Here’s the resume stuff:

Michael Baskin most recently served as President of Inclusion=Solutions, whose products make businesses accessible to people with disabilities.  Prior to this, he was Co-President of Mark Shale, a $60 million multi-unit retail apparel business, nationally recognized for store design, visual presentation, and outstanding customer service.  Mark Shale was named one of the Best Men’s Specialty Stores in the United States by Esquire Magazine in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Michael has run off-site strategic planning meetings and partner meetings for numerous independently-owned companies.  He is a faculty member at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management where he received the Distinguished Faculty Award in 2012.

Michael received his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.  He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Vassar College.   He is a Certified Professional Coach accredited by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.

Ok, but there’s a story you should know.

People don’t hire me for my resume.  They hire me because of what I learned in an organization that built sales through an extreme service culture, resulting in excellent customer loyalty and outstanding employee retention.  We seized every opportunity to strengthen customer relationships, from the first to the last moment of the shopping experience.  We developed models to anticipate customer needs and built a sales contact system that capitalized on those needs.  We trained all associates to act with uncompromising devotion in those crucial customer moments that build stories and loyalty, over 220,000 customer transactions every year. 

I grew up sailing.  The storm of 2008 was bigger than our boat could handle, so we sold our business in 2009.  I have seen the issues clients face; how to read and interpret balance sheets and income statements, sales and marketing, operations, and financial strategies.  My job is use that experience to give what I wish we had received: objective, honest, supportive input in making the hardest business decisions – the people decisions.  These are the decisions that propel your business forward in smooth seas, and protect your business in rough seas.

My son served in the (Israeli) Army.  I have a picture of his unit, on the fourth consecutive overnight march.  They are climbing a mountain.  The person in front is pulling the person behind him; the person behind is pushing the person in front of him – all down the line.  I asked my son why.  “Because it’s too hard – no one can do it alone.”

That’s my model: we work together to realize the business objective at the top of your hill.