GTM 93: Mastering the Generalist Specialist Role and Decoding the CEO Dashboard with Noah Marks

Noah Marks is a transformative growth leader focused on building GTM engines and scaling organizations for sustainable growth. He has been in the strategy & operations world for the last decade (with Udemy, WalkMe, Okta and Salesforce), and has spent almost the entirely of his career in the B2B technology market (with the lone exception being a slight deviation into the world of M&A investment banking). Noah currently resides in the Bay Area with his wife, three kids and 3 dogs, and spends as much time as he can in the mountains – fishing, hiking and skiing.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The emergence of the “generalist specialist” as a critical skill set in tech
• Fostering a culture of experimentation and ownership across the org
• Must-have metrics for a CEO dashboard that provides true business insights
• Balancing the pursuit of perfection vs speed in a high-growth environment
• Applying an investment banker’s lens to GTM strategy and operations
• Tactics for rapidly ramping in a new leadership role at an established company
• Building strategic alignment and efficient communication across departments

Highlights:

7:32 – Setting yourself up for success in a new executive role.

12:10 – Navigating the current economic challenges facing tech companies.

17:21 – The concept of a “generalist specialist” and how to empower teams to think that way.

28:02 – Noah’s experience working in investment banking and the lessons he learned.

35:14 – How Noah keeps his teams honest when looking at data, even when it doesn’t tell the desired story.

44:16 – Must-haves in a CEO/executive roll-up dashboard.

50:27 – One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Noah Marks thinks is bull$***.

52:13 – One thing that is working for Noah Marks in go-to-market right now.

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