Name: Mark Reasoner

Title: Chief Sales & Marketing Officer

Organisation: Tacony Corporation

Motivational and highly accomplished business leader with a 15-year career record of domestic and international success spanning sales, marketing, and operations with big-name brands including Baby Lock, Berkley, Buck Knives, Drake Waterfowl, Smith & Wesson and Spalding. Graduate of the University of Tennessee and Webster University. Married for twenty-three years and have four incredible children. Avid outdoorsman focused on fishing, hunting and golf.

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Mark's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

Greatest challenge I find as a leader is maintaining a consistent, organization-wide focus on a few strategic initiatives and not falling victim to taking on new projects that distract from those most critical to achieving your annual objectives.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

It really started back in middle school. I recognized I had a gift of being able to communicate well with just about any type of personality and more importantly influence others. I became involved in student government and leveraged this skill to activate my fellow students to get involved as a team in various projects that involved our school. Throughout high school, college and my early professional life, I honed this skill to a level that ultimately led me to lead my first team in business.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

My work days start and end with prayer. I'm a big believer that God created me ON PURPOSE and WITH A PURPOSE and so I always begin my day asking Him what He has planned for me and finish the day with thanking Him for His blessings. Prior to arriving at work, I always check my calendar and project list to ensure I know what's ahead of me, what's expected as well as ensure I've left myself some flexibility for the unexpected.

My day at work always begins with data whether that be yesterday's sales, call center numbers, consumer and/or competitive insights. It grounds me on what to expect throughout the day. I always follow the morning data download with a brief touch base with my direct reports to understand their priorities for the day as well as any issues they might have where I might be of assistance. Meetings, customer calls as well as planned strategic and/or creative sessions fill the majority of the day.

Before departing work I review my project list, check off those things that were completed and add new "to do's" for the following day. Upon returning home, I turn my phone off and spend quality time with my family whether that's my wife and/or kids. They are the reason I "work" so I want them to know that until they are ready to go to bed, they have my undivided attention. Usually about an hour before I go to bed, I check my phone for any messages that might have come in the last couple of hours.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

I was recently reminded of something I was taught many years ago and that is you should always surround yourself with individuals smarter than you.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

"Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin by far had the most impact on my leadership so far. Two biggest benefits I received from reading this book was (1) learning how to better lead up the chain of command and (2) decentralize command. The later being the most impactful with teams that I led. By giving my team the latitude they needed to make decisions, issues and opportunities were addressed quicker and, more importantly, the team took greater ownership in the business because they felt entrusted.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

Don't be afraid to challenge the status quo and ask "why do we do that?" What I've found over my career is that a good deal of "standards" in business were not necessarily founded in logic or facts. They were practices put in place at a time when it was considered the best "solution" and eventually became the norm. As employees came/went, that standard was never questioned/challenged. Young leaders should always ask the question "why." If their leaders cannot a clear answer, then that's an opportunity for the young leader to drive improvement.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far?

I had the distinct pleasure of working under the leadership of Scott Creelman while working at Spalding. Scott spent 35 years at the company and there wasn't a product, aspect of the business or a retailer president he couldn't provide incredible insight and detail. He was highly respected and revered in the industry. A living legend if you will. However, every Monday morning starting around 8am, Scott would walk the entire office, customer service center and warehouse and stop and talk with each and every employee.

He knew the names of everyone's spouse and kids and always wanted to know how they were doing. Most of his time was spent on personal insight with very little on business. What impacted me about this habit was that even though Scott was on a first-name basis with every executive in the sporting goods industry as well as those within professional sports leagues, Scott never forgot the most important "relationship" with any organization; the one with between an organization's leadership and its people.