Meet Vince

Welcome, Vince! Let’s dive right into the interview, shall we?

Certainly! It’s great to meet you and thanks for having me.

Something that really stood out in preparation for today was our common desire to work with and serve people and organizations with a purpose that goes beyond profit. Is that what drew you to Open Eye?

It was a big selling point for me. I’ve been intentional about cultivating a network and client base filled with people and organizations with a desire to “do good” and leave a lasting positive impact on other people and our communities. Knowing that Open Eye shares that philosophy means a great deal to me. Profit is not the enemy, but when it is the only measure of success, it can become a detriment to the human elements of doing business. When a business truly prioritizes the health and success of its people and its community it makes long-term sustainability possible.

You’ve joined Open Eye with over 15 years of experience that spans project management, marketing management, also sitting across several boards offering your thought leadership and expertise. All of these experiences have culminated here, now working in management consulting. How did you get here, and why now?

My career has been full of adventures across a number of industries. I’ve bootstrapped my own small business and worked for large corporations in a variety of different roles. My resume isn’t exactly a roadmap that you’d recommend to someone graduating from business school today, but it has one constant throughline, which is a commitment to growth. I see myself as a catalyst for change and growth and I find great joy and satisfaction in finding solutions to problems and helping turn great ideas and vision into reality. Project management and marketing are tools in my toolkit, but they are in service of the greater purpose of helping others grow and succeed.

All of our clients at Open Eye come to us with a unique set of needs and goals. That said, working with nonprofit organizations for over a decade, there are some overlaps and similarities that have revealed themselves over time. What are some of the common business challenges that you’ve witnessed across your roles?

Virtually every business or organization I’ve had the opportunity to work with believes that their struggles and needs are unique to their team or industry. In reality, most organizations find that their issues often stem from a core issue or issues including, but not limited to: poor leadership and management, scarcity mindset (fear), lack of trust, disjointed communication, and ineffective processes and systems. The symptoms of these issues can manifest in any number of ways, and untangling that web to get to the core of the issue is what I find most thrilling and rewarding about consulting.

As we’ve grown our collective of experts over the years, we’ve seen a hub of experts come out of Louisville, Kentucky. Being a local yourself, what makes the Louisville community so special, both personally and professionally?

I am proud to call Louisville my home and I’m grateful for the many opportunities I’ve been offered here. This town is full of incredibly talented and passionate people who genuinely want to create a great community for each other and for future generations. Louisville is not without imperfections, but in my experience, Louisville returns to you with dividends whatever you are willing to invest in it.

In 1937 there was a devastating flood in Louisville that affected over 50 percent of the homes in the city in the dead of winter. Yet, the people of our community banded together wearing buttons reading “I dare you to catch me not smiling.” I think this speaks to our spirit of resilience and togetherness and makes me proud to raise my family here.

You’ve shared with us that you’re the proud father of two children, alongside your wife - congratulations! Given that our engagements are often a mix of in-person and virtual work, we were wondering how the increasingly common hybrid work model might have allowed for you to achieve more presence and work-life balance with your family?

Thank you, my wife and my kids are everything to me. The opportunity to work a hybrid schedule allows me the flexibility to prioritize my family and be a more engaged and present parent and partner. I appreciate that my work is evaluated for its quality, rather than the amount of time I sit in front of my computer between eight to five each day. Being able to take time during the day to visit my kids at school for lunch, or take our dog for a walk is a luxury that I appreciate and certainly don’t take for granted.

With your experience on several boards, such as Best Buddies of Kentucky, The Pete Foundation, PMI Kentuckiana, and the Southwest Center, we might assume that it is in your best and personal interest to stay on top of trends and thought leadership. What trends do you see emerging in the nonprofit sector, and how are you preparing for them?

Great question. The nonprofit space seems to be in a period of transition right now. I’ve personally become a fan of Dan Pallotta’s Uncharitable movement, which challenges us as a society to shift the way we measure the success of nonprofit organizations. Historically, we’ve measured nonprofit success by their ability to 1. Continue to exist and 2. Spend as little as possible on overhead expenses. Pallotta challenges us to find ways to truly measure impact and invest as much as possible in the behaviors and organizations that make real strides toward achieving their missions.

We also see the impact of technology, specifically AI, on the sector as donor and volunteer management tools are being equipped with AI-backed features.

Another critical trend in the space is a push toward leveling non-profit wages and compensation with equivalent roles in the for-profit sector. The average nonprofit employee changes jobs every 18 months often in search of better compensation. The sector is realizing the true cost of this constant churn and the difficulties that come from a persistent loss of subject matter expertise.

Overall, I believe the nonprofit space is headed towards transformational change and I’m excited to be a part of it.

It’s been a pleasure to get to know you some more, Vince. It is clear that our clients will benefit greatly from your lived experiences, and we look forward to collaborating with you on future projects.

To wrap things up on a lighter note, tell us in detail what a really great Sunday looks like for you.

Great to get to know you as well, thank you for the thoughtful questions. A great Sunday for me would be a day free of commitments so I could enjoy a lazy breakfast and some cartoons with my family. Then a trip to the park for a hike with our dogs, followed by some quiet time for a nap or a great book. Stress-free time with my family is all I can really ask for, and makes for a perfect Sunday.

Thank you, Vince! Welcome to the Open Eye family.