Meet Doug Thompson

 

We were lucky to catch up with Doug Thompson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Doug, so great to have you on the platform and excited to have you share your wisdom with our community today. Communication skills often play a powerful role in our ability to be effective and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your communication skills.

I like to talk a lot. I was always bringing home report cards with negative marks for talking too much in class. During my early career I was a copier repairman. Often times customers would ask what the problem was and at first, I tried the technical explanation which often resulted in a lot of strange looks from customers not to mention a little exasperation. Over time I learned to explain things through metaphors and analogies. This was my first exploration of stories in the business context. Over the years I continued to leverage stories to explain technical topics to the point that I rarely had to consciously focus on it. People recognized my talent, and I was asked to speak at industry events and conferences. One day I was interviewing candidates for a solutions engineer position on our team. After we had gone through all the candidates my manger expressed frustration that none of them seemed like a good fit. They were all very intelligent and had experience, but they lacked my storytelling skills. Up until that point in my career, I didn’t think my ability to tell stories was anything special and that everyone could do it. It was then I started to deconstruct what made me different. Since that day I have continued to explore stories and how to make them more impactful. I am in the process of creating a workshop where I can teach these skills to other “sales nerds” out there.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am in my 5th year at Tanium after 20 years at Microsoft. I am the Chief Education Architect and Director of Solutions Engineering and podcast host. I have been a sales engineer for even longer than that. I have several technical certifications and have given over 200 presentations worldwide at trade shows and other corporate events and I’ve been a storyteller longer than that. I have mentored and coached dozens of people on storytelling and presentation skills over that time and also host my personal podcast where I interview storytellers and professional speakers uncovering their stories and their storytelling skills. I’m growing my speaking business with keynotes and breakout sessions that teach storytelling techniques, empowering participants to craft and share their own narratives. I’m writing my first solo book on storytelling and building hands-on workshops from its framework to dive deep into these methods. As a 3-time best-selling co-author and retired triathlete—with 2-Time Ironman finishes—I know what it takes to push limits.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Curiosity, adaptability, and perseverance. I have always believed that it is better to be a learn it all rather than a know it all. Change is the nature of life, and it is important to be aware of advances in technology that will shape the future. I read a lot and that has helped me become a better storyteller. Curiosity also has served me well in my role as a “Sales Nerd” so that I can understand my customers everyday challenges so that when I start my sales story, I can make sure that my story of how our products can not only meet or exceed their needs but also set them up for future challenges and needs. This is where adaptability comes into play. As the future is fluid what works today is likely to be obsolete tomorrow but also the unpredictability of corporate life org changes which can cause a career detour at any time. Which leads to perseverance. It is not how many roadblocks you face it is the ability to recover and reroute from the roadblock and carry on. Ironman triathlon training taught me a lot about the meaning of perseverance and the value of showing up every day. Progress is sometimes made by inches but if you keep moving you will eventually be in a better place. But most importantly is that you must know how to tell your own story. If you can’t master that skill your success will be limited because few others will do it for you. Sharing your story isn’t bragging—when you speak with humility and gratitude, people will step up to help.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

There are two books that I regularly recommend. First is TO SELL IS HUMAN by Daniel Pink. The other book is TRIBE OF MENTORS by Tim Ferris. In Pink’s book it really brought home the point of how important storytelling is in all aspects of life. Everyone is in sales whether you have a quota or are simply trying to convince a team member of why your idea is great, you are selling something. This is the most impactful skill to manage, especially in corporate life. TRIBE is packed with sage advice from well-known and successful people that most of us would never get to talk to. While not everything will apply to the reader there is enough in there to aid in your growth. My favorite ah=ha moment was from Terry Laughlin where he talks about, we are all on the road to mastery of something and we will all die before we reach the summit. I have added to that thought by helping those behind us on the road and asking for help from those in front of us. That is what really drives me to speak and help others with their story telling skills.

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