Maria Martin

The Martin File
? Martin founded Optime Consulting 1998 to help companies elevate and recognize their employees with strategies that will increase productivity and quality of life.
? The firm is located in Weston (2400 N. Commerce Parkway, Suite 302), with offices in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Spain. Optime has some 130 employees.

? Leading a team is like leading a family. You have to understand the best way to make [your employees] happy—and, at the same time, how they can be as productive as they can be.

? I believe that people do business with people they like and trust. If I take care of my people, they will take care of the business and the customers.

? We’re a company that really cares about people. … We analyze data to find behavioral trends to help sales and opportunities … and how [companies] can can make [their employees] happier and have a better quality of life. It’s about human-centric strategy.

? I have two daughters: 24 and 18. They’re millennials. Maybe 40 percent of our employees are millennials. They are different, but I learn from them so much. Some have been working for me for the past 18 years; others were almost born when I founded the company. It’s an interesting way to understand how every person adds value to the conversation and into the work.

? People are people. It’s like, you’re not a machine. You have feelings. It can be a very demanding position some days, and you need to put in effort and be committed. But some days, maybe you don’t feel well and you’re not super happy. We have to understand how to manage that, while understanding that everyone has to be committed and responsible for what they are doing.

? My mom, she was my hero. She always told us that whatever we wanted to do in our lives, we could do it. It’s something that I’ve been saying to my daughters.

? When we say we’re a woman-run company, I think [our clients are] expecting a lot from us. And I think that the challenge is not only on me to exceed expectations.

? [As women], I think we’re prepared more than anyone else because we have so many titles in our lives. We’re moms, we’re professionals, we’re daughters, we’re sisters, we’re wives. We have to manage so many things. … Attention to detail is everything for us [at Optime].

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