|  |  |  | | | |  | |  | | 3/17/2008: Interview with Zymmetrical CEO Keith Tuomi Part 1 | (Published by Keith Tuomi) |
Can you present in few words your company and your vision for the
future?
Zymmetrical is an agency done right from the ground up. There is a
constant sideshow in this industry of new technologies, new pricing
models, new audiences - however we truly believe that value for the
Buyer (and return value for the Artist's time, talent, and expenses) is
the neglected factor. The trend of Crowdsourcing has further eroded the
idea that people doing creative photography & design should be
compensated fairly: "If you won't sell your photo for $1, there's ten
others waiting in the wings to take your place" seems to be the
drumbeat.
Zymmetrical is a dynamic marketplace where Artist's can set
their own prices - on it's own not an incredible feat of programming
(Ebay's been allowing it since the days of Netscape Navigator).
However, combined with our personal service and crack editorial staff,
we try to deliver a buying environment that permeates the confidence of
an upscale department store, with the sense of fun of an East Village
vintage clothing store.
Our vision for the future in the short-term: continue multiplying the
smiles as Artist's learn the same files they may sell for a discount on
legacy microstock agencies, can earn them multiple greenbacks instead
of nickels & dimes. In the long-term, aside from leveraging all the
technology stuff that's really only for the geeks to care (distributed
web applications, advanced image recognition algos, copyright
enforcement frameworks), our goal is to simply provide the best agency
in town.
The bars have been lowered for entry into this market due to
web technology continually becoming cheaper and more accessible, but
the expectations of the professional buyers always remain consistent -
we will continue to follow the path that continues to bring us trust
from all involved.
How you would define your leadership style?
One of my favorite business books is 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins. It
has been a pivotal influence on my ideas of what leadership in an
organization is. In it, 28 major corporations are studied over years
and a big volume of data and experience is analyzed, in order to
determine why some companies, even though they have great financial
backing, superb middle management, a good supply chain etc., start from
a comfortable position, and yet go on to ultimately fail.
At the same
time, the study sees mediocre companies starting with a bad hand, but
finally making the transition to greatness and dominating their
industry. The answer in -every- case was the leadership of a key
personality in the firm, a single person who can combine a culture of
discipline with the spirit of entrepreneurship.
In business these days
there is rarely accidental or even easy success, and I know that the
leadership style I exude will continue to be critical to Zymmetrical -
millions of photos in the inventory, ads in every magazine, there will
never be a day when the CEO can hang up his hat and just let the tail
wag the dog.
| | 3/17/2008: Interview with Zymmetrical CEO Keith Tuomi Part 2 | (Published by Keith Tuomi) |
In addition to your CEO role, are you
involved in day to day operations (problems solving, organizing,
etc...) ?
I am fundamentally a techie at heart. My schooling is as a System
Engineer and as such, I am responsible for the continued development
and maintenance of the Zymmetrical web application. At present this is
a big job as we are in Beta and every day new features are brought
online. Slowly the tide of critical technical issues is ebbing however,
and I find myself able to brainstorm with Mr. Melcher (our CKO) on
business expansion strategies, editorial policy, and all the other
stuff that needs management. As we bring the application to life, we
gain the freedom to move laterally for business improvements.
Who is (are) the leader(s) you look up to?
At this point the most important leader I look up to is my partner
in this business, Paul Melcher. He's been excelling in the Photography
industry for nearly two decades and his internal leadership in the firm
is worth more than gold. In a general context, I would have to say
some inspiring business leaders for me would be Larry & Sergey of
Google, Colman Mockler of Gillette, Henry Ford, Jeffrey Gitomer (Sales
guru), Kevin Ham.
According to you, what are the top 3 qualities of a leader?
- My father was a Captain in the Canadian Coast Guard, and while
not quite a military experience (no guns for the peaceful Canuck Coast
Guard), I was exposed to a lot of the discipline similar to the
military lifestyle as I was growing up.
I recall being on the big
icebreaker ship and watching my Dad direct 35 guys at once trying to
get a dangerous task done, and to the untrained eye it would be quite
chaotic. This impressed upon me the first great quality of a leader,
that is, Situational Awareness. This is not only having a certain
volume of data about what's going on at any given time, but more
importantly having focused, -useful- information.
Communication is a
general trait of being in any role of an organization, but as a leader
you need to have an oversight of the big picture.
- Persistence in spite of difficult situations
- Adaptability
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