The Shindler Perspective

We often receive unsolicited comments and feedback on our advisory/consulting servies, the speaking engagements and the periodic consulting newsletters. This page is set up to present some of those comments interspersed throughout.

I would like to personally thank both of you for the high degree of professional consulting services you have performed on [name of company]’s behalf. The Shindler Perspective has been instrumental in [name of company]’s development to date.

Despite the physical distance between [name of company]’s East coast location from Los Angeles, your support has been seamless and proactive. I am particularly impressed by your continued ability to virtually provide such high degrees of support.

I just want you to know how informative and insightful I find these newsletters from The Shindler Perspective.

You have mentioned to me the idea of "readability" and this idea definitely applies to your newsletters. I'm not an industry insider nor an expert, yet I find these newsletters efficient, understandable and easily, utterly readable.

Most of all, I appreciate the consistent and gentle nudge to the reader toward looking at the future and toward new horizons in media and technology. It's the same kind of futuristic thinking that I find so compelling whenever I interact with guys over at the MIT Media Lab.

The following was written to the staff of a leading creative organization by a senior executive of a repeat client where The Shindler Perspective (Marty & Roberta Shindler) had been retained to provide a detailed organizational and operational analysis of the company.

Given the challenges we face at [name withheld] (given where we have been, are and are going) with upcoming significant changes (primarily the highly anticipated transitional change of roles of the founders and others as our business model shifts to begin focusing more on Real-Time), it becomes abundantly apparent that we need to focus on the strategic direction so that we can ensure the future leadership of [name withheld] is in lock step with the desired direction of and the core beliefs of the Founders.

I think it makes a lot of sense to identify and understand not only the strategic direction desired, but the direction all your highly dedicated employees are actually steering the ship (hopefully these are the same). This is something M&R are highly qualified to assist us with. I would anticipate that, in addition to the strategic plan, we would receive substantial related guidance with respect to how we could properly move forward on the strategic path including, but not limited to whether or not individuals are properly positioned to maximize their efforts.

The wealth of knowledge and professionalism that was brought to the table by the Shindlers is unmatched. The strategy session helped us to take a variety of ideas, prioritize and boil down those ideas to achieve a realistic strategy that would be appealing to investors.

We are an international company with Management spread across various countries. Marty and Roberta were able to effectively coordinate a schedule for our meetings that suited the various time zones. A positive to being in different time zones was that we could submit queries in the evening and receive a well thought out reply first thing in the morning, allowing us to progress quickly.

There is a sincerity in them wanting you to succeed. We always felt connect to Marty and Roberta and that they would make themselves available. Even when Marty was taking on other clients or attending conferences he would take the time to reply, even if to say that he would give a more detailed reply the following day.

From an early stage technology company in the Northwest US

First we did the Strategy Session in March where you and Roberta quickly got a picture of my situation and helped me consolidate my priorities.

Your help in clarifying the strengths and weaknesses in [name of company] as a business was worth much more that the affordable fee you requested.

We at [name of company] are still using the outline of next steps as our business model and feel that we are making progress every day.

I felt very comfortable during our meetings due to both your obvious experience in our product area and your professional attitude.

We were so busy answering the right, but difficult, questions I even forgot that we were on the phone the while time.

The following unsolicited email was received by a Hollywood TV producer who attended the Spring 2015 Digital Hollywood conference and the Future of TV panel:

Dear Marty, I wanted to drop a quick note to say how much I enjoyed your breakfast session panel. It was incredibly engaging and the rest of the day's panels truly paled in comparison.

And from the panelists at both the Future of TV panel and the Hollywood Strategies - The MultiPlatform Brand events:

Marty--this is year in and out the best panel with the most well prepared and informed moderator. Thanks for making it seamless for us

Marty - thanks again. You did a great job leading the band. Hope we hit all the notes.

Great panel today. Thanks for having me on. You really are a pro at moderating.

Upon the conclusion of the Fall 2014 Digital Hollywood Conference, Marty Shindler received the following unsolicited feedback from panelists:

From the Future of TV panel:

I echo the comments - it was a well thought out set of questions and all the panelists had well thought out responses. It seems like the audience was very engaged. And as Marty predicted - we ended up with a great turnout for our early morning chat.

I think I speak for all the panelists in expressing my gratitude at your thoughtfulness in preparing for the panel and keeping us engaged!

Many thanks again Marty for organising a great panel. I was only getting positive remarks about the discussion topics throughout the rest of the day.

Thank you, Marty, for running such an effective panel. I hope all of you enjoyed the remainder of the show - it was great getting to know each of you.

Following the Creative Storage 2014 Conference, Marty Shindler received these unsolicted comment from an industry executive who was in the audience for the Trekking to the Cloud panel:

I was genuinely captivated by your discussion, the way I get when I watch sportscenter! Frankly, I tune in and out and the various shows and conferences but not at yours. I thought that your line of questioning was inquisitive, aggressive, and that you got the panel to talk about what we the audience wanted to hear most. I was very impressed with your moderation/ conference, and would love to attend the next.

An executive at a leading technology company who was a panelist on Trekking to the Cloud wrote:

Thanks so much for the opportunity to join the wonderful panel. Your moderation allowed for a great discussion and I received very positive feedback from attendees.

I very much look forward to seeing you around the conference circuit and hope to find an opportunity to work with you again soon.

From an exec panelist at the Eyetracking and Facial Recognition panel who wrote:

It was good to meet you and I think you did a great job with a somewhat unusual situation.

At Digital Hollywood, Spring 2014, an entertainment industry writer/publisher posted on Marty Shindler's Facebook page:

Your sessions at Digital Hollywood this week were outstanding. You always pick the brightest of the bright to participate on your panels. AND they know you know what they know and more so it is fun to watch you lead them to reveal the essence of their expertise. Good show!

From a senior manager of an organization for whom we wrote a detailed independent analysis of their project.

Just to let you know we are all reading the report....my take so far is that it is awesome...you guys knocked it out of the park....thanks for the great job.

From an entrepreneur who has created a unique online presence in his field

You have been a huge influence on my thought process and ways of expansion.

A leading industry executive who was a panelist at Digital Hollywood Spring 2014 wrote after the event:

Another panelist wrote:

The following unsolicited comment was received by Amplify Roundtables, the organizers of The Business Of Sports…How Technology Is Changing The Game event sponsored by the United Talent Agency on February 11, 2014.

The panel was a terrific mix of smart, informed business leaders. Their unique perspectives on the various topics gave me a greater understanding of how technology is indeed leading the way for change in the sports business. It also gave rise to many new questions I now have. Stimulating!

Amplify Roundtables, the organizers of the The Business Of Sports…How Technology Is Changing The Game event, sent the following on the day following the panel:

GREAT EVENT LAST NIGHT.

Marty - you did an OUTSTANDING job. THANK YOU! You are so in your element when you moderate panels. It was FANTASTIC!

The Monetizing Web Content event for Amplify Roundtables and hosted by United Talent Agency was successful from several points of view, including generating solid discussion and debate and in attendance.

From the lead organizer of the event:

This comes for a Caltech colleague of mine:

Thanks for the hospitality. Really a great event - excellent program, mix of speakers and Marty's moderating.

Super job last night. The panelists got fired up and lots of good information came from it.

From the lead organizer of the Amplify Roundtables/Hollywood Hill event hosted by United Talent Agency

We too have been getting so many compliments about the evening!!! People LOVED the dynamic conversation you invoked and even "seasoned" panel goers were completely impressed!!

Really a great event - excellent program, mix of speakers and Marty's moderating...Btw - I heard much complementary [sic] from others

You did a fabulous job. Not only did you get the panel discussing the issues, you had the panel in a heated discussion. You also brought the right level of humor, such as when you responded to the age comment about cable users.

From a creative industry business development executive Tweating during the panel:

Listening to @BrianNorgard and @MartyShindler at #amplify. 10 minutes in and there's already debate.

Several unsolicited comments were sent to us in response to our Perspective on CES newsletter of January 2013. The comments included:

Greatly enjoyed reading your CES Perspective. Your usual spot-on perspective was appreciated, especially since I was not able to attend in person. and,

You are always very insightful, and I appreciate that you shared your perspective with me.

From a leading Wall St. Analyst following his participation in one of my panels at a major industry event:

I enjoyed your recent article, “Breaking Barriers and Broken Windows”, and would like to include it in the upcoming edition of the LCD TV Matters newsletter.

An unsolicited statement that we really appreciated because it summed up what we strive to accomplish at The Shindler Perspective:

“I've always thought that you and your company had a pretty unique and interesting take on the business world.”

Samples of feedback received upon completion of consulting engagements include:

“Thanks for you [sic] insight as to how to get our company on the right footing. Things are headed in the right direction and the painful growth and change you described are happening.”

“Most importantly, your ability to articulate and rationalize the many differences of opinion and points of view will enhance the readers’ ability to fully understand the economics of this industry.”

“The report was thorough, well–written and addressed the visual effects matters for which your firm had been commissioned. The report explored the issues with which we were concerned and provided an independent perspective on those issues.”

“Thank you for putting me on your mail list, good information. I am in the development stages of a new feature film, the film financing information is really needed at this stage of my project.”

“You're on the mark. But too many so-called producers have no clue about what it takes to be approved for capital.”

Following some recent presentations, I was pleased to receive the following emails:

“I walked away with some good thoughts and ideas yesterday.”

From a respected journalist covering an important panel. “I thought you did an excellent job--you covered the topics that people are talking about.”

From a key industry executive participating as a panelist. “Thanks Marty...you did a great job preparing us all.”

“I feel like I’ve neglected telling you how much I appreciated your moderating, and facilitation skills at the NAB Creative Storage Conference. As you could obviously tell I’m not the most experienced speaker in public but having you there, someone I know and trust, made all the difference. So thank you.”

“Your approach …made the time much more enjoyable because you kept the program moving and the topic evolving.”

From an industry packaging and branding expert regarding the CES "Spotlight on 3D Content” panel, “The selected group gave an excellent overview on the subject, as well as creating a nice exchange with each other. Your presence and moderating skills, truly made the group discussion exciting and informative.”

As an introduction to a future panelist, “I can personally vouch for the fact that Marty is a great moderator and this will be his third year doing the digital cinema/3D panel for this event so you will be in good hands.”

From an interpreter who translated a recent presentation, “I was able to perform well received interpretation job thanks to your well structured and eloquent presentation. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you and definitely look forward to having another opportunity to work with you in the future.”

Some unsolicited reactions to various published articles and our periodic consulting newsletter include:

“Excellent. The article will be required reading for my startup clients from now on.”

“Thank you for including me in your distribution. This is beautifully written and well thought out… as correctly pointed out...most executives are too busy competing to assess what the competition has deployed, planned or accomplished.”

“Loved the article — rare for a management consultant to make things clear and simple.”

“As always your [sic] right on target with simple things that so many people overlook.”

“I certainly enjoy your [recent]… article - and beneath all the hype, glitz, and general banter within the industry - I value your opinion and perspectives we all face. You seem to be the calming influence in the face of emotional responses.”

“Interesting article. Funny how people sometimes underestimate the power of simply returning calls on time. I agree that that in itself could mean the difference between maintaining a relationship or terminating it.”

“Very good article. I suppose most companies are to [sic] egocentric to respond. Your article assumes people want to know about themselves, that they would listen. I'm afraid that is a dying art in this business, especially. I love the line about having two ears and one mouth. Do you think God was trying to tell us something?”

“Additionally, the "vibe" factor not only helps to bring in business, but is a gauge of the company's own internal health as well. A good vibe means that there is generally a good morale, and a good morale is essential for not only turning out top quality work, but in maintaining the top talent required to produce this work on an ongoing basis Keeping morale high requires continual effort from the entire organization.”

“How ironic that I am dealing with a “curse of the legacy” issue just as your email arrived. The Capex budget prepared toward the end of last year simply did not address this year’s needs. And of course now everyone is complaining. Very funny timing I would say.”

“He asked for the most knowledgeable guy in my industry. There was no other choice. Thanks for your help.”

What Our Clients and Others Say