Maynard Webb is the CEO of Liveops. Before he joined Liveops, he served as the COO at Ebay and SVP & CIO for Gateway, Inc. In addition, he sits on the board of several successful startups, such as Baynote, Inc.

What methods have you used to reduce stress in the workplace?

For me, winning reduces stress. I focused on getting teams winning.

I encourage employees to focus on the outcome rather than daily issues. By clearly communicating success expectations, making sure people understand their responsibilities, teach to focus only on the problems that are in your control, and have fun in the process helps to reduce stress in the workplace tremendously.

For a startup to be successful in the long run, what do you think are some of the most important issues the founding team should focus?

The key is to find and provide a service or product that people want or come to love.

Next, you must learn rapid execution and iteration.

Seldom, your beginning idea is what you want so you must be receptive to change, be willing to constantly spend time on figuring out new ideas, and once you do find it, know how to be fast to market.

What are your most important values that contributed to your career successes?

Great question.

Do what you say and say what you do. It’s all about CREDIBILITY.

I aspired to be best at what I did. That is, nobody in the same situation or circumstance can do better. I was enthusiastic and excited about changing the world. Doing big things has a way of inspiring you.

How do you handle conflicts between employees that cannot get along? Would you suggest an alternative to layoffs?

For the first question of employees, I cannot say enough on the importance of having clear communication, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, expectations to behavior, and accountability. I’ve been able to address a lot of conflicts through clarity.

In the words of Steven Covey, “seek first to understand before you can be understood.”

As for the question about layoffs, things happen because of market changes or poor planning.

When you are in the hiring phase, it is important to ensure a long term commitment when hiring employees.

At Liveops, our model is a “change the world” kind of model.

Bottom line is do a better job of planning and you’ll avoid the layoffs.

How does Liveops attract customers and hire employees given the competitiveness in today’s market?

We are very fortunate to be in an industry where we have established prior reputation. It is an industry where responsiveness, value, and service are key.

At Liveops, we strive to provide better value and service than any other. We have a “change the world” mentality so everybody is self-motivated and inspired about what we do.

On average we get a pool of 2500 applications to be agents every week. What’s driving that number is that people want to have a new way of working where they have the freedom to work the way they want to work and make money in the process.

Because of our “change the world” mentality, that in itself inspires everybody.

What technique do you use to motivate employees?

It goes back to what I was saying about communication. You have to share your vision and passion with your employees. You have to make them feel like they are part of the solution and that they can contribute.

People want to be in charge of their destiny.

Message to Leave with:

Liveops is changing the world and asking for big things so if you are interested in changing the world, join us.