Philadelphia CEO Inspires Team To Take More Initiative
Geoff Gross is the founder and CEO of Medical Guardian, a leading provider of personal emergency response systems. Medical Guardian is an in-home system or mobile system that responds to medical emergencies within minutes. By pushing the button on your system, you will contact a medical center operator who will then dispatch the proper type of help that is needed.
What is your educational background?
"I received my B.A. in communication with a minor in business from the University of Maryland, College Park. My education in business has really been driven by real-world experiences. Starting my own company from the ground-up and engaging with other entrepreneurs taught me a lot about running all aspects of a business."
What is your background in management?
"When I graduated from college, I managed the inside sales team for my father's company, Tri-State Alarm. That position taught me a great deal about sales and how to train, lead and manage a team. In 2005, I founded Medical Guardian when I was 25 years-old, so the majority of my career has been spent managing my growing team and business. Medical Guardian started as a one-man business out of my Center City apartment, and now we have nearly 90 employees in 22,000 square feet of office space."
How has your education fueled your management success?
"Some of the best courses I took in college were focused on communication and entrepreneurship. In my opinion, great communication is one of the most important attributes of a good leader. Managing a team is all about getting different types of people with diverse personalities to work well together and push towards the same goals, which can be challenging sometimes. The entrepreneurship courses I completed in college exposed me to real-life case studies, showcasing diverse business plans and management styles from great leaders across the world. This helped me identify the management style that was most appropriate for me and the way I wanted to run my business. Even today, I look to other successful leaders for inspiration on how I can continuously improve my management skills. My goal is to inspire my team to take more initiative on their own, rather than tell them what to do and hope they listen.
What advice would you give someone just starting out in your field?
"Understand your employees and understand your customers. Being able to relate to both and understand what their needs are is vital to managing a growing business and clientele. From sales to marketing to accounting and even mailing brochures - I've done nearly every job at Medical Guardian. The first few years I spent 'in the trenches' provided me with the foundation to better manage and set expectations for my employees. Start slow, learn the business and then hire really smart people who work as hard as you do. It's not a complicated strategy, but hiring good people who share your drive and vision are critical for success."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. She reports on various topics such as: Social Media, Local Events, Entertainment, Food and Drink and more. Her work can be found at http://firstsendmedia.com/