Michael Brian Cotter views himself as an agent of change and someone who is a huge supporter of overall health and fitness. He always encourages the people around him to become the best versions of themselves that they can be. Setting an example for others and putting his best foot forward is also incredibly important to him. He sets a standard for others by working only with the businesses that encourage the people around them to better themselves as a whole.
From an early age, Michael Brian Cotter has known the value of being disciplined. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, attending the United States Army’s Airborne and Ranger Schools. After that, he gained more insight into being a disciplined, organized person by becoming a commissioned infantry officer. He’s also a team player an active participant in sports such as varsity hockey. He even lettered in the sport during his time playing.
After graduating, Michael’s first job was to be a team leader of a team of engineers and analysts at Lockheed Martin. There he created and maintained a global satellite network that was used for picture intelligence gathering, which is still in use in the Artificial Intelligence department to this day.
As an Executive Search Consultant for Morgan Samuels Company in Beverly Hills, California, Michael got a first-hand look at the many ups and downs of the financial and manufacturing sectors. There, he assisted his company in creating and utilizing process metrics to evaluate and benchmark service delivery performances. He was an integral part of helping the team increase speed, maintain efficiency, and improve the quality of service.
As the Director of Panda Software’s US sales and marketing arm, Michael Brian Cotter was responsible for the planning, execution, as well as administration of the company’s expansion into the United States. This includes working with resellers, fulfillment centers, and distribution teams. He assisted in doubling the company’s $3 million income stream, which is still going strong to this day.
Michael also served as the Quadrant Information Services’ Director of Agency Services, providing services to privately held technology vendors, later expanding into General Agency. While serving as Vice President of Business Development for Quatrro BPO Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Michael’s company was one of the first companies to make process outsourcing accessible to home customers and smaller businesses.
To learn more about Michael Brian Cotter, check him out on social media!
Michael Brian Cotter on What Business Leaders Must Prioritize
Whether you’re a novice at leading a business or you’re a hardened veteran, there are a couple of things that you may want to consider regarding how to prioritize. Since the start of the pandemic and the lingering effects that remain even today, things have changed. Maintaining a status quo could hurt your business. Below are some things that business leaders must prioritize.
Put the employee experience first
The last thing you want to do is make your business a terrible place to work. After all, happy employees lead to even happier customers. Creating an employee-centered culture throughout your business is only going to lead to good things. One of these ways you could change is by listening to your employees and ensuring them on future plans during these confusing times.
Doing little things like making sure that your employees are satisfied with the current environment they work in is essential, or having a satisfactory number of resources and benefits. If not, recognize that some things are going to have to change. Showing your employees that you’re taking what they say to heart and that you care enough about what they’re talking about to make a change is invaluable. When employees see you take action, they’ll feel heard and acknowledged as valued workers. But beware giving in to ideas or even demands of some employees, and risk alienating others. Everyone has to realize they are valued, but they are also part of a greater whole and can’t be valued out of proportion to their contribution to the business’ goals.
Make sure you prioritize overall health and wellness to drive business success
Mental health is just as important as physical health. Sit back and read that again. Now that we’re trying to scramble to rebuild the economy, people are learning that stress levels are higher than ever before in businesses. You should be educating yourself and your employees about employee wellness and how they can take that into their own hands. Common sense plays a role here as well, so avoid employees solving these issues with drugs. Communication, taking a walk outside of company spaces, physical activity, and other actions can help stabilize one’s thoughts. Drugs won’t help, including anti-depressants which make one appear to be “better” but really just makes them more docile.
You should also ensure that your employees can afford to take care of themselves. Employee wellness is a necessity. Looking at their wellness, financially, mentally, and physically is paramount. Benefits should be in place so that employees can take care of their health. You may even want to pick out a set of flexible benefits so that they can pick which plan works best for them, as everyone lives differently. What may be important to one person may not be important to another.
These past couple of years have been particularly rough in the workplace. These are just a few things that you can employ as a business leader to take the stress off of your workers. Remember, you’re a team, and you only work as well as the weakest link.
