After acquiring ThousandEyes, Cisco used the "Scale, Skill, Will" framework to filter incoming partners. It assesses a partner’s customer base (Scale), technical alignment (Skill), and executive commitment (Will) to identify the best fits for mutual investment, ensuring focus and profitability.
Instead of centralizing partner qualification, provide Channel Account Managers (CAMs) with a clear framework like "Scale, Skill, Will." This empowers them to proactively decide where to invest their time, preventing them from spreading themselves too thin and ensuring focus on high-potential partners.
For channel roles, prioritize candidates who are coachable and curious. These traits indicate a high growth mindset and predict long-term success more reliably than a pre-existing network of relationships, which can be built over time through credibility and a structured process.
To assess a candidate's true character and values, move beyond standard interview questions. Use unexpected, personal prompts like "What's something your parents taught you?" or "What was your first job?" These questions reveal foundational lessons, resilience, and personal drive, which are hard to gauge otherwise.
To build a strong "personal board of directors," go beyond your immediate network. A powerful tactic is to ask your existing, trusted mentors to identify their own mentors and explain what makes them valuable. This provides a vetted, high-quality pipeline for expanding your circle of guidance.
Beyond hitting revenue targets, a profound source of professional joy for a leader is to develop their direct reports into first-time managers. Rebecca Javens finds purpose in seeing her team members grow and take on their own leadership roles, making talent development a primary career driver.