Enterprise Building Challenge Stories

from Pat Alacqua

Harness Power of Insight from Experts Who’ve Been There

The Flexible Entrepreneur

How Jeff Hannah combined a pragmatic approach
with creativity to succeed in the world of face-to-face marketing.

Jeff Hannah’s career of nearly 30 years is soaked in a variety of influences, but he reveals over and over one influence above all others.

His own pragmatism.

His business realm is ruled by facts and the practical application of business ideals.

Hannah, who has been in the exhibit and trade show industry since 1994, asks a lot of questions and accurately defines a challenge, or problem. He considers his resources to do a job. He carefully crafts a strategy to win a job and sets guiding principles. He researches and strategizes.

This is how you succeed.

It all seems calculating, pure business, and strict bottom-line. But then Hannah mixes in one other influence, which takes off some of the hard edge of his practicality.

His travel abroad.

“Having worked so closely with people all around the world, I learned that people have extremely varied viewpoints and philosophical approaches to life, morality, and business,” Hannah said. “So having alignment is very important. If you don’t have alignment, people will be trying all sorts of ways to get to the finish line. Some ways may be ok, but many are not.

“This makes the journey just as important, if not more so, than the final destination.”

This is what good leaders, like Hannah, do. They combine pragmatism with idealism. He is not purely goal-oriented, but enjoys the process of doing a job, which can be exhilarating in the creative environment of the exhibit and trade show world.

Hannah started in the industry in 1994 and worked for 12 years with the I&D Group (today is named Nth Degree) where he focused on design, project management and creative direction. It was an era of face-to-face marketing, and he did this around the world, gaining exposure to global brands and cultures.

That early traction allowed him to start his own company, Nuance International, which was based in Atlanta. Nuance concentrated on design and project management globally for trade shows and high-end permanent interior environments. The business grew to include offices in London and in Abu Dhabi.

In 2011, Hannah sold Nuance International to a Dutch holding company, Gielissen Interiors & Exhibitions and continued to work there for five years. In 2016 his career propelled forward when he was hired for a key leadership role at Exhibit Concepts in Dayton, OH., as Vice President of Creative, Interiors, and International. Hannah is still with Exhibit Concepts, now as VP of Strategy.

His role at Exhibit Concepts is what a successful career looks like when it is in full bloom. He focuses on development of overall strategies for the company, providing industry representation and thought leadership, driving strategies for winning business opportunities, executive sponsorship of its ECI University, and mentoring other leaders.

"If you don’t have alignment, people will be trying all sorts of ways to get to the finish line. Some ways may be ok, but many are not."

What else about Jeff Hannah’s career?

He connects some dots with a Q&A:

When facing a big challenge, what keeps you stuck?

“The administrative stuff. I’m slow at it, and it can bog me down, things such as scheduling meetings, booking travel, etc.”

“For most of my career, I have relied on the help of a strong administrative assistant. It seems like in some business circles, having an administrative assistant is frowned upon these days. And, often, that kind of position is seen as merely a stepping-stone to something more important in their career. This is a critical role in my opinion. If you find the right fit with someone who really enjoys this type of work, it can be exceptionally effective.

“I always tried to find someone who could run alongside me at a fast pace. This way, I could easily hand stuff over to them for help getting it done. They can do it much faster and more efficiently than I can anyway. It’s a win / win!

Right People On The Bus

Into The Right Seats

What typically frustrates you?

“Recurring, systemic problems. People sometimes make mistakes. I understand that – and I make them myself on a regular basis. But, when systems are not organized correctly, and people who are part of those systems are not empowered to change them or fix them, then you just continue to see mistakes produced by those broken systems. When organizations fail to allow people to play to their strengths, you are missing huge opportunities for growth and success.”

“Another thing which typically frustrates me is the failure to recognize and reward CREATIVITY! In some organizations, people with new ideas and suggestions are quickly shut-down and silenced. I believe all humans are creative. That doesn’t mean all humans are artistic. There is a big difference. I think that people often fail to distinguish between the two.

“We don’t always need someone to be artistic per se, but we DO need them to think creatively! Good, creative ideas can come from anyone – or from anywhere within an organization. So, be open to that – and don’t shut people out just because they are not part of the management team, or part of the design / creative team. A statement that I have popularized in the past few years within our organization is “Creativity doesn’t reside JUST in one department.”

“Creativity doesn’t reside JUST in one department.”

Everyone Can Be Creative

Guarding Against

Ready - Fire - Aim

What keeps you up at night?

“The ready, fire, aim mentality. When leaders want to push stuff forward, even though we aren’t sure if it is the right thing to do, the idea that ‘we need to make progress’. Just because you are doing stuff, doesn’t mean you are being productive, or doing the right, best things. The strategy needs to be in place before you just start doing stuff.”

What do you wish was easier?

“Communicating with everyone throughout the organization. With the new remote-working environments, it is even harder to keep everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction in terms of what we are wanting to achieve. People hear the same message in different ways – or filter the message through their own framework – and interpret things differently.”

What is in your blueprint for success?

Hire the absolute BEST people you can afford. Then, work carefully to get them into the right seat on the bus (from Jim Gilmore, Good to Great). There is no substitute for having really amazing people on your team. Play to everyone’s strengths and backfill around areas of weakness.

“It is extremely important to have a philosophical alignment with your leadership team when undertaking any big initiatives, or even charting the course for your business. Having worked so closely with people all around the world, I learned that people have extremely varied viewpoints and philosophical approaches to life, morality, and business. So, having alignment is very important.”

“When people fail to collaborate, they generally produce less than outstanding results.”

“It is extremely important to have a philosophical alignment with your leadership team when undertaking any big initiatives, or even charting the course for your business.”

Communicating

World-Wide

Culture and Language

Impact Alignment

Guardrails For Success

“The process is here for US, we are not here for the process.”

What else is part of your blueprint for success?

“I usually create things like vision statements, or mission statements to start the alignment process. Then, I create ‘guiding principles’ which are guardrails, or guidelines, for developing the ‘thing’ that we are doing. In those, I am listing the ‘why’ we are doing things a particular way. What is okay, and what is not okay. I try to be holistic, but not too specific to every situation. It’s also important to determine how you will measure success. What will success look like? How will we know if we have achieved it?”

“Good processes and procedures are critically important. They have their place. But, don’t get too hung-up on them, as some often do. Processes aren’t going to always address every situation or solve every single problem in your organization.

“I like to remind people that our processes exist FOR the people in our organization. People are not just here to DO the processes. The process is here for US, we are not here for the process.

What is the biggest reason business leaders fail to solve a problem?

“People are just trying to deal with the symptoms and not the root cause(s), simply because they don’t know what the problem really is. Leaders may believe they know what the problem is – or what someone told them it is – but that may not be accurate. Leaders fail to ask for input from people on the ground; their info is getting filtered through layers of others, who may slant, skew, or twist the problem. So, seek input from a wide variety of people (especially within your organization).

"Asking the right kinds of questions of a potential customer in a bid-process can be a game-changer."

Share a few strategies at solving problems or reaching for opportunities.

“Do your homework. Prepare. Anticipate everything you possibly can. If you are going for a big customer project, learn everything you can about this company, what drives them, and what they want – and plan your solution(s) around that. The more background research and information you have about them, the better you are.

“Ask good questions, but don’t ask the basic stuff that you should have already known before you walked through the door. That’s insulting and a waste of people’s time. Ask the RIGHT questions – the ones that cause them to pause and think about things they may not have had to think about before. Asking the right kinds of questions can be a game-changer!”

“Go broad before you go narrow. Explore a broad array of options before just going directly to the “one” solution. Too often, I see people make snap / quick judgements when looking at a situation – and go directly for the one answer they see, failing to consider anything else. In reality, there may be several better solutions out there that you haven’t yet taken the time to consider.

Don't Be Fooled By Symptoms

Questions

Lead To Solutions

Get Advice You Need

How do you deal with competitors in a selling situation?

“I am a firm believer that you can strategically outwit or outsmart your competition. Having a good design is important, and assembling the best team for the project are necessary, but you also need to try to understand who your competitors are and what the differentiators are for your organization. You can play to and emphasize your corporate strengths without ever needing to mention the competitors.”

Where do you go for advice?

“Once I started working in C-level roles, I engaged an Executive Coach, who was incredibly helpful to me. I’ve written about this previously, and talked about it on podcasts. But, in short, having someone who isn’t ‘in’ your business and who can come alongside and giving you advice, and be a sounding board can be invaluable. You can’t always talk to people within your organization about some of the issues you are facing.”

Is there anything you would do different?

“I would have learned another language, or two – at least to some degree. I have spent most of my career working around the world (in over 50 countries). I’ve learned basic things in about 10 languages, but knowing multiple languages would have been one thing that could have helped me more than almost anything else.”

"Have someone you can ask for advice who is not in your business. You can’t always talk to people within your organization about some of the issues you are facing.”

What’s your best advice for someone taking on a challenge?

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.
Start with WHY.
Alignment is critical.
Whatever you focus on tends to expand.
Follow the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Approach – promoted / popularized by Seth Godin.”

What’s the core message you would offer others before they tackle their next big challenge?

“It is very easy to get overwhelmed. It’s easy to lose perspective. Try to step outside of the problem long enough to get some perspective. Talk to trusted mentors and advisors to get other perspectives. Looking at all of it at once can be overwhelming. You need to look at it all from a planning standpoint to some degree, but then break it down into manageable chunks.

"That's the main reason they struggle—they haven't really decided. They just have an inclination they'd like to be successful at something, but decision is paramount."

Preventing Overwhelm

Overcoming

Language Barriers

Don't Let Perfection

Beat You To Market

What is your passion away from work, perhaps into the community?

“I have had a vision for a number of years to create Sand Sculpting Camps for Kids and Snow Sculpting Camps for Kids across the country, and maybe around the world. In a similar way that you can learn so much from being in sports camps, there is much that kids can learn from sand camps and from snow camps. Not all kids are overly athletic. More crafty and creative pursuits might be a better fit for them.”