I recently went one on one with Mario Matulich, CEO of Customer Management Practice.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Mario: Hi Adam, thanks for having me. I started in this business almost 18 years ago. Prior to joining, I played minor-league baseball for the Cleveland Guardians. Like most baseball players, that career came to an end. Unfortunately for me, it ended at 22 years old, so it ended sooner rather than later! When it was time to pursue my next step, the decision was influenced by many of the things I came to love about baseball. I was looking for an industry driven by teamwork, a commitment to excellence, peers with exceptional work ethics, and a desire to succeed individually and as a group. 

In hindsight, it was a no-brainer to be part of the customer management space in some capacity. However, at the time, it was much more difficult. You see, my father was a New York City Firefighter, and I had spent much of my life admiring him and the FDNY, so I planned to take the test to become a firefighter, and, in the meantime, I would go to work. What I didn’t anticipate was how I would fall in love with the customer management industry. When I got the call from the FDNY two years after taking the exam and learned that I had scored high enough to be hired, I had to turn the opportunity down. I knew that the “job” I had taken as a stopgap would be my next career.

However, this was only the beginning. The following 18 years would be filled with unforgettable memories, some decent successes, massive failures, and continued learning. Not a day goes by that I don’t learn something new, and not a day goes by that I’m not challenged from the moment I open my laptop. This is a complex industry, but the difficulty draws me to it. I often compare it to the game of golf. You may play 17 holes where you can’t do a single thing right, but then, on 18, you drive one straight down the fairway, and as my father-in-law from Oklahoma likes to say, “Them the shots that keep ya coming back!”.

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business? 

Mario: Three key steps come to mind.

1. Develop products your target market wants to buy again and again.

2. Treat your customers well.

3. Treat your employees even better.

Adam: How can leaders build customer-centric businesses?

Mario: It starts with your team members. If you are not employee-centric, you will never be customer-centric.  From there it is about walking in their shoes and understanding the journeys of both. If there are friction points that make it more difficult to perform the task you are asking your employees to deliver or if there are friction points making it more difficult for a customer to interact with you and your brand, you will struggle to be viewed as customer centric. Too often I see leaders turn a blind eye to these friction points. Removing these points and paving the path for both employees and customers to achieve the desired outcome is paramount to becoming a customer-centric organization. 

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader? 

Mario: Many qualities define an effective leader, and I believe there are various ways to lead effectively. Not every effective leader is the same, but I believe the qualities are most consistent: Accessible. Inclusive. Has experienced the “front lines.” Decisive. Inspires people to reach and exceed their potential.

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Mario: One of the most ignored but straightforward initiatives to enhance your leadership skills is spending time with the various people within your organization. Concentrated solo time with various levels of employees to understand their work, motivations, challenges, and roadblocks is critical. Then, allowing the feedback to count in your decision-making will fuel your leadership skills more so than any course or training you can take.

Many leaders try to find that magic wand. We often latch on to the latest literature or identify the next best degree or training course. All of these efforts are helpful, so not suggesting they are not to be leveraged. However, the simplest is in your own backyard. Spend time with your people to understand how to help them improve. Start small and expand as best you can, depending on the organization's size. It will pay dividends.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders? 

Mario: Be a design thinker! 

1. Put people first: empathize and define the challenges impacting people regardless of the environment or scenario.

2. Ideate and prototype various solution options.

3. Test until you find the ideal solution that will help solve the problem that is not easily solvable.

Too often, I find that those in leadership positions lean too much on instinct. Yet, as experienced as you may be, there is a process that can elevate the probability of success in these various roles. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Mario: It starts with ensuring that the organizational structure is set up for success. As Peter Drucker once said, "No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or super people to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings".

Selecting, engaging, and retaining talent is critical in the modern work environment. There is value in continuity. Your ability to help your people find purpose and align with your organization's mission will ensure loyalty across your teams and therefore put you in a position to build, lead, and manage more effectively.

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

Mario: Sales, marketing, and branding all take a consistent effort. Too often, we spend too much of our time as leaders searching for the shortcut. The organizations that are highly successful are also highly consistent. They do the hard yards.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Mario: I am going to cheat and share two pieces of advice. Firstly, something that was shared early in my professional career was “prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” which came from my mentor and a partner in CMP, Rob Shannon. Secondly, “outwork everybody,” which was shared early in my life by my father. Both pieces of advice have served me well in my career and personal life.

Thanks again for having me, Adam. It’s been a pleasure.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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