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Interviews (Interview Archive)  Rob Engelman, president of Engelman Management Group, has provided marketing and management leadership through contract consulting and "best practices" seminars to companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 behemoths since 2001. Organizations such as Citicorp, McDonald’s Corporation and the Chicago Bar Association have benefited from Engelman’s unique brand of strategic thought leadership and training programs.Let's start with the book. Where does the title, That Was Zen This Is WOW, originate from? RE: “Zen” and “Wow” are metaphors used in the book to capture ways in which individuals can approach our careers, our personal life, our families, our health, and so on. Zen is familiarity, contentment, known, comfortable. There is nothing wrong with Zen. Wow on the other hand…Wow is opportunity, vibrant colors, exciting, dynamic. In the book, we share over 230 ideas, thoughts, and approaches for individuals to move from Zen to Wow. GW: What do you believe has been the books greatest impact? RE: I believe the books greatest impact is its ability to inspire people to think differently and have fun. All too often people walk around doing the same thing everyday without purpose or intention. Or, individuals spend time dwelling on the negative – what are their challenges…what are their headaches…what don’t they have in life. That Was Zen, This Is Wow gives the reader permission to think and act outside the preverbal box with powerful statements such as “All frustrations begin when we realize our options”, or “Beep your horn under bridges when no other cars are around; it’s fun and noisy.” GW: You vaulted to the TEC/Vistage scene a few years back tell me a little about your work there? RE: I have been a TEC / Vistage member for about four years, and I have found the friendships and interactions invaluable. I must say that it as a sole proprietor of a consulting business, it gets very lonely in the office. While I spend a great deal of time in meetings with clients, prospects and referral sources everyday, I found that I spent very little time focusing on my own business. My TEC / Vistage group has been my very own personal advisory board, and a group of friends I can turn to in a heartbeat. As an outgrowth of my membership, I have been able to work with other TEC / Vistage members via the “Members Need Your Help” web postings. Last year I also became a TEC / Vistage speaker with programs entitled “Best Practices of Personal Marketing” and “Negotiations Made Simple.” GW: What has been the two or three most dominant Management issues that surface in your client interaction? RE: The management issues my clients are facing typically revolve around “How do I stay on top of my client’s mind?” and “I am so spread out, how can I create focus?” In fact, many of my clients hire me to develop and execute marketing initiatives directly on these issues. GW: How has your website assisted your client service? RE: Clients and prospects have appreciated the articles I have written and posted on my website. While I like them all (or I would not have written them…), my favorite article is entitled “Seven Strategies for the New Year.” In it, I discuss seven core marketing best practices business professionals should apply if they are interesting in growing their businesses. GW: I just got a CD of Terry Gross's interviews with comedians. Apparently Drew Carey had tried being a standup comic, and he was awful. Then he said he bought a book that told you how to write a joke. He just followed that formula and that's how he's written all of his jokes ever since. What would you suggest Managers read to improve their craft? RE: In addition to my book, That Was Zen, This Is Wow, some of my favorite business books on the shelves are “Good to Great,” by Jim Collins, “The Referral of a Lifetime,” by Tim Templeton, and “Fish!” by Harry Paul. I’ve been known to keep these books in the car – Whenever I arrive at an appointment 10-15 minutes early I often flip open a book and bring a good idea into the client meeting. GW: Rob, it looks like you have worked with everything from startups to Fortune 100 companies … What do you see as future challenges at both levels? RE: For both large and small companies, it is critical to find the right people who are passionate about their work. All too often I hear business leaders tell me how their employees view their job as merely a job, as opposed to a career. Attracting the right type of person for a given function, giving them enough variety and responsibility in their daily activities, and devising a compensation plan to truly support high performers is one way companies can develop its people for the long haul. GW: In a sea of Management consultants you have been singled out as one that has consistently gotten results for clients. What would say differentiates you? RE: I’m curious, I listen, and I don’t pretend to have the silver bullet. Most of my career has been spent within industry, not in consulting. When I first went out on my own, I spent a lot of time meeting with Presidents, Owners and Senior Executives thinking I had all the answers. I quickly realized that my experiences and expertise, while meaningful, only covered a thin slice potential marketing and management techniques. In fact, I have come to understand that every company has its nuances – so there really is not a “one size fits all” solution. Therefore I had to learn and learn quickly that most senior executives have the answers themselves. They just need help to verbalize and act on the issues that will improve their business. Asking questions, staying intrigued, and remaining humble have enabled me to plan, develop, and execute strategies for growth for my clients. GW: On the one hand you're an author of these things that enable other people to do—let's use the word creative here— have you given thought to how you might create books, tapes etc to help people embrace these concepts. RE: In addition to That Was Zen, This Is Wow, I periodically write for a few trade associations and journals -- not to mention a newsletter for my contact base. Much of my writing tends to take the form of "Best Practices of XXX" or "XXX You Way From Zen to Wow". Examples include: Best Practices of Listening and Marketing Your Way from Zen to Wow. I have often thought about compiling these articles together in one book, or one audio tape. Greg, perhaps you've given me the impetus to do so. Thank you. GW: What are you exploring today that will have an impact of Management and Leadership? RE: I am constantly exploring ways to put FUN and PASSION back in the workplace. This doesn’t mean putting a foosball table in the lunchroom and then asking folks to stay until midnight every night. Nor does it mean serving cocktails in the office at 6pm on a Friday. By fun and passion I mean getting people excited and motivated to come to work in the morning and ask themselves…”How can we do things better?” “How can we serve our customers better?” “How can we make it easier for our customers to do business with us?” Grabbing a few ideas from That Was Zen, This is Wow and discussing them at the water cooler in the morning is a great start. GW: If we are going "Learn How to Dance Properly" what kinds of steps should we consider? RE: Before we get to the steps, we need to ask ourselves a couple of questions. First, “Which dance do we want to learn?” Second, “Does our management team and employees know which dance we are about to learn…together?” Last, but certainly not least “Is this a dance our customer’s want us to learn?” With these questions answered, we can now get to the steps. Here, my recommendation will always be to start with the basics and the fundamentals. This philosophy applies to business as well. As a senior leader in an organization, one must understand the basic things needed to be done really well in order to succeed. Then, one must tie this back to the fundamental business metrics for driving a business forward. GW: Have you, for instance, thought about writing a book on whatever it is you're doing? RE: Been there, done that, and continuing to do it. Plus, I’m hitting the lecture circuit. GW: What are the things that effect Management the most since 9/11/01? RE: It is easy to say the economy and morale. However, I believe technology has really had the greatest effect on Management since 2001. My sense is that many of us use technology in a detrimental way. Between VPNs, blackberry’s and other remote communication devises, we can’t get away from the office. We have difficulty finding time to recharge the batteries or really think about the drivers of our business – we are just too busy catching up with e-mail, or collaborating on a business proposal. Leveraging technology to make it easier for our customers to conduct business with us – either learning about, or transacting business – is where we are headed. Podcast, Search Engine Optimization, VoIP, and yes….remote office solutions, will help get us to this point. GW: Oh, I see. There are a lot of things where people are participating, so in a way you are seeing people interact with it. Let's go there now. What is creativity in the Management circle when I see so much focus on Best Practice … which means to me to do the same? RE: GW: Meaning we should allow ourselves ... Contact us By Email: info@GregWinston.com By Phone: 949.388.2545 Thank you for your inquiry. |
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