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# Lessons from Brian McCarthy
- URL: https://www.antoinebuteau.com/lessons-from-brian-mccarthy/
- Published: 2026-05-31T23:46:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-18T21:57:00.000Z
- Description: Brian McCarthy, a Chief Revenue Officer with experience at Rubrik, ThoughtSpot, and AppDynamics, builds sales organizations around strict execution. His methods connect trait-based hiring, disciplined forecasting, and operational consistency to the creation of reliable revenue teams.
- Author: Antoine Buteau
- Tags: Profile, Sales, GTM & Marketing Profiles

![Visual summary of operating lessons from Brian McCarthy.](https://www.antoinebuteau.com/content/images/2026/06/lessons-from-brian-mccarthy-profile-infographic.webp)

## Lessons from Brian McCarthy

Brian McCarthy is a Chief Revenue Officer who led sales through rapid growth at Rubrik, ThoughtSpot, and AppDynamics. He builds his organizations on strict execution frameworks and a hiring philosophy that values raw traits over deep industry experience. This profile covers his practical methods for hiring, forecasting, and running reliable sales teams.

### Part 1: The Foundations of Leadership

1. **On Leadership's True Purpose:** "To love someone is to will the good in another, even in the workplace." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Career Transitions:** "Real leadership is people-first. Helping someone grow, even if it means leaving your team, is true leadership." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Succession Planning:** "A leader's job is done when they have been able to prove that they were able to recruit people, train and develop those people to take their spot." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Personal Integrity:** "Whatever you are going to do, if you are willing to put your name on your work, you will be a success." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Managerial Humility:** "No work is beneath us. You must be willing to do the dirty work." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On the Superman Complex:** "Managers should not just swoop in at the end to close a deal. They must be involved throughout the stages to properly coach the rep." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Communication Frequency:** "Leaders must be on the same frequency as their team. If a manager is just yelling at the scoreboard, the reps only hear white noise." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Loyalty:** "Love creates loyalty. When leaders genuinely will the best for their people, performance naturally follows." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Ego-Free Leadership:** "Get your ego out of the way and just change the decision. I do not need to be the smartest person in the room." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
10. **On Self-Correction:** "If I am proved wrong, I am going to course correct very quickly." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 2: The "Five Cs" of Elite Hiring

1. **On Intellectual Horsepower:** "Competence is about clock speed, which is the ability to digest complex products and pivot messaging rapidly." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Curiosity:** "Good sellers are like detectives. They ask deep questions to uncover pain points rather than just regurgitating product info." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On the Unfakeable Trait:** "You cannot fake empathy. You cannot fake that you care about a customer's problems." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Character:** "Character means high integrity and a strong work ethic. It is non-negotiable." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Coachability:** "A commitment to constant learning and sharpening skills is required, regardless of how senior you are." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Courage:** "Courage is the willingness to put your chips in, invest ahead of the curve, and execute with the mindset that your ass is on the line." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Industry Experience:** "Prioritize innate traits over a Rolodex or raw industry experience." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Interview Preparation:** "Demonstrate clock speed by explaining complex past deals simply in an interview." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Uncovering Pain:** "Detectives pull all the pain out from the buyer. That is the core of curiosity." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 3: Mastering the Sales Process

1. **On Sales Objectives:** "Your job is not to sell software. Your job is to focus on winning the stage." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On the True Seller:** "Our job is to build champions who sell software when we are not in the room." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Evangelical Selling:** "If there is not someone's job that exists to solve the problem that you created your product for, I call that evangelical selling, and it is very hard." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Micro-Wins:** "If you win every stage, from qualification to discovery, the deal and forecast take care of themselves." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Methodology:** "Institutionalize muscle memory in your sales teams using proven frameworks like MEDDICC." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Providing Value:** "Successfully moving the customer to the next step means providing concrete value at every turn." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Deal Discipline:** "Pipeline generation gives a sales rep the confidence to run a disciplined sales cycle." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On the Danger of Rushing:** "The goal of a one-on-one or a sales call is never just to fix the forecast. It is to execute the immediate next step." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Internal Selling:** "Champions must be equipped with the exact narrative they need to defend your solution to their internal boards." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
10. **On Structural Consistency:** "Structure drives consistency. Without it, you are just relying on individual heroics." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 4: The Psychology of the Buyer

1. **On Reading the Room:** "You must listen for both the text of what is said and the subtext of what is implied." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Comprehensive Listening:** "Listening requires more than your ears. You are listening to what the data tells you, what your eyes are telling you, and what your gut tells you." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Buyer Empathy:** "If you do not genuinely care about solving the customer's problem, they will sense it immediately." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Uncovering Truth:** "The detective mindset is not about interrogation. It is about mutual discovery of the root cause." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Buyer Motivations:** "Every enterprise purchase carries personal risk for the buyer. You must derisk their decision." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Tailored Messaging:** "Intellectual quickness allows you to pivot your messaging based on the specific buyer persona in front of you." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Authenticity:** "Given the focus on unfakeable traits, authenticity is your greatest asset in a complex sale." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Emotional Intelligence:** "Emotional intelligence in leadership translates directly to how well your reps will read their buyers." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Problem Alignment:** "Do not create a product and then search for a buyer's problem. Align strictly with the pain they already feel." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 5: Metrics, Forecasting, and Accountability

1. **On Daily Execution:** "Weekly Activity Numbers provide both clarity and accountability to teams." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Leading Indicators:** "Activity numbers serve as leading indicators of performance rather than just lagging results." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Forecasting Reality:** "Advocate for forecasting where the committed number is backed by specific deals and stages." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Gut Feelings:** "Never rely solely on arbitrary numbers or gut feel when predicting revenue." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Optimism Bias:** "Deal with leaders who wear rose-colored glasses by anchoring them back to the objective criteria of the stage." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Deal Analysis:** "You must analyze new versus existing deals in a forecast to find the real number." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On The Ultimate Metric:** "Productivity per ramped rep is the ultimate metric for high-growth companies." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Scaling Efficiency:** "At Rubrik, the focus was on productivity gains per head rather than just adding more sellers." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Revenue Mechanics:** "Hire faster, lower attrition, shrink ramp time, and increase productivity and you will beat plan consistently." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
10. **On Continuous Talent Acquisition:** "Continuous recruiting is an absolute necessity to combat the inevitable impact of churn on productivity." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 6: Pipeline Generation and Execution

1. **On Confidence:** "Pipeline generation gives you confidence. It helps you run a great sales cycle." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Walking Away:** "Consistent pipeline generation gives a sales rep the courage to walk away from bad deals." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Identifying True Issues:** "It scares the management team to admit an issue is product-market fit, because what do you do next to raise money?" — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Misplaced Blame:** "Leaders often blame execution when the real issue is a fundamental lack of product-market fit." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Growth vs Headcount:** "You cannot just buy growth by blindly adding headcount without fixing the underlying productivity engine." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Predictability:** "A true execution machine is tested not by its peaks, but by its ability to generate predictable pipeline in tough quarters." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Building Resilience:** "Building a resilient sales organization means institutionalizing pipeline habits that survive market shifts." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Activity Visibility:** "When you track activity at a granular level, you remove the mystery from missed targets." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On The Execution Gap:** "The gap between a good rep and a great rep is often just their daily discipline around pipeline generation." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 7: Managing Ego and Decision-Making

1. **On Decisiveness:** "Decisions need to be made. Paralysis is worse than being wrong." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Thoughtful Speed:** "Thoughtful speed has immense value in a hyper-growth environment." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Admitting Mistakes:** "The most dangerous leaders are those who cling to a wrong choice out of pride." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Data-Driven Pivots:** "You must make decisions based on current data, but remain secure enough to pivot immediately when new data proves you wrong." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Security in Leadership:** "A secure mindset is required to separate your personal ego from your business decisions." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Collective Intelligence:** "I do not need to make all the right decisions. I need the team to arrive at the best outcome." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Objective Truth:** "Let the data win the argument, not the title." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Agility:** "Agility in leadership means treating your strategic decisions as hypotheses to be tested, not dogmas to be defended." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On Feedback:** "If you cannot take feedback as a leader, you will systematically build a culture that hides the truth from you." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*

### Part 8: Scaling Complexity and Growth

1. **On Transitioning to SaaS:** "Leading a transition to a SaaS model requires entirely rewiring how your reps perceive customer value." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
2. **On Scaling from $100M to $1B:** "The systems that got you to a hundred million will physically break on the way to a billion if you do not institutionalize them." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
3. **On Artificial Intelligence:** "Winning in an AI-first world still comes down to fundamentally human elements like curiosity, empathy, and execution." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
4. **On Building for the Future:** "Hire people today who can solve the scale problems you will have two years from now." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
5. **On Organizational Clarity:** "As you scale, clarity of message becomes harder to maintain but exponentially more important." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
6. **On Stepping Away:** "Great leaders know when to step away and let the execution machine run." — [*Source: \[Force Management*](https://www.forcemanagement.com/resources/podcast?ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
7. **On Avoiding Hero Culture:** "A billion-dollar revenue engine cannot survive on the backs of a few hero reps. It requires systematic enablement." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
8. **On Navigating Complexity:** "Complexity is the enemy of execution. Keep the playbook simple enough that every rep can recite it." — [*Source: \[East Coast Elite*](https://www.youtube.com/results?search%5Fquery=Brian+McCarthy+East+Coast+Elite&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*
9. **On The Ultimate Goal:** "If you build the right foundation around people, process, and product alignment, the numbers will ultimately take care of themselves." — [*Source: \[Revenue Builders Podcast*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-the-best-sales-leaders-do-with-brian-mccarthy/id1610203369?i=1000621729762&ref=antoinebuteau.com)*\]*