John Wilson 0:00

Michael, I can't thank you enough for being on the CEO Global Network podcast today. It's just great to see you again, and it's great to have you with us.

Michael Polo 0:07

Thank you, John. It really is my pleasure and my honor to be with you. Thank you very much for having me.

John Wilson 0:12

No, no. I appreciate you taking the time. I want to just let everybody know, Michael, okay, that you are the president of Hall Telecommunications Supply and that you've been there for nearly four decades. That's hard to believe. I'm sure it's hard to believe for you too, eh? That it's been almost four decades.

Michael Polo 0:30

I have to pinch myself. You're right.

John Wilson 0:32

Yeah. Time flies. It does. Yeah. And uh so you you've had a big hand in growing one of Canada's leading telecommunications distributors. I want everybody to know that the business is headquartered in Guelph, Ontario. Hull Telecommunications Supply is Canada's longest standing privately owned telecommunications company. And, you know, your company specializes in the distribution of telecom, security, connectivity, and assistive living devices. And your leadership is built on long-term relationships, customer trust, and a commitment to developing high-performing teams. I know you've got a lot of experience at that, been very successful with that. You are also a proud member of CEO Global Network, and you're in Tim Hardman's, one of Tim Hardman's CEO groups. And so we really appreciate that. As I said, it's great to see you again and welcome to this podcast. I've got a couple of questions for you. So why don't we just get right into them? So, as I mentioned, you've spent almost four decades with the same company. What has kept you motivated to keep growing instead of getting comfortable?

Michael Polo 1:40

Good question. Since I joined Hall, it's been like a David and Goliath world for us here. Hall was that small private Canadian distributor fighting the much larger U.S. owned distribution companies. Every win we got was really hard-earned, which made it personally and professionally re rewarding for us. In addition, our founder, Yolando Hall, and her husband Don installed the thought in me that our small company put food on the table of our people, of our team. And being the son of immigrants, I understood the value of having a job and also what that meant to put food on our table. That was a significant motivator for me as well. Lastly, being in the tech world, it is constantly changing. With a company our size, we were able to adapt quickly and take those exciting new technologies to market. And this is still the case today. And it just keeps things really exciting for us.

John Wilson 2:37

No, it would. It definitely would. It keeps you motivated, eh? For sure. Yeah, huge. So after leading Hall through multiple generations of change in telecom, what leadership principle, in your opinion, has never changed?

Michael Polo 2:52

Is there one that comes to mind? There is, absolutely. And we talk about it all the time here, John. It's about building lasting relationships. And it's by using the golden rule. Technologies change, but not human nature.

John Wilson 3:06

Absolutely. Technology changes, but not human nature. Yeah, how true is that, eh? And I know you you champion people over products, eh? I mean, I've heard you say that. Why do you believe relationships remain the biggest competitive advantage, Michael?

Michael Polo 3:21

Well, I'll tell you, your previous question really segued into this, John. We're in an industry that is constantly changing. And as a result of that, people tend to jump at the new technologies. And those companies that have always been focused on that ran the risk of being subject to, if they don't change fast enough technology-wise, they get customers jump and leave and go somewhere else. Where we focused, because we developed the relationship was so important for us, it kept us going through good times, but also through bad times. Because our clients were much more forgiving, much more willing to work with us. And the fact that we're still run by humans and our business is still run by humans, you're always going to make mistakes. So the relationship was the glue that always seemed to held us together. And it's interesting, several years ago, a newly minted vendor had come to come to see us. And the gentleman was a competitor for a competitor to us for many years. He sat in our office and he told Wanda Manning, who is my business partner and I, he finally figured out the why he could not take away some of the mutual clients that we shared. He said, and I'll quote, he had more inventory, more personnel on the street, and the power of significant financial backing as a US-based company. Yet he could not break into, he says, I couldn't break any of your clients. It is taking me a while to figure it out, but I finally did. Hall owned the relationship. And to us, this vendor truly summarized what our advantages in the better ways that I could never have described it. So that that's why.

John Wilson 4:58

That's a terrific comment, isn't it? That must have made you feel so good because you work hard on those relationships, don't you? And I know they're genuine, aren't they? And that yeah, it's a competitive advantage.

Michael Polo 5:09

It really is, John. And again, and it's again, you know, you talked about four decades. It's been almost 39 years that I've been here. And we still have relationships today with clients that we started even before I joined the company. And again, it's such a blessing to be able to be in that position.

John Wilson 5:27

Yeah, I know it's a tremendous accomplishment. What did becoming president teach you that being vice president never could? You were VP for a long time, and then you became the president. What did that teach you?

Michael Polo 5:41

That's another really good question. As vice president, I was really more focused on the sales activities of our business, even though I understood the importance of all the rest of the departments within our company. But I'll tell you, as president, all the aspects of our company's operations have become more critical and having to fully understand them and how they must come together really to achieve all like our overall company goals. But I think also that's on the operational side. But uh probably the most important part though is tone setting. And as a leader, right? Then the expression goes, leadership, culture, and accountability starts at the top. It is so true. A president has to be able to lead by example, and I cannot expect anything less from any of our team that I wouldn't expect from myself.

John Wilson 6:31

Yeah, that's that's such good advice. It's so true, isn't it? And you set that example. Absolutely. We try. Yeah. No, I know you do. In an industry that is driven by constant innovation, and you kind of alluded to this a minute ago, how do you decide what deserves your attention and what is just noise or just another, you know, another uh trend?

Michael Polo 6:52

Trend. Well, I'll tell you, the I've been taught for since the beginning of my career in sales, always try to look through the eyes of our customer, okay, and what's important to them and what would make them successful. So as a result, we used actually these following questions as a guide. Is this product or service simple to install? Is it simple to use for the end user? Does it align itself with our core clients? And will this product or service better position our clients in the eyes of their customers? Because if it helps our clients, then of course in return it helps us, right? So if the answers to these questions are yes, then we pursue bringing them to market in Canada. Because really, our belief is that if the more effective we can help make our customers, then the more effective and valuable Hall becomes to them.

John Wilson 7:39

Well, absolutely. Now, I got one last question for you, and then we're gonna wrap up, Michael. Okay. So when you take a look at the next generation of CEOs, okay, next generation of presidents, what quality do you think they'll need more than any generation before them? Is there anything that comes to your mind?

Michael Polo 7:59

Absolutely, it does. I think the next generation of CEOs are really gonna be facing change at a much faster pace than I have, and my predecessors have. So the one quality I think that they're gonna need more is stewardship. The next gen CEOs won't have all the answers. So they're gonna need to have the ability to learn and build a team around them, which continually learns, adapts, and innovates faster than their competition. In my case, I had the option of h owning Hall solely, but through some good guidance from my wife, I invited Wanda along as my equal partner. She had strengths operationally that I did not, and a commitment to Hall's success equal to mine. It was the best decision I ever could have made.

John Wilson 8:41

How good is that, eh? Good for you and uh tremendous partner to have. She's a wonderful person, isn't she?

Michael Polo 8:47

She really is, John. I'm blessed.

John Wilson 8:50

Yeah, no, that's that's wonderful. Michael, I can't thank you enough for being on the SEAL Global Network podcast. I've been wanting to get you on here for quite some time, and and now we've done it, and maybe we'll do it again down the road.

Michael Polo 9:02

Well, you're very kind and I'm very honored that uh you would have asked me, John. So thank you very much for giving me this opportunity.

John Wilson 9:08

Yeah, well, thank you very much. We appreciate all your insights that you gave us today and really appreciate you taking the time.

Michael Polo 9:14

Thank you. Enjoy your afternoon.

John Wilson 9:16

Yeah, you too.