ο»ΏFrank Clark β Full Interview Transcript
Thriving Through Podcast | Episode 107
What Thriving Means
AJ: Frank Clark, welcome to the Thriving Through Podcast. I'm delighted to have you with me today.
Frank: Good to be with you, AJ.
AJ: My first question β it's called the Thriving Through Podcast. What does thriving mean to you?
Frank: Provocative question. Thriving means growing, learning, excelling. Consistent improvement. That's what I would categorize thriving to be.
AJ: I love it. Consistent improvement, growing. The opposite of thriving is really stagnation.
Frank: Agreed.
From Corporate America to Self-Employment
AJ: Let's jump into finding out more about you. What was your path to becoming self-employed? Walk us through how you got here.
Frank: It has certainly been a journey. I spent the first half of my career in corporate America. I started out at Motorola β which was the Google of that time, the Meta of that time, back in the early 90s. I started right out of undergraduate. I majored in economics, got a Bachelor of Science, and went in as a sales executive trainee.
I trained for a number of years on all aspects of product, value propositions, and presentations, as well as understanding the corporate framework at Motorola, which at that time was one of the biggest companies in the United States. It was extraordinary foundational training. I learned how to read a P&L statement and a variety of other things, and then went out to the field and was successful selling two-way radio communications and technology to trucking companies, logistics companies, and some of the larger rail companies as well.
From there, I went into telephony β specifically AT&T β as a senior sales executive. I learned telecommunications from packet switching to frame relay networks to all types of Centrex technologies around landlines and long-distance lines. I did that for a number of years and decided to go back to business school part-time. I received my MBA at night.
After that, I went into consulting. I worked for A.T. Kearney, which was an EDS company at the time β EDS is now Hewlett-Packard. I did consulting around technology, systems integration, and strategy. I was involved in both the fulfillment of consulting engagements and the selling of them.
During that time, I had an entrepreneurial itch. I had exposure to people in publishing, advertising, automotive, technology, and financial services, and the interest was there. But I was still very focused on my corporate career.
I went on to have two more significant corporate roles, both in manufacturing. One was with R.R. Donnelley, based here in Chicago. My last role there was business unit president for a division focused on catalogs, magazines, and books. That gave me P&L responsibility, deep customer-facing experience, and a strong grounding in manufacturing and operational principles that I carry forward to this day.
My final stint in corporate America was as Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President of a global food service and equipment manufacturing company. I was on the board of directors and reported directly to the president and CEO. The company was based in Atlanta and Tokyo.
At that point, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I had the corporate experience β P&L management, leadership, galvanizing teams, developing people, sales, and financial rigor. But I knew I wanted to be my own boss. About 13 years ago, I did that.
Today, my company is Encore Leadership Advisors. We are based in Chicago, we operate throughout the United States, and we focus on executive search for Fortune 1000 clients as well as private equity portfolio companies β across industrial manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, nonprofit, and technology.
The Defining Moment: Making the Leap
AJ: Was there a defining moment? You were working at a very high executive level for a manufacturer of food service equipment. What was the moment that made you scratch that entrepreneurial itch and actually make the leap?
Frank: A couple of factors. One was seeing close friends and trusted confidants doing it β having success, and having challenges as well. That was one source of inspiration. Two was that my objective at the time was to be a Fortune 500 CEO, and I did not see that happening in the near term. The probability is very, very low, and my patience was running thin. I said to myself: now is the time. I'm young, I've got the experience, I've got the energy, I've got the drive, and I've got the fundamental principles. Let's get it done now or never. That was the real defining moment.
Business Development: The Transition to Rainmaking
AJ: What I consistently hear from people who come out of corporate consulting roles is that it is a very different thing when you are on your own and have to bring in your own clients. How was that for you when you first got started β having to do the marketing and sales and business development on top of actually servicing clients?
Frank: Fortunately, for me, selling was organic β something I grew to love in the corporate environment and really enjoyed the process and journey of. So the transition to doing it for my own business was extremely seamless, because of the years I had spent doing it in the corporate world.
The marketing and the selling happen to this day. One of my primary focuses is what I call business-building activities. That is branding β things like this podcast. Getting in front of clients. Going to conferences. Having keynote speaking opportunities. Face-to-face meetings over lunch and dinner. I am doing that literally 6 or more days a week. I was fortunate that I enjoyed it in the corporate setting, and I took that skill set and love for developing business into my own consulting practice.
The LinkedIn and Social Strategy
AJ: You mentioned speaking at conferences, attending conferences, and face-to-face meetings with potential clients. What else do you do on the marketing side to build your business?
Frank: Social. Social content converts to commerce β real business. We use social, specifically LinkedIn, from an advertising perspective, from thought leadership pieces, and from other content that is thought-provoking and relevant to today's marketplace. That can be around employment trends, our people, or things in the C-suite or boardroom that are germane and relevant. It is something we use on a day-to-day basis, certainly week to week, to drive business and get in front of clients.
AJ: LinkedIn advertising β what is the secret to making it work?
Frank: Messaging. Your content needs to be relevant to a niche, or certainly even a mass audience. In our case, we are focused on executives and on clients who are in the market for a finance or transformational leader. So our advertising focuses in those areas, and that drives traffic to our website and outreach to our firm. We do not use any other social platform to drive our business, because we are a B2B firm, not B2C. Instagram, TikTok β those are not right for what we do.
AJ: Not the right gravitas for someone who recruits C-suite executives.
Frank: Precisely.
Scaling from 7 Figures to 9: The Growth Plan
AJ: Encore is a 7-figure business and your goal is 9 figures by 2028. That is a serious jump. What does the path from here to there actually look like?
Frank: A couple of things. We want to scale the business fast β and we want to do it at critical mass, with a lot of strategy, process, systems, and frameworks to support that kind of exponential growth.
The path has a few components. First, people. You cannot scale any business to anything of material significance without the right people. So we are always hiring, or at least building a pipeline of talent, for key roles in business development, fulfillment, and operations. Having the right people in the right seats who can contribute in a material way to growth and value creation is a big part of our strategy.
Second, we are forming alliances and strategic relationships in the market for what you would call inorganic growth. Third, there is opportunistic acquisitive growth β where there may be a smaller business that is ready for a liquidity event. We will get involved in those discussions as we continue to grow, tuck those businesses into our operation, and integrate them.
AJ: Meaning you will acquire when the right opportunity comes along.
Frank: Exactly right. Acquisitive growth.
What Has to Change Internally to Support the Vision
AJ: What has to change internally β systems, team, approach β to support those aggressive growth goals?
Frank: I will reframe that question. Nothing has to change per se β but we have to do things even better. To achieve exponential growth on a consistent basis, we need better systems and better processes to drive the outcomes we want. The outcomes we want are profitable, consistent, month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, year-over-year growth.
What we need even more of is getting better people β specifically principals and business development executives. That is a key component. And the last piece is market presence and brand equity. Clients, potential clients, and candidates need to know who we are, what we do, how we do it, and how well we do it. Brand equity will accelerate our growth and get us where we want to be.
AJ: Your brand is strong in Chicago because you are out in the market 6 days a week. But one of your challenges is going to be moving into other major markets β New York, LA β where you cannot show up in person with the same frequency. How do you replicate that?
Frank: Back to the people strategy β we have talent in the organization in those major markets already: Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas. We want to expand our footprint and coverage in those markets. That means not just fulfillment and operations, but also people who drive business development and branding in those markets, and who can bring me or another executive in as needed.
The nice thing about being in Chicago is that I am in the middle of the country. I can get to New York, DC, and Texas very quickly. LA is a little longer, but I can get there in a day and be back the next day or two. Planes, trains, and automobiles are part of my vocabulary.
Hiring for Your Weaknesses: The Real Secret to Sustainable Growth
AJ: So basically, you are cloning yourself in these other markets?
Frank: In some areas, yes. But here is the part that is really the secret sauce for sustainable growth: I am also hiring for my weaknesses. I can have people who replicate what I do in certain areas of the business, but I also need people who are excellent at the things I am not. I do not really care for some of the day-to-day financial rigor, so I have an accountant and a finance leader who focus on that. When it comes to fulfillment and delivery of our work, I hire delivery professionals who love that work the same way I love building businesses. I hire for my weaknesses.
Building a Speaking Platform and Inbound Authority
AJ: Public speaking is a key part of your branding strategy. How do you get access to stages and speaking opportunities?
Frank: It happens by way of relationships, and it comes to me in a variety of forms. Sometimes it is an invitation, sometimes it is me doing proactive outreach to speak at a particular event or be part of a panel discussion. What I want to move toward is more inbound invitations versus outbound. Right now, outbound is probably 70 to 80 percent of those opportunities.
AJ: How do you shift that balance?
Frank: It goes right back to branding. The more brand equity we have, the bigger our brand in markets like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta β the more inbound traffic comes to the business. That is what you call a push-pull strategy. You push to the market to build brand, and then you pull opportunities in as a result.
Running Two Companies: Time, Focus, and Staying Sharp
AJ: You are running two companies simultaneously β Encore and your private equity firm. How do you decide where your time goes, and how does that affect how you show up for business development?
Frank: Part of being an entrepreneur focused on scale is that you need to be completely and totally obsessed. And completely and totally immersed. I am both of those β and I am also a little delusional. Those three attributes help me do all of these things at the highest levels on a consistent basis.
I believe that if Elon Musk can run SpaceX, Tesla, and X, I can certainly run two or three businesses that are a fraction of that size. I truly believe that. My day-to-day is immersed in Encore as my first priority. The private equity company, Centurion, runs itself. We have two investments that run independently, and that is primarily an inbound business when it comes to looking at interesting companies to acquire.
Because I love marketing and business development, I show up like an athlete shows up for the Super Bowl β like an athlete showing up for the NBA Finals. I do not have room for a B game or a C game on any day when the lights are on. That is my absolute approach.
The Morning Routine That Fuels Peak Performance
AJ: You cannot always be on your A game 24/7. What do you do on the days when you feel a little off to get yourself into the right mindset?
Frank: A couple of things. First, I wake up in the morning and I have a moment of gratitude β I am grateful for my health, my family, my business, and other things as well. That gratitude and meditation practice gets me in the right mindset to go into the day.
Second, I work out β generally 6 to 7 days a week. That gets the mind and the body ready before the day begins. It is something hard that I am tackling from the very beginning of the day.
And then there is rest. That is something many entrepreneurs take for granted, because we are on the grind constantly. But you cannot be at full capacity for clients, for your team, and for the marketplace if you are dragging and fatigued. I take rest as a priority β no less than 7 hours a day.
The Vision for Encore: 3 to 5 Years Out
AJ: Where do you see Encore in the next 3 to 5 years, beyond the revenue number?
Frank: I see this as a national brand. A firm where people come to work because it is one of the best places to work in the United States β one of the best cultures. And I see clients across industrial manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, private equity, and nonprofit choosing Encore because they consider us one of the best executive search firms in the country. That is the vision and objective over the next 3-year period.
AJ: And what does that mean to you personally? How is your life going to be different if you achieve these goals?
Frank: Life will be fulfilling, as it is today. But my ability to make impact will grow. When you have success of that magnitude, I want to be very impactful philanthropically, socially, and in my community β specifically the African American community. My life will elevate and expand in those categories.
What Candidates and Consultants Must Do to Stay Competitive
AJ: For candidates who come to you looking to make a change β what is the most important thing they need to do in today's world that they probably do not know they need to do?
Frank: Two or three things come to mind. One β embrace and lean into technology. Today, AI is the biggest disruptor we have seen, possibly in human history. Lean into technology to drive your career. It does not matter if you are in technology, manufacturing, or professional services β lean into it. The more you understand how to optimize AI for yourself, the better off you will be in an extremely competitive talent landscape.
Two β know your craft well. Know it like you know your social security number. If your craft is finance, sales, or marketing β know it really well. Be a strong subject matter expert. No longer can you be broad and shallow. Today, you have to be either narrow and deep, or broad and deep. Shallow does not work. Bring depth to your area of expertise, because employers will stress-test for it.
Three β be an excellent communicator. In written form, which is becoming a lost art, and verbally. Be able to communicate your ideas, your concepts, your story, and your overall strengths.
AJ: Is the story piece one of the harder things for people to learn to communicate?
Frank: If they have not done it throughout their career, yes. The story piece is hard for a lot of people to put together, because that is a form of selling yourself.
AJ: Which a lot of people are not comfortable with, even in the C-suite.
Frank: Agreed.
What Encore Does and Who Should Reach Out
AJ: Tell listeners exactly what you help companies do, and who should reach out if they are interested in working with you.
Frank: We help companies with talent solutions to drive their strategic priorities and objectives. Most companies want to increase their market cap β usually double it if they are publicly traded. We provide the talent to do that in finance, marketing, sales, strategy, and operations.
The other element of our business is working with privately held companies β including private equity portfolio companies β to help drive growth and ultimately create value, so that the portfolio company can have a successful exit. Our mantra: Encore Leadership Advisors is a provider of talent solutions to the Fortune 1000 and privately held companies. That is what we do on a day-to-day basis.
AJ: And how can listeners connect with you or learn more about Encore?
Frank: Our website is EncoreLeadershipAdvisors.com β it is very robust and covers all of our capabilities. You can also reach me directly at [email protected].
AJ: It has been a real pleasure talking to you today. Thank you so much for joining me.
Frank: AJ, you have been fantastic. I have enjoyed this exchange thoroughly. You have done a thorough job β I do not think you missed anything. Thank you.