Andy’s company Sofo Consulting was founded in 2009 to help client’s managers develop soft skills to improve business performance. Six years on the journey, customers from mining, trading, technology and services enjoy working with a global team of 60 dedicated and passionate experts. Training and consulting activities gravitate around negotiation, collaboration, relationships and ethics.
What is the best moment you can remember in your career?
Well… they are many moments of great achievements and great learning… maybe the climax was the discovery of Robert S. Hartman’s work. Hartman described our realities in such an enlightening way that it helped me clearly understand my life strategy and shape my newly created business. To keep a long story short, Hartman described three realities, three value dimensions. He demonstrated we have a WHY, a thinking, a systemic reality. We have a WHAT, a doing, an extrinsic reality and we have a WHO, a feeling, an intrinsic reality. People, companies, organisations, countries, societies, brands, objects, ideas and actions can all be looked at through the lenses of those three realities.
If you had to give just one piece of advice to a young person just starting their career, what would it be?
Life is short and you may not get a second chance! Live the dream! Dedicate your heart, energy, intelligence and time to make it come true.
Do you have a motto?
H. H. H. It stands for Humanity, Humility and Humour!
Humanity, Humility and Humour
How do you see the future of your sector??
I’m extremely positive as my focus is 100% on the WHO, the human reality. Companies realize their executives are well trained and educated about the systemic reality; they can develop ideas and strategies; they can write processes and rules; the thinking is there. They can make things happen, they fix problems, impose change, they can make money, they are efficient in the extrinsic reality. A real opportunity for companies to attain more involves becoming better at dealing with the intrinsic reality, the people. For me, self-awareness, self-management, people awareness and people management are the drivers that take you to the next level of performance and fulfilment.
What do you enjoy the most in your day to day job?
The moment when people come back to me and share the improvements they have achieved. Those moments give meaning to my engagement and passion.
How do you see your role?
I see myself as a catalyst to help people understand what a huge difference soft skills can make, help them get those soft skills and put them into practice to achieve more
What is your added value to your client?
We help them improve top and bottom line, reduce risks and improve relationships
How would you describe your relationship with Ampersand World?
An enriching relationship with fair exchanges that helps us both growth.
