Tom Looney on making an impact in business and community service!

Bob Howard: Today's guest is an experienced leader with a history of consistently delivering results in the information technology industry. He started his career selling door to door, completing 10 to 20 cold calls a day, selling office automation solutions, before moving into product development, channel sales, and executive management at IBM and Lenovo, and is now focused on giving back through community service. So please welcome Tom Looney. Tom, I'm very excited that you're joining us today, and I'd really like to get your take on leadership.

Tom Looney: I think leadership really is helping people to achieve their best and really expecting their best out of them. Challenging them continually. There were folks that I worked with, and they would tell me, hey, you were tough, but you know what? I really did things I never imagined I could have accomplished working with you. And then, as being a leader, it's all about looking at things and coming from a different direction. A lot of the non-profit work I do today, whether it's [1:50 Inaudible] or the community colleges, I tend to think differently than the other people in the room. I take a business approach. And I think when you look at things differently, that's another sign of a good leader. And then the other thing, finally, is being humble and walking in the shoes of your people. Never expect your people to do something that you wouldn't do yourself. And that's what I tried to do.

We'd have price increases; I would take a list of customers and also call those customers and tell them about a potential price increase. That's where you really build the respect of your team. Because it's easy to follow a leader in good times, you need your people to follow you in very difficult times. And as you can imagine, over a 40-year career in technology, started with the typewriters to AI, there were a few bad times in there, and that's where you need your team fighting for you, working for you, and being committed to the mission.

Bob Howard: So, Tom, what advice would you offer someone that is getting into sales for the first time?

Tom Looney: Well, if you've got a great job opportunity to get into sales - whether it's public sector, global sales, corporate sales, SMB, e-commerce - just apply yourself. I mean, if you love selling and you love engaging people, you can create relationships and [3:18 Inaudible] use to say, people don't listen to what you say, it's about how you make them feel, and a lot of people don't understand that. But I would encourage anyone that is going into the market right now; any job in sales or marketing in the tech field is just an incredible place to start a career. I live in Raleigh, and the growth is unbelievable. Apple, for example, just announced 3000 jobs here. I believe the average pay was 154,000 hours.

We've got Citrix here; we've got Net App, we've got Cisco, go right down the list, just about every tech firm is here. And the interesting part today, Bob, is that even companies like Fidelity and Advance Auto, who have major operations here, really consider themselves tech firms. Because a large part of any organization has a very high tech concentration. So whether you're getting involved in sales or you're getting involved in development, anything right now in the tech field is just a phenomenal place for employment, for advancement, and quite frankly, that didn't exist probably when you started and when I started. Technology, in a lot of ways, in my case, was in its infancy. Have a plan and work it. Execute with urgency. If there's one thing I said a thousand times in business plus is, time kills deals.

And it's kind of like dating. If you go out with someone and you wait for three weeks to call them back, they're going to be a lot less interested. But with customers, if you meet with them and you call them back and do small things like I still do today - I write handwritten notes to people in the legislature, non-profit organizations, businesses that I'm working with, handwritten notes go so far today. It may sound like old school, but I'll tell you, you'll get a call back a lot faster with a handwritten note than an email. And I worked for a start-up about two years ago called Trill AI; we sold algorithms to hedge funds to sell shorts. And whenever I had a new client that we were working with, I'd always send them a handwritten note because that note probably was the only one they received from anyone that was calling on them.

So small things like that go a long way, the simple things. But oftentimes, people don't take time to do the simple things. And then, deliver on your commitments. I mean, there is nothing worse than not fulfilling a commitment. And that's when - sometimes our company would, you know, let customers down, and they weren't just letting our customers down, they were letting our reps down. And the thing that I really protected was our rep's reputation. Because every time we made a misstep, it wasn't that we lost the business; it's that the customer lost confidence in our rep. And at the end of the day, the only thing reps have is their name, and we can't tarnish their name. And I would back up any reps whenever we had serious issues where I would call the customer and explain that it was really a corporate issue that we were working to fix.

And in the case of New York City, at one point in time, we had some issues with shipments, and I committed to the city of New York that I would be on a call every day for 15 minutes, giving them a status update. And I did that for 30 days. And you know what? You think those guys would continue to do business with us? You're damn right they would continue to do business. They knew I was committed. I was personally committed to get it done, it wasn't the rep's fault, it was a corporate problem, and I owned it. And that's the final thing, it is reps that take ownership are successful, and executives that take ownership are successful. And if they don't, they will fail. Everybody must take ownership and be held accountable in an organization. People like accountability. People like to win.

Bob Howard: What was kind of that first sales job that you had, Tom?

Tom Looney: That's a great question. I actually interviewed with IBM on my college campus up in Buffalo and thought I was going to be hired by IBM to work in New York, and they said, oh, by the way, you're going to move to Cleveland. And it was the best experience of my life. I basically was given a territory where there was no business. I was given a quota. And in those buildings, all the good accounts were carved out for the senior salespeople. And in IBM in those days, if you didn't make the one hundred percent club - which is hitting your number for the year - you normally didn't get a chance to come back. So the pressure was on. But the difference back then is, when I look at leaders - leaders come in many forms. There's leaders who really aspire to take a major leadership position, but there's also sales leaders who basically are on the floor, who are peer to yours, who really set the pace.

And if I think of leaders who really helped my career, there was a guy in Cleveland named Tim Ballantine. And Tim would make joint calls with me, Tim would strategize with me on cocktail napkins at night. And then when things were not going as well for me as I needed to, the guys would meet for breakfast in the morning, they'd call, they'd canvas my territory to try to find leads. So it was an unbelievable experience. And when you're making 10 to 20 cold calls a day, going through office buildings trying to sell typewriters and dictation equipment and magnetic card readers, let me tell you, you learn a lot. You've got to be hungry; you've got to be persistent, you've got to follow through. And I spent five years in Cleveland, and it was probably five of the best years of my career. And I learned so much, maybe not so much from the senior leadership, it was the guys on the floor, the camaraderie, and their willingness as senior sellers to really help us. And I think that's a message that I saw get lost throughout my career, it is that senior sellers were so focused on their own achievement, they didn't spend a lot of time really nurturing and helping the younger people come along. And that's something I really tried to focus on, how do we leverage their knowledge and really operate like a team and lift everybody that's on the boat.

Bob Howard: Now, when you left to go from Cleveland, was that next role of yours in management, Tom?

Tom Looney: No, actually, IBM had a tract where you would move to a developmental position. And I was very fortunate to get a position in Lexington, Kentucky, where I worked at product development. We were called product planners, and we basically owned a product that was in development and had to bring that product to market. And the value of that job was - and I carried it through my entire career - I appreciate every function of business. In that role, I had to understand what finance did, what motivated finance, I had to understand what product development was, what their challenges were, how they were measured. I had to understand the channel, I had to understand marketing, how we brought it to market. And I had to understand how to manage that product through the executive ranks at IBM because they had to continue to fund the project until that product got to market.

So it's a great question because I think everyone should have that opportunity. And when I talked about - you know, you've got to walk in other people's shoes, that gave me - I think I was 26 years old - the opportunity to really walk in a lot of different people's shoes. And that's why through my career, I had great relationships with human resources, I had fabulous relationships with finance people; Jim Kavanaugh, who is now the CFO of IBM, Rich Hume, who you know, who's now CEO of Tech Data Synnex. These were finance guys that I worked with throughout my career. But again, it was straight talk when we talked and they knew if I committed to something, I delivered it. And I learned a lot about what motivated the finance organizations and what it takes to get things done. So it's a great question, and everyone should have that opportunity to learn what other organizations are motivated by, and that way you kind of understand their issues and they understand yours as well.

Bob Howard: So when you first get into management, was it a sales team? Or was it some type of operational or product development?

Tom Looney: So after product development, then I actually got in the channel. And it was the channel before the IBM PC was even launched. It was basically setting up a channel to sell typewriters. So there was about 15 of us across the country that started establishing those dealers. And it was, again, a fun job because IBM had never done anything than direct sales. So we set up small dealers in all the major cities and really had a great time. From there, then I got into the PC business, the PCs were announced shortly after that, and got involved with what we used to call a C channel dealer. They had probably 40 locations, and that was another great time. And in that role, I was fortunate to get probably the most coveted recognition, which was president of the one hundred percent club. Which is, of all the things I've accomplished, that's the number one seller in IBM. And you get to speak to everyone at the recognition event, tell them why you were successful. That was just an incredible experience and recognition that I never imagined I would have gotten. And that was working with channel partners like you, Bob, in the very early days when the PC was first announced.

Bob Howard: Thoughts around the video conferencing applications as it goes to account management?

Tom Looney: I think it's not real hard to retain business through zoom. Where I think it's very difficult is acquiring new business and building new relationships. Because the bottom line, whether it's sales, leadership, whether it's customers - think about you and me. We didn't always get along Bob. I mean, we always disagreed. But we always believed we each had positive intent and we both trusted each other. And I think it's a lot harder to build that trust if you're not, what I'll say, pressing the flesh and meeting folks and acquiring new business. And a lot of companies are going to take the safe path. You're working with somebody, you've already got a relationship that was built. It's a lot harder, or it can be a lot more expensive because quite frankly, you're going to have to give away a lot more to get someone to change from one vendor to another vendor.

Bob Howard: You know, it's interesting when you brought that up. When I talked to Gus yesterday, I said, you know, sometimes I think people didn't really understand the relationship that I have with Tom, because we would go into a meeting and we would have a disagreement, let's say, on a topic or a strategy, but it wasn't to the point that you know, you would get - well, let me word it this way. I tell people, when I went with Tom, you always got the straight talk. And I would always bring my straight talk.

Tom Looney: It was a beautiful relationship Bob, right?

Bob Howard: Yeah. It was just like, you know, there was no BS, there was no hidden story. I know Peter Drucker always mentioned trying to understand what's not being said. And I'm like, yes, that's really important, but you have to ask enough questions so you do understand that. But I've always been of the belief that I'm better off sharing my thoughts so there's no thoughts about what I really meant, you know? It's really there. That's just what it is. Whether I'm right or wrong, it doesn't matter. It's just at least no one has to guess at that point. And that's what you were always really good about. I'd always come out and be like, oh, you and Tom. And I was like, what? I enjoy that actually. I'd rather have that.

Tom Looney: Again, I get back to positive intent. A lot of people, if someone is challenging them, they think they're looking out for their own self-interest, and it's just a different point of view. And that's why if you had that trust, then you understand that, that person is - he's got his best interest and quite frankly, your best interest at heart. So it's positive intent, not negative intent, in what that person is asking for, or how they disagree with whatever position you've taken.

Bob Howard: One of the things I did want to ask you about was - for the folks that don't really necessarily understand the industry we were in, you had your OEMs, your manufacturers who produce the equipment. They also had a channel organization that would work with resellers or value added resellers. And a lot of them also had their direct sales force. And one of the things that I think is important for people getting into the business from a re-seller perspective is, when you're working with the field organization, you know, what is it they need to do in order to build that relationship, build that trust and be able to win business with a field organization from one of the major manufacturers, would you say?

Tom Looney: Well, number one, I look for - I mean, my whole strategy, the way I engage the market was total focus on the customer. Which again - time kills deals, you have to be responsive, you have to think creatively, don't give the same pitch twice. So whenever I made calls - or a business partner or a rep would make calls - I wanted someone who was customer focused, who was articulate, could handle objections, because handling objections is probably one of the most important skills you have to learn in sales, and it's also a relationship based on trust at every level within an organization. And they have to know their customer. I mean, they have to go deep in their customers - not just knowing their business, but get to know those customers personally. And the other thing is earning the right to ask. I learned at an early age if I wanted the car, I had to earn the right to ask. And today, whether I'm asking the legislature to fund different proposals of plans in the state, or I was asking senior level executives to support, or resources, I had to earn the right to ask. And you had to do the homework. And customers are no different.

Bob Howard: So it goes back to what you said, right? It's that asking - well, earning the right to ask for the business. And I said, if you have a good relationship with the field rep and you're bringing them deals and they know there's certain things they can count on you to do for them, then that's the type of great relationship - just like a customer relationship - you have to have to be successful out in the field and on the inside.

Tom Looney: Yeah. And it's funny. Oftentimes customers will bring up an issue, and our reps will say, well, part of that was on you. I mean, you didn't do whatever. I never put it back on the customer. I can still recall one of the largest school systems in the country, I had to go in to address some issues. They basically undressed me for a half hour. There were 20 people in the room, they knocked the room down to five, addressed me for another half hour, and I never defended myself. And the bottom line on that is when I retired, the guy that did that to me actually asked me to go Marlin fishing with him. We became great friends. So again, it's all about earning the right - and customers know sometimes the problem is partially theirs, but when you take the total blame for something and suck it up and then fix it, the benefit of that is invaluable.

Bob Howard: I know one of the things that you're pretty passionate about now is giving back to the community, and with the different community colleges, I know there's some programs that you put together for Wake Tech, correct?

Tom Looney: Yes.

Bob Howard: Yes. So if you could tell us a little bit about that, because I know that the work you've done with them and Lenovo around that is just tremendous.

Tom Looney: Well, let me just make a point about community service to your listeners. And that is, if you can get involved in the community - I mean, everyone, no matter where you are in your career, you have an incredible opportunity to change people's lives. And, you know, we get so caught up on our jobs. This is a break from that, and when you see the impact you can have - again, even early on in your career - it's profound. And I'll just give you an example. When I first started, I started with junior achievement when I was probably 22 in Cleveland, Ohio, and we had young inner city kids selling cookie sheets door to door as our company. And we went on to be the number two JA team in the city of Cleveland. And these kids were so excited. Imagine inner city kids selling cookie sheets.

Bob Howard: Yeah, absolutely.

Tom Looney: I was arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau, and then moved on to other positions. Since I moved to Raleigh, I really had a desire to really get involved in a couple of different areas. One was education, the second was economic development and the third was the environment. At Wake Tech - which is the largest community college here in North Carolina. We have 74,000 students, we have eight campuses - what I do primarily is get businesses that take ownership of our student success, our curriculum, and really recommending and implementing the latest technology in school. At Wake Tech, what we did with Lenovo and a number of other employees, is really design an internship program that was unique to the community colleges. In community colleges, most of our students work. So the traditional summer internship program just doesn't work, because these kids have to work. It's fine for a

four year college.

So we created a yearlong program. The students make between 15 and $20 an hour. They probably work 20 hours a week, but they're making a good income. But instead of working in retail or in a restaurant, they're actually working in their field. And we actually launched that with 12 students at Lenovo and in software engineering, in marketing, hardware development, and then expanded that to other employers throughout the region. But again, it was somewhat of a heavy lift, but I've got to thank Lenovo for being one of the pioneers and helping me get that launched. And again, now I'm on the state board of community colleges and I'm determining now how we can really get a program like that on steroids. Because in life and business, people really don't take action unless they take ownership. And what we're able to do is really have companies like Lenovo take ownership for our students’ lives, and really change those lives in a very profound way.

Bob Howard: You know, it was interesting because I was reading an article about Tiffany Harrell - who was Wake Tech - and she was also a Lenovo employee, she was on the software side that you had mentioned, and what was interesting is, she was struggling with being able to earn enough money and stay in school. And she was at the point where she almost would have to drop out of college. And when you take a look at her story, she grew up in foster homes, she became a mother at age 20 and then found herself, quickly, a widow with five children after her husband had a fatal heart attack. And for what she was able to accomplish, both from Wake Tech and the opportunity that Lenovo gave, was life changing. And, you know, a lot of times people don't think about some of these programs that are in place that just have such a huge impact on people's lives.

And, you know, not only is it the school that benefits from it, but also when you take a look at her family and those kids and those future children growing up and the impact that they can have on other people. So I mean, it's just tremendous, everything that you and Lenovo and the local community have put together. I also know that - you know, we chuckled a little bit about it, well, mostly everyone likes oysters - I've read an interesting article there about the New York challenge you were on and what you're trying to accomplish from an environmental standpoint, especially on the seacoast. Could you tell us a little bit about that?

Tom Looney: Well, I was asked to take a look at a plan from an environmental group called the North Carolina Coastal Federation about seven years ago. And the plan was to show that there's economic development associated with environmental work. So I looked at that plan and told them, I'm not sure it's going to hunt. In fact, I don't think at all it's going to hunt, but let's go ahead, I'll set up a meeting with the secretary of commerce. So we met with him and that was the case, it wasn't going to hunt. Because - again, when you look at it from a business perspective, it was all funded with grant money. Those grants are not sustainable. They're a point in time. The workers are contract workers, and if you're a state government, you want sustainable jobs and you don't want to be funding that for a long period of time.

The real objective was clean water. So I said, I'll take a look at it. I took the look at it and I said, I think we've got a play here. I think we've got to build a commercial oyster business here in North Carolina. And they said, well, no, this is about clean water. I said, I'm going to get you the clean - we're going to get the clean water. But we've got to start somewhere else. In order for us to work with the legislature, we've got to prove we're going to do something. And guess what we're going to do? We're going to set an aspirational goal: one thousand jobs and one hundred million dollars in economic activity. Well, that plan was put together. It was an end to end business plan, all the way up from research and development to marketing at the tail end, and e-commerce; how are we going to get this product to market?

We presented that and a study was funded at the University of North Carolina that came up with a final report. And the interesting fact, Bob, was that when we presented that to the legislature - this oyster mariculture program for commercial growing of oysters along our coast - the first thing they asked was, doesn't that mean we've got to make sure our water is clean? So all the environmentalists in the room said, damn it. He was right. We're going to create economic activity, but we're going to get clean water, which is what everybody wanted. So in business, sometimes people didn't understand where I was headed, but oftentimes, you can't keep running into the wall. You've got to find that door and you've got to look at things differently, and that's what I did.

And to move ahead now, we are on track to deliver one hundred million dollars. We are ahead of track on the number of jobs. And just this session, the legislature has approved $2 million in low cost loans for our growers. Because the problem with a lot of things in government and local communities and non-profits, as you know, the weakest link breaks the chain. So the plan we put together was an end-to-end plan that not only included oyster mariculture, it included oyster sanctuaries, it included living shorelines, it included wild harvest and a collaborative effort that involved probably 40 or 50 different organizations. So again, it's that business approach applied to environmental organizations. You can apply it to community colleges. And that's why - for those of the folks who are listeners, who at some point are going to retire, I would encourage you to get involved early. Understand where you can play, build those relationships, because today I'm as busy as I've ever been. I don't sit around and talk to people about achy bones. I talk to people about economic development, I talk to them about environmental causes, I talk to them about how we're going to revolutionize education, and I'm involved in a startup that is bringing a product called Symphony Classroom to really dramatically improve the lives of teachers across our country.

Bob Howard: Yeah, you know, I was going to ask you next about that because when I was speaking with Gus about the solution, I have a lot of teachers and on my wife's side of the family, and the amount of administrative work that they have to do that takes them away from the main job of focusing on teaching, along with all the different technology that's in the classroom and then with the pandemic last year, it's hard for what the teachers have to try to get done on a day to day basis. And they have less time to do it. And that's what I find so interesting about, you know, a very dedicated AI solution for teachers in the education market. And if you could just maybe mention a few things about what some of the schools that you've been working with, with seeding the product and testing it out, what that's really meant. Because I know you've done some really good focus areas in the kind of more of the rural area where they don't necessarily get to touch or utilize at all. So for them, I think that's a huge benefit to get their feedback, because they don't get the training and the support on a day-to-day basis with technology.

Tom Looney: Yeah, I joined a couple of folks that I worked with at Lenovo and a company called Merlin Mind, and I was asked to put together a statewide, big place, strategy. And I started right here in our backyard in North Carolina, because teachers have really been put through hell. Our students have also been put through hell and the learning loss -even a Wall Street Journal article this year said, you know, especially for fourth graders, many of them have a very difficult time spelling, reading and writing. And in fourth grade, things really start to accelerate. So we came up with an offering that's been worked on and in development for almost, I think, three and a half to four years now, that really allows the teacher to control everything in the classroom with their voice.

And we are now rolling this out. It's been in test at the University of California, Irvine. We've got pilots in the UK. And I'm really proud to say North Carolina has got the most placements so far in the most number of school districts. And besides education, the other area that I'm very focused on is our rural communities. They are very challenged. And I believe we have an obligation to inspire every student in every classroom across the state. And with Merlin right now, that's exactly what we're trying to do. We've got pilots across the state. We're in six different counties. We've got a major pilot with over 50 units, and are working with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction on some joint research of the impact of Merlin on student success and teacher satisfaction and performance in the classroom. So again, the rural communities have been welcoming. The rural communities want to demonstrate that they're leveraging the best technology, and it's paying off in states like North Carolina where, again, we are the leader with Merlin, as far as the number of placements we'll have here in the fourth quarter.

Bob Howard: That's awesome. I know that a lot of people maybe aren't in the tech industry. So when we talk about a device like a symphony classroom, so that's also an edge computing device, which also really helps the teacher because it's not tying up bandwidth, calling out to a main server somewhere. It's doing a lot of the processing right there in the classroom, bringing up media information for the teacher and the students. And that's a huge benefit, because that digital divide that exists from let's say certain wealthier well-to-do communities, versus some of the rural, once those kids go home, the lack of technology access - or if they have technology, they might not even have really stable internet connection. So that's a challenge to begin with on top of it. So having that ability to do it right there in the classroom is just tremendous.

So I'm really excited to watch how this whole solution takes off in the education market, because I think, especially in K through 12, that's a game changer. So when I was reading about it and understanding it more, I'm like, that is just very cool, what it should be able to accomplish for teachers. And I know they're sick and tired of not being able to teach. That's what they do, you know? And that's what they get into teaching for, the same as baseball players, hockey players, right? They do it because they love it, you know? Yes, there might be a big check down the road attached to it or not, but they get in it because they love the sport or they love teaching.

Tom Looney: Yeah. We just want to disconnect them from the front of the classroom, simplified technology. Because teachers are performers. I mean - and if you talk to people about who inspired you in life, it usually is a teacher. There was a gentleman here that I got to be good friends with and he was in a rural community and there was free and reduced lunch. He was a single parent family, and he was a truant and school wasn't going well. And a teacher said, I'm going to teach not to the bottom of the class, not to the top of the class, I'm going to teach to everyone in the class. And she inspired him - and to make a long story short, this gentlemen went to the North Carolina School of Science and Math - who's board I chaired for a number of years - and went on, worked for IBM, worked with Tim Cook at IBM on the original thing pad.

In fact, he's got the original butterfly, Bob, remember the butterfly? He was working in the development of that. Just sold his third startup for 550 million here in North Carolina. So my thing is - on the rural communities - how many other Carls are out there that are not getting inspired? We've got to lift these rural communities. And they're not as well-funded as the larger counties in North Carolina, and most likely in other states, so we have to inspire those students and support our teachers in a much larger way than we have been. And that's - again, where I'm spending a lot of my time, both from a community college perspective, working on credentials, working with the Department of Public Instruction on workforce development plans and early colleges of which we're launching a new early college here in Raleigh on the Wake Tech campus, where students can graduate from high school with an associate’s degree in computer science, basically when they get out of high school.

And again, I believe it'll open up in one year. But that's the creative thinking we need, and we've got to capture students earlier. And if you look at underrepresented minorities and women, if we expose them to computer science earlier in high school, or even in high school, there's a seven times more likelihood that they will pursue that in college. And one of the biggest challenge for any leader today is workforce and underneath that is workforce diversity, because it's a major channel. Now everyone is committing, they're going to hire tens of thousands of underrepresented minorities and women. They weren't there before in many cases, they aren't there today. We've got to prime that pump and that pump starts in high school and it starts with companies accepting students from community colleges where we need the culture to change that a four year degree and a 3.0 average isn't for everybody, and you don't need those types of skills today to get a great job in the technology field. And I've got large startups now, we're the largest tier, it's a $2 billion company now. The founder called me and said, Tom, we're ready to talk to you about community college students. We've got to change the way we do these community college systems. So the culture is changing, we must accelerate it if these companies are expecting to reach these targets on diversity inclusion for underrepresented minorities and women.

Bob Howard: Yeah, you had brought forward - you had discussed about looking at a situation differently. And so when you're selling or you're trying to find an opportunity, you've got to figure out a different way to open the door like with the clean water and with the oysters. And you know, when you do have a diverse workforce and you bring in people from diverse backgrounds, you're going to get a whole different way of looking at things too. And, you know, I know that throughout my whole life and career, you know, I'm never going to be the smartest guy in the room and that's okay. I just have to be accepting to the feedback and listening to people and then letting them act upon what makes sense, right? So if they come up and they have a plan and it's all good, it's like, yeah, go for it, go do it. And they're going to be much more bought in with that versus me turning around and saying, hey, I need you to just go do A, B and C. When it's their idea and their approach and they're doing it in a very unique way, that's awesome, right? So I think that getting someone like a major tech company to be able to start to open up the door to those community college students, that's huge.

Tom Looney: Here's the thing, Bob. We talk about technology, right? For instance, we're a major site for Fidelity, Credit Suisse, Advanced Auto - to name a few - they consider themselves technology companies. So we used to say, technology is a Cisco, a NetApp, a Citrix. No. Technology, when you look at it, is all these other companies. Major financial institutions, major retailers, and in North Carolina today, we have over 25,000 open IT positions and companies are making investments every week to move to North Carolina.

Bob Howard: Well, if anybody's looking for a job, I'm going to say right now, start looking around North Carolina.

Tom Looney: Well, if you want a good job, you want good pay, you want a high quality of life, you like the beaches, you like the mountains, I totally support anyone moving to North Carolina.

Bob Howard: So Tom, I really appreciate you getting on the phone here, any last bit of advice for anybody that you'd like to offer?

Tom Looney: I'll leave you with a couple of things. Time kills deals. I mean, listen, if you're going to remember anything, remember time kills deals and people remember how you make them feel, not what you said. So if there's two things you pulled out of this, remember that. And I guarantee you, you will be more successful. And the third thing is get engaged outside of work. Give your time, change people's lives. And don't wait until the end of your career. So many friends call me and say, gee, I'm retired, I'm going to golf, I'm going to fish, I'm going to travel. But after 90 days of that, it's like, hey Tom, what do I do now? What do you think I should do? I'm like, well, it's a little late. You've got to start earlier. Build those relationships outside of work. And I'll tell you, it's the greatest feeling. Money can't buy it. It is when you've got stories like Tiffany - and Bob, what Lenovo did was, at convocation, we had Tiffany on the stage at Wake Tech with her four kids and an executive from IBM joined us at the meeting, walked on stage and handed her, her ID. The problem is, I need 20, 30 companies here in North Carolina doing that. And we can do it, we just need more role models like Lenovo to help us get there.

Bob Howard: Wow. That's powerful. And I bet you that there was a lot of tears in the audience when that happened.

Tom Looney: Unbelievable.

Bob Howard: Yeah. Without a doubt. So again, Tom, I really appreciate it. I hope - if you ever need anything, let me know. If I get down to North Carolina, you can put me to work for a couple of days or a week and I'll be all good.

Tom Looney: Well Bob, we gave the IT industry some of our best years. And I can say you're a good friend. You're a great businessman and I always enjoyed working together. And the one thing I still have hanging in my office at home here is the picture of you and I in a fist fight with a pirate trying to break us up. So that was a classic. In fact, I think you had it framed and sent it to me.

Bob Howard: Well, I have one here too. So every time I look at it, I just kind of chuckle. Because it just always shows that you can have disagreements and still have great relationships with folks.

Tom Looney: We'll end on that folks. Whatever you do, have fun. Thanks Bob.

Bob Howard: Absolutely. Thanks.