John Grover
John is the Vice President of Client Engagement responsible for onboarding most new clients and ensuring they are set up for success. He also chairs our Sales and Influence Center for Excellence coordinating programs for optimizing salesperson and sales leadership effectiveness.
Aristotle said that “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” By knowing ourselves, we can begin to understand more clearly the necessary vision for success, our part in it, and work to lead others by understanding the way forward. We do this through helping others see themselves and their world in new ways while getting past the obstacles to optimization. As managers, we help others understand themselves better and how they can make progress through contributing their individual strengths and abilities to the success of their organization. As managers understanding ourselves well, we subsequently understand how to bring engagement and ownership to any group of people while increasing trust. And we always remember that for any manager, it’s about hitting the numbers and achieving the needed results.
John has worked in both service and manufacturing environments. He held P&L responsibility and served as Vice President, National Accounts for a well-recognized consulting firm. He assisted authors of such books as:
Customer Responsive Management (Davis/Manrodt)
The Oz Principle (Connors/Smith/Hickman)
How Did That Happen (Connors/Smith)
…and wrote his own book, “Just Tell Me What To Do” on the subject of management.
In graduate school (Thunderbird, now a unit of Arizona State University), he was awarded a research grant which took him around the world. He reported his results at the United Nations in New York. During military service, he was awarded the US Army Commendation Medal for his work in the first Organizational Effectiveness Section of the US Army Reserve. He also was asked to speak for the US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration at conferences in New York.
What attracted you to the mission of CGL?
First, there are the people involved. Second, the CGL mission parallels what I believe is important – optimizing talent. There are two quotes that point to this attraction of CGL. “The price of light is less than the cost of darkness.” (Arthur Nielsen, Founder of the Nielsen Corporation.) Nielsen’s quote simply yet powerfully overarches all that we try to do at CGL – provide light to avoid the mistakes, frustrations, missed opportunities, and disappointments that come with not seeing or understanding the less recognized ways of successful leadership while also leveraging the genius existing in each one of us. The second quote is from Aristotle, who said “Those who know, do. Those who understand, teach.” Aristotle’s quote points to leadership – those who understand themselves well are more prone to understand how to lead themselves and others while developing those who report to them. CGL is about covering all these points and more in seeking to optimize leadership and management.
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” (Vince Lombardi) To excel, we must know. To know, we must understand – ourselves and others.
In his spare time, John enjoys reading books on management, military history, and philosophy.