Your Employees’ Past Lives Are Still Alive and Well
The Alias Group is fortunate to have some brilliant and beautiful (if I do say so myself) people working together to create and fulfill other companies’ Growth Identities. While we have years of experience in sales and marketing, many of our employees had lives in industries and sectors outside of their current specialties prior to working at The Alias Group. From former teachers to former chicken factory workers, we find that everyone brings something valuable to the table from their past lives.
Our vice president, Chris Dohl, uses his experience from W.L Gore & Associates every day at The Alias Group. “Their unique culture focuses on an empowered team approach to solving issues and ensuring a uniquely positive experience with customers.” Considering that The Alias Group’s unique focus and flat, team-based structure, and collaborative working environment are fundamental aspects of our culture, it’s safe to say Chris’ time at Gore has directly contributed to shaping The Alias Group.
Two of our sales guys come from drastically different backgrounds yet apply similar wisdom to their sales positions in the company. Dan Rose affirms, “Personally, coming from an industrial manufacturing and processing background, I feel that I can more adequately relate to our customer expectations and understand what goals they are ultimately trying to achieve though each of their endeavors.” While Mark Berry shares, “My most valuable skill that benefits my customers comes from having worked in three different industries in both managerial and sales positions. That skill is in the ability to listen, identify a problem or obstacle, and then overcome it with a working solution.”
The success Dan and Mark have in sales is partly attributed to this valuable lesson of paying attention to the customer first. Focusing on the customers’ needs and remaining solution-based in thinking are the building blocks to any relationship-based business.
Our accounting manager, Monica Trout learned an invaluable lesson during her teaching career. She warns, “Always watch what you say. You cannot assume how the receiver of your words will interpret them. All minds are impressionable. It was my first year teaching, and I had a class of high school seniors. I told a student ‘to deal with it’ regarding some excess homework. I meant ‘deal with it’ in a joking way. The student took the comment in a negative way towards herself, thinking I didn’t think she could handle the assignment. She disliked me the remainder of the year. It was not until much later I found out this information. I now always try to think before I speak."
Communication is such a powerful tool that we so often wield to our inadvertent disadvantage. Monica’s experience isn’t unique to the classroom or even teacher-student relationships. Think back to the last time you inferred the wrong tone in an e-mail. Err on the side of caution when it comes to getting your message across regardless of what you assume you know.
No matter what walk of life you come from, what jobs you’ve held, or what work you’re doing, there are some universal truths. Monica leaves us with the most applicable advice that she learned in every job and takes with her wherever she goes: “Always volunteer to do the job that no one else wants to do. It makes you invaluable.”
