"Everyone has potential. What separates those who succeed and those who don’t is execution."
Mark Moses is the Founding Partner of CEO Coaching International, which has coached more than 875 top high-growth entrepreneurs and CEOs in over 45 countries. Mark has won Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award and the Blue-Chip Enterprise award for overcoming adversity. His last company ranked as the #1 Fastest-Growing Company in Los Angeles, and #10 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. CEO Coaching International has appeared in the Inc. 5000 list for the last seven consecutive years.
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Table of Contents
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Mark Moses: I founded Platinum Capital in 1993, and in 1998 the mortgage crisis hit. I had to lay off 240 of my 275 people over one weekend. It was rough. However, I believed that nothing great was ever achieved without adversity and the desire to march on. My mission was to ensure that my employees felt the same and were inspired to do their best no matter how ugly things seemed at the time. Bad things will happen. As a leader, it’s essential to trust in yourself when challenges hit and focus on what you can control. And, the one thing you can control is making sure your people understand your vision and giving them confidence that together we will succeed.
What are the most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs make and what would you suggest they do?
Mark Moses: Not asking for help. I’ve always actively sought out mentors and coaches throughout my career to help accelerate my businesses and navigate through the tough times. I even have athletic coaches to help me achieve my fitness goals! Having a coach is essential to challenging you and holding you accountable. Not having the right systems in place to achieve the vision for the company. Systems are a formalized mechanism to help ensure you perform an activity according to a certain standard. I use systems both in my business and personal life to ensure I’m hitting my targets. They work! Not taking care of themselves. Often entrepreneurs are so focused on growing their companies they neglect themselves, their families, and their friends. Those leaders that make their family and own personal health a priority reap the greatest rewards.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons you learned from that?
Mark Moses: I founded Platinum Capital in 1993, and in 1998 the mortgage crisis hit. I had to lay off 240 of my 275 people over one weekend. It was rough. However, I believed that nothing great was ever achieved without adversity and the desire to march on. My mission was to ensure that my employees felt the same and were inspired to do their best no matter how ugly things seemed at the time. Bad things will happen. As a leader, it’s essential to trust in yourself when challenges hit and focus on what you can control. And, the one thing you can control is making sure your people understand your vision and giving them confidence that together we will succeed.
Resilience is critical in critical times like the ones we are going through now. How would you define resilience?
Mark Moses: CEOs are navigating through multiple challenges that are impacting their businesses, including ongoing workforce issues. Over the past three decades, I’ve weathered several life-shaping traumas – from a severe family health challenge to a disloyal business partner and uncontrollable economic changes – I’ve been through them all and more. Resilience is about how you respond when challenges happen. And, through my most challenging times, I learned the importance of finding opportunity through adversity. When our mortgage competitors were going out of business, it was an opportunity to hire some of their best people who brought new thinking to help grow business. CEOs must take a long-term perspective and seek opportunities while managing future risks to stay competitive and relevant.
And, while you cannot predict everything that can go wrong, you can imagine some of the things that can go wrong and plan for them. When I speak at conferences, I ask how many people have a disaster recovery plan. Typically, only a few out of hundreds raise their hands. It’s crucial to get ahead of possible business breakdowns.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Mark Moses: We work with CEOs and their executive teams to drive extraordinary business growth. What’s unique is that our world-class coaches are all former CEOs, Presidents, or Executives. We’ve worked with more than 875 companies in over 45 countries and industries. Our system is proven: Our clients experience EBITDA growth 3x the national average.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Mark Moses: Good listening, self-awareness, swagger, and confidence. All three have helped me grow my businesses and weather challenging times
Being a CEO of the company, do you think that your personal brand reflects your company’s values?
Mark Moses: Yes. Culture starts at the top, and it is often reflected in the personal values of the CEO. I believe in setting big targets, trusting my team to do the right thing, and having fun.
How do you monitor if the people in your department are performing at their best?
Mark Moses: You start with making sure you have the right people in the right jobs. Then you align them with your vision, agree on what needs to get done and how they will be accountable, and then get out of their way. You also create a culture where people are inspired and want to do their best. A big part of the motivation is empowerment. A culture where everyone succeeds is one in which people are enabled to think for themselves and do what’s right for the customer and the company.
Do you think entrepreneurship is something that you’re born with or something that you can learn along the way?
Mark Moses: Everyone has potential. What separates those who succeed and those who don’t is execution. Do you have a strong vision and an action plan to achieve that vision? How are you holding yourself accountable for achieving that vision? What team do you have in place both internally and externally to provide necessary feedback and guidance along the way?
What’s your favorite “business” quote and how has it affected your business decisions?
Mark Moses: “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” Steve Jobs
There will always be a level of distraction both inside and outside an organization so it’s important to focus on what you want to achieve and how you will get there. I believe in setting a vision, determining what needs to be done to achieve big targets, and executing against those goals
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Mark Moses for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Mark Moses or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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