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National Association of Women Business Owners Q&A with MDI Group CEO Ella Koscik

The following questions were asked by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in 2010.  The responses provided by MDI Group CEO Ella Kosik provide additional insight into her perspectives and strategies as a business leader.

Q: What is your business philosophy and how is it manifest in your organization?

A: My business philosophy is completely simple: focus on the people, and it’s almost impossible not to succeed. Whether those people are the team I work with every day, the consultants we retain to bring value to our clients, our individual clients themselves, or the people we serve through our philanthropy in the community, the philosophy holds true.

From the outset, I’ve worked really hard to build a talented team of people at MDI who truly trust one another and work as a team of peers. I look for people who know more than I will ever know, and pursue talented people with qualities I think really can’t be taught – things like empathy, a strong work ethic, and a sincere team orientation. To be honest, you have to constantly work to push yourself out of your own comfort zone because you end up with people who are the very best at what they do and will challenge you every day – but it’s that interaction that keeps your whole team at the top of its game and ensures you never become complacent.

Of course our business is also about people – putting consultants with clients – and here too the focus on people as more than a number or a dollar sign makes all the difference. We describe ourselves as a ‘high-touch’ organization because we do a lot of legwork on every placement we make to understand much more than the bare minimum job requirements. We want to know not only about the nature of the project the consultant will be working on, but also how the project fits into the client’s larger business and how that person can really add value to the organization. Then there’s consideration of the ‘softer’ but no less critical components – things like finding candidates who are going to mesh well with the culture of the organization they’re going into.

There’s no question it requires considerably more effort to delve into all these areas for every placement, but ultimately it means we provide only a few candidates to our clients before they find a ‘fit’ rather than throwing 10 or more resumes at them before they find someone they like – that’s what a lot of the large transactional staffing ‘machines’ churn out. Again, it’s just a difference in philosophy. But the focus on people means the client is happy and considers us a trusted ally, the consultant is happy and feels like part of our ‘family’, and of course, we’re happy too because the success just follows. We also continue to care for those consultants over the life of their projects just like we do our own internal people. We have a great reputation that spans more than 20 years and we’re in this for the long haul, so you can’t lose focus on how the success is being generated –talented, high-quality people.

And focusing on people in our community, especially those who need extra help, is perhaps the place I’m most proud of the team of people we have in every MDI office. In fact, the MDI team has so focused on people in the community that in 2007, we felt we needed to create a Philanthropy Committee to support and manage the people-focused activities happening across the entire organization. We also provide an additional paid day off each year to each employee to work on behalf of the philanthropy of his/her choice. I am extremely proud to say the MDI team has collectively supported the following organizations in considerable donations of time and resources:

Again, the focus on people is front and center. We are all fortunate to be in the situations we have in life, and the right thing to do is to give back – it’s just an added bonus that we feel so good doing what we do.

Q: Why did you start your company? What obstacles/challenges did you have to overcome as a woman business owner?

A: I worked for MDI for six months before purchasing it almost 20 years ago. In those first six months as an employee, I was able to quadruple the revenue of the business and take us from 15 consultants to 50, which also allowed me to gain 50 percent ownership of the company. At that point I really felt that I had significant insight into the nature of the business we were in, how we could provide better value than our competition, and how our goals could best be accomplished. The faster the business grew, the more I believed I could lead a team of people who could help me scale and accelerate that growth. Not long after, I purchased the company, and (now) with more than 20 years of consistently profitable growth, I think my original goals have been more than realized. It’s an amazing situation to be able to do what you love, grow a team of people who can help you do it bigger and better, have everyone profit and benefit from what you’ve created – and then of course give back to the community both as an individual and as a team.

And I don’t think I’ve really focused too much on the challenges posed by being a woman business owner. Of course there are always people who are going to take you less seriously or be dismissive because you’re a woman, but I’ve found that focusing on the quality of the work you’re doing means you’re chosen by clients because you’re the best at what you do. So even the skeptics come around because they see what you’re able to help them achieve – that’s where the rubber meets the road. In other instances, a ‘woman-owned’ status has sometimes provided us with access to larger companies we otherwise may not have gotten face time with. But the reality there is that you have to immediately show the value you bring to the client, whatever your gender. So my feeling is really that you must be the best at what you do – period. Then the conversations stop being about your gender and start being about your value. Once you’ve established value, most of the gender-related obstacles really just evaporate.

Perhaps the biggest challenge I’ve had in the business has been to determine our strategic response to the recent economic downturn, which has had a tremendous impact on our clients and, by association, on us. As a professional services company that provides people, our industry is tied inextricably with the economies of the clients we serve – if they’re just trying to survive, they don’t need large numbers of people from us (or of course anyone else). But it’s always the trying situations that test your mettle, and I’m proud to say that MDI’s decision to remain true to our core focus on people produced a silver lining to what could have been a devastating economic environment.

As we looked at the effects the changed economic environment was having on the industries we serve, we made a conscious decision to refine our model to make our interactions with clients even more high-touch and close knit. So instead of scrambling for what had become a dwindling pool of opportunities, we used this time to become even closer to our clients’ businesses and gain an even greater understanding of the nuances and intricacies of their needs. We’ve always had the reputation of providing ‘best fit’ candidates, but with the increased focus on providing value to our clients, we were able to alter the way we do business so that MDI actually became more profitable, even as overall revenue dipped with the economy. The greater profitability we enjoyed has allowed us a luxury few businesses can afford at this point in time – to reinvest in and strengthen our core businesses. Of course this allows us to serve our clients even more fully, allows us to care for our consultants more comprehensively, and allows our staff to reap some of the rewards of having weathered the economic storm and come out stronger.

Q: How are you serving as a role model? Describe how your business has impacted your personal life, the employees and customers you serve, and the community where you live and work.

A: I do hope that I have been a role model for young (and not as young) women who want to aggressively and successfully pursue business and career goals, showing them that virtually anything is within their reach if they are able to keep a constant eye on their primary goal, surround themselves with the right individuals, and maintain the focus on people that I believe is so critical to long-term success. I feel that this focus has substantially benefitted ALL of the groups of people around me, from employees, to consultants, to clients, and of course to the community.

Beyond the business arena (but integrated into the core philosophy of MDI), I have always personally tried to be a role model in giving back to the community, donating significant amounts of time and money to organizations whose missions are to genuinely help raise the quality of people’s lives – I encourage our teams to do the same. But I’ve been perhaps most proud that as new MDI offices open, those offices have aggressively pursued their own philanthropic goals without any guidance from me or our headquarters – it’s as if the people we’ve chosen consistently have a heart for the community and feel strongly about the need to give back in whatever way seems right to them. For all the business success we’ve had, I still think I’m proudest of this piece of what makes us MDI.

In trying to live out what I believe, I’ve established a scholarship fund for a student from my rural home town high school each year who is studying computer science. It’s called the Dale E. Nero Scholarship Fund, in memory of my Uncle Dale, who really inspired me to strive for excellence in everything I was doing. Almost 10 years into the scholarship’s existence, I think it’s really helped a number of students advance their education.

As another avenue to contribute to the less fortunate in the community, I also started the Ella Marie Foundation, through which I’ve had the opportunity to donate more than $50,000 to philanthropies, such as the Atlanta Food Bank and the Children’s Wish Foundation. Outside the office, I am also actively involved in Girls' Opportunities for Adventure and Leadership (GOAL), which in 2005 presented me with the “Going for the GOAL” award for demonstrating commitment to the development of strong, competent, and emotionally healthy young women and girls. As a mother of three daughters, I could not be more committed to this cause or the organization that supports it.

Which brings me to priority number one – my family. While there’s no question that being actively involved in running a growing business is time and labor intensive, my first commitment is to the three young women at home with me – my daughters – Olivia (13), Isabelle (12), and Ansley (8). They are, collectively, my number one joy and number one focus. I make it a habit to work from my home office when that’s possible, which not only allows me time with them, but also lets them see the kind of rich life I want them to experience as women – a life that has business and career challenges and successes if they choose that, but which at the core is grounded by family.

Q: What legacy do you want to leave to the next generation of women entrepreneurs?

A: I want to leave the next generation of women entrepreneurs with the certain knowledge that they can achieve anything they set their minds to, and in so doing, can change their world. I’d like to leave a business climate where it’s a little easier to compete on substance over stereotype – one in which the achievements of this generation make it a little easier for the next one to succeed, not because they’re receiving special dispensation as women, but because the quality of the products and services their enterprises produce are superior and recognized as such. Today’s women entrepreneurs owe a great deal to the women who came before us and wore down the rough edges on stereotypes around roles and levels of business success that had traditionally been male. So with each generation of women that pushes that achievement envelope just a little farther, it makes it easier for the next truly talented, committed group to rise to the top without wasting unnecessary time and effort proving they deserve to be in the competition to begin with. I hope my legacy is to have worn off a few more of those rough edges so that everyone can compete based on the quality of what their enterprise produces and not based on their gender.

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