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Universal IT Knowledge, Simplified for Your Business Country Consulting was founded in 2001, initially from a business opportunity to represent two worldwide renowned IT security companies in the Australasia market. Marcel Vogt, Australian CEO of the Year 2016, speaks to us about the fundamental values of the business.
“With the experience of running IT businesses in Europe, Country Consulting developed a culture based around developing strong and ongoing relationships with clients and staff. We believe developing and maintaining these personal relationships is the key to success in our business. It is important for us to treat the clients’ business as if it were our own business. This strategy is proven by our continued relationships with businesses which we have supported for 10-16 years. “Developing and implementing work processes that provide simple to use and simple to
understand tools for the day to day business tasks is important. If the tool requires extensive training to learn, it is often not the right tool for the job. Simple and logical processes improve the productiveness of staff and get rid of any frustration. The best judgement is when a new staff member makes comments like ‘this is really simple to use’. Another key to run a business is to share knowledge. Knowledge empowers employees and trusting them with responsibility and authority improves overall productivity.” Marcel believes that core values come from the top of the company and that Integrity, honesty, and being open with staff and clients, are valued attributes that are most important in company culture. Marcel describes how he has kept himself motivated and positive, whilst also telling us about the main challenge he has faced as a CEO. “A great motivation for me is when staff members are proud of what they are doing and what they have achieved. This is acknowledgement that I’m on the right track. This enthusiasm is like a fever. It spreads and affects our clients in a good way. Being proud of what we are doing and the things we achieve for our clients delivers success for us. “For me the biggest challenge was taking myself away from direct hands on involvement in
the day to day tasks to focus on the more traditional role of a CEO. It is a challenge, but also extremely rewarding to find and nurture the future leaders of my business, allowing them control of the function and operation of the business that I have grown from nothing.” Country Consulting is involved in a fast paced industry. Marcel explains how the market has changed over the years and how this has affected the growth of the business. “The ITC industry is one of the fastest changing industry environments. To be successful you must be adaptable and flexible. A good vison helps to guide the path for a business to show a business the way forward. It is important to see trends and to adapt to them quickly, but not without careful consideration. The Industry once used to be more thoughtful and developments have been planned over longer periods.
Today lesser time is available and implementations have to be done in the shortest time period so the business can keep up to date. This is a challenge as one should not compromise on quality and security.” Marcel concludes the interview by telling us his ambitions for the future and where he sees his career heading. “Country Consulting is a growing business. Strong relationships with clients and the booming technology sector is allowing us to continue this growth. In five years’ time, I hope to be sharing my experience and knowledge as a CEO with emerging talent in the industry. I would like to nurture and support a group of talented young professionals to allow me to bring any business forward. Transforming my business from a CEO role to a Board of Directors would utilize my technology and business skills.”
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Country Consulting is an information technology service provider which operates from its head office in Brisbane, Australia. Their business involves planning, implementing and maintaining complete or partial ITC infrastructure to assist organisations in growing their business. Country Consulting is not limited to any particular industry. With clients from the retail industries, hospitality, conference and function centres, manufacturing, legal and accounting, they provide the right tailored solution for small to medium sized businesses anywhere. Marcel Vogt tells us what the firm provides to clients and how they approach their work in order to develop their company effectively.
Name: Marcel Vogt Email: Marcel.Vogt@countryconsulting.com.au Web Address: www.CountryConsulting.com.au Address: 15 Maud Street, Newstead, 4006 Queensland, Australia Telephone: +61 7 3852 2221