Posted on Tue, Oct 11, 2005 @ 01:36 PM
Madison, New Jersey – Mike Martorella, Founder of MMI Communication, spoke recently about entrepreneurs as leaders at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies. Martorella is an executive coach and management advisor who works one-on-one with senior leaders at companies including Bunge, IBM and MCI. He has also been an entrepreneur, having started, built and then sold a successful marketing agency.
In his talk, Martorella focused on the journey from business owner to leader. “Leadership starts with the big “A” word – attitude,” said Martorella. “You start on the path to leadership by becoming aware of what you need to do – how you need to change – to allow success to happen. Effective entrepreneurial leaders embrace the unknown, they take the risk. They confront reality honestly and openly and have the attitude that failure is not an option.”
It’s also crucial for the entrepreneurial leader to engage others, Martorella observed. He talked about how one coaching client, an engineer, had to learn how to deal with the “fuzzy stuff” in order to influence the attitudes and behaviors of others. “When we first began working together, Kelly would put together plans for her team that were very task oriented. With coaching, she realized that people don’t do things because they’re told they should, but because they personally feel they must, to be successful. Then she was able set clear expectations and create an attitude of trust. She discovered that she didn’t need to micromanage. Once trust was established and people felt safe, they were willing to go the extra mile so that the team would succeed.”
Leaders must also become comfortable with the fact that they are no longer the “doers.” “They have to give themselves a promotion to leader and become the one who achieves results through others,” Martorella pointed out. “Communication becomes the primary part of a leader’s job. When a leader thinks they have communicated effectively, they need to find out if their messages are clear. They must continually ask questions and get feedback.”
Ernest Hemmingway once commented that he would have written that great novel, but he had to clean the refrigerator. Martorella noted that, like Hemmingway, every entrepreneur finds themselves with mountains of stuff to do. He advised the audience to focus on what matters most. “What are the one or two most important things you can do each day to reach your goals? Get moving on them and you build momentum towards success. Small successes are cumulative and have a positive impact on the attitudes and performance of others.”
Martorella closed the seminar with several more examples from his experience as a coach and CEO. His parting advice to students was to “love what you do. Have fun with it, or don’t do it at all. When you love what you do, you develop the clarity of purpose that leads to success.”
Mike Martorella’s communication career spans 20 years. Prior to founding MMI Communication (www.mmicom.com), he was vice chairman of Magnet Communications and CEO of ACG Communications, Public Relations and Integrated Marketing agencies. Mike has been an adjunct professor in Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Silberman College of Business Administration where he taught an MBA-level course on Executive Communication and Leadership. He is a Vice President of Professional Development for the New Jersey chapter of the Institute of Management Consultants. Mike has an undergraduate degree from St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and Master’s degree from the School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut.
Posted on Wed, Apr 20, 2005 @ 10:41 AM
Helping develop focused leaders
By ERICA LAMBERG
Correspondent
MMI Communication offers clients executive coaching as well as additional resources that support and strengthen their clients' leadership capabilities.
"Leadership is a journey through a complex terrain," says Mike Martorella, president of the Bedminster-based firm. "We are passionate about helping our clients master that terrain. We get enormous satisfaction out of seeing our clients become focused, credible leaders who articulate their vision and achieve their goals."
Martorella said his clients include both small businesses as well as large corporations.
"I tend not to work with mediumsized companies as much because I like to work directly with the decision-makers," he said.
To that end, Martorella said many clients bring him on board to teach leadership strategies and offer executive coaching to senior management or business owners.
"Ioffer strategies on how an individual can communicate as a leader taking into account the personality of the executive as well as the corporate culture of a company," Martorella said.
Martorella earned a bachelor's degree from Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa. and a master's degree from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn. Prior to forming MMI, he was vice chairman of Magnet Communications and CEO of ACG Communications, Public Relations and Integrated Marketing both in New York. Martorella also is an adjunct professor in Fairleigh Dickinson University's Silberman College of Business Administration in Madison where he teaches a graduate course on executive communication and leadership.
Q: What factors convinced you to form this business?
A: Throughout my career, I have helped clients develop creative business solutions. I discovered that success almost always boils down to how the leader -- the person in charge -- acts. It's about that one person -- what that person says and how they say it and what they do. I started MMI Communication because I like to help people dig deeper so that they connect who they are with what they do and how they are perceived. This helps them convey their message and accomplish their goals.
Q: What is the greatest challenge in operating the business?
A: We are constantly attentive to our clients needs -- and with global, corporate clients there can be "24/7" demand from anywhere in the world -- so it is hard to balance the need for intensive client time with need to carve out time to grow MMI Communication.
Q: Describe the competition and what sets you apart from it.
A: Many executive coaches will only advise their clients by phone once or twice a month on a narrow range of issues. We provide face-to-face coaching as often as a client needs it and we use a situational coaching approach -- that means our approach evolves based on what's happening "real time" for the client. Often with this approach we end up becoming trusted advisors to our clients.
from the Courier News website www.c-n.com
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