Following wins across the National Science Foundation, USCIS, IRS, HUD and Federal Student Aid, and being named to the Inc 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the US, we met with Zen Strategics’ President Venu Ayala; Tammy Strickler, Project Manager Program Management Office, a veteran of both the FBI and FEMA; and Michael McNealy, Director of Program Delivery, a retired US Army Veteran who also supported NSA. The team shared Zen Strategics distinct ethos, the trap of intellectual laziness, why head space matters, the strength of this teams’ growing collective expertise and why they anticipate being a $75M company by 2025.
A Distinct Ethos
Noting a very collegial environment, collaboration, a view to growing personally, professionally and for the organization, sets a tone for the way Zen works and the kinds of people it attracts. “We bring in people from a variety of companies who bring experience with the agency, skillsets we seek, and we fold them into our philosophy and approach.”
Part of Zen’s ethos is focused on creating and maintaining personal connections. “In our remote environment, connecting with people, including clients, can be a challenge, especially people on the IT side. We keep working at it, trying to get that person-to-person connection, even if it is just video, because it’s how you establish relationships. The interactions we have with people can’t just be transactional.”
Getting the team out for a thank you sporting event, concert or other similar activity, Zen works to bring its team together as it can, knowing the personal connections are invaluable.
Avoiding being Intellectually Lazy
While it would be easy to just assign tasks, give orders, tell someone how something should be, that falls under the umbrella of intellectual laziness according to this team. “Real relationships hinge on shared understanding and decision-making. The goal is always to have someone share their view, understand the why, and to have their buy-in. Then they’re part of the decision-making process.”
Relationships also take investing in understanding who people are, their strengths and weaknesses, how you can talk to them or can’t, and how they work best. “You have different approaches to different people because you understand how they operate and how they think and the best way to communicate with them, and you’ve built that report. That applies internally, to our partners, and to our clients.”
Rapport allows Tough Conversations
Through rapport, built on trust, Zen is able to have the tough conversations that may need to happen to address issues before they get bigger than they are, or to help customers understand there is a better way forward. “We work hard at ensuring we know what is changing, that we maintain a finger on the pulse of various discipline areas so we know what things are coming down the pike and can talk to customers and educate them. When we respond to an RFI that has outdated requirements or is leaning on old policies, we can respond and show them what is new, what is coming…things they may not have realized existed.”
Bridging the gap between old regulations and emerging needs may require diplomatically helping a client understand they may be at B but really should be at J. “It starts with moving them slowly toward where they need to be, giving them a why, perhaps knowing they may need to be much further ahead than they are but taking it at a pace that is comfortable and achievable.”
Head Space Matters
Having had to respond with little notice to urgent demands, one thing Zen tries to always account for is the head space of its team. It requires constant communication, with clients and with internal teams to be prepared for the unexpected as much as possible. “It takes having planners in place who know their teams, know their strengths, who can do what, how they operate and whether there are any gaps in their ability to respond in the moment.”
Once the dust has settled you then need to take time, to lean back to see the forest and to say, ok how did we respond, how do we better prepare? Can we leverage things we used before? Do we need to find something else? “We can identify different gardeners in various areas, so you have a gardener here who is overseeing and planning, and then another over here and so on, and then you need the grand gardeners to ensure each of those areas has what they need.”
Those grand gardeners also have to consider the interactions between the various groups, what they may need to know, what cross training or additional information they may need to consider understanding that ultimately, different disciplines may not be as disparate as they appear.
Collective Expertise
Citing a recent example, Zen will pull together people with similar subject matter expertise from different teams to brainstorm to find better solutions for all. “We can have one problem and each of these people comes to the table with a different potential solution. Working together they can test and discuss and find the optimal best solution for all. That will ultimately make us grow as a team, bring us higher level solutions to support the various agencies we support.”
That collective expertise has also helped Zen Strategics define who it is as a company. Unlike other small businesses who may be open to anything and everything they can do, Zen prefers to be known as a cybersecurity and information management company, not as a small or an 8(a). “That being said 8(a) is something we think about, at least from the view of planning beyond it, looking to mentor-proteges and joint ventures that will help us compete into the future.”
Making Remote Work
Utilizing virtual happy hours, opportunities to volunteer together, Zen is deliberate in its efforts to be connected. President Venu Ayala will give tickets to a group so they can attend an event together; will send food coupons to remote teams as they prepare for virtual lunches… “These kinds of things create that camaraderie, create the connections you would get very easily with everyone in one location, but that takes thought with people remote.”
Seizing the opportunity that can be gained from being remote, Venu reaches out to engage with his team, to find out not only how the work is going but how they are, to know who they are. And he encourages other in leadership roles to do the same, to let people know they are being thought of and seen as individuals.
Those open lines of communication are also intended to facilitate an ease of raising issues and concerns, allowing those who are problem solvers to know the barriers that exist so they can be eliminated.
Doing What you Want
In GovCon, and in government, there are roles in which you will spend time doing what you are told, and opportunities to do what you want. Citing Zen as perfect for the name of this calm, centered company, which gives its team the opportunity to grow and to serve, many at Zen have embraced the opportunity. “Smaller companies have the opportunity to pay attention. They pay attention to what really needs to happen, to the people that are doing the activities and they’re paying attention to the results in a manner that’s growing. They’re going to pick up the phone and respond to you, and they’re going to give you quality service, and it’s going to be that personal service.”
Exponential Growth and Partnering
From a small business with under 10 employees, to a Prime awardee of a $73M DHS USCIS contract, Zen saw incredible growth in a very short period of time. Focused on managing that growth, maintaining its culture and ensuring staff are positioned to support these efforts, they have been very strategic in next steps, including those they consider as partners. “This is a small community and people know each other, know of each other. Those who are ethical, who do what they say and do it in the right way are those we want to partner with.”
Looking to meet its goals, Zen is also considering inorganic growth, looking to niche companies who may be able to build its portfolio of capabilities, those who will be a good fit of culture and mindset. “We have our eyes open for those that may be good strategic fits, including perhaps when it comes to product offerings, things we can develop that will add to our company and help support our clients.”
The company’s growth over time has also allowed it to open its arms to a variety of community support initiatives. “This is another area we see building upon in the future, that focus on giving back to the community, to veterans and various foundations in many ways.”
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