LEADERSHIP CORNER
President of eBizHawaii.com also finds time to play

Interviewed by David Butts
Advertiser Staff Writer

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Personal profile

• Self-portrait: If not for a visit to Hawai'i in 1981, Pete Martinez most likely would have been a successful Midwestern businessman his whole life. At age 31, Martinez was in charge of hiring in 12 states for 7Up, the soft-drink company, and on track to become a vice president. Unhappy with the speed he could accomplish things within the 7Up culture, Martinez struck out on his own. He built a thriving executive search company based in Columbus, Ohio.

An economic slump in the early 1980s put a chill on hiring, and Martinez took up a friend's offer to ride out the slow months in Hawai'i, with every intention of returning to build his business. "I got off the plane and never looked back," Martinez said. It seems his detour from the fast lane permanently altered his values.

"Before coming to Hawai'i, I was pegging happiness and success to business success. One thing I learned when I came here is, if you want to be happy after you're successful in business, you have to be happy before business success.

"My career is important, but that is not how I define myself. Twice a week I do a 10-mile hike in the Tantalus trail system. I've completed five triathlons, windsurfed for almost 20 years and scuba-dive. I often refer to this as allowing the hidden 9-year-old boy to come out to play."

In business, Martinez went from publishing the Auto Showcase, a now-defunct weekly, to running a newsletter business. For the last eight years he has designed Web sites — more than 400 at last count.

"I am a salesperson, absolutely. Every business owner needs to first and foremost be a salesperson. I was taught early in my sales career that the correct way to sell is to first act as a counselor and find out what the client needs, and provide them with the identical solution they are asking for."

• Favorite book: "I enjoy the escapism of fantasy, especially the Terry Brooks 'Shannara' series. Also Jean Auels' 'Clan of the Cave Bear' series."

• Favorite search engine: Martinez is proud of nafjobs.com, a site he designed a year ago for the U.S. military to use when hiring civilian employees in Hawai'i. He is in talks now to expand the site worldwide.

• Most-remembered mentor: "My father, who was an officer in the U.S. Navy, taught me discipline, hard work, respect. My mother taught all of her children that we can do whatever we dream of doing. I have my mother to thank for my first job, when we had a large garden and produced more than we could use. (When I was) 9 years old, my mother loaded my wagon with vegetables and told me to go door to door selling to our neighbors. That's an early age to learn about, confront and overcome 'call reluctance' and fear of rejection."

• Best part of the job: "It's highly gratifying to see a company automate their business practices. I enjoy seeing new developments on the horizon and finding ways to put them to use for our clients. Just about the time we have everything sorted out, along comes something new. Right now it's broadband wireless, which will make the Internet truly ubiquitous."

• Best decision as a leader: "This past fall, we changed the company from a downtown office with employees to a home office in Kailua using virtual employees — i.e., independent contractors. The old model is when you start your business, you work at home; when you are a success, you have an office. That's not true in this day and age.

"We had seven employees in two offices; we now have a full complement of Web design developer and senior programmer developers across Hawai'i and on the U.S. Mainland and Canada that we've worked with for years. The former employees are as pleased as I am. They have an increased level of control over their lives. They realize that what I am interested in is the six hours of work that needs to be done in the next 24 hours. It doesn't have to be done between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. — it is that freedom, flexibility and control. Some work 8 to 5 in their home office. Others will work an hour or two in the morning and then work at night. The ones that didn't stay with me are the salespeople. I decided to do all the selling myself."

• Worst decision as a leader: "Missing the economic slump in the early 1980s. At the time, I owned an executive search firm with a clientele of Fortune 500 companies with almost a dozen employees. We were very successful, and I refused to believe that the economy was turning sour. As you will recall, unemployment grew to over 15 percent, which did not bode well for the recruiting industry. I downsized the company to just myself before closing, when I should have closed a year earlier."

• What I worry about most: "Nothing. I find worry is a futile exercise. There are always problems, but I like to assess a situation, develop several solutions, pick one and implement. I've never seen the value in worrying about anything. It is much easier to solve a problem with a positive solution."

• Most difficult challenge: Martinez says he moves so fast (paying his bills the day they arrive) that he sometimes has trouble taking time to consider his options. For him, the challenge is "making certain that all solutions have been thought through, and the best solution was selected. I find that slowing down to review the situation and consider alternative solutions is a valuable investment of time. It's always surprised me the number of solutions we think of the next morning that weren't present the previous day."

• Leadership tip: "Know thyself. Know what makes you happy, know why you are doing whatever it is you are doing, and know how very easy it is to change. I've had careers in personnel, advertising sales, publishing, graphic design and now Web site and database developing, and I wonder what all this has prepared me to do 10 years from now. I just can't wait to see what is around that corner."

Taking on... Prejudice in hiring

"When I had the search firm (in Ohio), I was recruiting for a vice president of labor relations, responsible for negotiating with unions. We conducted a search and there was a candidate. He was an older gentleman and was a cerebral palsy victim. At one point he was the equipment manager for the Ohio State football team and his nickname was Shaky. He looked like a stroke victim and sounded like a stroke victim. His credentials were impeccable.

"The challenge was how can I get my client to seriously consider this candidate. A corporate human resources manager came to Columbus and did the interviews at a hotel. First I brought in two other candidates. Then this guy, but I said, 'You can't start the interview until after 15 minutes of talking about something else, because he has a speech impediment, and you have to get used to the way he talks.' He did that. He liked him and they made him an offer. The funny thing is, this gentleman received an offer and then proceeded to negotiate it upwards. He was a negotiator and he knew how to negotiate."