Not Putting eXp in a Box with Randall Miles
“I learned a long time ago, the benefits of listening, you can't listen when your mouth is moving, and understanding what motivates people, what motivates clients, why people enter into transactions, what are they trying to accomplish, and really trying to listen.”
Randall is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SCM Capital Group, which is a global, strategic, and transaction advisory firm, I sit on several boards. He spent a great many years on Wall Street, running large investment banking operations, or mergers and acquisitions, bulge bracket and middle-market firms, and has been CEO of a few multibillion-dollar global companies and financial services or technology.
He has over 25 years of experience in management, corporate finance, private equity, business development, securitization, and Merchant banking. He led public and private nonprofit boards through transitions, and he has expertise in diverse industry sectors including technology, financial services, general industry, telecommunications, and others.
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Brett:
We are excited about our next guest. He has over 25 years of experience in management, corporate finance, private equity, business development, securitization, and Merchant banking. He led public and private nonprofit boards through transitions, and he has expertise in diverse industry sectors including technology, financial services, general industry, telecommunications, and others. We're gonna be talking about all things exp not been able to put in a box. It's been more than a pleasure and an opportunity that I joined exp about a year and a half ago, and so it's exciting to have someone who's on the board of eXp to share a part of his story and part of his vision and a part of where exp world holdings are going please welcome to the show with me, Randall Miles. Randall, how are you doing?
Randall:
Good Brett. How about you? Thanks for having me.
Brett:
I'm doing well. Thank you so much excited to have you on the show, and you're I think calling from the great state of New York and the Hamptons are taking a chance to maybe get away from the city a little bit. How are things in New York state these days? What are you seeing now since post-COVID-19? Things get a little more back to normal?
Randall:
New York is great, always great. Things are returning to a more normalized state in the city, which is terrific. Opening up to international tourism. Again, I believe on November 1. Unfortunately, along with things reopening it means more traffic. That's the downside of it. But things are going well, and I think that's true of a lot of New York, certainly in the city, and you know, it's been pretty open out in eastern Long Island. It's been kind of nice to split our time between both.
Brett:
Excellent for our listeners to get to know you for the first time, would you give us a little bit about your story and your current focus?
Randall:
Well, my story, I am Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SCM Capital Group, which is a global, strategic, and transaction advisory firm, I sit on several boards. The particular focus in this conversation is eXp world holdings of which I am Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Audit Committee. I serve on public and private equity backboards, usually as chairman or vice-chairman. Pardon me and I spent a great many years on Wall Street, running large investment banking operations, or mergers and acquisitions, bulge bracket and middle-market firms, and have been CEO of a few multibillion-dollar global companies and financial services or technology, all of which kind of comes together and gives me an opportunity to share some of that background that experience with the companies I currently represent.
Brett:
My wife and I watched the show billions and I know when we met in New York, we were was alive for an exp commercial event about a month ago, there in Times Square, and so the president Jim Wong mentioned how he loved the show billions, and how you're part of that, would you tell our listeners, I think this is such a cool, interesting fact. A little die a little bit more into that part of your background, and then where and how you helped the show billions now?
Randall:
It's kind of a funny story and something of a happy accident. I had never been an actor or aspired to be, and several years ago, kind of recasting myself and how I was spending my time we had a conversation around the dinner table and I had suggested to my family that well, maybe I'll go into politics or try acting all of which was off the cuff and my middle son laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair and made me $100 bet that I couldn't act. I called in a couple of favors, got a line on a show, and thought that would be the end of it, and I got a few calls and did a few commercials and some print work, and along the way, it led to an introduction to the production team at billions, and because of my background on Wall Street, I've had an opportunity to serve as a consultant to the show, technical consultant, and that has translated from time to time to some on-camera performances as well. So, great cast, great production team, the great fun of all the productions I've worked on, I think it's the one I have the most fun with.
Brett:
Thanks for sharing that. Let's dive into the show now, and I believe we've all been given certain gifts, Randall, and these gifts have been given to us to be a blessing and help to others. Some people call them strengths, some people call them superpowers. But I'm curious, what are those one or two gifts that you believe you were given? It hasn't helped, how you help and bless people today, and I really want you to go back maybe to your earlier age. Earlier time high school or university days, at young sides. Were there certain things that have stuck with you, and now obviously, looking back with everything you've accomplished, what really sticks out? What are those one or two gifts? That you believe you were given?
Randall:
That's a big question. I think I particularly like where I am today, in terms of certainly from a personal standpoint, but particularly from a professional standpoint, having accumulated a lot of diverse experience that allows me to share those experiences with the companies I represent, either on their board or clients, and I learned a long time ago, the benefits of listening, you can't listen when your mouth is moving, and understanding what motivates people, what motivates clients, why people enter into transactions, what are they trying to accomplish, and really trying to listen and understand before formulating a response and a strategy, I think has been really helpful. The other thing is kind of being open to the world, when I'm counseling, either at a college or speaking and people talk about things like luck, and you believe in luck, you don't believe that?
My own belief is that opportunity is presented to all of us many times over the course of a lifetime to some more than others. But it starts with having some understanding directionally of where you'd like to add, not necessarily the job you want. But the things that are meaningful to you in terms of what you're passionate about, and how your skills, dovetail with that, and to the extent that that's the case when the opportunity is presented to you even fleetingly. You're prepared for it. Now, not everybody is in a time and a place where they can take advantage of the opportunity, and life circumstances sometimes get in the way. But for those who are open to the world around them, and have some sense of the direction they want to go. It helps you recognize those opportunities and better evaluate whether now is the right time to do it. The other thing I would share with you and I think this is really true. I think I probably took this from the first boss I ever had, who is trying to do the right thing, the right way for the right reason, and to the extent that you follow that kind of a mantra that keeps you out of trouble. But I think it allows you to do good things, do them the right way and accomplish whatever strategic and financial goals you want to set for yourself or the company.
Brett:
That wasn't an experience, the benefits of listening, understanding what motivates people before offering the strategic, advice or, or steps forward, and then also having an understanding of the, I guess even the world around you and where you're trying to go you're trying to accomplish, and then and then wrapping it all up at some integrity doing the right thing in the right way, and for the right reasons. Is that a fair summary?
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