How to Build Revenue Engines That Last

In this episode of Ventures and Visionaries, I sit down with Bob Gault to talk about what it really takes to reinvent a company, align a leadership team, and drive revenue growth in both large enterprises and small, fast-growing businesses. Bob shares his journey from 17 years at Cisco to leading as a CRO, navigating cultural dysfunction, reshaping company identity, and scaling through acquisitions. We dive into the role of leadership, the importance of authenticity, and why consistent activity always beats one-off big wins. If you’re an entrepreneur or executive looking to build a revenue engine that performs, this episode is for you.

Guest Introduction:

Bob Gault is a seasoned executive with deep experience in revenue generation, leadership, and cultural transformation. After nearly two decades at Cisco, where he rose to global VP roles, Bob stepped into CRO positions at other technology companies, guiding them through reinvention, acquisitions, and growth challenges. His insights on leadership alignment, building trust, and scaling revenue make him an invaluable guest for today’s conversation.

Key Takeaways:

• Reinventing a company starts with clarifying identity and aligning leadership on a single message.

• Consistent activity outperforms occasional big wins—revenue success is about sustained effort.

• Trusting your team is essential; leaders don’t need all the answers, they need the right people.

• Curiosity, boldness, and emotional intelligence matter as much as technical skills when hiring.

• Scaling from $5M to $200M requires pivoting into new markets and building new revenue channels.

• AI won’t replace sales but can boost productivity by cleaning CRMs, drafting follow-ups, and freeing time for customer engagement.

Chapter Markers:

 0:00 Intro

1:00 Guest Introduction – Bob Gault’s career journey from Cisco to CRO

3:00 Transitioning from Cisco to Extreme Networks

5:00 Reinventing company identity and culture

7:30 Cutting costs and aligning leadership around a unified strategy

10:00 Overcoming imposter syndrome and defining true strengths

14:00 Building trust by elevating leaders during acquisitions

16:00 What to look for when hiring—curiosity, EQ, and authenticity

18:30 Big companies vs. entrepreneurial organizations

22:00 The importance of consistent activity and the “Moneyball” approach

25:00 Scaling strategies for $5M to $200M companies

28:00 Marketing’s role in demand generation and events

31:00 The future of AI in revenue generation

33:00 Leadership lessons: trust, delegation, and team cohesion

36:00 Closing thoughts

Keywords:

Ventures and Visionaries, Morty Hackel, Bob Gault, revenue growth, CRO leadership, company reinvention, scaling businesses, sales strategy, company culture, consistency in sales, acquisitions, entrepreneurship, AI in sales, marketing strategy