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.

Process Improvement Lessons

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Process improvement projects must navigate disruptions, resource constraints, egos, and other challenges. And like the military’s awareness that no plan survives first contact with the enemy, the same is true for your project plan, substituting ‘reality’ for ‘enemy.’ Here are some project lessons learned for your consideration: – Every process has a primary constraint where work-in-progress builds. Find yours and design your new process to minimize that constraint’s impact on productivity. Then, find the next …

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Data and Stories

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Data is readily accessible to leaders. Often, there’s so much available that it consumes valuable time to carve out the facts which best fit a specific need. When that need is motivating your team to drive a change initiative or implement a strategy, revealing only the data is rarely enough to prompt action. Most people have a limited capacity to absorb data; share too much and it begins to sound like noise, with no compelling …

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The Quest for Transformation

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The prime directive for leaders is to make things better – to improve results, strengthen culture, develop talent, nurture relationships. Some leaders see their mission as going beyond improvement, to leading a transformation of their operation or business. But transformation can result in a broad array of outcomes depending on multiple variables including the circumstances of the business, the impact of the culture, or the experience and vision of the leader. Some transformations are small …

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Finding Equilibrium

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The new world of work continues to evolve. Companies are testing different mixes of virtual and in-person environments, seeking equilibrium between the needs of the business and those of their employees. Driven by market and resource competition, our dependence on technology, including virtual communication, keeps growing. Technology’s inevitable progress facilitates ever-improving productivity, versatility, and innovation. But together with these benefits, each technological advance also delivers negative consequences. Right now, while we’re learning how to best …

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Motivating Action

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Leaders create strategy, but they must rely on others to execute it. Motivating their teams to act on the strategy requires two attributes: 1.  Influence leverages the leader’s experience and credibility to persuade team members about the benefits of the strategy. Commitment to the strategy evolves as the team is encouraged to discuss why it’s necessary, and how its envisioned outcome creates value for the company and for them. This dialogue then enables action steps to be …

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Valuing the Customer Experience

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Customer relationships are the foundation of your business. Those that endure contribute to your sustainability while revealing insights about trends, changing market needs, feedback on strategy, and innovation opportunities – all valuable inputs for decision-making and value creation. But customer relationships are also fragile, and heavily dependent on the service experience that your business delivers, particularly when things don’t go as planned. Your customer-service personnel are your front-line relationship reps, the face of your business. …

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What Do You See?

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What do you see? Is seeing believing? While we see with our eyes, it’s actually our brains that interpret what we see. And, more than one part of the brain is involved. For example, we ‘see’ shapes before we ‘see’ colors, and then ‘see’ context. These first stages of visual processing occur unconsciously, so we actually have no idea what information our brain is initially gathering from our visual images. Scientists have confirmed that existing …

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Assessing Candidate Attitude

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Our search for predictability is ever challenged by the incessant disruption of change. When trying to attract and hire talented people, this is a critical consideration. Job postings cite requirements and experience levels, but most often, the actual performance differentiator for new hires is not what they do, but rather how they do it – their attitude, and how well aligned it is with the culture of your business. This is not news; those who …

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Sustaining Competitive Advantage

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What’s your competitive advantage in the market? How do you preserve it? Sustaining a competitive advantage over time is always a challenge, but doing so in an increasingly dynamic market is very demanding. Time spent protecting an advantage against competitors can turn out to be wasted time. Growth is more likely to be the result of pursuing new opportunities that leverage your advantage to create strategic value for your customer. And on your actions that validate this culture …

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That Moment of Truth

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Every valued customer relationship eventually faces a moment of truth – that moment when something goes wrong. It’s in that moment, when your promise has been broken, that your customer experiences the real culture 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 your offering and cultivates a …

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