In this episode of The Wandering Tech Podcast, Lidia and Paul dive deep into the ongoing debate about the Chief Solutions Officer (CSO) role and its place in modern organizations. Drawing from their experiences at companies like VMware and various SaaS organizations, they explore whether this emerging C-suite position is truly necessary or just a 'nice to have'.

Key discussion points:

• The challenges of measuring trust and other proposed CSO metrics
• How organizational structure influences pre-sales priorities and values
• The evolution from traditional pre-sales to broader solution roles
• Why infrastructure companies might approach technical sales differently
• The balance between revenue focus and technical expertise
• Compensation models and risk-taking in pre-sales roles

Featured links & references:

• James Kaikis' blog post on Test Box about CSO role: https://www.testbox.com/post/chief-solutions-officer
• Customer Success book mentioned in the episode: Customer Success: How Innovative Companies Are Reducing Churn and Growing Recurring Revenue
• Connect with the hosts:
  • Lidia on LinkedIn
  • Paul on LinkedIn
• Website: solutionspathfinders.com

Think the Chief Solutions Officer role is the future or are we barking up the wrong tree? Connect with us on LinkedIn and share your thoughts!

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/milky-way

License code: GD2AS1RU1MVSELY3