What makes you excited to start work each day?
Knowing that what I do can help others enjoy their job more. If I do my job right, I can help others stay organized and be successful in what they do and I can help my client be successful in meeting their goals. In addition, if I’m able to bring a little joy, laughter, fun and sense of accomplishment to others, then I’ve had a great day and I can’t wait to do it again.
Up until today, what’s the most significant accomplishment of your career?
This is a two part answer –
First, I would say the most important accomplishment of my career is when I was able to travel around the world, seeing all of the wonderful diversity and different cultures this world offers. It gives you an appreciation for history and for the beautiful differences of humanity. It also helps you understand how different cultures do business and how different work cultures affect organizations globally.
Second, one of my favorite career moments was when I worked for a pharmaceutical company and we were trying to figure out a way to bring synergy to our team. We came up with the idea of holding a “Breakfast Club” where one day a week, one person would bring breakfast for the department and we would socialize a bit. It was a great way to bring the team together. On my turn, I reserved the cafeteria and set up a breakfast bar, with waffle makers, an omelette station, etc. and set up my DJ equipment and did a “Club Breakfast” with music and dance lights. Afterward, when I returned to my desk, there was a card from the Chief Technology Officer that read, “Rod, Thanks for helping to make work fun.” THAT is what it’s about. Being able to accomplish your goals, your company’s goals and your client’s goals while still being able to really enjoy what you do and enjoying life and passing that joy to others.
What inspired you to enter the technology field?
When I was growing up, computers weren’t in the mainstream. I took a high school computer class and liked it, but didn’t think much about computers. Even in college, we had to book time to use a computer instead of a typewriter. As I saw technology growing, I realized it would be a lucrative field to enter. When deciding my life’s direction, (outside of music, since that was my first career choice), I got a job at Manpower so I could take advantage of their free training and enrolled in as many training programs and classes as I could. My career started as a temporary Admin Assistant for a VP at Motorola. When the VP found out I had some knowledge about technology and saw my work ethic, he hired me on their Supply Chain team working on what was then a version of an ERP… and that’s my start in the tech field.
What would you be doing if you hadn’t gone into technology consulting?
I’d probably still be teaching and speaking, maybe something in the music industry – I feel I was made to help others and to teach. That’s why I still do it part time when I can.
What do you do when you’re not working?
I’m a musician and I write music and play for my church band, and serve of the Board of Elders. I’m also working on a leadership book called, The Successful Idiot: Learning to Lead By Admitting You Can’t Do it On Your Own, and a podcast called The Successful Idiot. I also publicly speak on my Successful Idiot principles, as well as some adjunct teaching (although I’ve taken a little time off from that at the moment). Besides all that, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends whenever I can.
What part of Trissential’s core values do you connect with best and why?
I connect with all of them, but the two strongest connections are Humble Confidence and Earned Trust. One of the main points of my Successful Idiot Principles is, “you didn’t get to where you are without help, so don’t act like you did.” I am confident in my abilities and talents, but I recognize that I didn’t get to where I am without a lot of help along the way.
I also fully believe that you need to earn trust every day. When I was working for a small software firm in Chicago, I was asked to take over an account for a client that was so dissatisfied with our company… they were seeking legal ways to cancel their contract with us. The first thing I did was meet with them and asked why they were unhappy. The answer was we would over-promise and under-deliver, so they didn’t trust us at all. My team worked hard to make sure we were honest with our promises and that we delivered what we said we would and when we said we could. Three months later, at a symposium in Las Vegas, a top leader at our partner company came up and shook my hand and said, “thank you.” I asked what she was thanking me for and she said that not only was our client no longer trying to cancel their contract with us, but that they had recommended us to another company they did business with. It was amazing what earning back their trust did for our company and for the morale of my team.
Why did you choose to join Trissential?
There are two main reasons – The people and what the company stands for. The core values say it all. The company is focused on being passionate about what you do, not letting an ego get in the way of relationships and earning the client’s trust. Trissential works hard to make sure that the consultant is a perfect fit for the client and that the client and consultant are both very happy with the work that is being done.
How would you describe Trissential in five words or less?
Effective, transformative, leading-edged, agile and strategic.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
In addition to being my employer, Trissential has always been a fierce partner, making sure I was happy with my assignments, making sure I was being challenged enough and making sure I wasn’t being overworked. They also go to great lengths to make sure I feel like this is where I belong…and it is. I am truly blessed to be a Trissential consultant.
