from the
pocket to the cloud, but there'sa lot of components in there
within that realm.
If we start from the cell phoneMotorola is part of the Lenovo
family and then we have the PCclient devices.
We have the infrastructure, theservers, the storage and the
(06:30):
software and services that kindof bring the glue together, and
then there's the accessories,the visuals and all of the fun
stuff that goes in as well.
So with that, we do get a tonof feedback from all types of
partners.
Get a ton of feedback from alltypes of partners.
I would say that there'sdefinitely the micro macro
trends that are happening, andsome of that is political and
(06:51):
market trends.
There's different purchasingpatterns that are happening with
the customers.
But there's really two reallybig trends and buzzwords, if you
will.
Ai is definitely one of those.
You can't get through aconversation without hearing 10
different definitions of AI.
And then the other one isecosystem orchestration and
that's a really powerful butboth of those are really
(07:13):
powerful words.
So from an AI perspective, thecustomers are really figuring
out what does AI mean for themand starting to put together
their plans for what do I wantAI to do for me.
Is it an efficiency play?
Is it a automation play?
Is it a monetization elementfor the business?
(07:33):
And there's so many differentfacets of AI that there's kind
of something for everyone.
Ai spans the I am leveragingCopilot to write my emails for
me today all the way up to likea cyborg right that we remember
from our childhood I think allof my childhood Star.
(07:55):
Trek fantasies are coming tolife right now.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
The T-9000.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That's right.
That's right.
And then, from an ecosystemperspective, the collaboration
that is happening in the channelis nothing like I've ever seen
before, and so we have partnersthat are banding together and
understanding the unique valuesthat each of them bring to the
table and supporting customersin really unique ways.
(08:21):
We see some opportunities wherethere's upwards of seven
individual partners that areservicing one customer need, and
so they're bringing togethertheir expertise in
infrastructure and security andnetworking and client devices
and automation and efficienciesand being that holistic
consultant for their customer,and so that brings just a ton of
(08:45):
opportunity for us to build andcollaborate and find different
ways to build thoserelationships with our partners
and with and for the customer.
So it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
So I want to dive into both of those things, but
I'm going to start with theecosystem side of things,
because what you said issomething that I've also been
sharing as maybe a provocativeopinion for a while, which is, I
think the generalist is slowlystarting to fade away,
especially in technology, andthere's a role for the
generalist, but with the speedthat everything's moving, you
need some of that key expertise,the person that knows what
(09:20):
they're doing, the person thatknows how to navigate some of
the unseen waters, and that roleof specialization in the
channel is becoming so important.
How are you seeing partnersbuckle down in specific areas
and how is that reallybenefiting them?
Speaker 1 (09:35):
That's a loaded question.
We are seeing it in so manydifferent ways.
I think there for a while,especially just right after the
pandemic, then you saw this,this I need to be all things to
all people.
And now, as we're evolving insolutions and services and
specialty solutions, then we'resaying, oh, do you know how to
do this?
What is your expertise, what'syour background in this?
(09:57):
What have you learned aboutthis particular topic?
and the conversations are moreorganic and they're more
authentic and pure I don'treally know the right
terminology to say there, but inthe past you would walk into a
room and you would have 20partners in the room and it was.
I can't share that with them.
That's my secret sauce, and nowit's oh my gosh, I got to share
(10:17):
this with you and have you seenthis?
Let me tell you what I learnedabout that.
And so the camaraderie and thecommunity that is happening in
the channel it's amazing andthere's so much passion behind
it that it's really infectious.
So ecosystems have been thistrend I guess micro trends that
even before the pandemic.
(10:38):
That's really when it started.
And then we saw an accelerationthrough the pandemic and then
afterwards then it's what do wedo now?
And then there was the AI boom.
That is happening and it's allright.
We figured out what we need todo now with ecosystems.
This is where it's going andthis is how we can capitalize on
all of those relationships thatwe forged during and after the
(11:00):
pandemic, and this is theevolution of that.
So it's a really exciting thing.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I love it and I feel like the power of that
togetherness is super important,especially as everyone tries to
figure out what these nextchapters are like, because I
don't think anyone has thatcrystal ball that says, okay,
next year this is going tohappen, and then the year after.
I feel like things are evolvingso rapidly that no one quite
knows exactly what's happening.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
We're just trying to figure it out together 100% and
everything that you do in life,you as you, as I get older I
find that it definitely takes avillage and I think that's
what's happening in the channelas well is that we're finding
that as things become morecomplex and as we mature, then
it does.
It takes a village and we needto rely on those tight
(11:42):
relationships and the expertiseand skill sets of others to be
able to have that holisticsolution and be able to better
serve our customers together.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And so from your perspective and I'm not sure if
you have line of sight directlyinto the end customer side of
things but how is that impactinghow customers are actually
buying those solutions and evenbringing together those nine
partners that you mentioned?
So I think that it's reallypowerful to say here are the
nine people that can do X, y andZ.
But if I'm a customer, how do Ieven start to pick those nine
people?
(12:14):
Because I feel like buying allof a sudden becomes way more
challenging than that.
Front two.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah, buying becomes more challenging.
Both customers and partners arereally slimming down their
vendor lists and so they'refinding those vendors that one
are easy to do business with,that are there to build a
relationship and that they havethat established trust but
(12:43):
they're there during the momentsthat matter and that they're
leaning in and helping thepartner to make a difference
during that customer experience.
And so it's through thatrelationship and through that
networking that they're buildingtheir close knit.
Seven if you will, of whothey're going to market with,
and so it's a lot of referral,it's a lot of relationship, and
it's a customer saying hey, mrPartner, we've had a
relationship for some time.
I'm interested in XYZ, do youhave expertise in that?
(13:03):
No, but I got a guy, andeverybody's bringing in their
guy to the relationship and tothe conversation, and that is
how things are starting toevolve.
So partners are looking totheir vendors, they're looking
to their communities and forumsand peers to be able to
establish their squad, if youwill, and then the customers are
looking to that relationshipwith their partner as well.
(13:27):
There's some staggeringstatistics out there, though.
I read recently that 36% of SMBcustomers are seeking a new
partner, and not because ofanyone's fault, just because
they think maybe the grass isgreener, and so they're starting
to do some exploration.
But what we're finding is that,through some of this networking
(13:47):
and relationship build and thatexploration, then obviously one
of two things are happening.
One, they decide that the grassisn't greener and I've got the
best of the best right here, orthey're finding hey, there's
some different thought overthere and I want to explore some
of that innovation that I mightnot be getting from my existing
partner and to that I would saymake sure you're networking,
(14:09):
make sure that you are bringingsome of those innovative ideas
to the table and that you havethat foresight into being able
to visualize proactively whatyour customers needs and asks
may be.
It could be something as simpleas hey, I read the statistic,
how does this affect yourbusiness?
And asking some of thosequestions.
(14:29):
Or introducing hey, I have acouple of customers like you and
this solution has beenbeneficial to them.
I have a guy he specializes inthis solution.
We do this together and sostart engaging in those types of
conversations to educate andgrab a hand and bring them
forward with you, and that's thepower of relationships.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And it sounds like a lot of these customers are
looking for the guide to helptake them through these waters.
That one in three or that 36%stat is super alarming, but also
not super surprising.
The analogy that I've usedbefore is the barbecue.
Where you're, you don't want tobe the one person at the
barbecue, especially in SMB.
That kind of looks around andeveryone's talking about the
cool things they're doing withAI or with agents or whatever it
(15:09):
may be, and you're stillfocused on X, Y and Z over here
and you feel like you're stuckbehind.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Yeah, and I would say that is happening more and more
in the SMB space, theenterprise guys.
That's like steering the Titanicright it takes a lot of people
to get on board and to make surethat you're steering the ship
in the right way.
But the SMB and mid-marketspace is just a little bit more
agile and able to lean in andtry different technologies, and
oftentimes they're the earlyadopters of the new things and
(15:37):
new trends.
And oftentimes they're theearly adopters of the new things
and new trends and we find thatin things like Internet of
Things and smaller AI devices,then the SMBs have really
capitalized on that to be ableto find different areas of
efficiency and automation andnew ways to be able to service
their customers.
If you think of an SMB owner,then, man, he's wearing 15
(16:03):
different hats.
I know that we have a smallbusiness on our farm and my
husband and I wear 15 hats eachto be able to get it done.
And if I could and I do leveragesome technology to work for me,
whether that is agents to beable to build my website, or
automating some of my socialmedia posts, or leveraging my 13
year old- daughter to makevideos for me, you got to find
(16:23):
the ways to be able to getthrough all of those tasks and
keep up with the market andcustomer demand, and creating
content is a huge part of thatto be able to get your message
out and share your expertise.
So finding those efficiencies,finding some of those easy
buttons to be able to cut downon the mundane tasks and to
(16:44):
focus more on the strategic andservicing your customers is
definitely important for SMBsand that's where some of the AI
devices, ai solutions reallycomes into play for them.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And so I think that's really interesting, because the
exact scenario that you talkedabout with the farm I even have
with our business.
Right, we're a small, growingbusiness and I work in
technology and the choicessometimes are almost
overwhelming.
Right, there's so many optionsand things you can choose, so
many paths you can take, and itseems every week something new
comes out.
How is Lenovo playing a role inhelping some of the SMBs either
(17:15):
make those decisions or make itreally intuitive with the
platforms and services youprovide to help them along that
journey?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
So the list is long.
I would say that the first thingis to make sure that, if you
are a customer, that you'reconnecting with your preferred
partner and they can help towalk you through the different
solutions that are out there.
But we do have dedicated SMBteams that they go through some
pretty rigorous training tounderstand the trends that are
happening in the SMB market andto be able to be that consultant
(17:44):
or guide for technology that isreally built for the SMB.
And we do have differentcomponents that are different
devices and solutions that aretailored for different segments
of the market, whether it's SMB,mid-market commercial
enterprise or specific verticalsas well.
When you get into privacypractices or design fields, then
(18:06):
you need different things basedon what you're doing, and so
we've done a lot of research onthe individual personas and have
crafted different solutionsthat fit for the majority and
are also able to be customized,because it's not a one size fits
all, but it's a one size fitsmost of the needs, and so
they're able to be tailored andcustomized to be able to meet
(18:27):
the needs of the individualbusiness owner or user within
that business, and so some of myfavorite new solutions that do
leverage AI I'm responsible fora lot of the business modeling
and financial elements and Ihave a team that can help me
with modeling.
And after a couple of glassesof wine then I get really good
with those.
Excel spreadsheets, but on aregular I'm a little bit slower
(18:50):
when it comes to some of thebuilding the models myself, and
so I can leverage Copilot to beable to build some of those
entry-level models for me.
And so if we have an idea ofman, should we invest in this?
Then I can build a quick model.
I can get the just of yes, itmakes sense, or no, it doesn't,
and if it does then I can engagemy team to do a deeper analysis
(19:12):
.
But I can save some of theirtime in doing that initial
leveraging Copilot by myself,and so that's been a big time
saver.
I travel a lot, and I thinkyou're aware of that, and we
share some travel woes there.
But as I am jumping off of aplane and sprinting through
Atlanta airport, it seems everytime then I'm trying to answer
(19:32):
emails also, and so I was reallynotorious for three or four
line bulleted emails to answer,and now I can click on that
copilot button and it haslearned my voice and can
generate a really nice emailfrom those four bullets that I
put in, and so it's helping meto be more efficient and also
more professional in the waythat I come across in some of
(19:54):
those responses PowerPoint samething.
There's lots of ways to be ableto leverage the technology to
work for you, and I love that itsummarizes my emails.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
The email summarization is the greatest
thing in the world, I feel.
Yes, yeah.
And meeting summaries I feellike without those two things, I
feel like I would be completelylost.
It would be like going back tothe stoned ages right now.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I'm sure that you're like me and sometimes you are
booked on three or fourdifferent meetings at the same
time, and so I can juggle someof those a little bit better.
Now, where it's all right, this30 minutes I'm going to spend
in this one and then I'm goingto jump into this one and I can
do that co-pilot summary when Ijump into the meeting and I can
catch right up and not miss abeat with those summaries or get
that readout after the fact.
(20:36):
And so those things have mademy life a lot easier because I
don't always have to listen tothe recording.
Instead of taking an hour tolisten to a recording, I'm a
little bit of a speed reader, soI can take that five or 10
minutes and flip through thetranscript.
And so just finding those waysto be able to check all the
boxes that we have on a dailybasis and to be able to be a
(20:58):
better contributor as a resultof leveraging technology to just
help me out and I know a lot ofsmall business owners out there
are looking for ways to be ableto streamline and to find those
efficiency areas, and sowhether you are a handyman
construction business and youneed to quickly be able to
(21:18):
identify who are my, where aremy jobs today?
Did I do my invoices?
Did I check all of the boxes?
There's a solution for that.
If you are a small bakery, thenthere's some IoT devices that
can really help you to preheatyour oven when you're on your
way home from your first job orschedule pickups with your
customers way home from yourfirst job, or schedule pickups
(21:42):
with your customers, do theremote door locks to be able to
let them into your space forthose pickups, and also to do
invoicing and documentmanagement on the back end.
So there's all types ofbusinesses and no two businesses
are the same, but many times weshare the same woes and so if
we are leveraging some of thesolutions out there to overcome
some of those woes so that wecan spend the time doing what we
(22:04):
love and I haven't come acrosstoo many people that love the
paperwork behind it but if wecan leverage technology for some
of those small things, then wecan spend more time with our
customers and we can spend moretime building and growing the
business that we love and doingthings that bring us joy.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I love it.
I love that perspective as well, which it's not replacing
something.
It's just allowing people tofocus differently.
And I don't know about you, butI have the opportunity to talk
to a ton of executives andeveryone I talk to is busy.
Everyone I talk to has more ontheir plate than they know what
to do with and they're juggling400 different things and the
(22:43):
ability to add scale andsimplicity to their lives seems
like a little bit of ano-brainer.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Yes, it's a scary thing, though, because you feel
like you're losing a little bitof control.
In the beginning and this istotally speaking from personal
experience I've been in thetechnology industry for more
years than I care to admit, andI really liked writing things
down in my notebook and checkingoff that to-do list, and as I
embrace technology more and more, then I'm able to reduce the
(23:08):
amount of things that are on myto-do list, which is now digital
, and to be able to feel thatI've accomplished more at the
end of the day, and so byletting go, I was able to grow
both personally andprofessionally, and that by
looking at what are thosemundane tasks, where can I
prioritize differently andwhat's going to make a
(23:28):
difference then it allowed me toreally capitalize on impactful
items and spend more timebuilding relationships that
really matter more than checkingoff my to-do list, and so it
allowed me to find more joy inmy role, as well as to help more
people to achieve their goalsas well.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Yeah, and I totally get what you're saying as well.
You can almost get addicted tobeing busy and I think there's a
lot of people that start to sayyou know what?
I have these 10, 12, 14,24-hour days.
We'll put it at the max just tokeep the exaggerations in check
here.
But there's people that doenormous amounts of work, but
trying to start to detangle thatand prioritize is actually
(24:12):
harder than it sounds, but canbe super unlocking if you start
to do that.
Are you seeing your team gothrough that same process as
well?
Are you leading through exampleon that, or are they the ones
pushing you?
I'm trying really hard.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I grew up in a workaholic family, and so my dad
is.
He's still one of those guysthat he sleeps four hours a
night, and that's great for him,and he is just always on the go
, always doing something, and sothat was the norm for me, and I
struggle to sit still for verylong.
I've always got to be doingsomething, but more and more I'm
unplugging.
I'm finding the areas in mylife that bring me more joy and
(24:50):
finding ways to be moreproductive in fewer hours during
the day, so that I'm notopening up the laptop after the
kids go to bed or feeling like Ineed to pull it out when I'm on
vacation or things like that.
So the turning point for me wasseveral years ago.
My youngest daughter wascreating avatars for everyone in
the family, and the avatar thatshe created for me was a laptop
(25:14):
, and you could just see theeyes on top of it.
You can just see a little headsticking out, and that's what
she created for me was a laptop,and you could just see the eyes
on top of it.
You can just see a little headsticking out, and that's what
she created for me, and so thatwas very eyeopening that maybe
I'm spending a little bit toomuch time and maybe I've become
that workaholic that I didn'twant to be, and it's taken me
years to be able to have herchange my avatar, and now it's a
little bit different.
(25:35):
There's no computer in theavatar, but just being able to
set real boundaries for myself,and so it's more of
self-governance rather than thecompany.
Lenovo is fantastic about thework-life balance, but I needed
to govern myself, and so, byfinding different ways to be
more effective and efficient,realizing that it's not possible
(25:56):
for me to check off every boxevery day and that it's okay to
let a few things go it's notwhat are the big balls that
you're juggling, and it's okayto let some of the small ones go
, to deprioritize.
And then also making sure thatI was leaning on the team in the
appropriate ways, and Irealized that the example that I
was setting by being thatavatar was not healthy and that
(26:20):
I needed to make some changes sothat I could lead by a
healthier example.
And so, over the past severalyears, then, I've made
significant changes and I'mholding myself and my team
accountable to more self-careand more better prioritization
and time management.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
And I feel like going through that as well and I
share probably a similar DNA aswhat you're talking about and I
feel like I have a similar storyof trying to find some of that
balance and trying to find a wayto not lose the momentum and
lose the excitement, but alsoreally focus on the things that
are going to drive the impact,and I think AI and some of the
tools do an incredible job ofthat.
But being through that probablyallows you to coach your team
(26:57):
through some of those samechallenges, which I think are
becoming more and more prevalentway, differently.
The other thing that I getexcited is the flip side of that
, which is and we'll focus onthe SMB a little bit as well
still the opportunity to do waymore with less, and so I think
that some of these tools allowfor competition, for scale, for
innovation on a completelydifferent level and pace than
(27:19):
before, and are you seeing thatacross the board as well, or
what's your perspective on that?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yeah, I totally agree .
I think that those companiesthat have embraced some of the
technology to do the work forthem then they are seeing hyper
growth as they're doing that andthey are able to find more
work-life balance and they havehappier employees.
Just in general and there'sseveral different surveys and
(27:46):
studies that are out thererelated to that I think that the
most impactful one for me as Iwas going through my journey was
if you are working more than 45hours a week, then every hour
above that, then the percentageof productivity drop that you
actually have by spending morehours behind the desk was
extremely significant.
(28:07):
I can't remember the exactstatistics, but once you got to
a 60-hour workweek, then youwere losing more than 20% in
productivity, and so you shouldhave just been working the 40
hours in the first place, and40-hour workweek isn't
necessarily realistic for all ofus, but it's interesting to
take a look at the statisticsthat are out there and being
able to just listen to your bodyand listen to your mental your
(28:29):
own mental health and be mindfulof those things, but also be
mindful of those around you andthe impact that your behavior is
having on them, and that's thebiggest thing for me with
running a few different teams atLenovo, and they're at all
different stages within theircareer journey, and so I feel
like if I can help them tocreate positive behaviors early
(28:52):
on, then how much moresuccessful and joy will they
find within their career oncethey're at my age than I had as
I was growing and developingmyself.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Well, I think that there's a superpower to
constraints as well, and I'msure that when you think about
even how you're leading yourteams, how you're allocating
headcount or investment, mdl,whatever it may be, there's
power in saying here's the box,you have to kind of live with it
.
And I think that even if youlook at your work week in that
same way of saying, okay, here'sthe 40 hours what are the
things that are most importantthat I have to fit in this box,
(29:25):
because if you have infinityresources, you can do everything
all at once and there's noprioritization, and so I think
that's a really interestingperspective you're sharing on
just creating some of thoseconstraints and helping it
actually allow people to thrivein those scenarios.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Putting things in a box istough, right, because I feel
like I need to sit on the boxand squish it down a little bit
more and see what else I can fitin there, but that's more of a
personal problem.
So I mean, it's the power ofprioritization, but the power of
saying no is definitelyimportant, and especially now
(29:59):
that there is so much.
There are so many great ideas,there are so many things that
could impact the business orinnovative projects that we
could be working on, but if wedo them all, then they're not
all impactful, and so we have totake that step back and really
identify what's going to havethe biggest impact, short-term
(30:19):
and long-term, and where shouldwe be prioritizing, because we
can't be all things to allpeople and we can't do every
single project that's out there.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
There's a really interesting prompt actually and
this probably won't age, becausein six months if someone
listens to this, it'll be oldnews but there's a really
interesting prompt on ChatGPTright now which allows you to
essentially say, now that youhave memory, allow me to see my
blind spots aroundprioritization et cetera, and it
was alarming Like itessentially went through all of
the things that I'm working onand the things that I've put
(30:48):
into ChatGPT and stack ranked.
It's like you're wasting yourtime on these things.
You actually need todeprioritize and cut these
activities.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
It is a little bit of a science.
It's very interesting, that'sreally interesting.
So I haven't done that on topGPT, but in Outlook there is a
feature where it will do ananalysis of where you're
spending your meeting time andwith whom, and so you can see
what people you're spending themajority of your time with.
And then you can look at yourbusiness priorities and are you
spending your time with theright people doing the right
things is a way that I've lookedat prioritization as well.
(31:23):
And then there are some cooltime management features on
Outlook as well, where you canhave the system automatically
schedule your focus time and soif there's a 30 minute slot on
Sundays, then it'll block all ofthose 30 minute slots for the
week and it'll block it as focustime so that if somebody
doesn't schedule over it, thenyou actually have time in there
(31:44):
to be able to pop in some worktime or project time or maybe
it's meditation time.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Very cool.
I want to dive into the channela tiny bit.
So I know we talked about thechannel in terms of the
ecosystem side of things.
I think that there's a littlebit of a black box around the
channel still from some endcustomers and some companies the
SMBs it seems like this faraway thing.
Maybe they know their localpartner.
But could you describe a littlebit about, like, how Lenovo
works through the channel andwhat that ecosystem looks like
(32:12):
for you?
Sure?
Speaker 1 (32:14):
So Lenovo is kind of we have multiple levels of sales
teams at Lenovo and so we havewhat we call our end user sales
team and they're there torepresent the customer and so
they're that relationshipbetween the customer and Lenovo.
And then we have our channelpartners and and we see every
partner in our membership as anextension of the Lenovo team,
(32:36):
part of the Lenovo family, andtheir role is with Lenovo and
with that end user or sales rep,then bringing their expertise
to the table and helping us tojointly service that customer.
And so that partner typicallyhas that longstanding
relationship with many of theircustomers.
They understand theirtechnology needs more
intrinsically and most of thetime they're that local face for
(33:00):
the customers to engage withand they are aggregating
multiple technologies to be ableto serve that customer.
Whereas I shared the portfoliothat Lenovo has, which is very
extensive, but we are just asmall sliver of that pie of
technology solutions that areout there.
So, where we have severaldifferent alliances that
(33:21):
collaborate and integrate reallywell with Lenovo technology,
there's a ton out there andthere's new ones popping up
every day, and so the partnersare much better positioned to be
able to service that customerneeds based on that historical
relationship, and then they willeither have that niche
expertise or some type of aunique value that they're
(33:42):
bringing to the table as well,whether it's managing the
outsourced IT or providingspecial services or bringing
that unique niche knowledge tothe table as well.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
That makes sense.
You receive a lot of feedbackfrom these channel organizations
.
Are there mistakes that you seebusinesses make when they are
working through the channel orworking through various channel
partners?
If you were to give some adviceto, I'll say, like a mid-size
engineering firm that is goingto market for a set of services,
are there mistakes you see themoften make that end up shooting
themselves in the foot?
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I wouldn't necessarily call it a mistake,
but with the amount ofinformation that is available to
us today on the web, then Ithink that customers make some
of the same decisions that I dowhen I go to the doctor, right
when.
I go down.
As soon as the doctor says, hey,it might be this, then I go
down that route hole like reallyquickly, and so I immediately
(34:39):
pull up Google and read everyarticle I can about anything
that the doctors have said.
And so I think and as a consumerI do the same thing, but I
think most consumers are whetheryou're the direct consumer or
the business customer then weare relying on the things that
we read online to be able todrive and dictate some of the
(34:59):
decisions that we make, andwhile there's a lot of really
good information, it's notalways the right information or
the right interpretation of theinformation, and so my biggest
advice would be let's have anopen mind and let's think
outside the box a little bit tobe able to get to the right
solution for your business andwhat your buddy told you was the
(35:20):
solution for his business maynot be the exact same one that
you need.
And so just having that openmind and being willing to take a
look at the differenttechnological solutions that are
out there, then I think thatmakes the engagement with a
partner and with a vendor moremeaningful, and that's where the
partners can reallydifferentiate themselves in
(35:41):
being that coach, guide,consultant with and for the
customer to be able to identifyand craft the best solution for
that customer at the end of theday and actually go to the
doctor and talk to them,identify your symptoms, share
what's going on and let themdiagnose, versus jumping right
to 11 in terms of the severitymatrix, as I think we have all
(36:09):
done before, and I love thatcoach, guide, consultant analogy
as well.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Are there relationships that you see work
really well, or are there goingto be a DNA of specific partners
that make them stand out abovethe rest?
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Yeah, I mean, they're doing exactly that.
First and foremost, anybusiness relationship is a
relationship built on trust,right, and you have to find the
partner that you trust with yourbusiness, and so the
relationship aspect of it ismore important than it has ever
been in the past, in my opinion.
And so find the one that you'recomfortable with and then ask
the questions.
(36:39):
Getting a second opinion or adifferent perspective is a great
thing that a partner canprovide.
I know that in our business.
Then I think this is exactlythe way that we need to do it.
This is the technology that Ineed.
These are the processes thatare going to work for us.
My husband has a differentopinion sometimes, and that's
okay.
Or if I ask a friend then, or aconsultant, then they're going
to give me a differentperspective, and so a lot of
(37:02):
times then I may take thatconsultant advice, or we may
meet in the middle with oh, Ireally like this piece of what
you're suggesting, but this hasworked for me in the past.
So can we meet in the middle andcan we figure it out this way?
So there's a lot of, there are alot of partners that can help
with operational efficiency andworkflow and applying technology
(37:24):
to be able to support theoutcomes that the customers are
looking for.
And the benefit of the partnerversus Google or WebMD for my
technology solutions is that thepartner has so much experience
and they're working withmultiple customers that have
maybe not exactly the same butsimilar challenges that they
(37:45):
have helped to overcome.
So the perspective and theexperience and the skills that
they have around thoseparticular challenges can really
be life-changing once abusiness is able to tap into
that resource, that coaching,that guidance and advice and be
able to apply that to theirbusiness.
So I think transparency isreally key.
(38:06):
Be very vocal about what thechallenges and problems are that
you're trying to overcome sothat the partners and the
vendors can work together to beable to help you find the best
outcomes for your business andthe best solutions that are
going to help you to accelerateand reach your goals.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
I love it.
Is there one final question foryou here?
Is there a myth about the workthat you do that you wish people
would let go of, whether it beon the hardware side of things
or the services or just the vastportfolio?
Are there certainpreconceptions that you wish
would just go away from the workthat you're doing every day?
Speaker 1 (38:40):
There's not always a lower price, no, and I think
that's a valid one.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
That's a very valid one.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
I think that we get caught up in price sometimes,
but I think we really need tolook at the value, and sometimes
we'll see something that isposted on a marketplace that may
be listed for one price, andthen you get a quote from your
vendor or from the partner andit's different from what you've
seen on a marketplace.
There's probably a reason forthat.
No two offerings are reallycreated equal.
(39:07):
There could be some additionalservices or capability, there
could be refurbished productsthat we're talking about that
are posted on a marketplace, orit could be older technology,
but it's not necessarilydisclosed in that way.
Not everything on the surfaceis the reality, and so I would
say just have an open mind asfar as really understanding the
(39:30):
value of what you're receiving,and make sure that you're also
being transparent in theconversations to make sure that
we can help to find the bestsolution for your business and
the experience that you want toprovide, both for yourself and
for your employees.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
I love that you brought it up and I
intentionally kind of stayedaway from the price conversation
for most of our episode atleast.
But there's so many people thatthink, if I can take one SKU
and I can shop it around asquickly as possible, I'm going
to find a way to save $10 or$100 or whatever it may be.
And my argument usually ispeople end up spending more of
their time trying to find that$10 than they save on the actual
devices.
But I think the channel doesn'tquite work that way and I think
(40:08):
you're right.
Finding those trusted partnersthat can guide you through,
versus trying to just leverage acommodity mindset, is going to
get you way further ahead onthat front.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Yeah, and I think that's an important aspect,
because technology is seen moreof a commodity, but it's really
not.
A laptop is much more than adevice.
There's so many things that gointo it, aside from the box
itself that you're getting whenyou purchase a laptop, and
especially if you're purchasingthat with services around it and
(40:38):
services means a lot of thingsbut there are value-added
services that make that muchmore than a device, and whether
you're purchasing directly froma vendor or through a trusted
partner, then they're available.
And so I would say, just reallyunderstand what you're
purchasing, making sure that youhave the right support, the
(40:58):
right warranties and the righttrust and confidence in the
purchase that you're making.
We typically use laptops forthree to five years that's not
changing anytime soon and soit's definitely an investment
and it's important to make surethat you're comfortable with the
investment that you're making.
To make sure that you'recomfortable with the investment
that you're making, andoftentimes, if you're doing that
through more let's call itreliable channels, experts,
(41:22):
let's call it experts.
If you're doing that throughexperts, then they're more able
to guide you to make sure thatyou're getting the value for the
investment that you're makingfor the long term.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Amazing Cassie.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
For people that want to learnmore about Lenovo, they want to
learn more about you, they wantto connect with you.
Where should they go?
Where can they find you?
Speaker 1 (41:44):
Not physically, but so I'm always available.
Connect with me on LinkedIn orreach out directly.
It's cjebsen at lenovocom orany member of my team can assist
you at supporthub at lenovocomand we can answer any question
that you have.
I'm an open book, so pleasekeep the feedback coming and let
us know how we can be morerelevant for you.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Amazing.
This has been an absolutepleasure and I really appreciate
you joining us today.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
I really appreciate you having me.
This was a fun one.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
Cool, thanks so much.
From an ecosystem perspective, the collaboration
that is happening in the channelis nothing like I've ever seen
before, and so we have partnersthat are banding together and
understanding the unique valuesthat each of them bring to the
table and in supportingcustomers in really unique ways
(00:22):
really unique ways.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to Sell Me this Podcast, where we explore
the strategy, innovation andleadership shaping the world of
business and technology.
Today, we're joined by CassieJepsen, director of Channel
Programs and Operations Strategyat Lenovo.
From hobby farming in Tennesseeto leading one of North
America's largest channel teams,cassie brings dynamic
perspectives on tech leadershipand the evolving tech ecosystem.
(00:50):
We'll dive into her journeyacross roles in marketing sales
and enablement explore howchannel partners are embracing
specialization and unpack themassive impact that AI is having
on both SMBs and enterprises.
Cassie also shares a candidlook at work-life balance,
scaling with tech and how Lenovois helping organizations
(01:11):
navigate a rapidly shiftingdigital landscape.
If you're in tech sales ortrying to do more with less,
this episode is packed withinsights.
Let's get into it.
Cassie, welcome to anotherexciting episode of Sell Me this
Podcast.
We are super grateful to haveyou today.
Where am I finding you?
I know that you're across thecountry here, so where are you
calling me from today?
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, keith, super excited to be here and I'm happy
to report that I'm actually athome today.
So I live about an hour outsideof Nashville, tennessee, a
little town called Dixon.
It's nice to be here andenjoying the warm weather.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
I love it and I remember so.
When you and I first met, weimmediately connected over
something that you leapt intothat I feel like I have
incredible admiration for.
So you are a hobby farmer aswell as an executive at Lenovo.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, we have more animals than I can count at the
moment and quickly growing, soit's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Very cool, very cool.
I'm going to jump right intothings.
Do you want to share a littlebit about your journey in the
technology space and how do youfind yourself in your role at
Lenovo today?
Speaker 1 (02:11):
It has been a journey , that's for sure.
Over the years then I've heldpositions in marketing, in
channel management, direct sales, operations, programs,
enablement, you name it.
I've done it and my journey hastaken me.
Before Lenovo, I worked for acompany called MarketStar, and
they support Fortune 500s andgetting started in the channel
and building their business withsome outsourced support.
(02:33):
I worked with Citrix, sothey're a software platforms
provider, and I actually workedat Office Depot as well on
helping them to get theirchannel started several years
back, and then I've been an enduser sales rep as well.
So just a little bit ofeverything and the power of
relationships is really whatbrought me to Lenovo.
I was a series of connectionsand relationships and I was able
(02:57):
to meet the notorious JeffTaylor I'm sure you know him as
well and so Jeff and I reallyhit it off and he had an
opportunity running channelprograms at Lenovo.
So I started about five and ahalf years ago and my role has
evolved and changed many timesover the last five and a half
years.
So now I'm responsible forprograms, operations, enablement
and channel strategy for theNorth America team at Lenovo.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
So that is an incredibly impressive portfolio
and you're a channel veteran.
I know that you know your wayaround the channel from a bunch
of different angles.
Can you tell me a little bitmore about what that role and
what you're doing on a dailybasis entails?
Speaker 1 (03:33):
There is no daily basis.
It definitely is a differentadventure every day, but the
best days I get to engage with alot of partners and to gather
their feedback as to what theyneed in the market and what
they're expecting of theirvendors.
And then I have the privilegeof turning that feedback into
action and creating things likechannel incentive programs,
(03:55):
revamping, enhancing ouroperations to really focus on
ease of doing business andmaking sure that we're simple
and that we're consistent in theway that we do things.
And then, from an enablementperspective, that's all about
the tools, the information andthe resources and making sure
that the partners have what theyneed when they need it.
I look at it as the I'm thechoose your own adventure book.
That is Lenovo, right, and myteam is supporting all of that
(04:19):
and they're incredible.
So we operate extremely agileand almost 100% based on partner
request and feedback.
So I don't want to putsomething out there that isn't
used or isn't beneficial in themarket.
We don't want to just launchthings for the sake of checking
a box and launching something.
It needs to be valuable,meaningful and applicable and,
of course, relevant to thepartner's business.
(04:40):
So that's what we're about If apartner needs something or has
feedback, then I'm all ears andlove to hear it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I love it, and so are you mainly focused on the
programs and the kind ofmechanisms that allow you to go
to market on that front, or doyou deal with the product side
at all, or a combination of both, in terms of that feedback?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So I'm not creating products but we're certainly
creating the support, theoperations, the enablement and
making sure that our partnersare well positioned and
comfortable taking those thingsto market with and for us.
Now, certainly, if there'sfeedback about different product
features or hey, I would liketo see X, y, z then I do connect
with the right people to beable to bubble that feedback up
(05:18):
and make sure that those voicesare heard and or get those
people directly involved withthe partners.
I'm like that.
Our team is kind of like thatswitchboard they call in and we
connect you with the rightpeople, the right places, the
right tools and the right thingsto be able to support your
business.
So you can consider me thenon-sale support for anything
that the partners need.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
And so you're really the conduit for all of that
information, all of that insightthat's coming from across North
America, from what the face ofLenovo, which is a lot of the
channel partners, are reallysaying.
That must be an incredibleamount of information and
insight that you receive.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I don't know how you handle that.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But are there trends that are popping up?
Are there things that you'reseeing that are happening across
the channel right now thatreally come to mind and express
what's going on in the, we'llsay, the end user and technology
channel side of things?
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Yeah gosh, it's such an exciting time to be in
technology right now.
So Lenovo covers the wholegamut of technology.
For the most part, we say thatwe have everything from the
pocket to the cloud, but there'sa lot of components in there
within that realm.
If we start from the cell phoneMotorola is part of the Lenovo
family and then we have the PCclient devices.
We have the infrastructure, theservers, the storage and the
(06:30):
software and services that kindof bring the glue together, and
then there's the accessories,the visuals and all of the fun
stuff that goes in as well.
So with that, we do get a tonof feedback from all types of
partners.
Get a ton of feedback from alltypes of partners.
I would say that there'sdefinitely the micro macro
trends that are happening, andsome of that is political and
(06:51):
market trends.
There's different purchasingpatterns that are happening with
the customers.
But there's really two reallybig trends and buzzwords, if you
will.
Ai is definitely one of those.
You can't get through aconversation without hearing 10
different definitions of AI.
And then the other one isecosystem orchestration and
that's a really powerful butboth of those are really
(07:13):
powerful words.
So from an AI perspective, thecustomers are really figuring
out what does AI mean for themand starting to put together
their plans for what do I wantAI to do for me.
Is it an efficiency play?
Is it a automation play?
Is it a monetization elementfor the business?
(07:33):
And there's so many differentfacets of AI that there's kind
of something for everyone.
Ai spans the I am leveragingCopilot to write my emails for
me today all the way up to likea cyborg right that we remember
from our childhood I think allof my childhood Star.
(07:55):
Trek fantasies are coming tolife right now.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
The T-9000.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
That's right.
That's right.
And then, from an ecosystemperspective, the collaboration
that is happening in the channelis nothing like I've ever seen
before, and so we have partnersthat are banding together and
understanding the unique valuesthat each of them bring to the
table and supporting customersin really unique ways.
(08:21):
We see some opportunities wherethere's upwards of seven
individual partners that areservicing one customer need, and
so they're bringing togethertheir expertise in
infrastructure and security andnetworking and client devices
and automation and efficienciesand being that holistic
consultant for their customer,and so that brings just a ton of
(08:45):
opportunity for us to build andcollaborate and find different
ways to build thoserelationships with our partners
and with and for the customer.
So it's exciting.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
So I want to dive into both of those things, but
I'm going to start with theecosystem side of things,
because what you said issomething that I've also been
sharing as maybe a provocativeopinion for a while, which is, I
think the generalist is slowlystarting to fade away,
especially in technology, andthere's a role for the
generalist, but with the speedthat everything's moving, you
need some of that key expertise,the person that knows what
(09:20):
they're doing, the person thatknows how to navigate some of
the unseen waters, and that roleof specialization in the
channel is becoming so important.
How are you seeing partnersbuckle down in specific areas
and how is that reallybenefiting them?
Speaker 1 (09:35):
That's a loaded question.
We are seeing it in so manydifferent ways.
I think there for a while,especially just right after the
pandemic, then you saw this,this I need to be all things to
all people.
And now, as we're evolving insolutions and services and
specialty solutions, then we'resaying, oh, do you know how to
do this?
What is your expertise, what'syour background in this?
(09:57):
What have you learned aboutthis particular topic?
and the conversations are moreorganic and they're more
authentic and pure I don'treally know the right
terminology to say there, but inthe past you would walk into a
room and you would have 20partners in the room and it was.
I can't share that with them.
That's my secret sauce, and nowit's oh my gosh, I got to share
(10:17):
this with you and have you seenthis?
Let me tell you what I learnedabout that.
And so the camaraderie and thecommunity that is happening in
the channel it's amazing andthere's so much passion behind
it that it's really infectious.
So ecosystems have been thistrend I guess micro trends that
even before the pandemic.
(10:38):
That's really when it started.
And then we saw an accelerationthrough the pandemic and then
afterwards then it's what do wedo now?
And then there was the AI boom.
That is happening and it's allright.
We figured out what we need todo now with ecosystems.
This is where it's going andthis is how we can capitalize on
all of those relationships thatwe forged during and after the
(11:00):
pandemic, and this is theevolution of that.
So it's a really exciting thing.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
I love it and I feel like the power of that
togetherness is super important,especially as everyone tries to
figure out what these nextchapters are like, because I
don't think anyone has thatcrystal ball that says, okay,
next year this is going tohappen, and then the year after.
I feel like things are evolvingso rapidly that no one quite
knows exactly what's happening.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
We're just trying to figure it out together 100% and
everything that you do in life,you as you, as I get older I
find that it definitely takes avillage and I think that's
what's happening in the channelas well is that we're finding
that as things become morecomplex and as we mature, then
it does.
It takes a village and we needto rely on those tight
(11:42):
relationships and the expertiseand skill sets of others to be
able to have that holisticsolution and be able to better
serve our customers together.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And so from your perspective and I'm not sure if
you have line of sight directlyinto the end customer side of
things but how is that impactinghow customers are actually
buying those solutions and evenbringing together those nine
partners that you mentioned?
So I think that it's reallypowerful to say here are the
nine people that can do X, y andZ.
But if I'm a customer, how do Ieven start to pick those nine
people?
(12:14):
Because I feel like buying allof a sudden becomes way more
challenging than that.
Front two.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yeah, buying becomes more challenging.
Both customers and partners arereally slimming down their
vendor lists and so they'refinding those vendors that one
are easy to do business with,that are there to build a
relationship and that they havethat established trust but
(12:43):
they're there during the momentsthat matter and that they're
leaning in and helping thepartner to make a difference
during that customer experience.
And so it's through thatrelationship and through that
networking that they're buildingtheir close knit.
Seven if you will, of whothey're going to market with,
and so it's a lot of referral,it's a lot of relationship, and
it's a customer saying hey, mrPartner, we've had a
relationship for some time.
I'm interested in XYZ, do youhave expertise in that?
(13:03):
No, but I got a guy, andeverybody's bringing in their
guy to the relationship and tothe conversation, and that is
how things are starting toevolve.
So partners are looking totheir vendors, they're looking
to their communities and forumsand peers to be able to
establish their squad, if youwill, and then the customers are
looking to that relationshipwith their partner as well.
(13:27):
There's some staggeringstatistics out there, though.
I read recently that 36% of SMBcustomers are seeking a new
partner, and not because ofanyone's fault, just because
they think maybe the grass isgreener, and so they're starting
to do some exploration.
But what we're finding is that,through some of this networking
(13:47):
and relationship build and thatexploration, then obviously one
of two things are happening.
One, they decide that the grassisn't greener and I've got the
best of the best right here, orthey're finding hey, there's
some different thought overthere and I want to explore some
of that innovation that I mightnot be getting from my existing
partner and to that I would saymake sure you're networking,
(14:09):
make sure that you are bringingsome of those innovative ideas
to the table and that you havethat foresight into being able
to visualize proactively whatyour customers needs and asks
may be.
It could be something as simpleas hey, I read the statistic,
how does this affect yourbusiness?
And asking some of thosequestions.
(14:29):
Or introducing hey, I have acouple of customers like you and
this solution has beenbeneficial to them.
I have a guy he specializes inthis solution.
We do this together and sostart engaging in those types of
conversations to educate andgrab a hand and bring them
forward with you, and that's thepower of relationships.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
And it sounds like a lot of these customers are
looking for the guide to helptake them through these waters.
That one in three or that 36%stat is super alarming, but also
not super surprising.
The analogy that I've usedbefore is the barbecue.
Where you're, you don't want tobe the one person at the
barbecue, especially in SMB.
That kind of looks around andeveryone's talking about the
cool things they're doing withAI or with agents or whatever it
(15:09):
may be, and you're stillfocused on X, Y and Z over here
and you feel like you're stuckbehind.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Yeah, and I would say that is happening more and more
in the SMB space, theenterprise guys.
That's like steering the Titanicright it takes a lot of people
to get on board and to make surethat you're steering the ship
in the right way.
But the SMB and mid-marketspace is just a little bit more
agile and able to lean in andtry different technologies, and
oftentimes they're the earlyadopters of the new things and
(15:37):
new trends.
And oftentimes they're theearly adopters of the new things
and new trends and we find thatin things like Internet of
Things and smaller AI devices,then the SMBs have really
capitalized on that to be ableto find different areas of
efficiency and automation andnew ways to be able to service
their customers.
If you think of an SMB owner,then, man, he's wearing 15
(16:03):
different hats.
I know that we have a smallbusiness on our farm and my
husband and I wear 15 hats eachto be able to get it done.
And if I could and I do leveragesome technology to work for me,
whether that is agents to beable to build my website, or
automating some of my socialmedia posts, or leveraging my 13
year old- daughter to makevideos for me, you got to find
(16:23):
the ways to be able to getthrough all of those tasks and
keep up with the market andcustomer demand, and creating
content is a huge part of thatto be able to get your message
out and share your expertise.
So finding those efficiencies,finding some of those easy
buttons to be able to cut downon the mundane tasks and to
(16:44):
focus more on the strategic andservicing your customers is
definitely important for SMBsand that's where some of the AI
devices, ai solutions reallycomes into play for them.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And so I think that's really interesting, because the
exact scenario that you talkedabout with the farm I even have
with our business.
Right, we're a small, growingbusiness and I work in
technology and the choicessometimes are almost
overwhelming.
Right, there's so many optionsand things you can choose, so
many paths you can take, and itseems every week something new
comes out.
How is Lenovo playing a role inhelping some of the SMBs either
(17:15):
make those decisions or make itreally intuitive with the
platforms and services youprovide to help them along that
journey?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
So the list is long.
I would say that the first thingis to make sure that, if you
are a customer, that you'reconnecting with your preferred
partner and they can help towalk you through the different
solutions that are out there.
But we do have dedicated SMBteams that they go through some
pretty rigorous training tounderstand the trends that are
happening in the SMB market andto be able to be that consultant
(17:44):
or guide for technology that isreally built for the SMB.
And we do have differentcomponents that are different
devices and solutions that aretailored for different segments
of the market, whether it's SMB,mid-market commercial
enterprise or specific verticalsas well.
When you get into privacypractices or design fields, then
(18:06):
you need different things basedon what you're doing, and so
we've done a lot of research onthe individual personas and have
crafted different solutionsthat fit for the majority and
are also able to be customized,because it's not a one size fits
all, but it's a one size fitsmost of the needs, and so
they're able to be tailored andcustomized to be able to meet
(18:27):
the needs of the individualbusiness owner or user within
that business, and so some of myfavorite new solutions that do
leverage AI I'm responsible fora lot of the business modeling
and financial elements and Ihave a team that can help me
with modeling.
And after a couple of glassesof wine then I get really good
with those.
Excel spreadsheets, but on aregular I'm a little bit slower
(18:50):
when it comes to some of thebuilding the models myself, and
so I can leverage Copilot to beable to build some of those
entry-level models for me.
And so if we have an idea ofman, should we invest in this?
Then I can build a quick model.
I can get the just of yes, itmakes sense, or no, it doesn't,
and if it does then I can engagemy team to do a deeper analysis
(19:12):
.
But I can save some of theirtime in doing that initial
leveraging Copilot by myself,and so that's been a big time
saver.
I travel a lot, and I thinkyou're aware of that, and we
share some travel woes there.
But as I am jumping off of aplane and sprinting through
Atlanta airport, it seems everytime then I'm trying to answer
(19:32):
emails also, and so I was reallynotorious for three or four
line bulleted emails to answer,and now I can click on that
copilot button and it haslearned my voice and can
generate a really nice emailfrom those four bullets that I
put in, and so it's helping meto be more efficient and also
more professional in the waythat I come across in some of
(19:54):
those responses PowerPoint samething.
There's lots of ways to be ableto leverage the technology to
work for you, and I love that itsummarizes my emails.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
The email summarization is the greatest
thing in the world, I feel.
Yes, yeah.
And meeting summaries I feellike without those two things, I
feel like I would be completelylost.
It would be like going back tothe stoned ages right now.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I'm sure that you're like me and sometimes you are
booked on three or fourdifferent meetings at the same
time, and so I can juggle someof those a little bit better.
Now, where it's all right, this30 minutes I'm going to spend
in this one and then I'm goingto jump into this one and I can
do that co-pilot summary when Ijump into the meeting and I can
catch right up and not miss abeat with those summaries or get
that readout after the fact.
(20:36):
And so those things have mademy life a lot easier because I
don't always have to listen tothe recording.
Instead of taking an hour tolisten to a recording, I'm a
little bit of a speed reader, soI can take that five or 10
minutes and flip through thetranscript.
And so just finding those waysto be able to check all the
boxes that we have on a dailybasis and to be able to be a
(20:58):
better contributor as a resultof leveraging technology to just
help me out and I know a lot ofsmall business owners out there
are looking for ways to be ableto streamline and to find those
efficiency areas, and sowhether you are a handyman
construction business and youneed to quickly be able to
(21:18):
identify who are my, where aremy jobs today?
Did I do my invoices?
Did I check all of the boxes?
There's a solution for that.
If you are a small bakery, thenthere's some IoT devices that
can really help you to preheatyour oven when you're on your
way home from your first job orschedule pickups with your
customers way home from yourfirst job, or schedule pickups
(21:42):
with your customers, do theremote door locks to be able to
let them into your space forthose pickups, and also to do
invoicing and documentmanagement on the back end.
So there's all types ofbusinesses and no two businesses
are the same, but many times weshare the same woes and so if
we are leveraging some of thesolutions out there to overcome
some of those woes so that wecan spend the time doing what we
(22:04):
love and I haven't come acrosstoo many people that love the
paperwork behind it but if wecan leverage technology for some
of those small things, then wecan spend more time with our
customers and we can spend moretime building and growing the
business that we love and doingthings that bring us joy.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
I love it.
I love that perspective as well, which it's not replacing
something.
It's just allowing people tofocus differently.
And I don't know about you, butI have the opportunity to talk
to a ton of executives andeveryone I talk to is busy.
Everyone I talk to has more ontheir plate than they know what
to do with and they're juggling400 different things and the
(22:43):
ability to add scale andsimplicity to their lives seems
like a little bit of ano-brainer.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Yes, it's a scary thing, though, because you feel
like you're losing a little bitof control.
In the beginning and this istotally speaking from personal
experience I've been in thetechnology industry for more
years than I care to admit, andI really liked writing things
down in my notebook and checkingoff that to-do list, and as I
embrace technology more and more, then I'm able to reduce the
(23:08):
amount of things that are on myto-do list, which is now digital
, and to be able to feel thatI've accomplished more at the
end of the day, and so byletting go, I was able to grow
both personally andprofessionally, and that by
looking at what are thosemundane tasks, where can I
prioritize differently andwhat's going to make a
(23:28):
difference then it allowed me toreally capitalize on impactful
items and spend more timebuilding relationships that
really matter more than checkingoff my to-do list, and so it
allowed me to find more joy inmy role, as well as to help more
people to achieve their goalsas well.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Yeah, and I totally get what you're saying as well.
You can almost get addicted tobeing busy and I think there's a
lot of people that start to sayyou know what?
I have these 10, 12, 14,24-hour days.
We'll put it at the max just tokeep the exaggerations in check
here.
But there's people that doenormous amounts of work, but
trying to start to detangle thatand prioritize is actually
(24:12):
harder than it sounds, but canbe super unlocking if you start
to do that.
Are you seeing your team gothrough that same process as
well?
Are you leading through exampleon that, or are they the ones
pushing you?
I'm trying really hard.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I grew up in a workaholic family, and so my dad
is.
He's still one of those guysthat he sleeps four hours a
night, and that's great for him,and he is just always on the go
, always doing something, and sothat was the norm for me, and I
struggle to sit still for verylong.
I've always got to be doingsomething, but more and more I'm
unplugging.
I'm finding the areas in mylife that bring me more joy and
(24:50):
finding ways to be moreproductive in fewer hours during
the day, so that I'm notopening up the laptop after the
kids go to bed or feeling like Ineed to pull it out when I'm on
vacation or things like that.
So the turning point for me wasseveral years ago.
My youngest daughter wascreating avatars for everyone in
the family, and the avatar thatshe created for me was a laptop
(25:14):
, and you could just see theeyes on top of it.
You can just see a little headsticking out, and that's what
she created for me was a laptop,and you could just see the eyes
on top of it.
You can just see a little headsticking out, and that's what
she created for me, and so thatwas very eyeopening that maybe
I'm spending a little bit toomuch time and maybe I've become
that workaholic that I didn'twant to be, and it's taken me
years to be able to have herchange my avatar, and now it's a
little bit different.
(25:35):
There's no computer in theavatar, but just being able to
set real boundaries for myself,and so it's more of
self-governance rather than thecompany.
Lenovo is fantastic about thework-life balance, but I needed
to govern myself, and so, byfinding different ways to be
more effective and efficient,realizing that it's not possible
(25:56):
for me to check off every boxevery day and that it's okay to
let a few things go it's notwhat are the big balls that
you're juggling, and it's okayto let some of the small ones go
, to deprioritize.
And then also making sure thatI was leaning on the team in the
appropriate ways, and Irealized that the example that I
was setting by being thatavatar was not healthy and that
(26:20):
I needed to make some changes sothat I could lead by a
healthier example.
And so, over the past severalyears, then, I've made
significant changes and I'mholding myself and my team
accountable to more self-careand more better prioritization
and time management.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
And I feel like going through that as well and I
share probably a similar DNA aswhat you're talking about and I
feel like I have a similar storyof trying to find some of that
balance and trying to find a wayto not lose the momentum and
lose the excitement, but alsoreally focus on the things that
are going to drive the impact,and I think AI and some of the
tools do an incredible job ofthat.
But being through that probablyallows you to coach your team
(26:57):
through some of those samechallenges, which I think are
becoming more and more prevalentway, differently.
The other thing that I getexcited is the flip side of that
, which is and we'll focus onthe SMB a little bit as well
still the opportunity to do waymore with less, and so I think
that some of these tools allowfor competition, for scale, for
innovation on a completelydifferent level and pace than
(27:19):
before, and are you seeing thatacross the board as well, or
what's your perspective on that?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Yeah, I totally agree .
I think that those companiesthat have embraced some of the
technology to do the work forthem then they are seeing hyper
growth as they're doing that andthey are able to find more
work-life balance and they havehappier employees.
Just in general and there'sseveral different surveys and
(27:46):
studies that are out thererelated to that I think that the
most impactful one for me as Iwas going through my journey was
if you are working more than 45hours a week, then every hour
above that, then the percentageof productivity drop that you
actually have by spending morehours behind the desk was
extremely significant.
(28:07):
I can't remember the exactstatistics, but once you got to
a 60-hour workweek, then youwere losing more than 20% in
productivity, and so you shouldhave just been working the 40
hours in the first place, and40-hour workweek isn't
necessarily realistic for all ofus, but it's interesting to
take a look at the statisticsthat are out there and being
able to just listen to your bodyand listen to your mental your
(28:29):
own mental health and be mindfulof those things, but also be
mindful of those around you andthe impact that your behavior is
having on them, and that's thebiggest thing for me with
running a few different teams atLenovo, and they're at all
different stages within theircareer journey, and so I feel
like if I can help them tocreate positive behaviors early
(28:52):
on, then how much moresuccessful and joy will they
find within their career oncethey're at my age than I had as
I was growing and developingmyself.
Speaker 2 (29:02):
Well, I think that there's a superpower to
constraints as well, and I'msure that when you think about
even how you're leading yourteams, how you're allocating
headcount or investment, mdl,whatever it may be, there's
power in saying here's the box,you have to kind of live with it
.
And I think that even if youlook at your work week in that
same way of saying, okay, here'sthe 40 hours what are the
things that are most importantthat I have to fit in this box,
(29:25):
because if you have infinityresources, you can do everything
all at once and there's noprioritization, and so I think
that's a really interestingperspective you're sharing on
just creating some of thoseconstraints and helping it
actually allow people to thrivein those scenarios.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Putting things in a box istough, right, because I feel
like I need to sit on the boxand squish it down a little bit
more and see what else I can fitin there, but that's more of a
personal problem.
So I mean, it's the power ofprioritization, but the power of
saying no is definitelyimportant, and especially now
(29:59):
that there is so much.
There are so many great ideas,there are so many things that
could impact the business orinnovative projects that we
could be working on, but if wedo them all, then they're not
all impactful, and so we have totake that step back and really
identify what's going to havethe biggest impact, short-term
(30:19):
and long-term, and where shouldwe be prioritizing, because we
can't be all things to allpeople and we can't do every
single project that's out there.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
There's a really interesting prompt actually and
this probably won't age, becausein six months if someone
listens to this, it'll be oldnews but there's a really
interesting prompt on ChatGPTright now which allows you to
essentially say, now that youhave memory, allow me to see my
blind spots aroundprioritization et cetera, and it
was alarming Like itessentially went through all of
the things that I'm working onand the things that I've put
(30:48):
into ChatGPT and stack ranked.
It's like you're wasting yourtime on these things.
You actually need todeprioritize and cut these
activities.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
It is a little bit of a science.
It's very interesting, that'sreally interesting.
So I haven't done that on topGPT, but in Outlook there is a
feature where it will do ananalysis of where you're
spending your meeting time andwith whom, and so you can see
what people you're spending themajority of your time with.
And then you can look at yourbusiness priorities and are you
spending your time with theright people doing the right
things is a way that I've lookedat prioritization as well.
(31:23):
And then there are some cooltime management features on
Outlook as well, where you canhave the system automatically
schedule your focus time and soif there's a 30 minute slot on
Sundays, then it'll block all ofthose 30 minute slots for the
week and it'll block it as focustime so that if somebody
doesn't schedule over it, thenyou actually have time in there
(31:44):
to be able to pop in some worktime or project time or maybe
it's meditation time.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Very cool.
I want to dive into the channela tiny bit.
So I know we talked about thechannel in terms of the
ecosystem side of things.
I think that there's a littlebit of a black box around the
channel still from some endcustomers and some companies the
SMBs it seems like this faraway thing.
Maybe they know their localpartner.
But could you describe a littlebit about, like, how Lenovo
works through the channel andwhat that ecosystem looks like
(32:12):
for you?
Sure?
Speaker 1 (32:14):
So Lenovo is kind of we have multiple levels of sales
teams at Lenovo and so we havewhat we call our end user sales
team and they're there torepresent the customer and so
they're that relationshipbetween the customer and Lenovo.
And then we have our channelpartners and and we see every
partner in our membership as anextension of the Lenovo team,
(32:36):
part of the Lenovo family, andtheir role is with Lenovo and
with that end user or sales rep,then bringing their expertise
to the table and helping us tojointly service that customer.
And so that partner typicallyhas that longstanding
relationship with many of theircustomers.
They understand theirtechnology needs more
intrinsically and most of thetime they're that local face for
(33:00):
the customers to engage withand they are aggregating
multiple technologies to be ableto serve that customer.
Whereas I shared the portfoliothat Lenovo has, which is very
extensive, but we are just asmall sliver of that pie of
technology solutions that areout there.
So, where we have severaldifferent alliances that
(33:21):
collaborate and integrate reallywell with Lenovo technology,
there's a ton out there andthere's new ones popping up
every day, and so the partnersare much better positioned to be
able to service that customerneeds based on that historical
relationship, and then they willeither have that niche
expertise or some type of aunique value that they're
(33:42):
bringing to the table as well,whether it's managing the
outsourced IT or providingspecial services or bringing
that unique niche knowledge tothe table as well.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
That makes sense.
You receive a lot of feedbackfrom these channel organizations
.
Are there mistakes that you seebusinesses make when they are
working through the channel orworking through various channel
partners?
If you were to give some adviceto, I'll say, like a mid-size
engineering firm that is goingto market for a set of services,
are there mistakes you see themoften make that end up shooting
themselves in the foot?
Speaker 1 (34:15):
I wouldn't necessarily call it a mistake,
but with the amount ofinformation that is available to
us today on the web, then Ithink that customers make some
of the same decisions that I dowhen I go to the doctor, right
when.
I go down.
As soon as the doctor says, hey,it might be this, then I go
down that route hole like reallyquickly, and so I immediately
(34:39):
pull up Google and read everyarticle I can about anything
that the doctors have said.
And so I think and as a consumerI do the same thing, but I
think most consumers are whetheryou're the direct consumer or
the business customer then weare relying on the things that
we read online to be able todrive and dictate some of the
(34:59):
decisions that we make, andwhile there's a lot of really
good information, it's notalways the right information or
the right interpretation of theinformation, and so my biggest
advice would be let's have anopen mind and let's think
outside the box a little bit tobe able to get to the right
solution for your business andwhat your buddy told you was the
(35:20):
solution for his business maynot be the exact same one that
you need.
And so just having that openmind and being willing to take a
look at the differenttechnological solutions that are
out there, then I think thatmakes the engagement with a
partner and with a vendor moremeaningful, and that's where the
partners can reallydifferentiate themselves in
(35:41):
being that coach, guide,consultant with and for the
customer to be able to identifyand craft the best solution for
that customer at the end of theday and actually go to the
doctor and talk to them,identify your symptoms, share
what's going on and let themdiagnose, versus jumping right
to 11 in terms of the severitymatrix, as I think we have all
(36:09):
done before, and I love thatcoach, guide, consultant analogy
as well.
Speaker 2 (36:11):
Are there relationships that you see work
really well, or are there goingto be a DNA of specific partners
that make them stand out abovethe rest?
Speaker 1 (36:19):
Yeah, I mean, they're doing exactly that.
First and foremost, anybusiness relationship is a
relationship built on trust,right, and you have to find the
partner that you trust with yourbusiness, and so the
relationship aspect of it ismore important than it has ever
been in the past, in my opinion.
And so find the one that you'recomfortable with and then ask
the questions.
(36:39):
Getting a second opinion or adifferent perspective is a great
thing that a partner canprovide.
I know that in our business.
Then I think this is exactlythe way that we need to do it.
This is the technology that Ineed.
These are the processes thatare going to work for us.
My husband has a differentopinion sometimes, and that's
okay.
Or if I ask a friend then, or aconsultant, then they're going
to give me a differentperspective, and so a lot of
(37:02):
times then I may take thatconsultant advice, or we may
meet in the middle with oh, Ireally like this piece of what
you're suggesting, but this hasworked for me in the past.
So can we meet in the middle andcan we figure it out this way?
So there's a lot of, there are alot of partners that can help
with operational efficiency andworkflow and applying technology
(37:24):
to be able to support theoutcomes that the customers are
looking for.
And the benefit of the partnerversus Google or WebMD for my
technology solutions is that thepartner has so much experience
and they're working withmultiple customers that have
maybe not exactly the same butsimilar challenges that they
(37:45):
have helped to overcome.
So the perspective and theexperience and the skills that
they have around thoseparticular challenges can really
be life-changing once abusiness is able to tap into
that resource, that coaching,that guidance and advice and be
able to apply that to theirbusiness.
So I think transparency isreally key.
(38:06):
Be very vocal about what thechallenges and problems are that
you're trying to overcome sothat the partners and the
vendors can work together to beable to help you find the best
outcomes for your business andthe best solutions that are
going to help you to accelerateand reach your goals.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
I love it.
Is there one final question foryou here?
Is there a myth about the workthat you do that you wish people
would let go of, whether it beon the hardware side of things
or the services or just the vastportfolio?
Are there certainpreconceptions that you wish
would just go away from the workthat you're doing every day?
Speaker 1 (38:40):
There's not always a lower price, no, and I think
that's a valid one.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
That's a very valid one.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
I think that we get caught up in price sometimes,
but I think we really need tolook at the value, and sometimes
we'll see something that isposted on a marketplace that may
be listed for one price, andthen you get a quote from your
vendor or from the partner andit's different from what you've
seen on a marketplace.
There's probably a reason forthat.
No two offerings are reallycreated equal.
(39:07):
There could be some additionalservices or capability, there
could be refurbished productsthat we're talking about that
are posted on a marketplace, orit could be older technology,
but it's not necessarilydisclosed in that way.
Not everything on the surfaceis the reality, and so I would
say just have an open mind asfar as really understanding the
(39:30):
value of what you're receiving,and make sure that you're also
being transparent in theconversations to make sure that
we can help to find the bestsolution for your business and
the experience that you want toprovide, both for yourself and
for your employees.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
I love that you brought it up and I
intentionally kind of stayedaway from the price conversation
for most of our episode atleast.
But there's so many people thatthink, if I can take one SKU
and I can shop it around asquickly as possible, I'm going
to find a way to save $10 or$100 or whatever it may be.
And my argument usually ispeople end up spending more of
their time trying to find that$10 than they save on the actual
devices.
But I think the channel doesn'tquite work that way and I think
(40:08):
you're right.
Finding those trusted partnersthat can guide you through,
versus trying to just leverage acommodity mindset, is going to
get you way further ahead onthat front.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
Yeah, and I think that's an important aspect,
because technology is seen moreof a commodity, but it's really
not.
A laptop is much more than adevice.
There's so many things that gointo it, aside from the box
itself that you're getting whenyou purchase a laptop, and
especially if you're purchasingthat with services around it and
(40:38):
services means a lot of thingsbut there are value-added
services that make that muchmore than a device, and whether
you're purchasing directly froma vendor or through a trusted
partner, then they're available.
And so I would say, just reallyunderstand what you're
purchasing, making sure that youhave the right support, the
(40:58):
right warranties and the righttrust and confidence in the
purchase that you're making.
We typically use laptops forthree to five years that's not
changing anytime soon and soit's definitely an investment
and it's important to make surethat you're comfortable with the
investment that you're making.
To make sure that you'recomfortable with the investment
that you're making, andoftentimes, if you're doing that
through more let's call itreliable channels, experts,
(41:22):
let's call it experts.
If you're doing that throughexperts, then they're more able
to guide you to make sure thatyou're getting the value for the
investment that you're makingfor the long term.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Amazing Cassie.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
For people that want to learnmore about Lenovo, they want to
learn more about you, they wantto connect with you.
Where should they go?
Where can they find you?
Speaker 1 (41:44):
Not physically, but so I'm always available.
Connect with me on LinkedIn orreach out directly.
It's cjebsen at lenovocom orany member of my team can assist
you at supporthub at lenovocomand we can answer any question
that you have.
I'm an open book, so pleasekeep the feedback coming and let
us know how we can be morerelevant for you.
Speaker 2 (42:02):
Amazing.
This has been an absolutepleasure and I really appreciate
you joining us today.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
I really appreciate you having me.
This was a fun one.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
Cool, thanks so much.
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