{"id":35663,"date":"2019-08-08T14:38:16","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T21:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=35663"},"modified":"2019-08-08T14:38:20","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T21:38:20","slug":"marco-maverick-steve-gau-slants-unconventional-but-this-difference-maker-keeps-work-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2019\/08\/marco-maverick-steve-gau-slants-unconventional-but-this-difference-maker-keeps-work-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Marco Maverick Steve Gau Slants Unconventional, but this Difference Maker Keeps Work Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Steve Gau, president, copier division, Marco<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Walk into Steve Gau\u2019s office, and you might find a framed picture of John McCain on the wall. Gau is an unabashed fan of the late senator\u2019s free-wheeling, maverick style. That conjures images of a nonconformist, an unconventional free-spirited individual. And that’s just fine with Gau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause that definition suits me well, my co-workers can\ncount on me for straightforward, no-fluff answers on any topic that they want\nto talk about,\u201d noted Gau, a 2019 ENX\nMagazine<\/em> Difference Maker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president of the copier division for Marco doubles as\nthe company\u2019s unofficial \u201cother CEO,\u201d a.k.a. the chief entertainment officer.\nWhether it\u2019s creating sales contests to places like Las Vegas, Nashville,\nTennessee; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and Sun Valley, Idaho; or handing out tickets\nto Minnesota sporting events or country music concert tickets, Gau likes to\nkeep his team happy and loose. When people love their job, they\u2019re more apt to be\nproductive and less likely to look for greener pastures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gau loves being involved with company outings during the\nChristmas season, and during the summer, he dons an apron and fires up the\ngrill. Hand Gau a mic, and he\u2019ll launch into a comedy set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mentor Role<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But make no mistake about it. Gau\u2019s greatest joy is playing\na role in mentoring Marco employees to develop successful careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve really\nenjoyed being a part of leadership and having the opportunity to create\nsatisfying careers for people by working with them to better understand sales, business\nin general and our company specifically, as well as how to deal with the\nadversity that comes with unexpected losses,\u201d he said. \u201cAs well as how to\ncelebrate the wins, among other things.  I find it extremely satisfying to\nbe a part of someone going from being a rookie sales rep to whatever it is they\ndesire to achieve, whether that means becoming a major account sales rep or\nattaining a leadership position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the names\nGau and Marco may seem interchangeable, this was one Gau that almost wiggled\noff the company hook. While attending St. Cloud State, Gau worked part-time for\nthe company, selling office supplies, office furniture and small desktop\ncopiers. In his mind, Gau wanted to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps and get\ninto sales. Upon graduating in 1994, the head of the copier sales team at\nMarco, Keith Schwichtenberg, offered him a job selling copiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gau was unmoved.\n\u201cI said, \u2018Hell no, I have to get a real job, I can\u2019t keep my college job,\u2019\u201d he\nrecalled telling Schwichtenberg. But after a couple of year-plus stints in\nsales capacities with other firms, Gau had a change of heart. One day, he found\na pay phone in Moline, Illinois, and called Schwichtenberg to see if there was\nstill a position available. Twenty-two years later, Gau is convinced he made\nthe right choice, and Schwichtenberg proved to be a key figure in his\nprofessional career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fairness Doctrine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Keith\u2019s\nmentoring that taught me how to negotiate with our manufacturing partners,\u201d Gau\nsaid. \u201cHe also taught me how to make decisions that were fair to the employee\nwhile keeping the company in mind.  The key word in that statement is fair\nas that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s always popular.  If all of the decisions you\nmake are popular you probably aren\u2019t making the tough decisions that often need\nto be made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

 Gau also counts Jonathan Warrey and brother\nJeff Gau, Marco\u2019s CEO, among his greatest influences. Warrey is smart, funny,\ncompassionate and virtually unflappable, making him an ideal sounding board for\nSteve Gau\u2019s more offbeat ideas. As for Jeff, who is nearly 15 years his senior,\nhe dispenses fatherly-type advice and encouragement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe taught me the\nimportance of self-awareness and EQ (emotional quotient) versus IQ,\u201d Gau said.\n\u201cIf he didn\u2019t help me understand the critical nature of EQ and improve my\nself-awareness, I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gau has embraced\nthe \u201cfamily first\u201d philosophy, putting priorities on what matters most in life.\nAs he points out, \u201cNo one ever says on their death bed, \u2018I wish I would have\nworked more,\u2019\u201d he related.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cross-Selling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is excited to\nsee the results of Marco blending its copier and IT sales reps, and Gau is\nquarterbacking the effort to increasingly cross-sell the company\u2019s products and\nservices. \u201cAs we realize more success with cross-selling today, it puts us on a\npath of having one very large strategic sales force in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Marco\ncontinues to grow both organically and through acquisition, Gau is hoping to\nleverage the knowledge base of the new contributors who join the organization.\nIt\u2019s all geared toward expanding his thinking, and his maverick style prevents\nGau from closing his mind to the possibilities the future offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the personal\nfront, Gau has been married to his \u201cbeautiful and incredibly tolerant\u201d wife\nKatie for nearly 24 years. They have two daughters, Anna and Sam, who are\nconstantly embarrassed by their father. A dog (Charlotte) and two cats (Shirly\nand Selma) round out the Gau family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gau loves\nspending time at the tables in Las Vegas\u2014a Silver Bullet in hand\u2014as well as\ngolfing. The family enjoys taking vacations, boat rides and going on the road\nto support the Minnesota Wild hockey team. He\u2019s also quick to jump on the phone\nand call his dad whenever a member of the AL East-leading Twins cracks a home\nrun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo we\u2019ve been\ntalking a LOT lately,\u201d Gau added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walk into Steve Gau\u2019s office, and you might find a framed picture of John McCain on the wall. Gau is an unabashed fan of the late senator\u2019s free-wheeling, maverick style. That conjures images of a nonconformist, an unconventional free-spirited individual. And that’s just fine with Gau. \u201cBecause that definition suits me well, my co-workers can count on me for straightforward, no-fluff answers on any topic that they want to talk about,\u201d noted Gau, a 2019 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. The president of the copier division for Marco doubles as the company\u2019s unofficial \u201cother CEO,\u201d a.k.a. the chief entertainment officer. Whether it\u2019s creating sales contests to places like Las Vegas, Nashville, Tennessee; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and Sun Valley, Idaho; or handing out tickets to Minnesota sporting events or country music concert tickets, Gau likes to keep his team happy and loose. When people love their job, they\u2019re more apt to be productive and less likely to look for greener pastures. Gau loves being involved with company outings during the Christmas season, and during the summer, he dons an apron and fires up the grill. Hand Gau a mic, and he\u2019ll launch into a comedy set. Mentor Role But make no mistake about it. Gau\u2019s greatest joy is playing a role in mentoring Marco employees to develop successful careers. \u201cI\u2019ve really enjoyed being a part of leadership and having the opportunity to create satisfying careers for people by working with them to better understand sales, business in general and our company specifically, as well as how to deal with the adversity that comes with unexpected losses,\u201d he said. \u201cAs well as how to celebrate the wins, among other things.  I find it extremely satisfying to be a part of someone going from being a rookie sales rep to whatever it is they desire to achieve, whether that means becoming a major account sales rep or attaining a leadership position.\u201d While the names Gau and Marco may seem interchangeable, this was one Gau that almost wiggled off the company hook. While attending St. Cloud State, Gau worked part-time for the company, selling office supplies, office furniture and small desktop copiers. In his mind, Gau wanted to follow in his father\u2019s footsteps and get into sales. Upon graduating in 1994, the head of the copier sales team at Marco, Keith Schwichtenberg, offered him a job selling copiers. Gau was unmoved. \u201cI said, \u2018Hell no, I have to get a real job, I can\u2019t keep my college job,\u2019\u201d he recalled telling Schwichtenberg. But after a couple of year-plus stints in sales capacities with other firms, Gau had a change of heart. One day, he found a pay phone in Moline, Illinois, and called Schwichtenberg to see if there was still a position available. Twenty-two years later, Gau is convinced he made the right choice, and Schwichtenberg proved to be a key figure in his professional career. Fairness Doctrine \u201cIt\u2019s Keith\u2019s mentoring that taught me how to negotiate with our manufacturing partners,\u201d Gau said. \u201cHe also taught me how to make decisions that were fair to the employee while keeping the company in mind.  The key word in that statement is fair as that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s always popular.  If all of the decisions you make are popular you probably aren\u2019t making the tough decisions that often need to be made.\u201d  Gau also counts Jonathan Warrey and brother Jeff Gau, Marco\u2019s CEO, among his greatest influences. Warrey is smart, funny, compassionate and virtually unflappable, making him an ideal sounding board for Steve Gau\u2019s more offbeat ideas. As for Jeff, who is nearly 15 years his senior, he dispenses fatherly-type advice and encouragement. \u201cHe taught me the importance of self-awareness and EQ (emotional quotient) versus IQ,\u201d Gau said. \u201cIf he didn\u2019t help me understand the critical nature of EQ and improve my self-awareness, I wouldn\u2019t be where I am today.\u201d Gau has embraced the \u201cfamily first\u201d philosophy, putting priorities on what matters most in life. As he points out, \u201cNo one ever says on their death bed, \u2018I wish I would have worked more,\u2019\u201d he related. Cross-Selling He is excited to see the results of Marco blending its copier and IT sales reps, and Gau is quarterbacking the effort to increasingly cross-sell the company\u2019s products and services. \u201cAs we realize more success with cross-selling today, it puts us on a path of having one very large strategic sales force in the future,\u201d he said. As Marco continues to grow both organically and through acquisition, Gau is hoping to leverage the knowledge base of the new contributors who join the organization. It\u2019s all geared toward expanding his thinking, and his maverick style prevents Gau from closing his mind to the possibilities the future offers. On the personal front, Gau has been married to his \u201cbeautiful and incredibly tolerant\u201d wife Katie for nearly 24 years. They have two daughters, Anna and Sam, who are constantly embarrassed by their father. A dog (Charlotte) and two cats (Shirly and Selma) round out the Gau family. Gau loves spending time at the tables in Las Vegas\u2014a Silver Bullet in hand\u2014as well as golfing. The family enjoys taking vacations, boat rides and going on the road to support the Minnesota Wild hockey team. He\u2019s also quick to jump on the phone and call his dad whenever a member of the AL East-leading Twins cracks a home run. \u201cSo we\u2019ve been talking a LOT lately,\u201d Gau added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":34066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[80,1650,82,84,1638],"tags":[545],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35663"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35663"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35668,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35663\/revisions\/35668"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}