I am thrilled to announce that the “Getting to Know” series is now being sponsored by TCN. TCN is a leading provider of cloud-based call center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs, and collection agencies worldwide. Founded in 1999, TCN combines a deep understanding of the needs of call center users with a highly affordable delivery model, ensuring immediate access to robust call center technology, such as SMS, email, predictive dialer, IVR, call recording, and business analytics required to optimize operations while adhering to callers requests. Its “always-on” cloud-based delivery model provides customers with immediate access to the latest version of the TCN solution, as well as the ability to quickly and easily scale and adjust to evolving business needs. TCN serves various Fortune 500 companies and enterprises in multiple industries, including newspaper, collection, education, healthcare, automotive, political, customer service, and marketing.
There is so much great information to unpack in this installment of the “Getting to Know” profile. For example, did you know that Porter Heath Morgan’s great-great-grandfather helped create the Federal Trade Commission? This fascinating pieces of information are the reason this series was started. Read on to learn more great information about Porter and his outstanding explanation for why this industry continues to succeed.
Name: Porter Heath Morgan
Company: Malone Frost Martin and Morgan Financial Group
Length of time at current position: I have been with Morgan Financial Group for almost four years, and am just starting a new adventure with Malone Frost Martin working with their Virtual General and Compliance Counsel Practice Group.
Length of time in industry: 25 years
How did you get your start in the industry?
I was fortunate enough to be born into the industry. As a kid, I would help clean the office, enter in new account data entry, and my father would sit me down and review the company financial statements with me so that I would understand the business. Then I worked in high school working for my father’s collection law firm as a legal runner and clerk.
What is your career highlight so far?
I am most proud of the teams I have built and I love watching the people I have trained go off and do great things in the industry.
When or how are you most productive?
I am most productive when I work with people to develop new ideas and improve processes. I love the energy around bring new ideas to life and market.
Which industry professional do you admire most?
I have been fortunate to have been around many great leaders in our industry – too many to name here. I’ve learned so much from my father, Porter H. Morgan III, and from Bill, John, Steve and Terri Boettcher, who I worked with for a number of years. I admire the many families in our industry who have been able to successfully transition the business from generation to generation, and I admire our industry’s next generation of leaders including Tim Haag, David Williams, Courtney Reynaud, and Dusty Bunton.
What is one thing you do better than everyone else?
Compartmentalize and see the big picture. Many of our day-to-day decisions are reactive and based on emotion, and I think I’m good at separating out the emotion and focusing on the big picture, vision, and core values; and asking help from others who are smarter than me – I’m pretty good at that too.
What do you like most about this industry?
I love that there are so many family businesses still going strong. There are a lot of us who grew up with ACA as kids that are still in this industry. It’s a testament to the fact that if you treat consumers, clients, and employees the right way, you can help others resolve their debt and make a difference. If our industry actually did what was said about us by plaintiff’s attorneys and consumer advocacy groups, there would be no second or third generation, because you couldn’t sleep at night. I certainly wouldn’t be in this industry. But when your company values helping and working with the consumers to resolve their debt, you do a lot of good in our society, and I’m proud to see that carry on through generations in our industry. I refer to it as a multi-generational culture of compliance.
What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?
The perception that compliance stifles efficiency and productivity. While our industry faces constant regulatory scrutiny, I think it overall has made our industry better, and our companies stronger. And I love working companies to implement compliance controls on their processes and procedures that actually make them more efficient, save costs, and generate revenue.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
I would probably still be a struggling documentary filmmaker.
Describe a typical work day.
I travel a lot, so I don’t really have a typical day, but I try to spend focused time every morning planning out my day, identifying the most important tasks to get done before the email- conference call-meeting hurricane starts.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Science fiction books and movies. They all pretty much have the same plot, but I like to see how people create future worlds and how people interact with it.
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What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“A leader is someone who fights for the greater good of others.” I try to incorporate servant leadership into every aspect of my practice, and let others know that I’m here for their success first and foremost.
What are you currently reading?
100X Leader by Jeremie Kubicek.
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?
My great, great grandfather, Dick T. Morgan, was a congressman from Oklahoma and authored the legislation that created the FTC back in 1916. He is referred to as the “father” of the FTC. Of course, back then trade was focused on freight and railroads. I don’t think he would have envisioned the FTC governing archaic legislation about cell phones.
I am thrilled to announce that the “Getting to Know” series is now being sponsored by TCN. TCN is a leading provider of cloud-based call center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs, and collection agencies worldwide. Founded in 1999, TCN combines a deep understanding of the needs of call center users with a highly affordable delivery model, ensuring immediate access to robust call center technology, such as SMS, email, predictive dialer, IVR, call recording, and business analytics required to optimize operations while adhering to callers requests. Its “always-on” cloud-based delivery model provides customers with immediate access to the latest version of the TCN solution, as well as the ability to quickly and easily scale and adjust to evolving business needs. TCN serves various Fortune 500 companies and enterprises in multiple industries, including newspaper, collection, education, healthcare, automotive, political, customer service, and marketing.