I'm constantly amazed and awed by the wealth of experiences and backgrounds of our active KHE members. This week, we'll take a look NoStressXpress, who's packaged several lifetimes into one. He's even planning to combine his interests and passions into a second, or is it third or fourth career?
Where are you based?
Washington, D.C., USA.
What do you do in real-life?
I am presently working for the U.S. Government at the Pentagon as a senior management and program analyst and also as a business transformation specialist. I was hired to teach government employees industry best practices and assist agencies in transforming into business enterprises. Easier said than done! The hardest part of the job is convincing a government agency that they do in fact have customers! The business transformation portion of my current assignment will probably keep me busy for a couple of decades - if I decide to stay on.
Tell us about your company.
I still own and operate my own business consultancy which I named NoStressXpress Consultants. I like to work primarily with small businesses and home businesses and help them in the areas of customer acquisition, customer communications competencies, customer reaching-out methodologies, and business transformation/change management. I will also work with businesses that don't have a formal marketing department and help them acquire permanent corporate marketing capabilities without the expense of adding to their infrastructure. In my desire to differentiate myself from the field I recently partnered with an "intuitive" to provide me with information about a business through non-traditional means.
How did you find KHE?
I did a Google search for a marketing forum and found KHE and joined the same day.
Explain your Community Name and why you selected it.
My community name, NoStressXpress, was a name I gave to my very first motorhome. It describes the easy going style that most RV owners have when they go from one location to another.
What kinds of KHE questions do you enjoy most?
I really enjoy the questions regarding anything to do with customer relationships and with questions regarding careers in marketing.
What networking or professional organizations do you belong to?
I belong to Business Network International and Toastmasters International.
How many years have you been in marketing? How did you get started?
I have over 26 years of combined marketing experience as a vice president for Toshiba and also as a consultant. My interest in marketing began when I was on active duty with the United States Navy where I became close friends with many outstanding naval reservists who were marketing executives or product managers in civilian life.
Did you study marketing in college? Or have you learned on the job?
I studied electrical engineering at the University of Southern California and graduated in 1969. I did not take my first "formal" marketing class until I began my marketing career with Toshiba in 1980 where I acquired a practical, working knowledge of marketing on the job. Also, since Toshiba was a company that practiced Lean and Six Sigma methodologies I was able to apply those methodologies in my marketing functions.
Do you have (or have you had) a mentor? What has he/she has taught you?
My mentor was the person who hired me at Toshiba. He was the senior American manager at Toshiba and at one time was the highest paid Toshiba employee in the world. He was a genius in customer relationship management and taught me that there were only 3 things important to a business: The Customers; The employees that take care of the customers; and The Leadership of the employees that take care of the customers. Conversely, he also stated that these 3 things were the SOURCE and ROOT CAUSES of all problems with a company. My mentor also told me that successfully generating revenues and profits for the company was NOT enough to keep my position secure but that I had to be competent in solving business problems completely and permanently by attacking the root cause. I credit my longevity at Toshiba by being able to solve problems faster than my peers and colleagues. While they were pouring over mounds of data and analyzing it to find the problem - I already knew where to look and it was always in one of those 3 areas. I also learned that the root cause always had a first and last name.
What is your next career objective?
After a few years working for the government I intend on setting up a consultancy to assist veterans owning small businesses.
Do you have a favorite gadget/tool that helps you do your job?
I have a couple of tools that I have developed that I use on the job. One is a revised and modified SWOT procedure tool that results in an action plan in all 4 areas and the other is a marketing self assessment tool that helps a business identify their business competencies and incompetencies.
Describe one of your non-marketing hobbies or interests.
I love to camp and fish. I also volunteer my time to mentor disadvantaged youths.
What is the value KHE provides to you personally?
KHE keeps me current with the marketing community. It also provides me with the insights and perspective of others. The wealth of knowledge and information I now have access to is priceless.
Have you made any offline connections with people you met in KHE?
Not yet. It is probably because I am busy with the government.
Do you have any advice for new members of KHE?
I encourage all the new members to participate in the forum every day. If you can't participate you should just read the postings and then the responses. Getting this type of exposure to various problems and reading the responses from the experts can only help you whether you're in the marketing profession or not. Also, I encourage all members, new or old, to fill out their bio information and share information about themselves. After all, this is a marketing forum and all KHE members should start "walking the talk" and start marketing themselves.
Do you have a favorite quote you want to share?
Marketing is THE oldest profession and Jesus Christ needed 12 marketing managers to spread the word!
Is there anything else you would like to say to the community?
I would like to say that I am impressed by way members share their information with one another. Marketing is highly competitive and seeing all these experts helping out another professional or someone new to the field has really impressed me. I can only imagine what my life at work would be like if something like KHE existed back in the 1980's.
