Alan Trefler from Pega: Our First Customers in 1984 are Still with Us Today Because of Valuable Lessons from Family Business

Hi there! I’m Alan Trefler, and I want to tell you a special story about Pega, the company I started. It all began back in 1984 when we got our very first customers. And guess what? Those customers are still with us today, which is pretty amazing if you ask me!

So, how did we manage to keep these customers for so long? Well, I believe it has a lot to do with the valuable lessons I learned from working in my family’s business. You see, when you work with your family, you learn a thing or two about building strong relationships and providing excellent service.

One of the most important things I learned was the power of truly understanding our customers. When you take the time to listen to their needs and concerns, you can create solutions that truly make a difference in their lives. That’s something we’ve always strived for at Pega.

Another valuable lesson I learned was the importance of trust. When you’re part of a family business, trust is everything. You have to trust your family members to do their jobs well and to always have your back. And that’s the same kind of trust we’ve built with our customers over the years.

Lastly, I learned that innovation is key to staying ahead in the business world. My family’s business taught me to always be looking for new and better ways to serve our customers. And that’s a mindset I’ve brought to Pega. We’re constantly innovating and finding new ways to help our customers succeed.

So, you see, our first customers from 1984 are still with us today because of the valuable lessons I learned from my family’s business. We understand our customers, we build trust with them, and we’re always striving to innovate. That’s why we’ve been able to build such strong, long-lasting relationships. And I couldn’t be more proud of that.

I’ve got some exciting news for you. So, Pega, this awesome company that helps businesses connect with customers and automate processes, is hosting its annual event called PegaWorld. And guess what? This year, it’s all happening online on May 4th!

Now, here’s the really cool part. My friend Paul Greenberg and I, hosts of CRM Playaz, had the amazing chance to chat with Alan Trefler, the founder and CEO of Pega, on LinkedIn Live. We had a fantastic conversation about PegaWorld and all the incredible things to expect at the event.

Let me tell you, I cannot wait for PegaWorld to kick off. With all the buzz around it, I know it’s going to be an absolute blast! So mark your calendar for May 4th and get ready to be blown away by PegaWorld!

Wow, talking to Trefler is truly an incredible experience. There are so many fascinating topics to explore with him that it feels like saying a lot more is an understatement. Trefler is not only the founder of the company he started way back in 1983, but he’s also the one steering the ship to new heights. Last year, Pega’s annual revenues crossed the impressive milestone of $1 billion, thanks to Trefler’s leadership and a whole lot of fun along the way.

Trefler attributes a significant part of Pega’s success to the valuable lessons he learned from working in his family’s restoration business. And guess what? They are about to celebrate their monumental 100th anniversary next year! Can you believe it? That’s a century of excellence and knowledge passed down through generations.

But here’s the thing, Trefler is not just a business genius. He has many talents tucked up his sleeve. Did you know he’s a master chess player? It’s true! He can strategize and outsmart opponents on the chessboard with ease. And, hold your breath, he’s also an accordion player. Talk about a hidden talent!

An Exclusive Conversation with Alan Trefler, the Brains behind Pegasystems

So Alan and I had a lot of discussions about running a successful business over the years. We talked about what it takes to thrive and what we can expect at this year’s PegaWorld. Here’s an edited transcript of part of our conversation. You can listen to the full discussion by clicking on the embedded SoundCloud player.

Changing Focus without Losing the Company Story

Alan: In the early days, Pega was all about processes and being efficient. But recently, we’ve shifted our focus to customer engagement and understanding their thoughts and needs. It’s like we went from being logical to being more creative. What amazes me is that through all these changes, our corporate narrative remained strong. Most companies, when they make such a big shift, tend to lose customers. People think, They’re not serving us anymore. But for us, it’s different. We hardly lost any customers during this transition, even after several years. We started with mechanical processes, then moved to CRM, then customer experience, and now customer engagement. But we never missed a beat. How did we do it? What was the mindset of our team that allowed us to make these changes without losing anyone?

Alan Trefler: Well, thanks for that. I gotta say, I’m pretty proud of something. You know, my first two customers, Bank of America and Citibank, they’ve been with me since way back in 1984. And get this, they’re still with me today! It’s not just that though. We’ve kept evolving along the way. Sure, we started with the basics, but we’ve added in a bunch of other cool stuff too, like dozens of new features. See, it wasn’t just about getting things done efficiently. It was about understanding our clients and what they wanted. That’s why we expanded to cover everything, from the beginning to the end. And then we took it up a notch with things like AI and smart analytics. It’s like we got inside our customers’ heads and understood what they needed.

The Journey of Creating a Holistic Vision

Let me tell you something, I believe there is a whole spectrum out there. And, unlike many other companies in this industry, we have been extremely cautious. We never just rush to acquire useless stuff. No, no, no! When we make a purchase as a company, it’s because it aligns perfectly with our grand vision from start to finish. It’s of utmost importance to us because what we aspire to achieve is a complete and unified vision for our beloved customers. And that’s what has kept us grounded, honest, and actively involved.

Learning Experiences from the Family Business

Brent Leary: So, let me ask you this, how has this pandemic affected your vision for customers and the way you engage with them? And how did your early experiences in your family’s restoration business shape your perspective?

I, Alan Trefler, find it fascinating that the restoration business is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary in the upcoming year.

You may be surprised to hear this, but I am equally amazed.

Even Paul Greenberg expresses his astonishment with a Wow.

I: My family has a long history in the business world. On my father’s side, we are first-generation Americans. After surviving the war, my father started his own business, which holds a special place in my heart. With his bare hands, my father, who never finished high school, managed to send both of his children to college and create an incredible life for himself. This business also gave me a unique opportunity to work closely with customers. While I wasn’t particularly skilled in the restoration aspect, it allowed me to engage with customers from a very young age, which I believe played a crucial role in my early development and in shaping the values we uphold as a company.

The Impact of the Pandemic on Digital Transformation Efforts

Alan Trefler: It’s fascinating because I believe there are aspects of this situation that will continue to have an impact long after the pandemic ends, and we all understand this. One of these aspects is that many companies have realized their current approach to digital transformation is not sustainable in the long run. There are too many makeshift solutions and unsustainable practices. What’s interesting is that some companies have already made changes to their long-term strategies. This goes beyond the immediate happenings of the past 12-18 months. They recognize the need to view customer connections, front office operations, and customer intent in a different light. We often discuss the shift from reactive customer engagement to proactive and even preemptive approaches. How can you anticipate your customers’ needs even before they do, so that you can truly excel at meeting their expectations?

Bringing Your Business Dreams to Life

Paul Greenberg: So, how can you make your big ideas a reality for your company? This is something that many businesses struggle with, and as a result, their visions often remain just fantasies, don’t they?

I am Alan Trefler: I believe in finding a balance between having big visions and being practical. Some people think this is contradictory, but I see it as a continuous process. What’s important is to have a team of visionary people who share a collective vision. With their help, we can make progress and challenge ourselves to stay on the right path. It’s interesting how much things have changed over the past few decades. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is that most companies still use technology in a primitive and outdated way. The way businesses and IT work together is often ineffective and disjointed.

In my opinion, computer science, which is my background, has been a letdown. That’s why we’re striving to make a difference. Let me give you an example to illustrate my point. Look at industries like computer-aided design and manufacturing. They have made tremendous advancements in the last 35 years. Now, people can create a simple model of something they want and have a 3D printer bring it to life. From concept to reality, it happens instantly and seamlessly. Take a look at what companies like Pixar do. They use computers to handle the technical aspects of creating models and movies, allowing people to focus on creative thinking. But when it comes to software, it’s a different story. It’s filled with empty promises and lacks the progress we see in other industries.

You know how it’s become more difficult to connect with customers, set up backend systems, and make everything work together? It’s like we’re in this cloud world, all excited about it. We’re all into it, right? But then you check out AWS or Azure or the Google Cloud platform, which we use. And you see their lists of what they offer. It’s mind-bogglingly complex. It’s so different from how a business person thinks about serving customers or fulfilling product promises. Our goal is to find a way to make the customer experience and software realm as successful as other industries have been.

Low Code and the Return of Lotus Notes

Brent Leary: You’ve probably heard a lot about those new types of platforms lately – the low-code/no-code platforms and robotic process automation (RPA). But where do they fit in?

Alan Trefler: Let me tell you, this low-code stuff is really just the next version of Lotus Notes.

They thought Lotus Notes was going to revolutionize businesses, but instead, it created a whole lot of technical problems. Those folks were too focused on making a few forms and finding a simple way to push them through a system. And now, we’re seeing the same mistake being repeated with a lot of the low-code stuff out there.

Let me tell you something, there are a couple of misconceptions that we need to clear up. First of all, the idea that sticking some little robots, those RPA robots, into my back office to do some copy-pasting between systems will magically make my business super customer-focused? Total illusion! We used to call it screen scraping back in the day, you know, like 25 or 20 years ago. It’s basically just taking a little software program, like Rumba for example, and having it go back and forth between different systems, grabbing and transferring information.

But here’s the thing, none of that really helps you achieve your goals. We need to ask ourselves, what is our business really trying to do? As a business person, forget the fancy technology and tools for a moment. We need to focus on the bigger picture, independent of channels and whether or not we drop a little robot somewhere. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against robots. They just won’t be the miracle solution that transforms your business overnight. What you really need is a brain in your business. That’s where the magic happens.

All the work we’ve been doing with AI is about creating an adaptive brain for your business. This brain not only has power, but also intelligence when it comes to making changes. It’s about being able to adapt and evolve, so your business can thrive in a constantly changing world. So, let’s put aside the robot fantasies and focus on building a smart and adaptable brain for your business. That’s where the real revolution lies!

Last year, the industry introduced several new computer languages. But seriously, do we really need more languages? The truth is, we should be focusing on making things simpler and more efficient for businesses. The software industry has become too obsessed with complex cloud architectures and data scientists. Instead of celebrating complexity, we should be working towards simplifying things for everyone.

Virtualizing PegaWorld

Brent Leary : PegaWorld is happening on May 4, and last year’s event was the first virtual industry event that truly embraced the advantages of going virtual, unlike other events that simply tried to recreate their physical event online. So what can we expect this year?

This year, we’re taking it to a whole new level once again. We’re making some changes that I can’t reveal just yet, but let’s just say we’re trying something different from what other shows have done. We want to engage with you in a new way, using a different style. Our goal is to bring important ideas to the forefront and elevate the conversation. But we also want to be practical and answer your questions. We want to explore what conversational AI is all about and how it can be integrated into an organization’s communication with its customers. We want to demonstrate concepts related to AI, customer engagement, and intelligent automation. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive approach to customer service and acquisition that covers every aspect.