GLOBAL TEAM BUILDING SUMMIT IN MIAMI - INTERNAL EPISODE | E029 PODCAST

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INTERNAL EPISODE FROM MIAMI

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida with the entire executive team of Ideoli Group at the annual Global Team Summit on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast. Talking about global business, international expansion, cultural differences, and the importance of face time with a team so diverse and spread out.

Ideoli Group hosted a global team summit—their first in-person gathering since the onset of the pandemic. Against the backdrop of sunny Miami, Florida, executives from around the world reunited for a transformative four-day retreat in South Beach. This long-awaited reunion was not just a meeting—it was a momentous occasion that brought together Ideoli's international team to reconnect, strategize, and collaborate in person once again.

Set against Miami's iconic skyline and pristine beaches, this immersive experience was a blend of work and play, fostering innovation, camaraderie, and team building. From exhilarating boating adventures to relaxing yoga sessions, each activity served to strengthen bonds and create unforgettable memories.

Join us as we uncover the unique moments, insights, and achievements from Ideoli Group's landmark event—a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the enduring spirit of teamwork.

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“We couldn’t wait any longer to get our team together for a summit. The impact was instant.”
— George Stroumboulis

MEDIA RELATED TO THE EPISODE

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida with the entire executive team of Ideoli Group at the annual Global Team Summit on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast. Talking about global business, international expansion, cultural differences, and the importance of face time with a team so diverse and spread out.

George Stroumboulis challenges his workout buddy to 50 pushups. Mark will never turn down a pushup or plank challenge - whether it’s in the office, the coffee shop or the middle of the street.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Chris Hartswick, Co-Founder and CTO for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Janeen Canzone, leading the Client Services, Project Management and Quotation initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Armando Vargas, leading the Product Development initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Matias Samaniego, leading the Graphic Design initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Georgios Mavridis, leading the Product Design initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Vito Bonsignore, leading the Design and Rendering initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Mark Lu, leading the Production initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Kostas Varnavopoulos, leading the Athens Office and Marketing initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Abby Grodin, leading the Project Management and Operations initiatives for Ideoli Group.

George Stroumboulis sits down in South Beach, Miami, Florida to talk with Perry Karen, leading the Business Development initiatives for Ideoli Group.

ABOUT THE “INVIGORATE YOUR BUSINESS” PODCAST

The Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis podcast features casual conversations and personal interviews with business leaders in their respective fields of expertise. Crossing several industry types and personal backgrounds, George sits down with inspiring people to discuss their business, how they got into that business, their path to the top of their game and the trials and tribulations experienced along the way. We want you to get inspired, motivated, and then apply any advice to your personal and professional lives. If there is at least one piece of advice that resonates with you after listening, then this podcast is a success. New episodes weekly. Stream our show on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, Amazon and all other platforms.

ABOUT GEORGE STROUMBOULIS

George Stroumboulis is an entrepreneur to the core, having launched several ventures across multiple industries and international markets. He has held senior-level positions at progressive companies and government institutions, both domestically and internationally, building an extensive portfolio of business know-how over the years and driving profit-generating results. George’s ability to drive real change has landed him in several media outlets, including the front page of the Wall Street Journal. George was born in Toronto, Canada to his Greek immigrant parents. Family first. Flying over 300,000 miles a year around the world puts into perspective how important family is to George’s mental and emotional development. With all this travel to global destinations, the longest he stays even in the most far-out destination is 3 days or less - a personal rule he lives by to make sure he is present and involved in family life with his wife and three daughters. To read about George’s global travels, stay connected with his blog section.

FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT

George Stroumboulis - Host:

This episode comes from sunny South Beach, Miami, ​Florida. I flew in my entire executive team from ​Ideoli Group. We tackled business topics like strategy development, sales, cultivation, customer service, personal development and so much more. We also partied in between sessions with karaoke nights, big dinners, yoga retreats, push-up competitions and so much more. We have a very diverse team here. Everyone came in from all over the United States, Argentina, Greece and China. You will get to meet each of my executive team members in this episode as well, so enjoy this episode of Invigorate your Business with George Stro​umbo​ulis, starting now from South Beach, ​Miami.

00:45

My name is George Stro​umbo​ulis and I'm extremely passionate about traveling the world, meeting new people and learning about new businesses. Join me as I sit down with other entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys. This episode of Invigorate your Business starts now. We're in South Beach, miami. We are, yes, and this is a special episode because basically, the foundation of even this conversation, this podcast, is about the business, our business. We veer off, have other conversations, but this is our baby ideally group, what we're doing. So we're in Miami. It's the first time we've came together as a team globally in four years Four years exactly.

01:32

To the month To the month. So we're coming off a rough period of COVID. We're done with that. We're growing, we're in explosive growth mode and we're adding members to the team, but this core has been here for years. Right, and we decided to bring everyone together and we have countries from China, argentina, greece, canada, bulgaria, usa, obviously Anywhere else. Think we covered? Nope, yeah, pakistan.

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 02:04

Right.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 02:05

Got to forget Pakistan. So we have a bunch of different cultures and people with different backgrounds, but all passionate about lighting, the design and what we do. So in here in Miami, just talk to me from your standpoint. What does it mean to you as a co-founder, business owner of this company?

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 02:24

Yeah, I mean it's incredible, honestly, because you get so focused on the day-to-day stuff, you get so focused on working remotely that you don't even realize sometimes how big the team is. Right, you see the team as a name or a number on a sheet of paper, but then when you get everybody in the same room and you see the dynamics and, more importantly, just realizing how amazing of a team we were able to put together Right, like in all honesty, we are very lucky, right, our core team is just solid. Everyone gets along, everyone are good people at heart, absolutely, and being physically together, working together, seeing the dynamics, it's just like it's so uplifting. That spirit is just. It feels good Like, it feels like you really have the good culture together and it's awesome.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 03:15

We're so lucky that first night everybody flew in Sunday from everywhere like as close as two-hour flight here in Florida or New York as far as like China, argentina, greece, and we all came here different times throughout the day. But at nighttime we meet at a local Cuban restaurant and at first it's like catching up and like three hours later we're drinking, we're eating, we're singing fake happy birthdays, cutting cakes, and it was kind of weird because I felt like I was getting together with friends from college and we're just interacting, but it's with your coworkers Right when it's not meant to be that fun. So it's just a cool thing, the purpose of our trip. So some people I've been talking with trying to get advice CEOs in the space it's like, hey, when you're doing a summit, what are your goals, what are you trying to achieve? And they asked me the question.

04:11

I asked you the question what are we trying to achieve out of this? And it's a few things, but I think the main message for us coming out of this was just learning more about our teammates and who we go to war with, because it's very easy to just lose that contact and it just becomes work. So that's the number one thing and then just coming together and having a strategy for growth and explosion and not just survival mode, which we've been doing the last few years, Absolutely. What are your thoughts?

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 04:40

I mean, I think it was so successful, but it was even from my standpoint. It was weird, right, like you said, like going through the advice that we've got from other people that have run bigger teams and bigger corporations and such. I mean, our first day we essentially did no work. It was all personal. Let's get to know each other. We did personal presentations telling people about our lives, the good, the bad and just having that insight of like, wow, okay, I thought that was going to be strange, I really did, but it was so eye-opening, right, it truly brings everybody closer together. It brings everybody down to earth and realize, yeah, we're all going through the same shit in different ways. It doesn't matter what culture we're from.

05:23

Absolutely, it was actually awesome. It was really exciting to do that. The bonding was phenomenal. And then the second day is when we talk about business and because we made that personal connection the first day, I feel like the second day couldn't have been more productive. Oh yeah, just even more interactive. You know, one person's talking about marketing and we have our QC engineer from over in China commenting on the marketing. It's unbelievable how much interaction we had and how much just cooperation everyone was putting in on every aspect of the business. Absolutely, it was awesome.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 06:02

Well, and we created a platform for even ourselves to like. Let's break down barriers, because we all have barriers right Totally by doing that whole personal exercise, which was just an incredible advice from someone that was like this is what you do, you break down your barriers, you got to lead and we had people on our team that we knew. Certain struggles but deaths, depression, anxiety, financial issues health issues and everything in between, and people feeling comfortable enough to really get deep into it. The minute you knew that you're like oh, this person's a human.

06:39

This person's going through something. I'm going through something. I'll share some of my stuff too. We just created this platform and that was the whole day yesterday and then we took like a cool yacht ride and we took the team out and crappy Miami weather. But then the other side of it is we have our partners around the world that still haven't been to job sites that we've. You know, we're working on the projects. They haven't been there, and last night we went to one of our national accounts, Putshak, and we have our partners coming in like our employees and they're able to see the space.

07:09

We're able to drink and eat there and then, play the mini pot and just really see how our lighting brings it to it. It was so cool seeing their reaction to the space. Even though I still personally get excited when I share spaces right, it never gets tiring.

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 07:23

Right.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 07:24

But now seeing you know the employee that just flew in from Argentina, like, oh my God, this is amazing. That was so rewarding seeing that last night.

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 07:32

Yeah Well, and it's something everybody, regardless of what your responsibility is on the team, everybody's working towards that right. Everybody's working towards having a successful project. So to be able to see it, and be able to see it together and be able to talk about it and say, oh man, remember how we struggled on this aspect and remember how we didn't. We weren't sure what to do and we had this issue, but we got through it. And it's so important to be able to just see how all your hard work just came to fruition in such an amazing way. It was great.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 08:08

Yeah, and that was day one. Day two today was just breaking down our business by every department. Everyone was tasked before coming here. Break down every department, from operations to production, to marketing, to sales, to everything in between, and poke holes at it. Let's not pat each other on the back. This whole trip is to pat ourselves on the back. But how can we make it better? And a lot of the stuff we're from the outside looking in it's like, oh, this seems like they got their stuff together on this. We're still poking holes at that to make it better and everyone on our team is commenting, strategizing. We have action items.

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 08:44

Well, and sharing their struggles, right? Yes, and again going back to yesterday, sharing the personal struggle. When you are talking and sharing deeply personal things with your team, it makes it so much easier to say, hey, I need help from a professional standpoint. Right, we need to fix this process. It's not as efficient as it could be. Whatever that is, it just no one was biting their tongue. It was such a productive meeting I honestly think it couldn't have gone better.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 09:18

Yeah, absolutely so. We're slowly going to bring in our executive team. There's about 10, 12, a dozen people here and we're going to have a few minute conversation as they come in and just talk about what a summit means. And this isn't for us to boast in any way that we're doing the summit. For us it's about showcasing to our partners, to people out there, other people in similar small to medium enterprises on the benefits of it, why it's important to do that. And then the other side of it is we built an international business together. It's not easy. Reoccurring themes that come up are time zone issues, challenges in communication, cultural barriers. The easy thing would have been let's create a regionalized, local, us-based company and just stay within this country, which is great. But our partners took us international and we expanded.

10:08

And just how do we figure that? But the one thing I know coming out of this you and I have been at this for close to a decade and it's like the partnership couldn't be better. We're so passionate about planning every element for this and in between we're dealing with a fire drill, about a production run and another fire drill and just being able to have that ying and yang on like, hey, Chris, I'm doing this, Do you mind doing that? Yeah, vice versa, Do you mind doing this? It just makes it so much easier. It's like one less thing to stress about.

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 10:38

Yeah, absolutely.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 10:39

So that's it. So from Miami, this is us. We've got other activities planned for tonight, so you let me know who's coming in next.

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 10:48

Okay, time to go, brother.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 10:49

Awesome man, we're rolling, so anything you say will be held. Yeah, right there, how do we look?

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 11:00

I don't know. I can't see the part you look like we're good.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 11:03

So this is introduce yourself.

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 11:06

Okay, my name is Janina. Wait, I look at you, or?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 11:09

Yeah, we talk. You look wherever you want, but it's our conversation.

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 11:12

But on a personal level, work level. Like am I introducing myself as yeah, as a yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 11:18

Okay, my name is Janine.

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 11:19

Kanzone, and I work Friday early as a vice president of projects.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 11:23

You make shit happen right.

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 11:25

Yes, I did.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 11:25

Across the board. So what we're doing today, we're talking about the summit, right, and then we're talking with our executive team just to get a quick intro and then just talk about. We're an international company. What does it mean to you, dealing in an international company and doing a summit Like? What are some of the challenges in having such a team scattered across the world? Just talk to me from your standpoint Some of the issues you often see.

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 11:52

Well, some of the issues that we do deal with on a daily basis is we all come from different backgrounds, different cultures, but it's mainly the time zones. We were just talking about this in a meeting having to find the time to finish projects on a certain deadline, waiting on someone else to respond to you, and then you realize, oh crap. You know, that slot that I had him available is now closed, like he's gone for the day, and we try to work around it, but it is a challenge.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 12:19

It is a challenge. Yeah, and you like. Since we've been working together years right at previous companies, you know how is it now, because you're managing people right Like a large department, and what you do with client relationship. How is it managing across with different cultures? Because you're not just managing people that are based in the state of Florida. You have people in Argentina, in China, in Greece. How was that? How have you learned to manage that and do a good job?

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 12:48

Oh well, being able to learn how to communicate with them. You know, you end up learning how they respond in certain ways. In the beginning it's challenging because you don't know where they're coming from when they're responding. I don't know this one actually, yeah, and it's okay I don't know how to word it the way it makes sense.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 13:10

No, no, I say is this unfiltered?

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 13:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I get it.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 13:14

Because you also have to deal with the culture.

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 13:16

Yeah, and that's what I'm trying to say. We get confused with each other. You know what I'm saying. You get all confused. You think you understand what they're saying. Then all of a sudden you're like wait, no, no, that's not what he meant. That's not what he meant.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 13:28

Yes, Plus your background, not to speak for you, but you're a no bullshit type of person, right, and that's why I love you. You're amazing at what you do, but it's that New York, let's get it done. Give me the answers so you have that. You just get things done. It doesn't matter Like deadlines will always be met and sometimes maybe culture see that and they're like whoa Right, but they've learned to accommodate and work with you on that. They know, and this is what is expected Makes us better.

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 14:00

Absolutely Right so it's good.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 14:02

And then just a summit in general. Like, what does it mean coming to a summit like this? Because you have a family, right, you're peeled away for three days, like that's not easy, but what are the benefits you see of having, like, a summit with such a global team?

Janeen Canzone - Guest: 14:14

Oh man, I look forward to this one. It's been a long time, but being able to get the face, face, face time with everybody getting it out, letting loose, just being ourselves joking around and really getting to know each other on a personal level. When you go back to work and everyone's back in their offices, you kind of look at them a little differently now, Totally. Like you get where they're coming from. Yes, and I find you find a little more respect for them and what they're doing and how hard they're working for you.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 14:44

And the struggles they've had. Right, yes, like we got personal with everything, absolutely, and that was the purpose of this. We're not trying to send a message. It was more like let's all get together, have fun. So that's awesome. I appreciate you sitting down. Okay, keep rocking. You're amazing. And if we could get a beautiful smile in there so we could get the head shot, that's awesome. And you send in whoever you want. Thank you, let's unclick this one. You're amazing, all right.

15:16

So next on the Rockstar list of partners that we work with, armando Vargas, we go back years. We've worked together. I've come to learn. First of all, on a personal level, you're just a good person. You just, if you're Armando's friend, that's it, friends for life. You have that person's back Incredible. On a professional level, you're the epitome of just get shit done Right, like whatever it is, at all costs and it's I love that mentality. Right, your background's immigrant family as well right, you had to hustle and do everything. So, on that level, just relate, you know. Company level, explain who you are, what you do at Ideoli.

Armando Vargas - Guest: 16:01

Yeah, no, it's been a great time here. I feel like since I was little, it's been instilled in me to be loyal and help those who helped me. So working with Ideoli and the people at Ideoli has been great. I feel like I'm working with family. It's not a job, it's more of a passion of mine. I want to help the company grow, and I feel like the same can be said about the management. They want to help see me grow. So just return to the favor Great chemistry and I just feel like my job at Ideoli is mainly just to help the engineers Make sure that they're on track, the drawings are correct. Communication with the factory needs to be top priority. That way we don't make many mistakes and we keep everybody on track, absolutely.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 16:53

I mean head of product development. It's a big deal. We are a product company and we're not just manufacturing one market, selling Like. You got to deal with all the headaches that come with that. Right the time zones, dealing with different subcontractor factories or component suppliers. Internal team located around the world helping us expand into new markets. Right, looking at South America, latin America, and just doing that. You have that entrepreneurial mindset to just get it done. How has it been working here, where it is such an international company? What some advice or challenges that you experience working in a company like this?

Armando Vargas - Guest: 17:32

I think the biggest challenge I've ever had here was when I would travel to China. Just the language barrier and the customs and how they live their life is just a little bit different than what we do over here. So mainly just getting adapted to that was probably the hardest. But I feel like after the first trip it was natural to me. I adapt quickly when I need to. I'll become a product of my environment, so I'll just match.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 18:00

Yeah Well, I mean, I remember one of your trips you went over there social network. You ended up having buddies that worked there, like all within one trip. You, just like you said, you adapt and you get it done. And even now you're spotting issues, just being able to have that mindset. So we did this global summit first time in four years because of COVID and global travel. What have you seen? What's the benefit of even having this from your standpoint? Bringing everyone together.

Armando Vargas - Guest: 18:27

The biggest benefit, I feel like, is seeing the team members face to face, just listening to them and hearing how their day to day is going and just realizing that they're not just robots or just coworkers, that they're also friends who can also become family. It's just a great experience just seeing them in person and talking to them.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 18:51

And you are this person like the compassion right, hearing everybody talk about struggles they've been going through that they haven't shared and just open form. Yesterday was like wow, man, like you put a human aspect to that.

Armando Vargas - Guest: 19:03

It definitely got to me, so it just was an eye-opener. It's like you just get so entangled with your problems that you don't think about it sometimes, so just hearing them is like we're all human.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 19:14

Absolutely. You all have feelings, Anything else in closing, just related to where we're going as a company and what you see like we are so international, but what do you see from that standpoint? Why should we be doing that?

Armando Vargas - Guest: 19:30

I feel like being international helps us a lot, because the team, this country, is founded by immigrants. Like I'm first generation, I was born in another country and it's just something that you just want to give back to the international community. Some people from Greece came over here and you just see the passion when they talk about doing stuff in Greece. Right, it's really different when you're doing something in your area or your country. Absolutely, dude, I appreciate you. Thank you so much.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 20:03

Keep rocking it. Okay, so we are sitting here now, next up on the executive list Matthias Samaniego. I butchered.

Armando Vargas - Guest: 20:18

I always butcher your name.

Matias Samaniego - Guest: 20:19

It's a tough one.

Armando Vargas - Guest: 20:20

Samaniego, it's all right.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 20:21

Yeah, so talk to me, talk to whoever.

Matias Samaniego - Guest: 20:24

It's okay, it's okay.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 20:25

Conversation to me what makes you less nervous? Anything, take camera, so tell me.

Matias Samaniego - Guest: 20:33

I can better talk to you in front of the camera.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 20:36

This is easier. Yeah, so talk to me. You're from Buenos Aires, argentina. Yeah, we've been working together for several years. Yeah, six years, Six years now. You are a backbone when it comes to the production of our materials to the client to win the orders right. So first of all, before we talk, tell me about living in Argentina and working for a company internationally. What are the pros and cons of that?

Matias Samaniego - Guest: 21:01

The pros and cons. The pros is that well, we get to have these kind of experiences, that's for sure. In Argentina, it's very important to speak a lot of languages. The English is the best one and to have the ability to learn English. Across all of these years, I have improved my ability in English like Absolutely Insanely. Also in Argentina. It's having economic problems, Of course. Yeah, All across the history of Argentina, but right now it's the worst word I've ever. So it's too much people looking for jobs outside of the country because it's very, very difficult to go monthly with that economic. So I'm actually pretty. I know my good position there, you know, and the privilege there to have the ability to work from the US or maybe many people turn to find jobs in Europe, but specifically US because of the time zones. It's a big deal.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 22:22

Yeah, it's a big deal, yeah, and we like I personally love Argentina for many reasons, right, the culture, the European influence, the people, like everyone I meet from Argentina is just like very open, very passionate. It doesn't matter what they're doing, they're just passionate people, right, and you see that when it comes to designing or lighting products with you and the other Argentinians, it's always it's your name that's associated with that, right? So it has this like great thing. Time zones a big deal. Right, we're international, we're able to tap into local talent, but time zones a big deal. So, specifically, what we have everyone talk about is this summit that we're doing. Right, first time in four years, we're together here in Miami. What does it mean for you to be able to get here, see the same faces, new faces, and just get to break down barriers and communicate?

Matias Samaniego - Guest: 23:13

It's great because before the COVID, I personally experienced just one summit meeting. That was in New York. That was a very important summit for me because it was my first time that I was seeing all faces and you cannot compare the. You know that you're talking to someone, but you know their voice, you know their gesture, you know their kind, you know everything about that person that you're talking in the computer. So that makes everything better. Yes, absolutely.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 23:54

Yeah, and it's very important, it's very important, yeah. And then coming here and hearing like personal things you've been going through and I'm sharing what I've been going through and everyone else like it's a beautiful thing, like honestly, that's left the lasting impression, like what's changed with you after spending this time with the core team here at Idaoli.

Matias Samaniego - Guest: 24:14

I think one of the most difficult things living in Argentina working for an international company is actually the communication. We have to have a tight communication and this kind of things makes me I think everyone else improve that. Yes, it's very important. So what I'm living to Argentina with me when I'm having the ability to know that I don't know. I just have 15 conversations with Mark head to head, yes, and Mark knows that he can ask me everything that he needs anytime and I know that I can do the same thing for him Absolutely.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 24:54

So that 5, 10, 15 minute talk is going to improve us a lot and save us a lot of time, absolutely, and now we just made it human because you guys have never met before. Exactly Right, so we remove that. We have drinks together. We like that. That was the whole point. Yeah, I'm very excited, I'm very fortunate to be working with you, man, so appreciate you sitting down. Thank you Everybody. Matthias, he's single Good looking guy. Anybody interested? Make sure you comment below. Let's go in there. Oh my god, ok, awesome man, thank you, thank you.

Chris Hartswick - Guest: 25:29

All right, let's go.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 25:35

Next up on this international team of IDOLI teammates that we have Vito Bonseniore, vito Nicolás, vito Nicolás.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 25:46

You guys don't know my second name.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 25:47

Yeah, come on, man, come on, we don't use it, but Bonseniore is got to be my favorite last name to pronounce. It's like it means good person.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 25:56

Good person yeah, Bonseniore.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 25:58

And that's what you are. You're a good guy. That's you saying it.

26:02

I'm not saying it, no no, I could speak to that. We actually how you join the team is an exciting story several years ago. So we're here in Miami, we're doing our summit now. Last time we got together was four years ago, but before that we had our summit and the week before we started doing some freelance work with you. Yeah, right, and we do the freelance work. Amazing at what we saw, great attitude, right. And then it was like, hey, do you want to work with us full time? Sure, ok, why not? Yeah, can you be in New York on Monday?

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 26:37

It was Thursday. Yeah, it was like. I won't forget that day any time soon.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 26:43

Yeah.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 26:44

I was working at my old office and suddenly I see like a phone call and a number, but they're a really long number. I didn't know where the number was. So I pick up, I say hey, Vido. I say what, who is this? And you started speaking to me with Chris, I think it was.

27:04

Yeah, and at that time I didn't get that much English and I couldn't understand you. So it was really hard to talk to you. And I remember you were saying OK, on Monday can you be in New York? It's Thursday. So, and my boss was looking at me, saying like what is this guy doing, speaking in English? What is happening here? Because at the time I was working with you. I was working like on my free time, so nobody knows, Nobody knew that I was working with you. Well, so I had to sit with my boss and say, OK, calm down, I have something to say to you. I had to go to New York and land it. He was saying like what? Well, I had been working. I told the truth, I was working with you guys and he allowed me. So I made all the paperwork during the weekend and on Friday it was my birthday, so I had that party. Then I took the plane right to New York.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 27:59

Yeah you got on the plane drunk, came up and you were sharp at the office and ever since then it was like from day one, just a positive attitude, everything Like we've been very fortunate and it's just been that constant communication. So here at the Global Summit we explained to the listeners before on. You know, we wanted to make this personal. First Yesterday we all shared stories and like tears were shed and you know we just we made ourselves vulnerable as a team, break it down and then from there it's easy to say, ok, you know what, maybe he's going through something or I'm going through something. It just makes it that much easier. Tell me, what does the summit like this mean? Coming together and getting to meet the global team on a consistent basis?

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 28:40

Yeah, I think it's really important because when you work every day with somebody you have to think about the other person is going through things. Things are happening every day, not only on the culture away, the politics, the personal life, different countries, different cultures, and when you are not face to face with somebody, it's really hard to tell if somebody is having a good time or a bad time. So doing these meetings at least a few times a year, you're getting in contact with those persons. You get to know much better the person you're working with and that's much more important, not only for me or for you. It's like the help of the company itself, because we are all humans at the end, so it makes the company more human.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 29:33

Absolutely.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 29:34

And it makes not only ourselves understand the other people, like the company itself becomes more sensitive to everything. So I think it's very important to be face to face at least once a year, yes, and to talk, to have fun, to go eat, to not only talk about job, to make a real contact with Absolutely. So I think it's really important to do this.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 29:58

Yeah, and yesterday was an example. We broke down everyone's barrier and that only comes back stronger together. It's like you really humanize it. So we're just doing quick conversations. Let me know from your standpoint what are some cultural differences you see between Argentinians and Americans that you've had to change to be able to adapt to and work.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 30:21

Well, I think the first barrier we have to manage is the language. We are not used to speaking English and Argentina, so trying to be fluid, like to share ideas or to communicate with you guys sometimes, is challenging, yeah, and I think that's the first thing we should be able to face. Then, if we are talking about culture, we have many things in common in culture. We can share the same jokes, we share the same humor, I think, and that's why, at least for me, it was kind of easy to integrate to the team, because every time I do a joke or a comment like everybody loves, so that makes things easier for me.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 31:05

Yeah, you got one of the best sense of humor in the company.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 31:08

I know it's a sense of humor, but it's my way of being. I'm like this and it would be hard if I say something and everybody stares at you and doesn't understand what you mean or what you're trying to say, and those situations never happened to me here. So that's something that I think. That culture, I think it's kind of global Because we are people from all around the world.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 31:33

Universal. Absolutely Like the music, Like music which my last question.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 31:38

I'm going to ask you.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 31:39

So that was a good segue.

Matias Samaniego - Guest: 31:40

This is good.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 31:41

Vito Nicolas Bonsignore, tell me and the listeners in Argentina about your band, about your musical background, like it's pretty impressive.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 31:51

Well, I play guitar. I start playing bass when I was a kid, but I never studied and neither I studied guitar. I was a self-taught. It all started when my father bought me a guitar when I was 14, 15 years old and I really wanted to learn rock and roll music because my father used to listen a lot of rock and roll, like Queen, michael Jackson, everything from that. So what I did to learn because I'm not a good student, so I always try not to go to school or go to any place that I have to study so what I did is I start, and at the moment we didn't have internet right now, so it was really hard to get tutorials. So what I did is I went to papers, to magazines, and I was looking at the photos of the guitar players. I was copying the fingers, looking at the photo, so OK, saying like that, and I learned playing like that for years and looking at photos.

33:02

That's incredible. It was a slow process, but I think if you're really passionate about it, you're going to make it.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 33:11

Well, from watching photos all the way to playing on major stages, that's a big.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 33:16

Yeah, I never imagined that that would happen, because it was frustrating sometimes when you try to do a chord and you cannot do it and you want to throw it in through the window. But I was consistent and it was a real passion for me, so that's why I managed to get better. I started playing with small bands on small venues and I got the chance ten years ago to be part of a bigger band, the name.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 33:52

The name Los heladeros del tiempo.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 33:53

That's going to be hard for the people to do.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 33:54

Well, not for Argentinians, but maybe for the other people, which translates into oh, we talk about the ice cream sellers of time, the guy who sells ice cream.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 34:02

yes, I don't know what's the word.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 34:04

What's been the highlight in those ten years of playing? What was one where you're like, hey, I'm really good at it.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 34:08

Well, I'm really proud of one show we did. There's a really big band, an old band actually in Argentina that is called Los Abuelos de El Anada. It's a really big band where big musicians came up from. We were the first musicians to gather all of them together again and make like a tribute show on a really nice place in Buenos Aires called La Ocina del Arte, and we have all these crazy musicians playing with us.

34:37

I was playing guitar with the best guitar players in the history of Argentina and we were sharing moments. We were playing their songs. They were telling us okay, guys, you guys are amazing, you guys play amazing, and that's a really big thing for me. I learned by myself and seeing myself ten years after playing with these guys. It was that's a big deal, it was really a big deal and that's. I think, everything is thanks to my dad, who pushed me to play guitar and he bought my guitar and he said you should play this, you should learn, you should listen to this music. Yes, and I follow everything and I'm grateful for that and it paid off right?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 35:22

Yeah, absolutely, and it helps with your creativity, man.

Vito Bonsignore - Guest: 35:25

Yeah, every day. Yeah, because if you focus on one thing only, I think your head gets stuck in there Too much.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 35:32

Yeah, you have to be best hands down graphic render, creating environments, bringing things to life. It's on another level, on what you're able to do and things that you don't know, your ability to want to learn. So thank you for being a part of the team, man, we value you. Thank you for your work. Big time man, thank you. So we have Perry Karen, who is the director of national accounts, head of sales at ID O Lee. Very smart guy, right. Big education, very, how do I explain? Your approach to it is just very methodical. It's soothing, right. It's not in your face. This is what you need, and then you're able to switch it into gear to close the sale. You're able to switch it into gear when things aren't going our way and you see the traces of like no, no, we're not leaving that money on the table. We're doing this, we're doing that. So we're very fortunate to have you ideally heading up the sales effort.

Perry Karen - Guest: 36:40

Fortunate to be here.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 36:41

Appreciate it, man. So just give a quick highlight Like who are you, what are you doing?

Perry Karen - Guest: 36:47

for us. Yeah, so it's fun. We're kind of reimagining the sales landscape from a manufacturing point of view. Right, we're not necessarily redesigning the wheel, but we're taking something that's kind of outside the norm and saying, hey, this is a great way to do things because it's with everybody involved, it's not down the line, but rather let's get everybody together and talk and make this a process. We're not selling a product. We're selling us a service to assist and make these beautiful things happen.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 37:17

Absolutely.

Perry Karen - Guest: 37:18

And it's great to be a part of that and to work with people that also want to do that, both inside and outside of Ideole.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 37:24

Absolutely so. You've worked with large organizations in the country, right American born Philly Thoreau showed out Philadelphia right there, lived in New York City. You understand this landscape. You understand our industry better than anyone. Fine Working with Ideole, smaller organization, right Boutique, in what we do, but international in scale, from employees, right From projects. How has that transition been from when you first started and trying to figure out the pieces with virtual people right, and then physically being here at the summit and just talk to me what you saw and then what you're seeing now?

Perry Karen - Guest: 38:03

It's awesome. I mean, one of the things that everybody talks about is how great it is to interact with you and Chris. That's one of the more common things we hear out. There is man that really.

38:14

Kissing ass right now, but that's fine, and so it's great to then see that that extends from you. Right, they always talk about a company as good as its leadership, and to come here and see the awesome team that was put together across cultures, countries, time zones is a testament to you guys, but also the passion of the people that we bring in and how we work together, and it was awesome to come to this, wondering, are any of those barriers going to be there? And that's what we have to start with, and it was a beautiful flow. Somebody who checks out our social media sees that we had a great time the other night together and that was all organic hours after meeting each other. Less than that for some of us.

38:53

That's such a good point, and it's just so much fun to work with a team that knows how to enjoy themselves and, like you said, kick it into gear when we need to Absolutely.

39:02

And I think that was the last few days we were like, oh, what else should we do for next year? And it's like we need more time because it's not a chore to do this together and it's beneficial for us and for everybody else because we remember together why we're doing this and who we want to be and who we want to help out there and it was awesome, yeah no, it was.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 39:22

That was such a good opening night 15 people flying in from different parts of the world and then just hours later drinking and laughing and I was telling Chris earlier it's like met up with college buddies that we haven't seen in a while and just kind of getting together. So that was awesome. How, dr Mead, just having a summit like this and then being able to refine our pitch to the end users here in the United States, does it help in any way?

Perry Karen - Guest: 39:50

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So sales is connected to everything. Right, we have to understand what's in our process, what we can do, what we can't do and what we want to do, how we want to help. And so to be able to talk to everybody in our company and the roles that they have and what helps them thrive, helps me thrive, helps our customers thrive because they can understand what we can do for them and all the different great things we can do. So to talk to everybody and see each step of the process really helps put the whole picture together. So we're not just here's the sales department, here's the marketing department, here's this department together and, hey, here's how we work with our designers, our engineers, our team and the outside. That way.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 40:34

And it's just been awesome to see and yesterday we broke down everyone's barrier right and for you to meet most of these people for the first time and to know personally what they've been going through. The last right and sharing that. Excuse me, that was magical. Just seeing that. And then today was just let's get to work and how are we going to make this better. But what I love was first setting the tone for everyone and the company, as we all work for sales right. It starts with sales and the pyramid has to support that effort and then getting feedback across all departments that were here today on how to help you and make it easier for you so we can go out there and do what we need to do. It's just a nice scene that the organization gets it.

Perry Karen - Guest: 41:18

Yeah, and it's awesome because, from my point of view, I'm just here to talk and explain how great the team is.

41:25

Right, that all I'm doing is presenting the awesome people that are behind me, that are able to do all of those things. Right, I can say anything I want, but if it's not true, it doesn't matter. Right To be able to back them. So for them to think, oh, it's all about helping sales, when my idea is, how does sales help us drive what we're doing, was really cool to see kind of both sides of that and to know that we're all on the same page that way, because I think we're kind of selfless in that sense. Right, we're all working towards the same goal, not worrying about what each person's doing or how we fit. We know that we all have a role and we all fit together to do that, and it's fun to be part of that when it's not that common to have everybody in the organization, big or small, drive in the same direction. Absolutely, and it was cool to know that most of us were on the same page even before this.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 42:16

Even before, yeah, bringing this together. And what I love is even today, there were certain aspects where we are combative, not in a negative way, it's like well, I think this, I think that, okay, this kind of makes sense. But we understand people's backgrounds right, and they understand the financial constraints of running a business and what we need to do. But for me, I'm extremely proud. I'm leaving tomorrow for Miami just way more energized and motivated than before, and I hope that's the same with the team 100%.

Perry Karen - Guest: 42:49

That's what it seems. Even just talking to them afterwards, you can just see the smiles that are genuine, because I think we all saw, hey, we're all trying to do something together and, like you said, maybe not necessarily combative, but willing to ask those hard questions, knowing that it's everybody working together and all those different viewpoints from our experiences, cultures, to bring those things that we don't all have right. We don't have all the same experiences, so you can find anything anywhere, any inspiration anywhere, so to get to talk to each other and think of ideas that are out of the box to one of us. But writing somebody else's wheelhouse really helps us develop an entire concept and not just segmented.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 43:31

I mean perfectly said right there. That's awesome. We have drinks to do tonight, we have our closing ceremonies, we do this is what we're going to call it. Yes, thank you for sitting down. We're going to definitely be having you on more and more as we grow this bitch.

Perry Karen - Guest: 43:45

Yes, it's a pleasure, it's been a blast and it's the beginning, which is wild. The beginning, it's awesome.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 43:51

Thank you, perry.

43:58

So I'm sitting here with I mean he's known as Mr Costas in the company.

44:04

Mr Costas, it's Costas Varnavopoulos, background TV expert right in the TV industry in Greece working for the largest networking grease from the editing, from the production side, and just being an expert in that space.

44:19

Right, we met each other doing a separate project years ago and then we just gravitated. We're like good guy, you're so willing to help me with a project and guide me, and ever since we hit it off and then we got the opportunity to work together here at IDOLI, and again from friendship, from trust and where we were able to build it to fast forward to today, kosta is the managing director of our office in Athens, greece, which we opened last July so about a year and a half now and since then it's been tremendous success in that market hiring a team, managing the office, growing sales, business development and then back to your roots of just developing media for our company, and no matter who you ask, they will always say the media. The production side of what we produce at IDOLI from a marketing, social side is bar none professional, so we're very fortunate. So talk to me a bit about your background, your experience of like working with IDOLI over the years.

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 45:22

Yeah, as you said, I started working for a Greek private television station stations from 1991. Worked for a couple of TV stations, Initially as a sound engineer, then as a video editor, Last 15 years as a trailers producer. Actually, this was my first approach to the international audience because I was producing content for pay TV subscriber network that was seen around the world.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 46:09

Absolutely.

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 46:12

Like us included. This is how we first worked together Exactly.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 46:17

So then, fast forward. Now you run the office in Greece for IDOLI. How has that transition been for you, from going from production side to managing an office, growing it, a PNL profit and loss sheet just doing that how has it been for you?

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 46:35

Yeah, in one word, exciting, Very exciting, because I went to a different area and that's the most exciting part and it's always exciting. I mean every day is exciting because I do things that I go outside my comfort zone every day, every day.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 46:57

Every day. That's the exciting part, absolutely, and stuff that you're not an expert in. We're quickly learning and just quickly the success we've had in Greece in a short one year winning the Mandarin Oriental and getting to do several of the lighting products at this five star resort. Winning another project that's in production now we can't talk about the second most iconic hotel in Athens.

47:22

Right Again, we'll announce that at some point it's going to be big. That's you managing these relationships, the team doing tremendous work, working with Noble and Kassadin Tlebikos and being able to do the Noble project and just a bunch of other stuff internationally as well. So it's been exciting the success of the office. We got a lot of stuff to do. But just talk to me to close this out how has this summit been for you? Knowing the team members over the years, meeting a couple new ones? What is coming together like this on a global summit?

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 47:56

mean for you A communication. I mean when we write into applications, communicating with others through applications, there's always something missing, and the communication that we get the chance to have while being together for a few days. I think it's vital for the company, it's vital for us. Another thing that's very important is that we get to see our products installed, because we always meet close to our installations. We get to see our installations and that's also vital to be able to see things that we worked on producing. Yeah, we had four months, four years, sorry, four years. Yeah, we had four years. I mean that was for the editing.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 48:50

Yeah, don't worry, there's no editing on this, we're rolling everything. No, it's been four years as a company to get together. We've obviously seen each other very frequently and next month you're coming back, you're going to be in New York, we have a big trade show, so yeah, it's incredible. Last question I have for you, for the listeners Culturally, what's one of the biggest differences in culture that you've struggled with between North American culture versus European Greek culture? Just something good or bad, where it's like, oh, this is different and we're different and I just we have to figure it out.

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 49:31

Yeah, the cultural differences exist. The cultural differences exist, but at this time, I don't remember. I mean, it has passed.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 49:44

We adjust.

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 49:45

Yeah, we adjust. I mean the main difference, the main issue that we could face would be the written over oral expression.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 49:53

Yes, yeah, but pretty much the biggest yeah.

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 49:57

And we've learned each other and I think throughout these years we have learned the American or the Argentinian culture.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 50:09

And all those nuances, yeah.

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 50:11

Absolutely. I think now we understand when somebody says something, it's cultural or it could be lack of vocabulary, yes, but yeah, I mean I think we're sincere in our relationship, absolutely, and yeah, and we're stronger coming out of summits like this.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 50:31

We know more about it. Yeah, costa, thank you. I appreciate the partnership, brother.

Kostas Varnavopoulos - Guest: 50:35

I appreciate it too. Okay, thank you very much. Let's rock and roll.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 50:43

Okay, so we're sitting here now with the second George in the company and I say second not from a, but Georgios Mavridis, exactly From Greece, from Thessaloniki, greece, which is in northern part of Greece, beautiful city, and George has been with IDIOLI for several years, six years now, right yeah, early on. So you were with us just right after the company started and you've seen everything, up and down and up again, and the growing pains and the successes. So you've been part of that and we're very fortunate. So let the listeners know who you are. What do you do at IDIOLI?

Georgios Mavridis - Guest: 51:24

Okay, well, I'm trained as an architect. I did a couple of years residential buildings, as well as monuments and restorations of monuments. After that, I started working for IDIOLI, where I started doing product design. Yes, so what I basically do is that I design the concept of fixture or of furniture and I'm in communication with manufacturing, with the factories, with project managers, to make sure that everything is concentrated in our documents and that we create what the client really wants.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 52:12

Absolutely and yeah, absolutely. And George is instrumental to us winning business right. So we design probably every month hundreds of different products. It's not a few, it's literally hundreds. We'll get a package today for a hotel and there may be 25 different products.

Georgios Mavridis - Guest: 52:31

Everything, custom.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 52:32

Everything custom. So every product goes through George's hand or through the department right and setting up the concept, getting it quoted and doing all that. So it's a lot of work in what we do right and what you're able to do and talk to me in six years from where you started to where you are just that learning curve right, it's tremendous. From where you were and now it's, you know, we depend on you so much to be able to do what you do.

Georgios Mavridis - Guest: 52:59

Yeah, that's true because I had to reprogram the way I think. As an engineer, I learned so much about the manufacturing processes as well as what are the needs and what the client actually wants for the final product. So, whether it comes to finishes, construction details, specific materials for specific situations, it has been a long journey and never ends. I mean, every new product is custom and which means that everything is built from scratch. Yes, and everything is like a school, let's say, for product design.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 53:37

Absolutely Like. If you go to our website, there's maybe a few hundred products we just list to show, but our database is thousands and thousands of products we've designed. So hats off to you. And you keep pushing yourself to learn more. Client facing meetings, whether it's meeting with an ambassador or going to a client meeting as needed, you're tremendous. You're very detail oriented, right, so we're very fortunate to have you on the team. I'm asking every one of our key executive team members what has the summit been for you? Like coming here and seeing everybody after several years?

Georgios Mavridis - Guest: 54:13

It was a great experience. It's great to meet in person to collaborate and speak about all the details about our everyday jobs and tasks that we have to do, get some feedback, reprogram and make things even better and more to the point.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 54:30

Absolutely yeah, and it's listen, it's a tiring flying from Greece to here for three days right, like it's tiring. We're having a lot of fun drinking, eating, and then, when it's time to work, we're really like getting into the deep of everything. So it's been exciting. Last question I have for you culturally, because we are such an international business, from day one, when you started with us several years ago to today, what have you changed about yourself to be able to communicate easier with all these different cultures?

Georgios Mavridis - Guest: 55:04

Well, every country has its own way of communicating, its own culture, so you need to slightly adjust the way you I mean. First of all, language is a barrier sometimes. You need to adjust the way you communicate all information to your partners in order to achieve what's best. Time zones might be also a new thing for this type of collaboration. But, above all, it's good that we get to know people from other cultures to design and work with them, because everybody has to give you something, to offer you something new that you use as a tool for all of the future jobs you do Absolutely so every day. It's like a school.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 55:53

Yeah absolutely. Yeah, my final comment is like I love we do these summits and then you see the different cultures right, the Greeks show up and they bring Greek coffee for everybody and a briki where you cook it, and Argentinians common it's well the messy jersey which we'll use to clean our shoes, but you know. But it's just, it's nice seeing that melting pot. And then you guys created these relationships that I love. Like you guys want to hang out, you guys stay in contact, you guys have these bonds.

Georgios Mavridis - Guest: 56:19

It's music, it's food, it's movies, it's goes beyond work.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 56:24

It's like yeah. So I want to thank you for just being a part of the team and helping us push forward. Appreciate it. Keep rocking, georgie. Thank you, thank you, Thank you. So I'm sitting here with Abby, who I could describe as the person in our organization that gets everything done whatever's needed, has a great attitude. When there's fire drills, the first one to get on the call, put out fires, happy to deal with angry clients, right. And then, by the end of the conversation or soon thereafter, those angry clients are happy, solutions are provided and we're very fortunate to be partnered with you and working together, right. So like, definitely appreciate that. So who is Abby right, and what do you do at IDOLY?

Abby Grodin - Guest: 57:20

I mean a little bit of everything, Everything from you know managing and jumping in on projects, back-end operations, logistics, shipping, and then encompassing with the back-end operations, so releasing. You know purchase orders, invoicing, dealing with coming up time for payment, dealing with government agencies. You know making sure our taxes are good, dealing with any potential legal issues that may be involved. Again, that's more on the back-end operation side and then on the front-facing, absolutely dealing with the clients. Dealing with customers, dealing with the projects, whether it's and whether a project is a single cylinder or a million-dollar decorative package. You know every client is given that same love and that same attention. Oh, absolutely. And you know if there's a problem we're going to fix it. Absolutely.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 58:13

And your background. You have an experienced background, right From marketing, from accounting, from all this, but coming to our organization, you didn't have that truly international Correct, and I say that that's just a statement, yeah, but fast-forward. Several years later you have become our in-house resident international freight expert, which is a science in its own right. There's university degrees on this that people go and get and you have navigated that and to me that has just been something where it's like, okay, like this shipment is going to London, this one's going to Dubai, this one's going to Singapore, and it's not as easy as relying on your freight carrier and your don Correct the tariffs, the freight, the balancing, when it's going, the certification, who needs to be paid and when, and it's its own science, right.

59:03

Yes, so talk to me specifically internationally from the day you started having a great skill set to where we are today. What have you learned about dealing internationally since being here?

Abby Grodin - Guest: 59:16

Sure. So with dealing internationally, exactly like you said, each country, each wherever you're going, there's a different set of regulations, right? So you're dealing with different rates for shipping. You could be dealing with, potentially, issues that may be going on in and around a specific area that are going to affect your travel, so those are things that you need to be aware of.

59:40

There are different things involving certifications. So if you are importing into Greece, you need to make sure that your CE certificate is on and ready to go, has to be written and labeled in a certain way, and that's everything that you need to come into Greece, but you don't need to present your UL or ETL certificate to come into the US. So, different regulations, tariffs there's that involved. There are certain things that your organization needs to have, as an American company needs to have different legal and tax registrations within that country. So when you're coming into the UK, your e-urie number, your registration, all of that. So as we grow and expand one it's our freight brokers and our partners that help us and teach us, but, to your point, they are not always the beyond, because there have been times where we've caught them making mistakes or them even just being transparent and not knowing, and we've had to rely on other partners.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:00:44

And timely mistakes where shipments are waiting installation schedules are being pushed back, clients yelling it's a nightmare. Talk to me internationally from starting to today, working and learning how to work with people of different cultures, backgrounds, because that's not easy. So how have you learned to adapt, adjust, improve, to work with people around the world, if you have?

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:01:14

No, I mean, for the most part and I say this and I truly mean this and I have said this to every freight broker, freight partner that we've dealt with it's about relationships and it's about partnerships, because rates are going to be rates.

01:01:30

So it's understanding that. And it's also just that personal shift of if I need to answer someone at 9 o'clock at night because it's there 9 am and you're dealing with that time zone difference and that international difference, then you do what you need to do. Culturally, there's really not much when you're dealing with just pure freight, because it's just the pure business logistics of it. So it really is about finding those good, reliable partners that are going to educate you, that are going to walk you through the process and are going to be able to present you with different options, because that's key, knowing that if we're in a pinch, if something has to be expedited, what's the air option, what are the fast boat options, what are the different things that are available. And then, just culturally, I don't think that there's much difference in dealing with the freight partners we have in groups or even internally.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:02:36

Let's talk internally, like with internal employees.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:02:38

Talk to me culturally there because that's more day to day. Oh yeah, absolutely. It's being mindful of how you communicate when everything is being, when you're reading a written language, whether it's English or any language there's no tone behind just reading a written word on a screen. So, no matter what I do, my attitude is gratitude. So it's always please, it's always thank you, it's always making sure that I communicate deadlines so everyone else can prioritize on their end. If something is urgent, if it's needed to be expedited, communicating that clearly, but just being mindful of taking your emotion out of what you're writing, but still expressing that. And it goes even more so when you're dealing with something that's challenging. So to not ever give off a tone of blame or pointing fingers or something like that, where something could be taken potentially out of context when you don't mean it to be.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:03:49

And it's hard, depending on what's your mindset, what's your mood for the day and how are you reading it.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:03:54

Exactly right, because so many things could be taken with. You know I'm having a bad day, so I could be reading it in that tone when it's not meant to be taken, and we're all guilty of that.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:04:06

Absolutely so. Talk to me about the summit, right, international summit. Here Everyone came together. What does it mean for you? For who? A I don't know if I could put this on blast, but fear of flying right. So coming here on your own, too, like that's a hurdle on its own, but being here, what does it mean for you? Just experiencing a summit like this, helping put it together? And how are we leaving the summit, going back to our homes?

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:04:35

Listen, this is everything. Because, for as much as the world talks about remote, remote, remote, face to face is always going to be the best way to connect Because internally we're all humans, we're all seeking that emotional connection with each other. It's always about family, right. It's always about relationships and being physically present with people to be able to talk about things that maybe could have been taken out of context, to deal with them face to face, to have a couple drinks and also get that knowledge and understanding of what is going on behind the scenes that you don't know about. That you could be more mindful of moving forward in the future when you're dealing with someone and also just understanding that, even though we're on in different countries, different continents, everything it's one team.

Georgios Mavridis - Guest: 01:05:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:05:29

It's one group and we're all together. So things like the summit coming together, talking about ourselves, talking about each other and, yeah, revealing like I hate flying yeah and putting yourself up.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:05:42

Yeah, no absolutely.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:05:43

But until you're comfortable being vulnerable, you'll never change and you'll never be able to grow as a person. And if you can't grow as a person, you can't grow in your own city.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:05:52

So yesterday like final comment from me is yesterday we purposely I wanted everyone to put themselves out there and be vulnerable. You set the tone by starting it not getting into details and then it was like the next person went even further and further and by the end of it it was like, okay, shit, we're all human, the lighting is secondary, right, but we all have like a better bond now. And you set the tone and I appreciate that because that kind of changed the tone of the day, right, and we're like cool, we're doing this right. And then today was like build up how we're going to get better and then just tackle 2024 and onwards. But so thank you for that, sure Thank you, yeah, and I just I appreciate working with you. Work is fun Talking hockey or banter politics.

01:06:38

It's like it's good, yeah, so I appreciate you Always.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:06:42

And just you know on a personal level, if you love who, you know who you work for and what you do, that's it. There's no greater blessing and it makes you want to work harder as a person when you know that the people you work for and work with genuinely care about you want you to succeed, want everyone around the table to succeed. So it's just being able to come together and just be people with one another and talk about our losses, talk about what people went through with COVID, the challenges of being a parent, the challenges of trying to be a parent.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:07:18

Absolutely.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:07:19

Different things that people are coming together with. We're all, just, you know, here to help one another and just be more awesome people.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:07:26

Yeah.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:07:27

Be a better company.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:07:28

I love it. Thank you, appreciate you.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:07:32

Thank you.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:07:37

So, mark Lu, who heads up our entire production operation overseas first time in the United States with us on the company, but we've been working together for several years. We've been with you over in China throughout Asia for several years, but this is the first time since COVID that we've been able to come together with the whole team internationally. And the more we work together and I hang out with you, I find a newer and newer appreciation for you and your level of detail and the team you're building over there with us, for us together. So you're just amazing at what you do and we produce incredible products. And it's all about the details. Right, there's a lot of lighting suppliers out there, but the way we can manufacture to that level of detail is incredible. So congrats and thank you for that. Thank you, talk to me so, born and raised in China, right, how is it growing up there and working internationally?

Mark Lu - Guest: 01:08:43

Actually, I like the culture, the US culture, and I think the US culture and the US people. They are nice and I like to speak English and I want to talk with better people, right? So that's why I start from the beginning. I start to learn English and try to practice it and then get to know more about the US culture and then, step by step, it's today. Yeah, absolutely yeah.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:09:12

And that's great to know. And the same with the Chinese culture. I love going over there and, just you see, it's all about relationships. It doesn't matter who we're working with, what component supplier it's. Let's connect over drinks, over food. The business will talk about it, but it's more. They're all about that connection, right.

01:09:33

And it's not transactional and I love that right. So it's amazing culturally, talk to me meeting all the team members this trip and the summit. Like how important is having a summit like this for you and being able to interact with everybody. Like what are your thoughts?

Mark Lu - Guest: 01:09:51

In the past, actually, I had a lot of conversations with the team members, but just even we do the video chat better than typing, right, but still it's not direct like today, like this time, right. So we can really face-to-face have a conversation and we can really look at each other, hug each other and we really know each other which type of person we are. That means so for the. In the future, for example, we will keep typing on XANA. It's still worse, but when they type to me in their mind, they know who I am. This kind of mark is not bad guy, right. He's kind of direct. He's not a person who will want to do something bad on me, Absolutely. So that's human interaction, right?

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:10:44

Yes, absolutely, and yesterday everyone talked about their personal background or personal struggles, and the minute we did that as a team, you know everybody has something going on in their life, right, and you're easily to say you know what, maybe Mark today is having a bad day, I get it all back off or George is having a bad day. It creates a better dynamic for communication versus. I just need this from you and that's it. So like I'm so excited with the last two days, right, and the social aspect, and the first night you landed from overseas and we're all drinking and having food and it was just a blast. You know, it was so fun. Yeah, you're amazing.

01:11:23

Let me ask you last question in general. You know any advice or any differences? Like, how hard has it been for you to understand American culture when you first started working with Americans being Chinese? Like, what are some things that you're learning? Like, oh, that's different. Maybe it's not good or bad, but oh, that's different. They operate differently. Is there anything that really stuck out to you that's really different culturally between China and the United States?

Mark Lu - Guest: 01:11:55

Nope, I want to make friends with good people, and that's it. In China, there are good people, and in the US there are good people, and in your team, we are all good people, and that's why it's easy for me to guide the inside team to get along with each other, absolutely.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:12:13

That's exactly it. You just made it so simple across everything. Yeah, that's it Just good people, yeah, let's have fun, let's make some money, yeah, and produce good product, right. Last thing I want to say is Mark is the fittest, most athletic guy in our company. Fitness is a big thing for you, right? So you know, waking up, running gym, four kids, like busy lifestyle. What's your motivation in your 40s to be so fit Like? What keeps you motivated?

Mark Lu - Guest: 01:12:44

Responsibility, responsibility. So I have my family, I have my parents. They are 70 years old already and for kids, the youngest is 2 and a half years old and my wife is taking care of my babies, which means I have to work hard, earn money to become the support of them. And then the team you and Chris choose to trust me and you know for the past three years, you guys cannot come to China, so everything, the supply is on my shoulder and you guys choose to trust me. And then I cannot feel you guys Right, and that's the motivation.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:13:26

That's amazing. Yeah, that's amazing.

Mark Lu - Guest: 01:13:27

I don't feel people. If you choose to trust me, then I will try my best until my death.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:13:34

Absolutely, and we see that. So, to close this out, how many push-ups do you have in you? 50, still, still 50? Still 50. Okay, we're going to go back there and do 50 push-ups.

Let's go. Okay, let's go, let's take this off, yep.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:13:49

So to everybody we're going to go, because you're my motivation now to be able to do more. Yeah, yeah, let me take a try, let's go. So yeah, you could just leave it on the floor, that's okay. So we're going to have a push-up, Not even a competition. Let's get to 50. Ready, so let's go. We can see us right here. So you're going to go this way.

Abby Grodin - Guest: 01:14:10

Okay, now I'm going to go this way.

George Stroumboulis - Host: 01:14:13

Come in a little, there we go. You ready, go, let's go Okay 40.

40.

50. Let's go, come on. 7, 8. Come on. Ah, yeah, that was awesome, awesome, ah.

You're amazing. Let's go. Thank you, that was awesome. We got another camera too.

Okay, that was good, we're done. Okay, let's go party.

CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO

00:00:00 INTRO TO IDEOLI TEAM BUILDING SUMMIT

00:01:27 DIVERSE TEAM FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD AT IDEOLI

00:02:20 THOUGHTS ON OUR DIVERSE TEAM GLOBALLY

00:04:00 ADVICE FROM OTHER CEO’S ON TEAM BUILDING EVENTS

00:05:10 LEARNING ABOUT YOUR COLLEAGUES PERSONAL STRUGGLES

00:06:05 BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS WITH YOUR CO-WORKER

00:07:00 TAKING TEAM MEMBERS TO CLIENT SITE IN MIAMI - PUTTSHACK

00:08:00 ANALYZING OUR BUSINESS MODEL WITH THE TEAM

00:09:30 CHALLENGES OF BUILDING OFFICES AROUND THE WORLD

00:10:53 JANEEN CANZONE, PROJECT & CLIENT RELATIONS, IDEOLI GROUP

00:12:49 MANAGING EMPLOYEES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

00:15:14 ARMANDO VARGAS, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, IDEOLI GROUP

00:17:00 HEADACHES OF MANAGING THE PRODUCT DEVLEOPMENT PROCESS

00:18:30 WHEN COLLEAGUES BECOME FRIENDS AND FAMILY

00:20:06 MATIAS SAMANIEGO, GRAPHIC DESIGN, IDEOLI GROUP

00:22:00 PASSION IN DESIGN AND CULTURE IN ARGENTINA

00:24:00 BEING IS A SATELLITE OFFICE IS NOT EASY

00:25:33 VITO BONSIGNORE, PRODUCT DESIGN, IDEOLI GROUP

00:26:00 HIRING AN ARGENTINIAN AND HAVING HIM FLY TO NYC THE NEXT DAY

00:28:20 BEING VULNERABLE TO BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS

00:30:05 CULTURAL DIFFRENCES BETWEEN ARGENTINA & AMERICA

00:32:00 VITO IS A ROCK STAR MUSICIAN IN ARGENTINA

00:35:57 PERRY KAREN, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, IDEOLI GROUP

00:40:50 SALES IS WHY WE ARE IN BUSINESS

00:43:56 KOSTA VARNAVOPOULOS, MARKETING, IDEOLI GROUP

00:46:00 MANAGING THE NEW EUROPEAN OFFICE FOR IDEOLI IN ATHENS

00:50:40 GEORGIOS MAVRIDIS, PRODUCT DESIGN, IDEOLI GROUP

00:53:00 DESIGNING THOUSANDS OF CUSTOM LIGHTING PRODUCTS

00:56:37 ABBY GRODIN, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, IDEOLI GROUP

00:58:00 SHIPMENTS & LOGISTICS FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS

01:08:05 MARK LU, PRODUCTION, IDEOLI GROUP

01:09:00 CHINESE & AMERICANS WORKING TOGETHER

01:14:15 PUSHUP COMPETITION WITH MARK AND GEORGE

THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAM BUILDING IN PERSON

Team building activities conducted in person for an executive team hold significant importance for a company. Here are several reasons why:

  1. Fosters Trust and Rapport: In-person interactions allow executives to build deeper relationships based on trust and rapport. Face-to-face communication facilitates better understanding of non-verbal cues, which are crucial for building trust among team members.

  2. Enhances Communication: Direct communication helps in minimizing misunderstandings and promotes clarity in discussions. Executives can openly express their ideas, concerns, and feedback, leading to better decision-making processes.

  3. Encourages Collaboration: Team building activities encourage collaboration among executives, breaking down silos and promoting a sense of unity. Executives can brainstorm together, share resources, and leverage each other's strengths for the benefit of the company.

  4. Strengthens Leadership Skills: In-person team building activities provide opportunities for executives to showcase their leadership skills in real-time scenarios. They can lead teams, resolve conflicts, and make decisions under pressure, which enhances their leadership capabilities.

  5. Promotes Innovation and Creativity: Creative problem-solving often thrives in face-to-face interactions. Executives can engage in brainstorming sessions, workshops, and group activities that stimulate innovative thinking and foster creativity.

  6. Boosts Morale and Engagement: In-person team building activities create a sense of belonging and camaraderie among executives, boosting morale and overall job satisfaction. Engaged executives are more likely to be productive, loyal, and committed to the company's goals.

  7. Cultivates Company Culture: Team building activities provide an opportunity to reinforce the company's values, mission, and culture. Executives can lead by example and demonstrate the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and mutual respect.

  8. Identifies Strengths and Weaknesses: Through interactive exercises and challenges, executives can identify both individual and collective strengths and weaknesses. This insight can be invaluable for strategic planning, talent development, and succession planning within the organization.

  9. Improves Problem-Solving Skills: In-person team building activities often involve problem-solving challenges that require collaboration and critical thinking. Executives learn to approach problems from different perspectives and develop effective strategies to overcome obstacles.

  10. Builds Resilience: Facing challenges and setbacks together during team building activities helps executives build resilience and adaptability, which are essential qualities for navigating uncertain business environments.

Overall, in-person team building for executive teams is not just about having fun or building relationships; it's a strategic investment in the company's success by strengthening leadership, enhancing communication, promoting collaboration, and fostering a positive organizational culture.

WHEN YOU HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM, HOW CAN BRINGING THEM TOGETHER BENEFIT THE COMPANY?

Bringing employees together for events from international countries offers several benefits to the performance of the company:

  1. Cultural Exchange: International events provide an opportunity for employees from different countries to interact and exchange ideas, perspectives, and cultural practices. This fosters cross-cultural understanding and appreciation, which can lead to improved collaboration and teamwork.

  2. Networking Opportunities: International events allow employees to network with colleagues from other locations, departments, and backgrounds. Building a strong professional network can facilitate knowledge sharing, problem-solving, and future collaborations, ultimately enhancing the company's performance.

  3. Enhanced Communication Skills: Interacting with colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds improves employees' communication skills, including language proficiency, cross-cultural communication, and adaptability. Clear and effective communication is crucial for successful teamwork and project execution.

  4. Increased Innovation and Creativity: Exposure to different perspectives and approaches stimulates creativity and innovation among employees. International events provide a platform for sharing innovative ideas, best practices, and solutions to common challenges, which can drive continuous improvement and competitive advantage for the company.

  5. Improved Team Dynamics: Bringing employees together for international events strengthens team dynamics by fostering trust, cohesion, and camaraderie. Shared experiences, such as participating in team-building activities or overcoming cultural barriers, create bonds among team members, leading to higher levels of engagement and performance.

  6. Global Alignment and Consistency: International events help align employees across different locations with the company's vision, values, and goals. Consistent messaging and alignment of strategies can be reinforced through face-to-face interactions, ensuring that employees worldwide are working towards common objectives and priorities.

  7. Talent Development and Retention: International events provide opportunities for talent development and professional growth. Employees can learn from each other, gain exposure to different aspects of the business, and broaden their skill sets through cross-functional collaboration. This, in turn, increases employee satisfaction and retention rates.

  8. Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity Awareness: Participating in international events enhances employees' cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness. This cultural intelligence is valuable in today's globalized business environment, where companies operate in diverse markets and serve customers from various backgrounds.

  9. Customer Focus and Market Insights: International events allow employees to gain valuable insights into local markets, customer preferences, and competitive landscapes. This firsthand knowledge can inform strategic decision-making, product development, and marketing strategies, leading to more effective customer engagement and market penetration.

  10. Positive Employer Branding: Hosting international events demonstrates the company's commitment to diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement, which can enhance its reputation as an employer of choice. Positive employer branding attracts top talent and strengthens the company's competitive position in the global marketplace.

In summary, bringing employees together for international events not only promotes cultural exchange and networking but also contributes to improved communication, innovation, teamwork, talent development, and market responsiveness, ultimately driving enhanced performance and competitiveness for the company.

More About this Episode

  • Uniting Cultures in Business: Ideoli's Miami Retreat for Team Synergy and Global Growth

  • Cultural Convergence in Corporate Retreat Insights from Ideoli's Summit

  • Embracing Diversity for Corporate Excellence in the Heart of Miami

  • From South Beach to Global Reach A Retreat of Innovation and Unity

  • Miami Chronicles The Power of Human Connection in Global Teams

In a recent episode of "Invigorate Your Business," hosted by George Stroumboulis, listeners were given a front-row seat to an engaging tale of international business, team synergy, and cultural convergence, set against the lively backdrop of Miami's South Beach. The episode centered around Ideoli's executive team retreat, an event that underscored the immense value of in-person gatherings for building connections, fostering understanding, and strategizing for global growth.

The retreat began with team-building activities that went beyond the traditional corporate setting, encompassing laughter-infused push-up competitions and karaoke nights, showcasing the team's commitment to not just growing as professionals but also bonding as individuals. These interactions were vital for breaking down professional barriers and setting the stage for strategic discussions focused on the future of the lighting and design industry.

Special guests like Armando Vargas brought a wealth of knowledge to the table, particularly on product development and loyalty in business practices. Armando's insights provided listeners with an understanding of the complexities of managing a product's lifecycle in a global market and the nuances of fostering loyalty in a team spread across continents.

As the episode progressed, personal stories from team members such as Matthias Samaniego and Viro Nicolas Bonseniore were interwoven with professional insights, offering a rare glimpse into the diverse paths that have led to the formation of a multinational corporate family. Their narratives not only enriched the discussions on global markets but also highlighted the challenges and rewards of cross-cultural communication within international business.

Abby's behind-the-scenes take on international freight shed light on the critical importance of adaptability and strong partnerships in navigating the complex world of global shipping. Her journey from a novice to an expert underscored the learning curve and the skill set necessary to manage logistics in an international context effectively.

The Miami summit served as a reflection point for the Ideoli team, emphasizing the profound impact of personal connections in creating a cohesive, supportive network. The power of these connections was evident in the transformation of colleagues into a family-like support system, proving invaluable for an international team operating across various time zones and cultural divides.

Furthermore, the episode delved into the intricacies of sales strategy and the evolution of Ideoli's approach, as team members discussed the transition from large organizations to a more boutique international scale. This provided an excellent example of how a diverse team's collaborative efforts can lead to a deeper understanding of the business and a more energized approach to achieving collective goals.

As the summit drew to a close, the episode highlighted the importance of cultural adaptation and the ways in which diverse backgrounds contribute to a company's collective strength and success. The anecdotes and reflections shared throughout the episode reinforced the significance of trust, empathy, and a shared commitment to excellence, ultimately painting a picture of how different cultural threads create a formidable tapestry in the modern corporate landscape.

In summary, the podcast episode offered a comprehensive view of Ideoli's retreat, with the key takeaway being the irreplaceable value of human connection in the realm of international business. It is a testament to the power of unity in diversity and the impact of personal bonds on professional excellence.

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