Tyrone Carroll is the Joint CEO of THREE6FIVE. Tyrone is a thought leader, influencer, visionary, and successful entrepreneur. Tyrone Carroll provides the leadership and energy that has inspired the creation of THREE6FIVE. Tyrone Carroll joins other leading CEOs and Founders taking part in our Leader Roundtable Interview Series. The DotCom Magazine editorial team has recently awarded THREE6FIVE with our Impact Company of 2019 award. We are delighted to have Tyrone join many other successful entrepreneurs for our Leader Roundtable Interview.
Tyrone, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day for this interview about your company, leadership, and entrepreneurship.
1. Please tell us about THREE6FIVE.
Our company is an End to End IP (Internet Protocol) Solutions Provider. We design, supply, build, monitor, maintain, support and upgrade our clients business critical IP capabilities and infrastructure.
2. What sets you apart from the competition?
Firstly, our team, the people who are part of THREE6FIVE, team members who continuously strive to improve themselves and our company.
Secondly the fact that we are originally an engineering company, talk is cheap and we walk the talk. If we take on a project, we deliver on it!
Sure in ICT things can go wrong, we then take greater ownership and resolve the challenges.
And lastly our ABSOLUTE devotion to our customers, they are everything to THREE6FIVE!
We will do anything to solve a customer’s challenge/problem and ensure the customers success.
3. What is the key to your company’s success?
Our culture, the stronger a company’s culture the less processes you require.
We aim for a culture of team work, we all win or lose together, a new age company with old school family business values and we ALL strive towards “Extreme Ownership and Engineering Excellence!
4. Many of our readers are just starting to build a company. What advice can you give entrepreneurs just starting out with a new venture?
Be prepared for the grind, if it was easy to start, build and run a company, everyone would do it!
You will make mistakes, many of them, learn from them and improve your game.
Passion is key, it is what will keep you going during the tough times, you have to love what you are doing/building/creating, else you will run out of steam!
Never give up, staying power and endurance are key!
5. For other entrepreneurs seeking to build a business as successful as yours, what advice can you give them when times get a little challenging?
Believe in yourself and your dream, stick with it, but be open to guidance, adaption, modification and strategy pivots if needed.
Rome was not built in a day, very few startups succeed, and generally those that do, take many years to build into successful profitable entities, stay the course …
Always watch the cash flow, it is the most critical fiscal aspect of your business, save profits from the good times for possible future tougher times!
6. How do you make sure your customers will become raving fans of your company?
Key here is building relationships with your customers, supported by exceptional customer service and care and then by listening to the customer, they know their business, listen and learn from them as to how you can solve their problems!
7. In today’s fast changing business environment, how do you stay abreast of things?
Engaging with our customers, listening and learning from them, what are their business goals, aspirations and challenges.
Reading avidly, business, historical and political subject matter, then web based press and market updates.
From our THREE6FIVE team, we have smart people in our team, listen and learn from them!
8. What is your “Why”? Why do you get up in the morning, and how do you keep yourself at peak performance to lead your company?
We want to make a difference, and improve people’s lives …
To be a change agent, for both our team members and our customers, maybe not on a grand scale, but bit by bit empowering our country and our world …
As per our THREE6FIVE company tagline, “Empowering African Communications”, access to the Internet is key to people and countries economic and social well being and growth, we as THREE6FIVE, by building IP solutions for our customers, make this happen!
I may be naive, but I want to be a MAKER not a TAKER, makers build and make a difference long term, takers are in it for short term gain and win through dubious dealings and actions, the world has to many takers already …
9. Can you recommend a book that has had an influence in your career? How did it influence you?
Unfortunately not, I have read too many and have learnt and taken from so many books, my only suggestion would be to read, read and read more, knowledge is power!
10. What makes a great leader?
The ability to grow and learn yourself, I have made some terrible mistakes in leadership positions, in retrospect I wish in some areas I had learnt some lessons earlier!
I believe as a leader you need to understand and take the responsibility for all your team member’s futures, you sold them a dream and a vision which they have bought into, you need to always be aware of this, likewise they need to bring their one hundred percent contribution and commitment to the game.
You need to have empathy and care for your people, you will be let down and hurt, but you will also be astounded and amazed by people’s awesomeness, basically you need to understand that everyone has their own agenda and you need to strive to have the company’s and their agendas as continuously aligned as possible.
Lastly, grow your team, help you team members become team leaders, either of other team members or in an engineering field, grow your people, and your business will grow with them!
Tyrone Carroll, thank you so much for sitting down with us for our DotCom Magazine Leader Roundtable Interview Series. We appreciate the time you spent helping our readers learn more about what it takes to build a great company and become a great leader. We wish you, your family, and your business nothing but the best.
Thanks again!
