Episode 35: Geraldine Gray

My most recent Scaling Clean guest has been at the helm of her company for 16 years. Geraldine Gray runs Endiem, a Salesforce practice based in Houston. Her company works to help companies drive commercial growth by aligning their strategic goals with their Salesforce options. She has served clients in a wide number of sectors, not just in cleantech. Geraldine has also been very public about her successful battle with cancer, and I want to acknowledge her courage in sharing that story on LinkedIn. From several friends of mine, I've learned that overcoming such a challenge often brings an exceptional level of perspective and wisdom. Here are Geraldine’s B3P’s: 2:16 - There’s no “easy” button for making your business successful. You need to be resilient and just grind it out, looking for continuous improvement. The search for continuous improvement comes with challenges, so be okay with accountability and negative feedback. 19:10 - Working in cleantech is different than mature industries. People in the renewable industry tend to have several roles over several companies, while those in the oil, gas and chemical companies tend to stay at one company for a very long time. The benefit is that they bring a broad range of experience and knowledge to a project, but it’s hard for them to see what’s possible in the future vs. what needs to be done today. People in the renewables industry tend to have a broader mindset. 28:00 - Success in a business depends on how a leadership team executes its strategies. Tactics is doing things right. Strategy is doing the right things. You must have strategic marketing, strong sales and business development executed by people who care, not just have an engine that's generating leads. Don’t pursue opportunities that are a bad fit, with no strategy behind them. Thanks for coming on the show, Geraldine.