Jim Waszak

Instant Relationships

2011-11-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

Instant Relationships!

People have told me that I’m excellent at creating relationships extremely quickly. Maybe the title of this article is a little bit bold, but it got your attention.

But, seriously, how is it that I seem to bond with people so quickly that others comment on it. Regularly.

Honestly, I don’t know the total answer. Basically, I am just myself. On reflection, though, there are a few things that come to mind.

Sincerity, humor and networking are the keys.

I’m interested in people and want to know what they are about. What excites them. And mostly, how can I help them achieve their goals, manifest their dreams. The way I do express my interest is by asking questions. For example, at a networking event, I’ll walk up to someone and read their nametag and say something along the lines of “What does Charlie do or aspire to do?” This normally has several effects. It saves them the awkwardness of trying to figure out who should make first contact, how they should introduce themselves and gets the ball rolling. A lot of people are nervous at networking events, so this breaks the tension.

Humor comes in handy. I’m blessed to be pretty quick witted and have been on stage speaking, doing Improv, and ballroom dancing. Usually I can find something funny to say about the situation, myself, or something they’ve said. This goes a long way toward creating comfort and defining me as a genuine person. It changes the atmosphere from a “business event” to a fun event. I guess I have a knack. Lou Costabile once told me that I have “favor”. I asked what he meant. He said that I can say things to people that if anyone else were to say they would be really offended. But I say it and they laugh and think it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever heard. Yeah, everyone once in a while I may rub someone the wrong way, but 99% it works great.

Networking is the third component. Once I get the answer to my initial question, I almost always have a name for them to talk to. Someone they should know who can help them, further their cause in some way. Be a resource, or customer or key contact. This is always appreciated and blows people away at how fast I can come up with names for them. Occasionally, rather than a name, it might be a unique insight or perspective that helps them understand their business or situation better, and helps them move forward.

So I guess that’s how I do it. Break the ice, create comfort, offer a gift and poof – instant friend!!

Developing People

2010-06-01T13:45:00.001-07:00

Developing People – Moving People Forward

At one point in my career, I was working as CFO at a manufacturing company, and had an unusual opportunity to move from that role to VP Manufacturing. I knew next to nothing about manufacturing, but did know how to develop people. Manufacturing had been a weak link for a long time, impeding our growth. But knowing how to develop people, I was able to increase output 50% in just over a year, resulting in record profits. One of the many success stories involved one of my shop supervisors – Raul. He had been with the company a long time, but had become very unmotivated and disenchanted. Frankly, he was one of the fellows that I felt would have to be dismissed, which would have been difficult because of his long tenure at the company.

While deciding what to do, I happened to be at our company softball team’s game. Lo and behold, here is Raul leading, managing, driving the team to victory. He had more natural leadership ability than most of the folks I went to MBA school with. Later I sat down with him, explained his status, and offered to work with him, if he was willing. He was. Through coaching, training, and problem solving, he turned into an excellent supervisor, and a key guy who I relied on for building security. He also wound up running the company picnic.

The best part, for me, came when I was leaving the company. He came up to me, put his arm around me, and said, “I’m really going to miss you, you changed my life.” That was more satisfying that the financial success that we had had.

Working with and developing people has always been a passion of mine. In addition to the above, I had developed many other people who went on to become successful in roles like Controller, VP Human Resources, Credit and Collections Manager, and Shop supervisor.

Assisting people with career and job search strategy has also been very enjoyable for me. I’ve served as a volunteer in this capacity and worked with 100s of people, currently with the Community Career Center in Naperville. Occasionally, I’ve found paying clients as well. At one job seeker networking event, two fellows approached me afterwards to tell me that they had learned more from me in 15 minutes than they had in many weeks of outplacement. My approach to job search is highly marketing oriented, and also will typically get to the root of what they really are looking to do – defining a niche for them that combines their skills and experiences with what they truly enjoy personally.

Some testimonials:

Dave Beatty, Saturn District Sales and Service Manager: “Working with Jim as a business partner, he achieves results by creating relationships quickly and building trust. Along with his extensive business background, it provides him with the unique tools to get to the root cause of issues and resolve them quickly. Finally, he is a blast to work with. Highly recommended.”

Dan Kelly, executive in transition: In today's job search environment, articulating your professional value is necessary. Once articulated, your professional value needs to be marketed. A personalized, high-quality "marketing message" will help you peak the curiosity of the prospective employers you contact. The goal: conversation! Jim helped me articulate my professional value and craft a personal marketing story which became my talking points as I contacted prospective employers. Jim is insightful, responsive and adopts a personal interest in his clients. In closing, Jim has earned my strongest recommendation.

Sharon Swan Cowdrey, supervisor at Maritz: I had the pleasure of coaching and directing Jim for several years as he facilitated process improvement initiatives with Chicago area dealerships. Jim's presence is authentic and directed. He is focused and is easily accepted by others as a coach at the Leadership level and others. Jim is quick to narrow focus in on strengths and identify opportunities on both a personal and professional level for improvement. His clients went willingly down the path with him to improve their skill sets. Jim is very good at giving feedback on an individual basis and has a way of encouraging people to develop that is non-threatening and honest. He was valued highly by the regional GM partner as an asset to assist in improving results. Jim is an asset to any team and a Leader in Coaching and Development. I would eagerly work with Jim on any project in the future

Jim Roth, executive in transition: I ran into Jim when he was volunteering at the Career Counseling Center. I had targeted companies that I want to work for. Jim counseled me to some “out of the box thinking” of how to market myself that ultimately help me get the job that I am currently in. His knowledge and insight was key to me landing this position.

Chad Coe, financial planner: Jim has been a great friend who does great work with everyone that he works with. He is able to focus on what their needs are and is able to guide them down a path of success. He has great insights and wisdom that when he shares it with you, it can change your life.

You can check out further details of my background on Linked In.

Success

2009-12-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

Our own success comes from helping others succeed. A good example of this is an experience I had with a problem employee whom I had inherited.

It was tough because he was a long timer, who had more or less lost his way. However, I was willing to invest some time with him. Gave him some training. Solved some issues he was facing that were out of his control. He turned into a real performer and an asset to me and the company.

When I was leaving, he surprised me by putting his arm around me and said, “I’m really going to miss you. You changed my life.” Wow. What an unexpected surprise.

Helping others succeed is the best way to create your own success!

A Leadership Story

2009-11-23T07:56:00.001-08:00

At one point in my career, I was CFO at a manufacturing company, making sure we had the financial control and resources necessary to grow, which we did. From $4 million to $20 million in sales. But we had huge challenges in manufacturing, which were impeding our progress. After several experienced manufacturing executives failed to resolve our issues, I suggested to the owner, Art Coren, that I could run manufacturing better than they could.

His reaction: "What do you know about manufacturing, you're an accountant?"

My answer: "I don't know anything about manufacturing, but I know the people need a leader, and I know how to lead."

Eventually he agreed and moved me to VP Manufacturing. In a little over a year, output grew to $30 million, and we tripled our previous best year profit wise!

I still wouldn't say I am a manufacturing expert. But what I do know is how to lead people and solve problems.

If you know someone whose company is underperforming and needs a leader, please pass my name along as I am looking for a new challenge.

Employee Engagement

2009-11-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

Interesting story. I was CFO at a manufacturing company. Our plant was ineffective and impeding out growth. Our owner was looking for solutions, and after 3 'experienced' manufacturing execs failed to improve conditions, I was offered to take on the job.

Even though I knew nothing about manufacturing, we increase output 50% in just over year. Why? Leadership and the ability to engage our team in our mission.

Having engaged employees is critical to success.

If you want to discuss feel free to contact me.

Effective Elevator Speeches

2009-10-24T06:16:00.001-07:00

Most people struggle with their "elevator speech". A common difficulty in answering the question, "What do you do?" is actually answering the question. When people ask that, they don't mean what they say. They are really asking, "Are you an interesting person who is worth my while talking to?", or something "How can I or someone I know benefit from what you do."

The trick is to focus on results, and for who.

For example, let's take someone who is a financial planner.

Which is the more powerful?

I help people manage their money. Or...

My mission is to make sure people in the music business have their finances in order so that the rest of us can continue to enjoy the art that they create.

That right away tells people the benefit he produces, who he'd like to meet, and is likely to evoke the response that we crave "Gee that's interesting, tell me more."