How this IT Mogul Built his Multi-Million Dollar Business from the Ground Up: Interview with Richard Walker, CEO of York Solutions
7 min read
Please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us the key lessons you would like our readers to learn from this interview.
I grew up in Northern England where the sheep outnumber the people. As CEO of York Solutions, a leading technology consulting firm based in Minneapolis-St.Paul, I cofounded the company in 1998. York Solutions is devoted to clients achieve their business and technology goals by building long-term relationships with them, not simply doing transactions.
Out of this idea, Think IT, a technology education and networking group born out of the pandemic, as well as an invite only training program for technology leaders, Link to Leadership, was born
What do you do at York Solutions and what problems are you solving?
At York Solutions, we solve business problems with technology – whether its delivering dependable and streamlined technology solutions or building onshore and/or near shore talent solutions.
As of late, many of our projects involve the assessment and implementation of artificial Intelligence and machine learning to increase operational efficiency and build new products.
But, AI for the sake of AI isn’t worth a shiny, damn penny.
For so many AI/ML remains obscure without any practicality. That’s where we come in.
We work closely with our clients to help them meet their objectives. This means we have well-defined milestones and accountability, transparent communication throughout the development lifecycle and guaranteed outcomes clients can present to their leadership team and board of directors with confidence.
Could you give us an overview of the IT consulting market and what trends shaping the industry today?
The IT consulting market is poised for substantial growth, projected to expand from $70.72 billion in 2023 to $88.01 billion by 2032, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 6.5% (Custom Market Insights) (Dataintelo). This growth is driven by several key trends and dynamics shaping the industry:
- Digital transformation is still going on. Whether its cloud services or AI and automation, companies are finding ways to be more efficient.
- Cybersecurity and the threat of constant data breaches, leaks, etc is not about to go away.
- Industry-specific solutions are becoming more tailored. This is driven by the need for industry-specific expertise and solutions that address unique challenges.
How did you make it, could you tell us how you built your million-dollar business from the ground up, with the entertaining stories and epiphanies that have led you to success?
York Solutions was built on what I like to call Relationship Equity. I like to tell this story of two different CTO’s named Ted.
Both were competing for a promotion for a top executive job at a major corporation. Independent of each other, both men asked for my coaching when applying for the role. After the decision was made, I had the opportunity to chat with them separately.
“You must be disappointed,” I told the first Ted. “Why do you think you didn’t get the job?”
“It’s because I just refuse to kiss the backsides of everyone, the way that other guy does,” he said. “If my track record isn’t good enough, then it’s their loss.”
I asked the second Ted why he thought he got the job. “The main thing,” he answered, “was that I spent the last year forging relationships with top executives, providing as much value to them as I could. I got to know the people who make things happen and spent a lot of time with them finding out what they needed and how I could help them.”
So there you have it. The first Ted figured his technical talents would take him all the way. And sure, he was good at his job, but there is more than one kind of track record. The second Ted was smart, too, and not just at executing projects. He understood the importance of creating authentic relationships, which in turn created trust. He knew the right things to say to the right people, at the right time, for the right reasons. He was promoted because, all else being equal, he had gained the respect and trust of the ultimate decision makers.
At York Solutions we have developed relationships and built trust over the years resulting in exponential growth especially in the last year.
Tell us more about your book “Relationship Equity”, what inspired the book, Who is it for and what is the book about?
This book is full of many of my real life stories about how relationship equity can build a better business and a better life.
Frankly, throughout my life and career, I’ve had certain people influence me in kindness and in the spirit of helpfulness – my father, my mother, my wife, my best friend and so many more.
This book is full of stories that will make you laugh and cry – and, hopefully, you will find some meaning.
While many of my senior level executive community have been reading this book, I’ve had college students, grandmothers and neighbors read it. When I wrote this book, I wanted to inspire every person to understand the power that relationships have resulting in a better world.
Why is it important to Invest in Relationships?
Relationship Equity as an investment. It isn’t one that, necessarily, will build your bank account, though it quite often does. Rather, the equity you are building is in people. You are investing in relationships because you believe it’s the right thing to do. Whether or not it results in dollars and cents, it always makes good sense to get to know people on an equal footing, not expecting a payback but exploring how you can help one another. And when you are open to that, marvelous things tend to happen.
How can a Hobby Lead to Million-Dollar Success and what are some key hobbies or activities that can help professionals enhance their networking skills?
If you spend any time with me or if you read my book, Relationship Equity, you’ll quickly find out that I’m a golfer. And, after the market crash of 2008, many senior technology leaders were out of jobs.
I decided during that summer that one way for people in our industry to cope would be to form a golf networking club. Many had never looked for a job before; they always had been recruited and had never bothered to make a résumé or set up a LinkedIn profile. They had never been much interested in networking, but now they needed it badly.
The months passed, and along came the Minnesota winter. No more golf—so now what? Thus, we started to take the Relationship Equity concept indoors and develop it into something more than helping people find jobs. They needed professional development, too. We focused on helping IT leaders in transition find and use the tools for continued success. All along, we were helping talented people prepare for great jobs and introducing them to colleagues who might find value in their services, if not sooner, then later.
As a result, when the market rebounded and many of those folks resumed strong careers as senior leaders, whom do you suppose they called when they needed IT resources? They called us. They knew us. They trusted us.
To maintain the momentum, in 2009, we formally created a service within York Solutions that we called the Think IT Association which we operate to this day. We wanted to do more than just help people who were looking for jobs. We wanted to offer true professional development. In that spirit, we organized events and roundtables and developed a variety of training programs. As I write this, Think IT has over six thousand members on a national basis who are interested in expanding their horizons and collaborating with their peers in the industry.
This is Relationship Equity in full swing.
What are you currently working on at York Solutions? Do you have opportunities for investment or partnerships in this journey to develop better professionals?
York Solutions is based on relationship equity and our foundational programs like Think IT and Link to Leadership are still very active and have thousands participating.
One of things we’ve recognized over time is that the speed by which technology is changing is difficult for many of our clients to keep up especially with the onset of AI/ML.
We recognize this and have been listening to our clients throughout hearing the need for practical learning about advancing technologies for both technology leaders and the rest of the C-Suite.
We’ve started out small with dinners, focus groups, beta small group education sessions focusing on artificial intelligence. Our clients want to understand how to assess their needs, get a clear understanding of the feasibility of AI, and translate that to a return on investment (ROI) to the company.
Thus, we are very excited to announce we are hosting an AI Summit on September 16 at Best Buy Headquarters in Minneapolis. This day will be an opportunity for both CEOs, CCOs, CMOs, CFOs, etc with leading technology executives to explore AI and showcase real-world solutions across industries proving out ROI.
Top speakers include Michael Versaggi, White House Presidential Innovation Fellow, Marc Kermisch, Global Chief Digital and Information Officer at CNH Financial and Cary Smith, SVP and Chief Operating Officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Bring your executive team and be a part of this growing community. And in true York fashion, all net proceeds will be donated to Genesys Works, a non-profit devoted to providing pathways to career success for high school students in underserved communities through skills training, meaningful work experiences, and impactful relationships.
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