Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Schaefer.
Hi Zach, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have had an entrepreneurial streak and spirit since I was a young boy, starting my first “business” selling colored rocks in my driveway in 2nd grade. I took a non-traditional path that I would not advise others to follow. To get to this point, I was a glutton for punishment, commonly working 3 different jobs simultaneously for 90+ hour weeks for several years! I built my consulting firm (Spark The Discussion) while working as a full-time professor in Applied Communications at Saint Louis University and then at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. During that same period, I also joined the ownership and leadership team in a growing sports bar chain in St. Louis (The Post Sports Bar and Grill) as the Chief Growth Officer. In short, I help companies solve people’s problems by creating positive, lasting behavioral change.
I always enjoyed connecting with others and was naturally able to build relationships and meet new people. That could be what drew me to my eventual area of academic expertise and consulting business. In my undergraduate program, I became interested in studying the human communication process, focusing specifically on how people manage disagreement when trying to work together to accomplish challenging goals. I continued that process and eventually became a professor and researcher, building a small area of expertise using ethnographic methods to study conflict management in actual organizations. I soon realized I preferred mediating disputes, coaching, and facilitating effective conversations with others more than theorizing and researching about that process. I was a skilled mediator and coach but only an average researcher. I was always fortunate to have professors who applied their knowledge outside of the classroom as consultants, and I decided I wanted to do that. So when I graduated with my Ph.D. in 2010, I hung my shingle as a mediator and got to work. From that point, I knew I would eventually have to leave academia to focus on my consulting business full-time, which occurred in May 2020. I earned tenure before retiring from university to focus on 3 interrelated areas: assessments and advisory, behavioral coaching, and high-stakes facilitation. Fast forward to today, and I couldn’t be happier with what I do, getting to help knowledgeable and motivated business owners and leaders across many industries use communication to improve their people skills and solve people’s challenges.
Would it have been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The obstacles were in the way. No entrepreneurial journey is ever smooth, and if someone tells it that way, they leave out the best experiences where they learned the deepest lessons. While there have been many struggles, I will focus on two. First, I quickly learned that the St. Louis market (in 2010) was not amenable to non-legal mediators, meaning that the courts weren’t going to send cases to mediators who were not also attorneys. I had planned on generating leads using that model, so instead of packing up shop, I pivoted and started training companies to use mediation skills internally. My first client was the St. Louis Police Department. Second and more recently, I retired from a secure, well-respected, and well-paying job into the heart of a global pandemic and recession. I trusted my instincts and the plan I built with my advisors; most importantly, I married the right person to share the load with. A problem shared is a problem half solved, so as soon as my wife and I were on the same page with me fully committing to growing Spark, I knew we couldn’t go wrong. And the business has grown faster than I imagined in the last two years. It was also a signal when most people I knew were questioning my decision to leave such a secure job, as the rebel in me wanted to show them that there’s more than one path to success, especially when you believe in yourself and take bold actions on that belief.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m the owner, founder, and CEO of Spark The Discussion management consulting firm. We have a small but fiercely dedicated team that solves people problems from hire to retire. We focus on 3 related areas: (a) assessments and advisory services, (b) leadership coaching, and (c) facilitation (conflict resolution, high-stakes meetings, and leadership retreats).
My Executive Coaching program is unique in its process and terms and conditions. It is an intense partnership focused on behavioral change for executives, leaders, and owners, where we work with stakeholders to identify keystone behaviors that need shifting. I have full “skin in the game” in these partnerships as I don’t get paid if the behaviors don’t change, and the client pays at the end of the 12-month partnership. I need to create a path for the client to do the behavioral change work to make money successfully. This reduces the risk for the client and ensures I always bring my A-Game.
Another unique area is my Executive Facilitation service, where I work with CEOs to re-establish trust with key team members, usually the COO, CFO, or Board Chair. This is for CEOs who desire direct, candid communication with key team members but need help facilitating that process. We find these conversations are beyond their human resource department’s scope and skills; CEO’s want to preserve confidentiality and prevent litigation or losing an executive team member.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I always took on leadership and coaching roles from an early age. While in grade school, I organized weekend basketball practices for all the neighborhood kids, running 10+ kids through drills for hours at a time. My brother and I played every sport under the sun all year round, so that was a great way to meet new people and travel to new places. As a kid, I was (and still am) extremely extraverted when meeting new people, exploring new areas, and delivering public speaking engagements. My parents had me reading in the church in front of 1,000+ people from 2nd grade onward, so I have always been energized when meeting new people or speaking in public.
As I got into high school, I naturally helped friends and family deal with disagreements rather than ignore each other or act like transgressions didn’t happen. Research shows avoidance is the most popular conflict management strategy. Still, it made little sense to me as a primary way of dealing with disagreement, so I helped others be more assertive and discuss their problems face-to-face. Traveling and cooking were always fun as a kid, which are still important hobbies in my family. And again, they are great ways to bring people together to create memories and learn from one another.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sparkthediscussion.com
- Twitter: @SparkSolver
- Other: www.newstorynewscore.com
