Profile Summary:

I am a high-energy social media professional who understands the power of new ideas that get results. As an award-winning sales and marketing manager with a well-rounded business background, I have a proven record using my creativity in turning around underperforming sales and improving customer satisfaction in difficult markets.

Personal traits:

Action and results oriented * Troubleshoot and rapidly synthesize information to provide quality solutions * Consistently find new alternatives that work * Strong verbal and written communicator, relating to people at all levels * Learn more at (Clark Kent's Lunchbox) or follow me on Twitter (@CK_Lunchbox)

Skills:

P&L / Project Management / Market Analysis / Layout & Design / Personal Branding Strategy / Business Planning / Corporate Blogging / SEO / Brand Management / Web Content Development / Product Development / Copywriting / Process Improvement / Pricing Negotiations / Performance Management / Corporate Communications / Operations / Buyer Engagement / Content Management

Career History

"Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him."

- Aldous Huxley -

LUNCHBOX SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIES, Houston, TX
Social Media Professional 5/2007 to Present

Contracted by companies and web marketing firms to develop and advise on both B2B and B2C social media strategies. Scope of prior projects have included devising full strategies, monitoring and reporting, writing related internal SOP’s, managing campaigns, content creation, and blogger outreach. Regular speaker at niche blogging conferences.

• Developed a web marketing firm’s complete process for offering their clients social media services.
• Implemented a successful B2C social media campaign resulting in the client’s decision to drop its traditional advertising initiatives.
• Built working relationship with noted PR firms and Ad Agencies as a provider of social media content for major corporate blogging campaigns by Chevy/GMC, Pepperidge Farm, Dr. Pepper and Carnival Cruise Lines.
• Authored the book, Sugar Milk: What One Dad Drinks When He Can’t Afford Vodka and initiated a corresponding social media PR and marketing campaign leading to international press mentions by Reuters News, Canada’s The Globe and Mail, and China’s The Bund Pic.

LENNAR HOMES, Chicago, IL

VP of Sales Operations 10/2006 to 5/2007

Promoted to manage overall sales operations and strategy in the city’s residential real estate division. Responsible for setting and meeting projections, cost control, community marketing, and market analysis.

• Drove division sales to #1 in net sales and per community sales in the Mid-West Region as well as posting a net profit for the first time in the division’s history.
• Instrumental in successfully implementing the corporation’s new lead generation and prospect management initiatives within the division.
• Authored a new sales compensation program which served as a key component in leading to increased sales, lower discretionary costs, and higher customer satisfaction.

LENNAR HOMES, Houston, TX

Director of Sales and Marketing* 2/2005 to 10/2006

Responsible for developing the marketing strategy and overseeing sales operations in the company’s residential real estate division. Oversaw loan approval, product development, cost control, new community tracking, city-wide marketing strategy and realtor relations. (*transferred due to company reorganization)

• Developed and implemented loan-sale approval process resulting in a reduction in cancellations from 45% to 27% in five months directly resulting in the division’s record 32% Return on Net Assets.
• Pioneered the company’s first internet sales program in the Houston market.
• Recognized by the Greater Houston Business Association’s Sales and Marketing Council as the Prism Award winner for Sales Manager of the Year (2005).

Division Operations Manager, (Northwest)* 2/2004 to 2/2005

Promoted to develop newly formed division focusing on single-family residential homebuilding. Directed all operations including quality control, production, new home sales, marketing, warranty, land procurement, cost control, and new product development. (*acted in dual role as Director of Sales and Marketing for six months)

• Exceeded business plan goals in overall net sales (677) and new home deliveries by (734).
• Achieved highest return on net assets of the six Houston divisions, as well as ranking in company’s highest threshold bracket in the same category nationally.

VP of Purchasing Operations 12/2002 to 2/2004

Responsible for the daily operations of the firm’s largest, single purchasing department. Directed processing starts, estimating, budgets management, new product development, vendor and pricing negotiations, software implementation projects and material management.

• Directed the implementation of a wireless ordering and scheduling software program for field operations without interrupting the production and delivery of 3,700 homes.
• Negotiated pricing and co-marketing initiatives with national brands.

Additional Positions (Lennar, Houston) 5/2001 to 12/2002

Held additional management positions within the company to include Area Production and Project Manager (2002); Quality Assurance Manager (7/2001 to 2/2002); and Customer Care Specialist (5/2001 to 7/2001). Promoted rapidly for outstanding performance and creative problem solving.

See a COLLECTION OF MY PUBLISHED ARTICLES

See also my MILITARY RESUME

Technical Skills, Education & Training

"There are so many things you can learn about.

But you'll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut."

- Dr. Suess -

TECHNICAL SKILLS

OS: Microsoft Windows

Software: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook, Access); Microsoft Project; Adobe Acrobat; so; working familiarity with Illustrator and Photoshop

Blog Platforms / Social Networking: Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Delicious, Technorati

Web Programming: Basic HTML

EDUCATION:

BA, English, St. Edwards University , Austin, Texas (1998)

TRAINING:

Extensive leadership and training experience as an Infantry Captain in the U.S. Army. Assigned primarily to troop leadership positions as well as to strategic plan development and operations roles (1991 – 2003)

About Ron Mattocks

"No one gets very far unless he accomplishes the impossible at least once a day."

- Elbert Hubbard -

Whether you are looking to increase market share, improve margins, or enter new markets, I can help. I am noted for turning around underperforming operations and sales in declining and highly competitive markets.

As a high-energy leader, I drove various Fortune 200 Lennar Homes divisions to highest rankings in net return on assets and customer satisfaction in record time. Building, training, and motivating high performing teams, I exceeded my employer’s ambitious objectives.

I decreased sales fallout 25% and obtained a 32% return on assets. Also, I led a newly formed division to #1 ranking in one year. In another situation, I increased buyer satisfaction from lowest to highest ranking.

My broad-based contributions encompassed diverse achievements in all aspects of sales to include purchasing residential communities, and then profitably selling them. Other contributing skills incorporate team building, customer satisfaction, change management, product pricing, and negotiations.

I earned my BA degree at St. Edwards University. I also have extensive leadership experience and as a Captain in the U.S. Army.

Highlights & Achievements

"Trust people and they will be true to you;

Treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Led newly-formed Lennar Homes division to #1 in region in one year. Promoted to Division President and charged with delivering 600 sales and 700 closings with inexperienced staff and insufficient inventory to sell. Teamed inexperienced staff with experienced personnel in other divisions. Created and implemented aggressive and thorough training program, performance reviews, and success celebrations and rewards. Negotiated and acquired eight new residential communities to increase inventory. Achieved 77 sales and 34 closings over goal. Obtained best divisional return on net asset (24%).

Turned around unprofitable Lennar Division to achieve first time profitability. Asked to take over division that had not hit sales and closing projections, and unprofitable for several years. Determined sales and profit losses were caused by large discounts and noncompetitive financing programs. Developed and implemented program to sell homes prior to construction. Tiered discounts and financing in relation to construction stage. Restructured sales teams’ commission with higher incentives paid on early stage sales. Led region in sales, despite having least number of communities to sell.

Decreased division’s home sales fallout rates 25% and exceeded industry norm with a 32% return on assets. NuHome Division specialized in first-time and low-income market. Fallout rate was 43%, and sales and closing projections were not being met. Developed and deployed buyer mortgage approval status tracking program. Hired experienced and bilingual mortgage individual to troubleshoot loan issues. Trained sales consultants on mortgage and pre-approval process with lenders prior to executing sales agreement. Achieved 152 sales and 128 closings ahead of plan.

Increased Lennar Division’s buyer satisfaction from lowest tier to #1 in company, as well as Houston market. Positioned sales consultants as Team Leaders for buyer satisfaction, and coordinating all staff in a community. Set response rate goals. Hired more bilingual sales consultants. Established home buying seminars for first-time buyers to manage their expectations. Achieve #1 ranking, and first division in company to overtake competitor’s previous three-year reign.

Stopped Lennar’s largest purchasing department errors and internal audit violations. Asked to step in and correct company’s operations in its largest purchasing department in the nation. Reorganized department with department managers and cross-functional teams to ensure better communication and fewer errors. Established new control and review processes to assure budget accuracy. Developed and deployed operations procedures manual. Obtained 96% budget accuracy for six homebuilding divisions in the department. Achieved zero deficiencies during the next internal audit – a first since inception of operations.

Improved construction cycle time with introduction of web-based scheduling and material ordering in the field. Company was having difficulty obtaining vendor buy-in, and field personnel support of the new web-based scheduling and material ordering system. Established department as “hub” responsible for integration and integrity of data input and output. Established field manager training to gain understanding and field support. Phased in implementation in a manageable fashion. Encouraged vendor feedback, and provided support to them through a direct hot-line system to “hub”. Met all reduced cycle time targets. Increased field personnel’s control. Achieved complete vendor compliance.

Saved $2M in material costs and estimating time from two weeks to one day, with new estimating system. Estimating wing was outsourcing take-offs for new and modified product, taking two weeks and costing $450 per house plan. Researched and worked with software company to develop estimating take-off software that could be used by estimating staff without need for outsourcing. Trained staff on software. Established process for field verification of take-offs on system and delivered, ensuring tighter accuracy. Saved $34K in costs. Achieved estimation level of five plans per day. Stopped material count errors.

Integrated acquisition in half the projected time with no disruption in operations. Following acquisition of another builder, needed to integrate its material codes and budgets into Lennar, while simultaneously dismantling acquisition’s home design studio and rebuilding in a new location, without disrupting on-going operations. Established project team to match purchase’s system codes and material description with Lennar. Formed another team to revamp design studio. Hired additional temporary personnel to facilitate massive data entries. Completed integration with few errors.

Recommendations & Awards

"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we stand,

as in what direction we are moving." - Oliver Wendall Holmes -

RECOMMENDATIONS:

“Ron is very intelligent, results driven, and passionate about his work. He had one of the strongest work ethics on the team. Ron was very well rounded in all aspects of the homebuilding industry. If I needed something done, I could always count on Ron. It was a pleasure working with Ron and having him as part of the leadership team.” - Ron Martin, Division President, MI Homes Chicago

“Ron and I have worked on a number of projects together and it was a pleasure working with him as he always met or exceeded my expectations on these projects. Ron is definitely a leader as he spearheaded the opening of the Village Builders Design Studio and created a studio that was state of the art and profitable for the Company. Whether it be implementing new initiatives or assisting the Company in the Houston community through projects such as "Project Opportunity" Ron always had a gung ho attitude and was the consumate professional. If you have difficult challenges ahead, Ron would be the individual that I would recommend to lead your team or Company through unsettling times as he would be true asset to any organization. He is a person of compassion and caring and yet at the same time meets the budgetary and timeline demands of the housing industry. Without a doubt, I would want Ron on my team." - Brian Hutt Director-Builder Solutions at Masco Onestep, Leeds, United Kingdom

“Ron is a forward thinking business manager who knows how to lead teams to a higher level of operating efficiency.” - Craig Traxler, Vice President and Practice Director, Integrated Customer Solutions

"His motivation skills were the major key to driving our team... We not only reached our sales goal in a difficult period, but also beat sales and closing in the aftermath of a natural disaster [Hurricane Rita]. While some managers would sit back and rest on their laurels for the final weeks of the year, Ron had us looking to the next year preparing us to embrace broad challenges in our sales platform." - Christy Durrett, Sale Professional, Lennar Homes

"Ron began as a Customer Care Rep for about 6 weeks. His planning and organization skills were outstanding due to his leadership as a captain in the Army. He was promoted to QA Team Leader and then to Area Production Manager in less than 6 months. He is a great communicator and leader of associates." - Joe Barwinski, Director of Construction, Village Builders

"[Ron] has proven to be intelligent, adaptive and highly systematic in his approach to problems. Has taken the challenge of his new job and learned the beginning parts quickly. [Ron] knows the system and how everything functions together, [and] he has been able to coordinate the various people in his department to become more efficient... [Ron] is not afraid to take chances and fail... he will be one of the best operators in the business." - Don Klein, City President, Lennar Homes

"Ron has lead his sales team to the most consistent 3 month period for both sales and closings in our [division's] short 18 month history. Ron has shown the ability to analyze situations and create process that enable his team to perform more efficiently." - Scott Merovitch, VP of Sales, Chesmar Homes

"Ron is and extremely strong leader who can motivate a team to peak performance using various techniques and adapting his style depending on personality... He manages in a a forward-looking manner always anticipating the next step... Ron sets extremely high standards for himself and is his own worst critic. He judges his performance more strictly than that of the people of his team." - Cindy Hinson, Division President, Lennar Homes

AWARDS: (Professional)

2005 Prism Award for Sales Manager of the Year – Greater Houston Builder Association, Sales and Marketing Council (Houston Business Journal article)

Sales and Marketing Council Million Dollar Circle Sales Manager Platinum Award Winner 2005

Top 200 Division Presidents Award – Home Builder Executive Magazine (national level)

(Civic)

Special Recognition – Habitat for Humanity – Houston

(Scholastic)
Distinguished Military Graduate – University of Texas

Lt. Roy Nelson Commemorative Saber – Leadership Excellence

Commandant’s List Graduate (top 1%) Infantry Office training course

(Sports)
Selected for All-State #1 Team (Pennsylvania) – Basketball and Soccer (three years)

Military Resume

"Far and away the best prize that life offers

is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."

- Theodore Roosevelt -

MILITARY EXPERIENCE:
Captain, Infantry, United States Army

Brigade Assistant Operations Officer: May 2001 - March 2003, Responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing all operations pertaining to the military training, disaster relief, and home-land security operations involving a 2,500 – soldier mechanized, infantry brigade in the Texas National Guard.

• Graduated top 5% out of 250 students from the Infantry Company Commander’s Career Course at Ft. Benning, Georgia.
• Earned the Army Achievement Medal for efforts during the Brigade War-fighter Exercise at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.

Company Executive Officer: December 2000 - May 2001, Second-in-command of a 129-soldier, rifle-company charged with overseeing the logistical and support services provided to the company while maintaining the accountability and serviceability of over 1.1 million dollars worth of organizational equipment.

• Created a company maintenance program for organizational equipment latter adopted by the battalion.
• Recorded the highest maintenance rating out of 4 other companies in the unit.

Rifle Platoon Leader: August 1999 - December 2000, Held accountable for the overall welfare, training, administration, personnel management, logistical support and tactical employment of a 36-man, rifle platoon while maintaining and accounting for over $250,000 worth of organizational equipment.

• Rated #1 platoon of 4 in training proficiency by the company commander.
• Authored a team leader-training course published in Infantry Magazine.
• Implemented a fitness program resulting in the highest, physical-fitness score in the battalion.

Detachment Executive Officer: November 1998 - August 1999, Second-in-command of a 100-soldier detachment with additional duties supervising the planning, training, supply functions, logistical support and readiness of the unit while operating a 45-vehicle, motor pool.

• Coordinated the re-deployment a 500-man task force from the peacekeeping mission in Sinai, Egypt; decorated for achievement.
• Attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course graduating #5 of 145; Commandant’s List Selection.

Recruiting Officer: August 1998 - November 1998, Charged with recruiting perspective officer candidates from both incoming college students at five universities/colleges and active duty soldiers from two major military installations.

• Selected ahead of 4 qualified peers for Recruiting Officer position.
• Designed innovative recruiting materials including CD-ROM and informational brochures distributed to over 3,000 new students; decorated for achievement.

July 1995 – August 1998 Enrolled at St. Edward’s University

Medical Specialist: June 1991 - July 1995, Trained to perform routine health care and medical administrative procedures as well as provide preventative medicine and emergency medical treatment in both a field and hospital environment.

• Selected from among candidates nationally by the Department of the Army for the Green-To-Gold ROTC Scholarship.
• Attended the Army Medical Specialist Course; top 10% of 160.

Frequently Asked Questions

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

- Milton Berle -

Tell us about yourself. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and after graduating as salutatorian of my high school class, I enlisted in the Army. During that time I earned an Army scholarship to become a commissioned officer. I attended St. Edwards University and majored in English. From there I graduated as a Distinguished Military Honor grad and later a Commandant’s List selection at Infantry Officers School. After serving in various positions either leading troops or in planning and operations, I left the military, transitioning to the corporate world. At first, I cut my teeth at the entry-level, but quickly rose to the executive management level based on my consistently high performance. I am also a family man and happily married.

What are your major strengths? Leadership, analytical skills, and my creativity (See also here).

What are your biggest weaknesses, how to you overcome them? I can over-focus on an issue/problem. Still over time I’ve learned to ask someone – teammate, boss, friend – to say something if it looks like I’m getting too concerned with the fine minutia and missing the big picture. I’m also highly critical of my performance which can lead to pushing myself too hard and becoming less effective. In this case I use the same solution as above.

What has been the biggest mistake you made in your career? As a young VP of Purchasing, I got in the middle of a feud between my boss and his boss – not intentionally, but because I was filling two positions, both answering to each respective boss. No man can serve two masters, as they say. My mistake was that I thought I could do each job and keep everybody happy. It didn’t work out that way, and I learned about sticking to my limitations and communicating them to my supervisors in a way that doesn’t dent my credibility, but instead lets them know how I can provide the most value to them. Also, sometimes staying apolitical isn’t possible, but staying honest in those situations is.

What makes you stand out? Besides being a snappy dresser? I’m kidding of course, but I do have a good sense of humor that comes in handy when situations get difficult, and my team is looking to see how I’m going to react. Cracking a few jokes smoothes the way to getting people back on track. But on a macro scale, however, my attitude makes me standout. There are many, many qualified people out there – maybe even more so than me – I can’t control that. What I can control and promise is having a positive, hard-working, open-minded attitude.

How would your friends describe you? And your bosses/coworkers? They would say that I’m respectful and appreciative of their efforts, and that I look to take care of them, I defend them, and want them to succeed. (Also read here)

How do you balance your work and family life? By setting limits; limits I communicate to my boss, my peers and my team. I hope that they would understand that there are times when family comes first – ballgames, birthday parties, anniversaries – and that I’m not going to answer the phone unless it’s an emergency. The benefit to them being, I’m going to be recharged and focused at work because my home life is not suffering. On the flip side, I communicate to my family that there are times when there are big projects and busy times that require more attention at the office.

What is your definition of success? For my boss and team the same maxim applies: if you’re not successful then I’m not successful. The implication being that my job is to provide the coaching, tools and direction that will make those I’m responsible for achieve the goals they’ve been given. And for my boss, it’s my job to understand what he/she needs to be successful, and then, not just work towards that end, but to anticipate what additional objectives can be met translating into even greater success. If this is done for both parties then I’m successful by default.

How do you motivate others? Each person has a button; it’s a matter of finding that button which also means getting to know that person. In a group setting, nothing draws people together into a team like having a cause to fight against or one to work towards. This could be a competitive thing, a rewards system, or recognition. I’ve learned quite a few tricks to motivate people short of negative consequences. Above all and before any of this, I need to establish credibility with them; otherwise it becomes a tougher challenge.

Where do you see yourself 5 to 10 years from now? A division president once asked me this, and I told him that, if in 5 years I was the best in the whole company in my current position then I had failed, because I show no potential for handling greater responsibility in the future. He promoted me on the spot. The same applies here; I see myself in a position that requires greater responsibility than where I am currently.

Why are your interested in this line of work? I love operations. It’s a thrill to take on a project, break down the components, develop a solution, put it in place, and then see the wheels turn until it’s successfully completed. It’s an even bigger thrill to see the sense of accomplishment in other people’s faces when this happens. It’s because of this and the confidence I have in my abilities that I don’t limit myself to just the real estate industry. I’m capable of working in a number of different areas – manufacturing, IT, marketing – any position involving projects and strategy. Keep in mind, every position I have ever held in the corporate arena, I have never had any previous experience with. It’s because I’m a troubleshooter – a fixer, that can beak something down and put it together again, better, faster, stronger. That’s been my trademark.

Why are you looking for a job now? I miss working with teams and the structure within companies. When I started my own business, it ended up being much less rewarding than I thought because there is no one to enjoy the success with. Plus I have to do a great deal of peripheral work – marketing, accounting, filing, etc – that takes away from doing the actual job. I function much better within the structure of a larger organization.

What is your management philosophy? When I set my initial expectations with new teams I tell them that you manage resources – time, materials, facilities – but you lead people. Leadership is about providing purpose and direction. For example, I may manage a person’s time (give them a month to meet a sales goal), but I will lead them in the direction they should go (tell them the sales goal and work on a path to get to that goal). I believe in micro managing too, but not as a rule. I communicate parameters for people to make decisions within and then give them that freedom (until the consistently hang themselves), but there are times, like being on a tight deadline, when I have to step in and tell people precisely what and how to do a task in order to be done in time.

Do you work well alone or as part of a team? Both. No man/woman is an island, but sometimes you have to go it alone.

What kind of boss do you prefer? Why? I work best and provide the greatest value for bosses that have a similar management philosophy as mine. I know I can’t expect that to always be the case, but if my supervisor trusts me then I go out of my way to not prove that person wrong.

What about any of your colleagues irritates you the most? If you’re the type that gripes about everything, or likes to come by my office to shoot the breeze for 45 minutes everyday, then we’re probably not going to get along very well. Actually, I’m going to avoid you as much as possible, because it’s too much of a distraction. If you’re a backstabber, or drama queen then the same applies.

What is your biggest work accomplishment to date? My biggest would be the sales team I built in Houston (see here). These associates were outstanding. They learned to think for themselves and make on-the-spot decisions. They took the initiative and even more amazing given the nature of the sales profession, they willing shared their prospects with one another. When I stepped in to take over this bunch the situation was exactly the opposite, and required every skill I had to turn it around. When the situation did change, they were outperforming every division in the company. The validation in this came when the Greater Houston Builders Associate awarded me the Prism Award as Sales Manger of the Year. In the acceptance speech I credited the honor to that sales team. The accomplishment in building that bunch became a benchmark for me.

Have Questions or Want to Contact Me?

"Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way."

- Booker T. Washington -

If you have a question, please fill out the comments section at the bottom of this section and I will get back to you right away. Thank you for taking the time to review my profile.

To contact me I can be reached via email at rmattocks (AT) yahoo (DOT) com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Have a great day.

- Ron