Successful Perspectives EP 56: Terry Kane - The Trade Desk

And thank you for joining me, Frank. It's an absolute pleasure to be here with you.

Sure, here, Frank. You know, I'm a great believer in the saying that know where you're going but never forget where you come from. And you know, I grew up in Belfast in the 1980s and the 1990s, and it was very much a conflict zone. And you're always surrounded by the sense of foreboding, sort of the always the injustice. You knew firsthand what hate and fear looked like, and there was always a sense of something was about to happen, or if it did happen, that there was a constant recycling of it. So you know, I remember I was 14 years old, and the very first proper book that I read was A Long Walk to Freedom by Mandela. And ever since that moment, I have to say, it was like my ethics were set, the cornerstone of my values were set. And then from then on forward, it's what I aspired to be like, as much as you can be within your own remit. And then in 2019, I got to take my daughter to Robben Island, and I have to say it was exceptionally emotional. It was just so... the mainland, it's the feeling of if you go back in time and how it would have been like back then, even being in Mandela's actual cell as well, you get to feel all that emotive journey he would have been on.

Oh, you're still young, Terry, but you're right. I was going to ask you the question, like, why did that resonate with you? And I think you hit the nail on the head there in terms of the aspirational element of it and what you would have learned and how you apply it in your daily leadership as well. But that kind of leads to my next question is, you know, when we talk about leadership, people kind of assume that it's an all-encompassing role where you know everything. So what is one popular belief about being a leader that is actually total nonsense?

You know, Frank, there's just so many of them that are total nonsense. But you know, I think the one that resonates with me, well, and tied to the Mandela story and what true leadership looks like, is the one... this nonsense for me is 'cometh the title, cometh the leader'. You know, I think history has taught us just so many times that you know, you're not born into leadership. Real, real good leadership means that you have to learn, you have to adapt, you have to pivot, you have to learn again. And I don't think that can be done unless you've led and gone through challenges, come much stronger the other side. And you know, I see this in everyday life, and you know, some of the best leaders that I've seen have been the people who are below me structurally in the organization. But they're jumping forward, steering projects, they're guiding in meetings, they're everyday there's something new, and they're iterating and developing the way they handle a conversation or resolving conflict, dipping into the organization to pull the best potential out of the organization to develop. So I really do think it's a mindset and a way of behaving versus something which is born into, or even the title is a reflection of what a good leader is. And you know, I think my own history as well and my own career is I've worked with those that have been gifted positions and those that have not earned positions but are still the leaders. And I have to say, it's part of my own journey that I've learned from both of them, the good and the bad. And in fact, if anything, the bad ones even more so because you learn to realize what you don't want to be, and you learn to identify and recognize them.

I don't think it's necessarily having all the answers, Frank, but I think what is critical is knowing who to find to find the answer, and knowing how to buy time, if I'm honest with you, in order to give yourself time to go and find an answer. But you know, not having an answer is maybe not acceptable; finding the answer is the right answer.

Yeah, look, I mean, I think it comes in waves. You know, I think the loneliness comes in waves, so I don't disagree with that at all. And I think anyone that says, you know, that it's never lonely at the top is not being fully honest with themselves. But I definitely do think it comes in waves; it's not a consistent feeling. And you know, one of the important leadership traits is to identify those waves of loneliness or anxiety. And some of those things can be caused and triggered by personal or by those above you or those below you. And I think that loneliness is certainly something which, the way I deal with it, and I always revert to sayings and analogies, 'this too shall pass' is maybe one of the sayings that I always refer to. It's, you know, if I'm deep into it at that moment in time and I just can't see the surface, then 'this too shall pass'. And it's something which I always revert to. But you know, also as well, I think some of that loneliness feeling for those that are particularly representative of a bigger organization in the region, for example, I look after the Middle East Africa region. We are relatively a small team with a huge army sitting in various different other parts of the world, and that can be lonely as well because you are the sole team in the market, and you've got to help your team and your colleagues manage various different situations which others just simply don't have that kind of pressure sitting on them. And I think that helping educate and develop teams to be masters of that understanding, to master that understanding, be confident in that, is really important. And then, you know, you asked about people that I turn to, so I really do have a thoroughly trusted circle, a small, very small circle of confidants. And those are people who have been here before, people that have serviced the industry, who understand the context of things, who I can turn to for anything ranging from a personal issue through to a business issue. And they can give me context. And what's really important about that is, if they're a proper trusted confidant, is that they'll give you the good and the bad and the stuff that you don't want to hear but you need to hear. That's really beneficial. And to find that circle and to keep that circle, it's invaluable.

Yeah, you know, for me, I mean, one of the greatest pleasures in any type of leadership role is to see those that thrive in the organization because you've given them the space and the accountability and the opportunity to spread their wings. And there's a saying, I can't remember the exact saying, but it's along the lines of, you know, a great leader will enable somebody to do what they themselves never thought possible. And you know, to see those opportunities and people grab those opportunities and come to life is just, you know, for me, it's one of the most fulfilling things of what you're creating, the next generation of leaders. And there's inklings of this, and you'll see, you know, in the business world and business school world, they might call it, you know, accountability or proactivity or collaboration. And all of those things are very, very true, and I do believe in them. And there's behavioral traits around individuals who will go into, like I mentioned earlier, they'll dip into the company and a leader will dip into the company and find two or three people that can make something happen without needing to want and do it themselves. So they're really leveraging the resources within the company, but they're taking that accountability on board themselves to go out and find it. And that's proactivity. You know, so it's accountability, proactivity, collaborative approach. But you know, I think one of the things that's really going to, that's always has been important, is important today, and will be very important into the future, is around emotional intelligence, EQ. And I think, you know, with AI and how AI is certainly helping us to move faster, it's helping us to break down particularly quantitative and data-driven barriers into making decisions. I think EQ is going to be a huge, important, a much more important part of a leadership's role into the future. And how you balance between, you know, self-reflection, understanding people's potential, translating business into humanity, being self-aware, and around how do you then bring to life the best of what technology has to offer in a business in order to deliver to a customer. And at the end of the day, it's the customer's impact which will drive, you know, drive results. So leadership and creating that leaders of the future around various different elements, but certainly EQ, I think is going to be one strongly into the future.

I read the question, that's the one I was least looking forward to answering because I think, if I'm brutally honest, first of all, it's a very deep question, and if I'm brutally honest, I haven't found my purpose yet. And I think that's everyone's on that journey.

Yeah, no, I think it's fair. Look, I mean, don't get me wrong, my family are number one, the most important thing in my life, and everything I do, I do for my family, 100%. But I believe the purpose goes deeper than that, and I believe the purpose goes deeper than probably most of us are giving ourselves honesty around. And you know, as I get older, I'm 45 now, and maybe if you asked a 25-year-old person, Terry, this, my purpose would have been very clear and immediate: make money, or be successful, or be the boss. But purpose as you get older becomes different because you know more than anything, time is the most valuable commodity that we all have, and maybe legacy is within that as well. And there's so many different things that you start to question your own subconscious of, you know, the what and the why. And there was a tool that I seen recently that helped prove this. It's the what and the why. So why am I here speaking to Frank McCarthy today? Well, that's going to help me with hopefully my brand, personal brand proposition in the market. So why is that important? Well, that's going to help me with my career. Well, why is that important? Well, that's going to help me with my family. Well, why is that important? And etc., etc. So you go deeper and deeper and deeper into this, and I've got down to maybe 20 layers, and I'm nowhere near finished in this, but it's deep. And you will come to that point, and I believe it, that you will find the question on purpose, and from that moment then the truth prevails, I believe. But I've yet to get there. So if I'm honest with you, the older I get, the more important this question becomes. And look, again, from my other side, Frank, as you know, fitness and health is really important to me. And you know, one of the tools that I have to go and try and find purpose is my health and fitness. So you know, I challenge myself for the most sort of gregarious sports activities that there is out there because I like to push myself physically and mentally in a space where I can question and come up with answers. You know, that's literally it. As in, I know recently, Marathon des Sables back in, was it earlier this year? April, this time of year, yeah. My third time doing it, still haven't found the answer. Well, there, the types of engagements, even for me alone, where you strip away all aspects of life that you have to focus on one thing, and that is yourself in that moment. Yeah, and it gets you, strips you back to understanding why you're here and why you're doing certain things, and even your self-beliefs and where you are and what you can achieve.

Thanks, Frank, appreciate it.