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.

Inspiring Improvement

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449     Pursuing improvement means tackling change. Change is hard work…it requires commitment, perseverance and discretionary effort.   Commitment, perseverance and discretionary effort cannot be commanded…they must be inspired. Inspiration rises when people believe that their work is meaningful…that they are making a difference. The awareness that work is meaningful springs from the expression of a Company’s Purpose and how consistently its leaders and people act in accordance with …

Read more

The 2 Sides of Promise

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449    Customers don’t buy your product or service – they buy the benefits your solution promises to produce. The most compelling solutions generate strategic value, a quantifiable financial advantage that stimulates customer growth, paired with a strengthening of their distinctiveness and competitive advantage. These promises cultivate enduring relationships when they are fulfilled. Delivering what you pledged to deliver is the other side of your promise. Without fulfillment, your …

Read more

Challenging the Status Quo

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449     Implementing standard procedures helps sustain the consistency and quality of work, usually boosting productivity. But the drive for conformity has a price. It increases bureaucracy which can inadvertently stifle the very creativity and initiative you ask your people to practice, potentially compromising innovation and improvement. The same conformity that delivers greater reliability, risk-proofing and safety can breed a fear of failure and a drift towards mediocrity. Since …

Read more

Leadership and Challenge

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449      There are times when leaders must confront adversity that threatens their business. Other times, to improve performance, they disrupt the established order by challenging the status quo. Whether the challenge is external or internal, leaders make things happen. Leadership and challenge are inseparable. Business leaders you admire are likely remembered for launching an entrepreneurial venture, developing a novel product and service, transforming a failing business, or revolutionizing …

Read more

How Customers Assess Value

by

Bob Schultek Author of The Gauntlet Whether you provide a product or a service, its value to your customers depends on their goals. Your success in earning their business depends on your ability to discover what your customer values and why. If the customer’s business is mature, then proposing solutions that reduce cost typically capture attention.  Cost reduction targets are easily identified and validated; they directly impact net profit. And, unfortunately, they make it easier …

Read more

3 Questions People Ask About You

by

Bob Schultek rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449     People take action because it benefits them. If you’re a leader or a salesperson trying to connect with others, your focus must be on them. It’s a simple truth that is often forgotten. Your target audience will ask themselves 3 questions to discover your intentions: 1. “Do you care about me?” Mutual interest is the impetus for establishing a connection. Trying to learn another person’s perspective regarding a shared goal or concern …

Read more

Your Life – Your Choice

by

Bob Schultek rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449    Life does not arbitrarily impose itself on you. Rather, you choose how you feel about the circumstances in your life and work. You’re making this choice every day, multiple times a day. Will you choose to be optimistic, to engage with or to encourage others? Will you choose to be curious, to inquire, or to challenge the status quo? Will you strive to make a difference? It may seem that …

Read more

Bob Schultek Releases New Book

by

Bob Schultek’s new book The Gauntlet is now available on Amazon. The Gauntlet tells the tale of a business in crisis, and how the leader, his team and his family experience a transformational journey as they confront the challenge of business survival. Told through the eyes of the senior leader, the story describes his concurrent, integrated struggles to change the course of his business while preserving his family’s well-being. The trials encountered by the company …

Read more

“The Gauntlet” – My First Book

by

Bob Schultek rschultek@staging.elfin-bead.flywheelsites.com 216-272-4449     After serving more than thirty years as a senior executive, including a couple of times as CEO & business owner, I’ve enjoyed triumph and disappointment, and accumulated plenty of scars. Grolistic was founded to share those scars with business leaders to accelerate their growth. Whether we’re assisting with strategy, implementation or leadership, it’s increasingly clear that an organization’s people often make the difference. Your people truly are your most sustainable …

Read more

5 Selling Experience Attributes That Drive Customer Loyalty

by

In their book, The Challenger Sale, Dixon and Adamson cite their research into the 50-plus attributes that drive customer loyalty (i.e. more sales per customer), noting that just 38% of that allegiance is due to outperforming competitors on brand, product and service, and only 9% is attributable to better price-to-value ratio than the competition. They discovered that the primary driver of loyalty, at 53%, is the sales experience itself. There are five key attributes that …

Read more