Millennial Q&A: How They Will Change the Channel

Three millennials are helping to shape the channel.

CompTIA awarded three young people with the 2016 ChannelChangers recognition earlier this month: Katie Hightower of Intel Security, Taylor Conklin, director of marketing communications for AT&T Partner Exchange and Dana Bullister, program manager of strategic data initiatives for LOGICnow.

The three award winners spoke to Channel Partners about their experiences, observations and advice for the channel.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.{ad}

Channel Partners: How did you get involved in the channel?

Katie Hightower: I joined the IT industry through a stroke of good luck. I started as a contractor at McAfee (now Intel Security) and worked various contract jobs in field marketing, vertical marketing and channel marketing. Eventually, I won the company over with my ninja marketing skills, and they wanted to hire me on as a full time employee of Intel! Joining the Intel Security channel marketing team wasn’t a hard decision. I had already fallen in love with the channel because each partner is like a microbusiness where marketers can have a direct influence on the partner’s business outcomes. Looking back, I believe joining the Intel Security channel marketing team was the best decision I have made so far in my professional career. The channel marketing team I work with today has challenged me to be more innovative, more results-driven, and more collaborative than ever before, and the results of our entire team speak for themselves. Again – what can I say other than, I am lucky!

Dana Bullister: I first became involved in the channel when I was hired as a data scientist for what was then GFI Software. I helped analyze the rich data sets associated with IT remote management to derive valuable insights about device health, security, and what makes the best IT admins successful. This grew into actively transforming these insights into user-facing products that empower MSPs with data-driven knowledge. 

Taylor Conklin: It was in my first business-to-business sales position at AT&T where I learned the importance of the channel. I worked closely with solution providers in our Alliance Channel. This gave me a chance to witness the valuable role they play in building customer relationships and helping to close deals. So when an opportunity opened in AT&T Partner Exchange to work directly with and help influence the future of the channel, I jumped at it.

CP: As a millennial, what unique skills or knowledge do you bring to the table for your company?

KH: Silo-free collaboration. Let’s face it; millennials are ultimately on a quest for knowledge. In reference to the millennial persona, I am no different. More often than not, I find myself looking for solutions to problems rather than …

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… considering a problem unsolvable. As a result of this accidental networking, I’ve managed to collect a pocket of experts [who] are thirsty for this type of knowledge transfer and/or organic problem solving. Sure, I bet some people cringe when they see my name in their inbox; but for the most part this group of cohorts helps me “get stuff done.” I consider myself lucky to work at Intel Security where innovation and collaboration are the pillars of the company culture because it helps create a safe environment for this type of silo-free collaboration.

DB: My millennial status means that I grew up at a time when the technology behind the Internet was largely mature and accessible, but the reality of what that meant was still sinking in. I remember my dad showing me Google for the first time and having a near-embolism of excitement about how it could process millions of pages in less than a second. I was born into the beginning of a technological explosion, bringing with it a certain comfort with extreme change paired with fascination and optimism that remains to this day. 

TC: Merging backgrounds, personalities, generations, genders, ethnicities, experience levels and more is key to achieving the diversity of thought needed to challenge the status quo. As a millennial in marketing, I’m able to infuse my social savviness into my passion for connecting with others. This helps me identify new mediums to engage with our solution providers and craft the content in a way that it will best resonate across the different social channels – whether that’s effectively communicating in 140 characters or less or developing more detailed content for thought-leadership pieces.

CP: What should people in the channel be learning from millennials?

KH: An effective channel organization should be using at least one millennial in content ideation. The hyper-connected world that we live in has changed the way we go-to-market with our partners. Channel partners should be adapting their business model[s] for this new digitally immersive world.  Content-driven millennials can help both channel sales and marketing cut through the old paradigm to enhance the products you sell.

DB: My own takeaway from fellow millennials is that vision, motivation and agility can be just as powerful as wisdom when it comes to adding value. People my age have sold companies, developed new technologies, created novel markets. Many of these instances would have been unthinkable in prior decades when certain key technologies had not yet existed. Millennials challenge traditional notions of needing to “make your way up the chain” before finally being allowed to have any real influence. Value is value, whether it comes from someone who is 65 or 25. It will be exciting to see how the world further benefits from perhaps unexpected demographics as barriers of location, knowledge and communication are lifted. 

TC: Millennials have a natural tendency to embrace …

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… changing platforms and technologies. And at a time when the marketplace is rapidly evolving, the inclination to adopt new ways of working is key. Our penchant for flexibility and risk taking are also adjacent characteristics that others in the channel could employ.

CP: Looking back on your educational background or your initial career aspirations, are you surprised to be working where you are now?

KH: Yes, I am! I devoted the early stages of my professional career to PR and marketing-development strategies within the nonprofit community. I was pretty good at it too. (Built a team. Built go-to-market tools. Hired people. Changed branding. Did fundraising.) But I woke up one morning with the desire to learn from the big corporate machine. I felt compelled to learn from experts before I pretended to be one. Eventually, I found Intel Security and the channel found me. For me, where I am in my career now can be attributed to working hard and being open to the right opportunities.

DB: I suspected since high school that I would be in some way involved with creating or improving technology. I really did not have any fleshed-out vision of how that might be. By interest and luck I ended up specializing in computer science, which opened the doors to applying coding and data processing to solving real-world problems. In retrospect, my history seems relatively coherent, though I would never have guessed the precise end back when I started.   

TC: Simple answer: Yes! From a young age, I knew I wanted to solve problems and help others. So the medical field seemed like an obvious choice, fueling my dream of becoming a doctor. But in college, I started to get curious about other career fields. I began to ask questions and explore how I could unlock the creativity in my DNA while simultaneously making a difference. As a result, I found myself switching my focus to business where I could marry my passion for solving problems with my passion for creativity in an effort to drive lasting change for others.

CP: What do you hope to accomplish in the channel (or in your career in general)?

DB: Ambitions are always best when they’re high. Therefore, my goal is to categorically revolutionize the way that IT admins make decisions about how they manage their technology. I want to make every part of the maintenance process smarter, more informed by previous successes and mistakes, and more connected with the collective knowledge of their peers. Generally speaking, I would like to push the boundaries of what before may have seemed impossible by way of making the world a more intelligent place. 

KH: I think my career path will lead to a leadership role one day. But for right now, I’m just soaking in all the lessons I can from some really talented folks.

TC: A personal motto of mine is …

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… “leave things better than you found them.” My goal is to have an impact on and add value to everything I touch. It’s a relentless drive that pushes me to help find new ways to contribute to our continued leadership in enabling our solution providers’ transformation and growth.

CP: What advice do you have for other young people who are in your field of work?

KH: Start by taking charge of your professional development and doing the hard part first. Get practical experience. It will give you work ethic, skills, and a better understanding of you are good at doing. Most importantly, always raise your hand to help others around you — no matter how small the job may seem. In short: Do everything in your power to prove the millennial misconceptions wrong and you will succeed.

DB: Secure a situation that excites and empowers you, and which optimally enhances your ability to thrive. Work with passion, never for a paycheck or within the boundaries of expectation. Invest heavily in your own sanity and more-than-well-being and never be ashamed to do so. If your ambitions include anything less than becoming – by your own definition – an absolute rock star, you owe it to yourself to aim higher. 

TC: Be curious, ask questions, know the unique value you bring to the table, take initiative and tackle the tough stuff. If it [were] easy, everyone would be doing it.