Bob Schultek

Bob has more than 30 years of service as a senior sales and business development executive, CEO and business owner. His expertise includes customer-partnered business development, strategic planning, sales management, customer service, operational alignment, lean process analysis and improvement, quality assurance, and performance management. He has worked in the energy, medical device, bioscience & pharmaceutical, discrete and process manufacturing, packaging and distribution, communications and information technology, and business-to-business service industries.

3 Qualities of a High Performance Culture

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“Culture can account for up to half of the difference in operating profit between two organizations in the same business.” (Heskett @ Harvard) Consider these 3 qualities of a high performance culture: Across the organization, there is a shared ownership for customer success and business progress. People understand how they create value by making a difference for customers, for each other and for the Company. The purpose and profit motives for the business are aligned. Cross-functional collaboration and …

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Conflict and Commitment

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There can be no team commitment without a dialogue that captures every team member’s opinion. And without commitment, there can be no shared ownership of a decision, and no shared accountability.  As a leader, you may believe that you already know the best way forward. You may be reluctant to open a discussion which could generate information that is inconsistent with your preconceived conclusions. You might even feel that your ideas are threatened by such a …

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The Hard Part

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When I was a CEO, one of the lessons I learned over and over again, was that our business lived on the street, with the customers…not in our facilities.  While our Operations personnel made essential contributions to the success of the business, delivering on promises made by our marketing, sales and customer service folks, they operated primarily with established expectations and known variables around product, process, and due dates. They challenged the status quo to make us better, …

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3 Ways to Nurture Innovation

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Businesses seek to create value by moving faster, being more agile, and unleashing innovation. An innovative culture challenges people to take risks, promotes curiosity and learning, and encourages independent thinking that cultivates engagement, enthusiasm and meaningfulness. All of which strengthens your competitive advantage. Here are 3 ways to nurture an innovative culture: Consistently communicate that innovation is essential for the success and sustainability of your business. Your personnel must understand that it is not optional. Promote collaboration with customers …

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The Value of “Why”

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Asking “why“ produces valuable insight.  Asking why requires reflection that leads to understanding, often uncovering root cause. Challenging people to think is what stimulates discovery, solutions and growth.  In a customer relationship setting, asking why establishes what a customer truly values, beyond their expressed need.    In a quality assurance scenario, asking why something happened, after learning what occurred or how it occurred, accelerates the diagnostic evaluation and identification of productive remedies.  In an employee development situation, asking why communicates …

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Moment of Truth

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In every customer relationship, there is the moment of truth – the moment when something goes wrong.  It’s in that moment, when your promise has been broken, that your customer experiences the real nature of your business. What your company truly values is exposed.  When a business is young, every customer relationship is precious. Promises made to customers reflect a personal commitment and depth of caring that adds value to an offering and cultivates a customer’s trust.  As …

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3 Ways to Strengthen Emotional Intelligence

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The better a leader relates to and works with others, the more successful he or she will be in building teams that collaborate, take ownership and deliver results. A leader’s strong interpersonal skills enable the creation of connections and the development of trust necessary to help teams achieve goals and drive change. Understanding how their emotions and actions affect those they lead, and engaging openly and transparently with their team, enables these leaders to guide, challenge and sustain their people. These …

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Productive Apologies

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Customer relationships are valuable, fragile, and not to be taken for granted. It takes time to build trust with a customer; destroying it can happen in just a few incompetent minutes.  Relationships are intimate. People, not organizations, create them – by listening with empathy to one another, and then connecting to resolve a problem or achieve an aspiration. When something goes wrong, these human connections make the difference – it’s when they’re needed most. But too few organizations have trained, empowered or rewarded their employees to invest …

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Discovery Defeats Commoditization

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The market cultivates commoditization – easy access to information, simplistic assessments meant to hastily define you, and alternatives that prioritize price over value. All is done with minimal dialogue, to hasten the transaction, saving time and money for the supplier, and perhaps for you too. If your objective is to be perceived as a commodity supplier, then this process is effective for you.  But if your strategy is to be distinctive, then you must find an …

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Leveraging “Liminal Space”

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Leaders are expected to improve results by driving productive change…to improve processes, to move faster, to increase agility, to make things better.  But before change can occur, a decision to change is necessary. No one can be compelled to change…they must be influenced or inspired to invest time and energy in transformation. But imagine if leaders could pro-actively expedite this decision to help their teams discover elevated capabilities and transform the way their work is done.  Once a …

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