John Russo is a bit of a magician. For more than three decades, he has been turning business contacts into lifelong friends. That has to be one reason why he has stayed in the ARM industry for so long and become as successful as he has. Read on to learn more about John, his name doppelganger, and why you have to get up pretty early in the morning if you want to outwork him on any given day.
Name: John Russo
Current Role/Job Title: VP of Business Development & Recruiting
Company: Stenger & Stenger, PC
Length of time at current company: 7 ½ years
Length of time in industry: 35 years
How did you get your start in the industry?
I was recruited by ACB (a large national collection agency) that wanted to start a healthcare collections vertical.
What is your career highlight so far?
Turning business contacts into life-long friends! Every day is a learning opportunity
When or how are you most productive?
I start my day at 4:30am. The goal is to make myself available to listen to staff, clients, prospects and vendors with the purpose of learning something!
Which industry professional do you admire most?
Too many to mention. John Rousseau (Having a name that the pronunciation is so similar has been a great help) was very helpful to me early in my career, but Phil Stenger, current boss for his drive to always be better in all aspects of your life!
What is one thing you do better than everyone else?
The goal is to out effort everyone!
What do you like most about this industry?
The people and all the opportunities… no limits to what you can do!
What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?
Prevailing party pays the costs in an FDCPA lawsuit.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
Sports agent/recruiter
Describe a typical work day
Start at 5am and finish when the job is done!
What is your guilty pleasure?
Pizza/Italian food from New Jersey!
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Pay it forward and you can always right a wrong! One more from my Dad – Two ears and one mouth means you need to listen twice as much!
What are you currently reading?
“Traction” by Gino Wickman. EVERYONE should read – “The No Complaining Rule” by Jon Gordon
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?
I’m here to help 24/7/365.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
Mike Colby