Meet a Member: Mark Jankowski, President Amplified Learning
In my day-to-day work,
I am blessed to be able to work with a group of 30 CEOs who I help develop strategy, build corporate cultures, share best practices and grow as leaders and individuals. Most of my days are spent visiting with these CEOs and providing consulting services.
My clients tell me
that my secret 'superpower' is crystallization. They describe it as them talking for 45 minutes about a challenge they are facing, and then me saying: "So what you really mean is ____, and have you ever thought about doing _____?"
My favorite part of my work is
being a good listener for people who seldom get to say what exactly is on their minds. CEOs cant talk about their own fears and insecurities, because they need to put on a mask of total confidence. I am able to fulfill a role where people can just let it all out and get it off of their chest. While some would put that into the category of being a psychologist, and I might agree, the cool part of my work is that they trust me to be an advisor because, unlike a psychologist perhaps, they know that because I ran a successful business for 20 years, I have the 'been there, done that' perspective that they value and trust.
My favorite client story is
being able to work deeply with young salespeople and help them develop their skills and become more successful. One of my favorite things to do is to get into a conference room with salespeople who are in their 20s and 30s and share the lessons I have learned along the way from both being a salesperson and also from the lessons I have learned from the CEOs I work with, who they would not have access to. It is fun to take the lessons I learn from the CEOs and funnel it to the younger people that I can mentor. It feels like it closes a loop and contributes to others the same way people contributed to me along the way.
One characteristic I always look for in my employees is
the understanding that Life is a Journey, and that we can always benefit from having others share our walk on our journeys.
One book I think every business professional should read is
"The Power of Nice: How to Negotiate So Everyone Wins - Especially You." I will be selfish on this one and will let you know that it is a book that I co-wrote 20 years ago and it teaches effective negotiation skills. One interesting note, my name is no longer on the book, because after I sold my interest in the company to my business partner, the company took my name off of the book. While at the time it felt like a low blow, it was actually one of the best things to every happen to me in my life, as it greatly humbled me, and I will now fully admit that I was someone who needed a good dose of humility, and being humiliated by having my name taken off a book that I co-wrote was my 'come-uppance' that I need to ground me.
At the top of my bucket list is
to love my life and share that love with others every day. I have been so insanely fortunate to have been able to do the things that were on my bucket list - write books, tour the world doing seminars - run a company. What I learned by losing much of these things in my life is that they did not matter at all and all that mattered was loving my life by loving others day in and day out. If that remains the only thing on my bucket list, I will have lived an awesome life.
I am currently working
with a sales team and we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us where everyone has unlimited opportunity, but it will take hard work to get there. We are knocking the cover off of the ball, but recently have been slowed, because like in many sales roles, after you close the deal, you have to manage the customer, and that has slowed us down. We need to become more efficient in the way we manage our pipelines and we need to know that there is work you do between 9-5, which has to be focused on clients, and work you do after 5PM, which should focus on administration. That is tough for some people to understand, but if you want to make over $100,000 in your 20s and 30s, that is the kind of dedication it takes. I mostly try to focus the team on the 'why' of what they are doing, which is often building up a solid nest egg to support their current family or future family so that they can take care of them in a way they feel is appropriate. Once they have that future vision in their framework, they we can help them succeed.
Mark Jankowski, President of Amplified Learning
Mark is the President of Amplified Learning, a consulting company that helps companies build highly customized training programs that are focused on solving their current problems. For over 20 years, Mark has worked with corporate clients and large groups of professionals to hone their skills and enable them to achieve their goals. Mark is a member of the PAR Leadership Advisory Board, and also spends his time mentoring outside of the business world and inside Baltimore city. He is the co-founder of “Hands on Baltimore,” an organization created to match young adult volunteers with charities throughout the Baltimore area.