{"id":41693,"date":"2020-09-24T11:31:06","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T18:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=41693"},"modified":"2020-09-24T11:31:09","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T18:31:09","slug":"foxhole-worthy-epson-difference-maker-joe-contreras-instills-team-confidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/the-week-in-imaging-twii\/editors-blog\/2020\/09\/foxhole-worthy-epson-difference-maker-joe-contreras-instills-team-confidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Foxhole-Worthy Epson Difference Maker Joe Contreras Instills Team Confidence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Joe Contreras, Epson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Of all the traits a manager can possess, perhaps none is\nvalued more than loyalty. Nothing is more reassuring than knowing if a certain\nsituation begins to go sour, your manager has your back. And whether you\u2019re a\nsoldier in a foxhole or a team member in a business setting, that peace of mind\ngenerally results in a team that would also go through a wall for its\ncommander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Contreras understands that as a leader, you\u2019re only as good\nas the team that supports you. Building up and recognizing individuals has the\nsalutary effect of fostering creativity, inspiring new ideas and approaches,\nand\u2014perhaps most importantly\u2014motivating team members to higher levels. And like\nthe coach of a successful football team, Contreras will be the first one to\ntake all of the blame for failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you alleviate pressure from the tam and you\u2019re willing\nto take ownership of everything that takes place within the team, it really\nbuilds trust and confidence within a team by allowing them to take calculated\nrisks and make mistakes,\u201d said Contreras, a 2020 ENX Magazine<\/em> Difference Maker. \u201cOftentimes, people are afraid of\nmaking mistakes, because they\u2019re concerned about getting reprimanded or losing\ntheir job. Knowing it\u2019s OK to fail puts people at ease and allows them to push\nthemselves to achieve more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contreras has certainly earned the moniker of one of the industry\u2019s nice guys during his 20-year journey in the industry, much of which was spent with Toshiba America Business Solutions. He made a bold move in early 2019, joining Epson as it embarked down the road of fomenting a commercial inkjet printing movement. In this new role of commercial marketing executive of office solutions, Contreras has guided the process of portfolio management, strategic partnerships, software integration and support, and sales and marketing programs. Whether the movement is seen as an evolution or revolution, Contreras is all in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sense of Accomplishment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given his leadership tone, it is not surprising to know that\nContreras feeds off of the phenomenal team that Epson has assembled. \u201cIt\u2019s that\nsense of what we\u2019re accomplishing together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are still in start-up\nmode, so being able to see what we\u2019ve accomplished in a short period of time\nand seeing the business take shape so quickly has exceeded my expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI truly believe this is what will push Epson to the\nforeground of our industry. The organization is nimble and addressing the\nmarket, and looking to change the way it looks at print.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A product of Texas A&M University, Contreras follows the\n\u201cDo unto others\u2026\u201d Golden Rule, and has crafted his own leadership-based four Ps\n(passion, purpose, presence and professionalism) that he holds himself and his\nteam to in its business journey. Beyond trust and credibility, Contreras\nmeasures individuals by their actions as opposed to their words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While his career has taken a decidedly different path than\nthe PC world he\u2019d envisioned conquering at the onset, Contreras remains\nenamored with the industry and the sense of family and community it provides.\nHis journey has been intertwined with that of fellow executive Mark Mathews,\nwith whom he shares the Toshiba past in addition to his current endeavors with\nEpson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMark\u2019s leadership style is one of high integrity, open communications and a \u2018team versus me\u2019 approach, which drew me to where I am today,\u201d he said. \u201cHe has taught me a lot over the last 20 years, but most recently, it\u2019s how to be nimble and don\u2019t let perfection get in the way of execution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whirlwind of Activity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last 19 months have been marked by great change in\nContreras\u2019 professional life. The organization mobilized to build the sales and\nmarketing organization, established a dealer channel and followed through on\nachieving its targets in that regard. A late 2019 trip to corporate\nheadquarters in Japan gave select dealers and industry press the opportunity to\nsee the technology in process, followed by the inaugural Ink Boldly partner\nevent last March. It\u2019s all a part of the plan for world dominance, he notes,\ntongue firmly in cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn 2020, we\u2019ve already\naccomplished a lot of what we set out to do,\u201d Contreras added. \u201cWe really\nincreased our dealer engagement through the impact training webinar series we\nkicked off in April. We\u2019ve expanded our presence in dealerships with A4, we\nintroduced a national service network program and virtual hands-on training.\nThis month, we\u2019re introducing our flagship A3 portfolio, the next generation\nWorkForce Enterprise. It\u2019s been a busy year and we haven\u2019t let our foot off the\ngas. It\u2019s been full-speed ahead. Beyond 2020, we\u2019re acutely focused on\ndisrupting the industry with unique and differentiating inkjet technology.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

How does Contreras plan on raising his game? Even after\n20-plus years on the job, continuous learning is the key to further\ndevelopment. Contreras believes he can glean knowledge from everyone he comes\ninto contact with\u2026even if it\u2019s learning what not to do. It\u2019s his hope he can\ncontinue to share that knowledge with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSharing knowledge and teaching is where I want to improve\nboth as an individual and leader,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate to learn from\na number of executives in the industry. Imparting that knowledge to others, the\nfuture generation, s what I want to focus and continue to build upon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contreras and his wife, Moana, have been married for 17\nyears. They have a 12-year-old son, Tai, who keeps the family engaged courtesy\nof club team basketball. Tai has also taken up surfing this year and has been\nprogressing nicely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living close to the beach has provided a needed getaway in a\nyear when travel has been prohibitive. The family does love Lake Tahoe, which\noffers a compelling combination of lake and mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were able to spend time there this summer and recharge\nwhile still social distancing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Of all the traits a manager can possess, perhaps none is valued more than loyalty. Nothing is more reassuring than knowing if a certain situation begins to go sour, your manager has your back. And whether you\u2019re a soldier in a foxhole or a team member in a business setting, that peace of mind generally results in a team that would also go through a wall for its commander. Joe Contreras understands that as a leader, you\u2019re only as good as the team that supports you. Building up and recognizing individuals has the salutary effect of fostering creativity, inspiring new ideas and approaches, and\u2014perhaps most importantly\u2014motivating team members to higher levels. And like the coach of a successful football team, Contreras will be the first one to take all of the blame for failure. \u201cWhen you alleviate pressure from the tam and you\u2019re willing to take ownership of everything that takes place within the team, it really builds trust and confidence within a team by allowing them to take calculated risks and make mistakes,\u201d said Contreras, a 2020 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. \u201cOftentimes, people are afraid of making mistakes, because they\u2019re concerned about getting reprimanded or losing their job. Knowing it\u2019s OK to fail puts people at ease and allows them to push themselves to achieve more.\u201d Contreras has certainly earned the moniker of one of the industry\u2019s nice guys during his 20-year journey in the industry, much of which was spent with Toshiba America Business Solutions. He made a bold move in early 2019, joining Epson as it embarked down the road of fomenting a commercial inkjet printing movement. In this new role of commercial marketing executive of office solutions, Contreras has guided the process of portfolio management, strategic partnerships, software integration and support, and sales and marketing programs. Whether the movement is seen as an evolution or revolution, Contreras is all in. Sense of Accomplishment Given his leadership tone, it is not surprising to know that Contreras feeds off of the phenomenal team that Epson has assembled. \u201cIt\u2019s that sense of what we\u2019re accomplishing together,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are still in start-up mode, so being able to see what we\u2019ve accomplished in a short period of time and seeing the business take shape so quickly has exceeded my expectations. \u201cI truly believe this is what will push Epson to the foreground of our industry. The organization is nimble and addressing the market, and looking to change the way it looks at print.\u201d A product of Texas A&M University, Contreras follows the \u201cDo unto others\u2026\u201d Golden Rule, and has crafted his own leadership-based four Ps (passion, purpose, presence and professionalism) that he holds himself and his team to in its business journey. Beyond trust and credibility, Contreras measures individuals by their actions as opposed to their words. While his career has taken a decidedly different path than the PC world he\u2019d envisioned conquering at the onset, Contreras remains enamored with the industry and the sense of family and community it provides. His journey has been intertwined with that of fellow executive Mark Mathews, with whom he shares the Toshiba past in addition to his current endeavors with Epson. \u201cMark\u2019s leadership style is one of high integrity, open communications and a \u2018team versus me\u2019 approach, which drew me to where I am today,\u201d he said. \u201cHe has taught me a lot over the last 20 years, but most recently, it\u2019s how to be nimble and don\u2019t let perfection get in the way of execution.\u201d Whirlwind of Activity The last 19 months have been marked by great change in Contreras\u2019 professional life. The organization mobilized to build the sales and marketing organization, established a dealer channel and followed through on achieving its targets in that regard. A late 2019 trip to corporate headquarters in Japan gave select dealers and industry press the opportunity to see the technology in process, followed by the inaugural Ink Boldly partner event last March. It\u2019s all a part of the plan for world dominance, he notes, tongue firmly in cheek. Or is it? \u201cIn 2020, we\u2019ve already accomplished a lot of what we set out to do,\u201d Contreras added. \u201cWe really increased our dealer engagement through the impact training webinar series we kicked off in April. We\u2019ve expanded our presence in dealerships with A4, we introduced a national service network program and virtual hands-on training. This month, we\u2019re introducing our flagship A3 portfolio, the next generation WorkForce Enterprise. It\u2019s been a busy year and we haven\u2019t let our foot off the gas. It\u2019s been full-speed ahead. Beyond 2020, we\u2019re acutely focused on disrupting the industry with unique and differentiating inkjet technology.\u201d   How does Contreras plan on raising his game? Even after 20-plus years on the job, continuous learning is the key to further development. Contreras believes he can glean knowledge from everyone he comes into contact with\u2026even if it\u2019s learning what not to do. It\u2019s his hope he can continue to share that knowledge with others. \u201cSharing knowledge and teaching is where I want to improve both as an individual and leader,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate to learn from a number of executives in the industry. Imparting that knowledge to others, the future generation, s what I want to focus and continue to build upon.\u201d Contreras and his wife, Moana, have been married for 17 years. They have a 12-year-old son, Tai, who keeps the family engaged courtesy of club team basketball. Tai has also taken up surfing this year and has been progressing nicely. Living close to the beach has provided a needed getaway in a year when travel has been prohibitive. The family does love Lake Tahoe, which offers a compelling combination of lake and mountains. \u201cWe were able to spend time there this summer and recharge while still social distancing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":38547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3626,80,1650,82,84,1638],"tags":[180,1662],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41693"}],"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=41693"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41695,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41693\/revisions\/41695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}