Steve Nakisher / Jeremy Wicks
Interview
- Q: You're both alumni of The Chicago School. When and how did you meet?
- Steve: Funny story. I was fantastic at choosing great therapists to work at my psychotherapy office, but my worst talent was choosing administrative assistants. After too many failed attempts, I decided to use graduate students from The Chicago School. I figured that they would be smart and could get the job done. I put an ad on The Chicago School website. Since I realized that I was not a great decision-maker for hiring, I decided to hire the first student who called who would be willing to take the job. Jeremy was that person. I asked him two questions, and when he asked if he could come in for an interview, I told him that he was hired and he could start ASAP. While Jeremy worked in my office, he kept telling me that when he graduated he was going to open up his own consulting company. I loved his energy and his great ideas. About six months later, I proposed to start a consulting company together that would be the perfect blend between clinical psychology and business psychology. The rest is history.
- Q: What does The Chicago School offer students today that you wished it had offered when you were here?
- Steve: For me, if the I/O program had been in existence when I started The Chicago School in 1991, I would have definitely gotten a dual degree in Clinical and Organizational Psychology.
- Q: On your website you state "Leadership development programs are generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually across the United States alone." Are job prospects for Industrial and Organizational Psychology graduates still booming?
- Steve: I think that the job market is fantastic for Organizational Psychology graduates. Despite our struggling economy, companies are smart and they are really beginning to understand the value of leadership development in hiring and retaining employees. Not only does leadership development strongly impact the bottom line for companies by creating better/more productive employees, it creates a culture of learning, growth, and commitment to employees.
- Jeremy: More and more companies are beginning to see the value and importance in developing and retaining the top talent. People are starting to recognize that in a competitive market, your employees can be your greatest asset and your greatest competitive advantage. As more and more companies recognize this I believe we will see an even higher demand for I/O graduates in the business community.
- Q: Do you have any students from The Chicago School working for you? If so, what are they working on?
- Steve: Every semester we have one or two Chicago School interns at Cornerpiece Consulting. We pride ourselves on giving our interns practical experience by allowing them to work directly with our clients. We are a teaching company, and we work very hard to practice what we preach. Our students have created surveys, performance appraisals, and pieces of training programs. Most of our interns continue to work with us as paid employees after their internship is completed.
- Jeremy: I had two excellent internships when I was a student at The Chicago School. It was really from my internship experience that I grew confident enough to take the leap and start this business with Steve. We try to make sure that all of our interns get the same type of "hands-on experience" that I had in my internships. I know that interns from The Chicago School will come in with a solid understanding of the field, and our hope is to let them see how we apply that knowledge to our clients' businesses.
- Q: Recently you've had projects that help Baby Boomer and Generation Y employees work better together. Is one group more open-minded about changing their approach than the other? What tactics do you utilize to get them to better understand each other?
- Steve: Great question. Businesses are forced to deal with the workforce that they are given. So, smart businesses are learning to adapt to Gen Y employees. They have different needs than the Baby Boomers.
- Jeremy: I think that both groups understand the importance of being able to work well together. Right now, the Baby Boomers hold most executive and upper- level management positions, so it is the Generation Y employees who normally seek out our services; however, to get the most out of the training, it is necessary to have all generations present. The first thing that we like to do to help each generation better understand the other is to have an open discussion about why some of the differences exist in the first place (i.e. politics of the time, economics, technology, wars, etc…). Getting the groups to understand some of these historical differences is the first step to helping everyone understand how these differences have impacted the way each generation thinks, works, and interacts with other people. As Steve said, more and more businesses understand that in order to remain competitive and successful, they must learn to work together and toward the same goal. Different generations might have different ideas about how to reach company goals, but they can all agree that the goals must be met. Understanding the differences with each generation is the first step in teaching them how to work together, how to keep each group motivated, focused, and committed to the ultimate company goals.
- Q: You host a retreat with top CEOs on a monthly basis. What's the most surprising thing you've observed when all these power players are in the same room together?
- Steve: No matter how much experience a CEO has, and no matter how big or small his/her company is, obstacles in business are universal. On top of that, it's lonely at the top and CEOs don't often have a safe place to address the obstacles they face. Our groups prove that everyone needs other people to thrive.
- Jeremy: I am always so fascinated to see how much each person can relate to the obstacles that each faces. As Steve said, the obstacles for a president/CEO of any business are pretty universal, but how they work through their obstacles are often different. It's these differences and the structured format that we use to run these groups that really creates the greatest value for each person. I'm always amazed by how open the CEOs are and how excited they are to have a confidential group of like-minded people to share ideas and work through obstacles. Everyone is equal in these groups and each person seems to really enjoy working as equals instead of being viewed as the sole leader.
- Q: If you had one piece of advice for Industrial and Organizational Psychology students at The Chicago School, what would it be?
- Steve: If you are investing time, money, and energy to get an advanced degree from a fantastic school, go out and get/create jobs that make you happy. I see too many people spend too much time, energy, and money getting a degree out of passion and interest, yet they end up taking boring jobs outside of their area of interest. Also, I'd tell them to network. Meet people who are doing what they want to do and talk about it, and keep talking about it until something great happens.
- Jeremy: It's a great time to be entering the field of I/O psychology. More and more businesses are beginning to understand the value that an employee with an I/O degree brings to business, but it is still up to you to communicate your value to the company. Learn to talk in terms of the added value you can bring to a company instead of just 'what you do.' I/O graduates do more then develop employee selection programs and provide training. We decrease employee turnover and develop leadership skills in employees that are critical to the ongoing success of any business. If you do nothing else, find a way to make your passion your job!
