I
Every account is a new country
Learn the language and who holds the power before you change anything.
About Rusty Cole
This isn't my resume. That's on the Experience page. This is the other stuff.
A lot of what I know, I learned by going somewhere I didn't belong. Kansas, then Stockholm, then a Siberian winter where I knew nobody. I came back, built a career in enterprise sales, partnerships, and customer success, and settled in Seattle.
- Senior Enterprise CSM, most recently at Contentful
- Six continents worked, seven visited (the penguins declined the meeting)
- AI tools for CS work, built and used on real accounts
- Strong opinions about the Vikings and the 30-minute QBR
Where I'm from
McPherson, Kansas. Farming town, flat, good people. A lot of people I grew up with stayed there. I had the instinct early to say yes to anything interesting and figure out the rest on arrival, which put me on a very different path. That has been more useful than any degree.
The time away aka worrying my parents every day
A semester in Sweden turned into a second stint years later. In between, five months teaching English in Kurgan, a Siberian city where I knew nobody and spoke barely enough Russian to buy bread. It all happened because I said yes. The people who do well abroad are the ones willing to look foolish for a while.
What I came back with
Rules that travel. They work in a Siberian classroom or a QBR.
II
Build and document
A working thing teaches more in a week than a plan does in a month. The plan lets it live for years.
III
Confidence ≠ competence
The most certain person is often the least informed.
IV
Direct beats polite
Say the true thing plainly and directly.
V
Pack light and leave often.
Hold your plans loosely and be willing to improvise.
VI
Getting lost is half the fun
The wrong turn is where the stories come from.
VII
Talk to the person everyone walks past
The guard knows where the good stuff is. Also true in meetings.
VIII
Borders are paperwork
People are mostly the same; the differences are the fun part.
Where I am now
Seattle. Steep hills, surprise water views, and a coffee shop that knows my order. Right now I am learning more and more about AI tools to help with personal and CS work that I never liked doing by hand. Partly to learn something new and partly for fun. I am a dog person. If there is a dog nearby, I have already noticed.
Rusty
Seattle
47°36′ N
47°36′ N
HOME BASE
BasedSeattle, WA
Continents6 worked, 7 visited
Marginalia
QBRs should be 30 minutes.
Anything longer is a status meeting in costume stalling for time
The Vikings were systems people.
Parliament since 930, runestones for receipts, half the planet on a hull
Museums are best right at opening.
You, the art, and one bored guard that knows where the best stuff is and open to talking
Coffee availability beats coffee quality.
a 3pm pot beats a $7 pourover 30 minutes later.
A good dog beats most company...
...and never schedules a meeting
Antarctica delivered.
Exactly as cold as you'd think and exactly as quiet as you'd hope
KC BBQ over Texas BBQ.
Sorry, not sorry
Something new is always cooking.
Mixed results, zero regrets...ok maybe some regrets....
Different Rustys
Who is Rusty Cole?
This one: an enterprise Customer Success manager in Seattle. Two decades in B2B tech, the last one focused on Customer Success: renewals, expansion, churn saves, and the AI tools that speed them up. Not the detective, not the realtor.
Are you the Rusty from True Detective?
Different Rusty. That one is Rustin Cohle. Fictional. Not as good looking and I don't smoke.
Are you the Rusty Cole selling real estate in Georgia?
Different Rusty. Georgia realtor. We share a name and a search results page and nothing else. One of us has better structured data.
Rusty Cole from the movie Rebel?
No, I've never worked with Sylvester Stallone.
Are you on LinkedIn?
Yep. The one true Rusty Cole can be found at linkedin.com/in/rustycole
Is Rusty Cole an AI?
No, but several work for me. Agents help with the research around here; I keep the draft, edit and publish button.