All Star Direct
& Personal
By Billy Sharma
Rick Jones
Leadership lessons learned
Rick Jones is the new president of the Direct Marketing Association of Toronto. He is well suited for heading such a volunteer organization having gained considerable knowledge of the traits of leadership from many of the people he has worked with during his career.
Someone once said that there is no monument dedicated to the memory of a committee.
However, we all know that it is often the initiative and passion of a group which
gets things done. Never has this been truer than when it comes to running an
organization like the Direct Marketing Association of Toronto (DMAT).
This organization has survived because volunteers have generously given their
time and effort to keep it going. Sure there are committees who have the final
say but you need one person in charge who steers everyone else and makes sure
all stays on track. For DMAT this year it is Rick Jones, the new president of
the organization.
Rick was a natural choice as he has a vision for the organization that is geared
toward not only its survival, but also its vitality. It won't be an easy job
and I applaud him for taking over the helm of DMAT.
Rick made the observation, and I had to agree with him, that up until now DMAT
has been an old boys club but he intends to change that. His goal at the end
of his two-year tenure is that the association will have a more youthful infrastructure
more designed to encourage and coach young people, a commitment that will top
the list of activities he will devote his time to.
Rick is a remarkably driven person so you have to take time to truly understand him. I suggest you read between the lines of what he says to discover the true Rick Jones, his real values and his beliefs.
High school job
Passionate and straight up about business and life, he is careful to give credit
for his successes to people along the way who have had a lasting effect on him,
starting with Herb Rice, the first person he worked for when he was in high school.
"He owned
a feed mill in Caledon and was about to retire when the entire business literally
burnt to the ground,” says Rick. “He kept everyone employed and built the business
up again.”
Rick learned that the best leaders think of the people involved, not just the
company.
The direct marketing bug bit him when Rick joined Canada Post in 1992, which
at that time became a Crown corporation.
"My first
job at CPC was to be in charge of 'Quality Assurance' - testing various postal
work flows, measuring accuracy of sorting across all product lines including
Priority Courier and Admail.
"Canada Post was a fantastic training ground and the things I learned there
some 20 plus years ago still help me with my customers today
"My first sales manager was Hugh Burgess, who introduced himself to a group
of us with these words, "Some of you have been told that you now work for
me. That is incorrect. I work for you.'”
Rick learned that leaders are there to make the members of the team successful.
Best of the best
From Canada Post, Rick went to York Litho.
"One of the best places I have ever worked for bar none," he emphasized. "I
was lucky to be at York Litho when some of the best of the best were all working
in one place at the same time. Folks like Bob Flynn, Doug Andres, Len Boston,
Ray Raiskums and Bob Coleman, …I am talking about some of the brightest folks
in the industry at that time or any time at all."
He remembers with a smile that Matt Penstone, the sales manager, used the phrase, "It's
not a problem; it's an opportunity."
Or how he learned
from Len Boston, one of the top sales persons. "Just listening
to him on the phone was an education. Len through his calm professional delivery
smoothed over any issue, it seemed"
And how Doug Andres, one of the smartest general managers ever, helped him close
many large complex deals like those with Shell Canada and The Brick. "He
never once let me fail."
After Transcontinental purchased the company Rick bounced around with notable
stops at: SMR/Tytrek when the two businesses came together; at Quebecor Direct
where he was vice-president of sales; at Transcontinental Direct managing intercompany
and DM sales and now at AIIM as the director of sales.
"At Transcontinental Dan Whitehead, the senior vice-president, would take
all my staff out to dinner along with their wives every quarter when we hit our
budget, thanking all of us for our efforts, truly recognizing that family and
work must be in balance. And once again confirming that little things make a
big difference."
Steering through rough seas
At Quebecor Canada he remembers how President Chris Rudge once said to him,
"Anyone can steer a ship in calm waters; it's a real leader who can manage
the business through rough seas."
And how working
with Rick Lambert, the plant manager, was always great because "He
was like a great business partner", while Terry Stevens (The Doctor) a fellow
sales person had a unique view of sales and client relationships. "He was
a master of THE SPIN. This guy could sell a heat lamp to Al Gore.
"It's hard to jam 26 years of my life into one face-to-face meeting with
you," he said, "but of all the places I have worked for, for all the
clients I have helped, all the sales I have made, the late night press approvals
I have attended, the client lunches that never ended and endless hours I have
spent in tradeshow booths, I think the most memorable work experience, that changed
my direction, was with Bob Flynn.
"At that time Bob was with York Litho. Bob was and still remains truly one of the nicest people I know. He took me under his wing and made it easy for me to be successful. And whenever I screwed up, Bob would quietly call me into his office and ask, ‘Well Bozo, you're not going to make that mistake again are you?’ Bob taught me that it's okay to make the occasional mistake once. Only once."
The occasional mistake
"Have you made the occasional mistake only once?" I
asked.
After a moment
of thought he replied, "Of course not I twice stayed on with
companies longer than I should have. But in both cases I was sold on an idea
of helping build the company.
"In one case
I showed up for my first day and there were no phones or faxes nothing not even
the guy who had hired me.
"In the second
case I was courted by a company at a fairly high level and a deal was put together
that I was really excited about. My first day at work I was informed that my
boss had been transferred to the U.S. and the job I was hired for was being re-organized.
In both these cases I tried to hang in because things do happen and the intentions
of both the individuals who hired me were honourable and good. I have been fortunate
to work for many companies over my 28 years.”
Rick has salesmanship in his blood. He grew up as the son of a print salesman in a very small town, in Caledon northwest of Toronto. He lives there to this day.
Broadcast aspirations
"I had aspirations
to be a radio broadcaster and convinced my dad to cover my tuition to give it
a try, but I must have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque. I was always jealous
of folks in high school and college who knew exactly what they wanted to do.
It took me a lot of time to understand that what I enjoy and what I could make
a living at could be one and the same thing.
I studied marketing in college, which really helped me in sales, as many of my
early clients were people from advertising agencies, so I could speak THEIR language.
"The best
advice my dad, Gord Jones, gave me was, ‘Shut up and listen, that's what sales
is all about.’ "
Rick is married to Shelley. They met in high school and have been together for
longer than 20 years.
"I have made it quite challenging for her on some occasions but in spite
of it all she is still with me. We are blessed with two wonderful boys, Spencer
and Kacey, who are both in French Immersion - one is in high school and one in
middle school.
Our world revolves around the kids, from snowboarding to baseball to mountain
biking to music or just hanging around the pool on a hot summer day. Life is
good.
"About four years ago I took up snowboarding. I have never skied before so this was a cold start for me. I strapped on the board and I'm happy to report no broken bones so far and I'm now a Gnarly Dude according to the kids. I coach two baseball teams in the summer, I play guitar and host a youth radio program, called 'Songs from the Woods' at Caledon's radio station. So, my dad has finally seen that his tuition investment is finally paying off, better late than never.”
Sunburn tale
And of course
there were funny moments too, like his trip to Calgary. Rick narrated the story. "Two
colleagues, Michael and Ray, and I once went out west to Calgary to meet several
clients. We flew out on a Saturday and had Sunday to kick back and relax. We
decided to drive to Lake Louise. It was a spectacular spring day, snow everywhere
but beautiful and sunny.
We thought it would be great to sit on the patio and have a few soft drinks and
catch some rays. I recall I sat facing the sun head on with one person on my
right and the other on my left. We sat there talking for several hours. The next
morning we headed off to our first meeting, I had sunburn on my full face while
the other two had sunburns on only one half of their faces. Our clients found
it pretty funny, and so did we.
"I was a
volunteer fire fighter for 13 years for The Town of Caledon and on more than
one occasion I was reminded of what is really important in life as I pulled broken
bodies from smashed cars or helped people from burning buildings.
"My life,
like most lives, seems to be built on great joys and great losses. And as
John Lennon said, `Life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other
plans.’ "
Billy Sharma is President and Creative Director of Designers Inc., Toronto