Being in a leadership position can be challenging at times. More often than not, business leaders might feel like half of the job description is putting out fires and adapting to tackle whatever the problem of the day is. Though in the same breath, they might also say that’s one of the best parts of the job. Its the thrill of a challenge, and how to solve it to become more well-rounded for whatever may come next, that fuels their drive.
Building on that idea, for our September issue we asked a few Dallas business leaders what challenges have come their way over the course of their careers to see how they solved them. Here is what they had to say:
Terry Babilla
COO and President, BSN Sports
“I was the general counsel at BSN SPORTS in 1995. We fell on hard times in the early 2000s, and our bank called our loan. On the verge of bankruptcy, my boss asked me to run the company. I was intimidated because I had never run a company before and had very limited resources. We organized the employees’ ideas, put together a business plan, went into execution mode, and were debt-free in 36 months.”
Shelley Amason
CEO, RightStaff
“I learned a tough lesson in the early days on collecting receivables. I was owed $250,000 by a client. They would not take my calls or answer emails, so I flew to New York, and sat in his office until he arrived. I explained the situation and he wired the money that day. You can be profitable as a company, but if you do not have cash flow and cannot meet payroll, the company will not survive. Also, be persistent and never give up.”
Robert Rough
Managing Director, Telos Capital Advisors
“I became CFO of Wine.com during the internet bubble burst. The company raised $180 million prior to my joining, wasting much of it. Interstate alcohol shipping laws limited the states we could ship to and made it expensive to serve the rest. We cut costs, raised more capital, but eventually filed Chapter 7. I was charged with the bankruptcy management and asset liquidation, but letting employees go was the hardest part for me.”
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