Marius Tulea does not take “Stand easy!” On personal fronts

03 Nov Marius Tulea does not take “Stand easy!” On personal fronts

Captain Engineer in reserve Marius Tulea command for 12 years, nearly 100 “home” people: the CRESCENDO IT&C Solutions House. He is a tenacious, balanced and modest Transylvanian who does not come into public attention. Besides business, he prefers to devote himself to family and friends, reading, and to exercise. We talked about one evening at a dinner (no secret but silence) about personal happenings and experiences, about becoming, successes and downs, about keeping the head above water that Romania is seeing increasingly harder. Accustomed to the orders of others in the old days, he now orders himself to temper himself, to be wiser, to rediscover himself. Which also recommends us, his fellow men, to do.

You graduated Military Academy in 1991. How do you see, from a 20 years distance, a possible career of officer-army engineer?

True, this year we have, together with our former colleagues, the 20-year meeting since graduating from college. Although it was not easy in the military, I enjoyed it! I look behind without major regrets, I do not think I wrongly chose when I chose the schools I went through.

My confidence was shaken by the revolution, because of the hesitation and lack of competence of some of the decision-makers. Before I left the system, I tried to find my right place. Only then my perception was that the changes in our military system were too slow and the political factor did not pay enough attention. Perhaps without the pressure from international organizations – and here I am thinking primarily of NATO and then of the EU – things would have moved harder! At that time, I was living with the impression that institutions that have hundreds of years of tradition and are important – such as the army, the church – have a special place in society, are treated as much as this particular trust and that any resources will be found to keep them in the top of the priorities. Unfortunately, it was not like that…

I’ve been trying to see where the real life is going, where we are going, what chances will I develop in accordance with my aspirations and my impulse then. I think there was a drop that filled the glass. I have been co-opted in a national project that sounds extremely challenging, but which has been narrow down, inexplicable for me at that moment…

The new conditions of the project implied that I would go to a country base and deal with some local systems, which puzzled me: for this, there was no need for someone with such training, with so many studies and specializations, with dozens of Olympics in the background…

Fortunately, a few years later, the opening for studies and collaborations abroad and other programs also appeared, thus creating more opportunities for the professional evolution of the army specialists. I probably would not have regretted even if I stayed in the system. But I did not have any more patience, I was too young…

How have the rigors of military life overlapped with inclination to positivist, exact sciences – calculators, mathematics, physics and soldierly rhythm? Have not they made you all that more inflexible and more military?

Very possible, although I do not feel that way. But military life, especially in high school, educated me to work with people, with all sorts of people. We were over 30 guys in the class we were part of, each with personalities in training, with good and bad. The chance to receive very quickly responsibilities and leadership positions, even if the stature did not impose me, has led me to seek solutions and to compensate otherwise. Looking back, I realize how difficult and stressful it was, but then I had a great energy, I was recovering almost without feeling!

Are we, in fact, talking about a leader’s vocation that has been grow up since then?

It has probably existed since then, but I have to admit that others have been notified it quicker than I understand it … I started to coordinate various groups since the first years of high school, I was appointed to various positions, what what also happened later when, in the private sector, I was entrusted with increasing responsibility.

Almost two years – including the professorship – in the Military Technical Academy, after finishing studies, then gone irreversibly in civilian life. How hard was the rupture?

It was not simple, because I was very involved. Paradoxically, the nearly 11 years spent in the army up to the age of 24 have prepared me for almost any change. I remember an interesting experience, from which I learned useful lessons. After four years of military high school, quite tough years compared to a civilian high school life – and which I graduated with full function at that time – I had to do another 9 months of army to accommodate to our colleagues who graduated from civilian high schools. It was awkward, but I learned that anytime, in life, you can find yourself in the situation of “reset” everything and getting it from the beginning. This experience has used me, helped me to understand that I can always change the direction and that I can find another way, even if it’s harder at the beginning compared to what I were used to.

On the other hand, I have to admit, I have remained attached to the army, I feel familiar to the institution, as if a part of me still belongs to the system! I greatly appreciate the teachers and colleagues who continued to work in the system, bringing them from the inside – often with minimal and disproportionate resources to goals and results – to contribute to the evolution and transformation of the institution.

How did you get your courage to try your luck in the civilian life? How did you get accommodated and what were your attempts?

I talked to more important people in the IT market at that time, I tested the ground, obviously I did not know how to import bearings or produce the espadrilles … and, after all, I decided to join HPSys, which preceded S&T in terms of HP equipment service in Romania at the time. It was a reset again, because I did not do service and support (from peripherals to RISC / HP-UX servers) but I learned quickly and I liked it. I have been in the stages of training abroad, I have learned a lot, other horizons have opened up and I have achieved efficiency and results.

La S&T am continuat cu service si suport, cu focus pe echipamentele HP high-end si software-ul care le gestiona. A fost o scoala extraordinara pentru mine sa pot interactiona direct cu clientii. Mam lamurit atunci ca exista mereu – chiar daca in unele organizatii doar mocnit – un conflict intre suport si vanzari. Exista chiar o zicala amuzanta pe atunci: „Sales has to sell the dream and the support has to fix the nightmare!” („Vanzatorii trebuie sa vanda visul, iar cei de la suport trebuie sa rezolve cosmarul!”).

At S&T I continued with service and support, focusing on HP high-end equipment and the software that manages them. It was an extraordinary school for me to be able to interact directly with clients. I understand then that there is always – even if in some organizations just smoldering  – a conflict between support and sales. There was even a funny saying then: “Sales have to sell the dream and the support has to fix the nightmare!” Often there were mutual criticisms – the support accused the sales of overcoming the promises to the customers, and the sales offended the lack of skill in sales of those in service, involving them as little as possible. I have decided that I must find a way to eliminate such tensions by talking more with customers, helping sales, which, if they were selling more, brought us more and more challenging projects. Believe me, that’s how we got results!

I was appointed manager over service and support – there I had the first moments when I hit the real stress. Being a boss, everyone wanted to talk to the boss – all my discontents, nerves, sometimes inconveniences of dissatisfied customers broke in my head. And then, I learned something – please write it, because when I write, people are self-censoring, putting their minds in order and redressing responsible!

I experienced part of the entrepreneur’s challenges a little later, when – with the support of our Q’Net colleagues – I created service and technical support from scratch, outweighing our expectations and agreed goals. After the premature disappearance of Aurel Carstoiu, co-founder of CRESCENDO, in 1999, I was asked to take over CRESCENDO’s management. Based on the results, I was also co-opted as a shareholder.

I have not attempted until now the position of a start-up entrepreneur. I have arrived where I am today with little steps, with much patience and effort. Both.

Over 12 years at CRESCENDO’s helm, how does Marius Tulea manager characterize? Is there a clear demarcation line between the man and the manager?

In CRESCENDO I started off with a relatively small team, now I have nearly 100 people, more precisely 100 different personalities and temperaments. I have always perceived it as extremely important, but also challenging to stay in touch with the reality and the majority of my team members. Any team member – not just managers who report directly to me – knows he can visit me or call me directly. I receive feedback from them by mail, in meetings, in the backyard – when I find them smoking and lecturing them about health, during our traditional parties etc. That’s why, outside the meetings with the clients, the office is a wave to and fro, I have days when I can not answer the emails. But I try to keep my calm and humor, to help people grow up and take responsibility, make more difficult decisions in line with my principles and the values of the organization, striving for a balance between the expectations of clients, colleagues, partners, etc. There is no demarcation line between the man and the manager. I no longer believe in roles and ego, and the principles that guide me as a manager must be the same as guiding me as a man. It’s just that in business, external factors make it harder to apply, and maintaining balance demands me much more than at home and outside the office.

What did you felt first time in life when you had money, a significant value?

I could not say that I had such an experience! This, first of all because I am a Transylvanian from Tarnaveni, Mures County, I was always overwhelmed with the money. In this part of the country, this is considered part of (was part of?) education – you have to do things well and “stretch just as much as your quilt” (Don’t get ahead of yourself). Everything that came later – higher salary, bonuses, dividends – came step by step to a well-known land. Probably the well-being came slowly and controlled – in return for significant efforts, without suddenly putting me in difficulty and changing my lifestyle or mentality. And now I’m even more convinced – and studies prove it – that, in the long run, money does not bring happiness…

Does men grow harder in general?

I do not think there is a pattern – some mature in time, at the time of each, others harder, others at all. I have the perception that those who think we are getting “on time” to maturity, we still have a lot to understand about the world and life. As Yin and Yang complement each other, the woman next to each of us – in my case my wife – has a fundamental role in helping us be better. And if we manage to keep and awaken the child of the past inside us, it’s all the better. I think I learned a lot from my daughter, who is now 11 years old. She often told me: “Dad, you’re too serious, play more!” I tried and progressed, realizing how true it is in her words!

Why is Romania squeaky so bad at moral, social and economic levels? Is it a matter of gene, time or curse?

I think we are talking about a chronic lack of professionalism and tradition – both in politics, in the economy, and in civil society. For now, it is about more lack of professionalism, but the balance will change! We sin much, too – each of us, if we are and remain so grumpy. Reading something more, I came to the conclusion that we often get to be the way we think.

So if we have a proper projection of something, it creates the premises that things go right there. That’s why I decided and I changed – I’m no longer pessimistic, and very rarely – only if it’s absolutely necessary – grumpy! Looking at the positive things, the full side of the glass, I’m better version of myself – first of all, but I tend to think of those around me too.

We do not have a Marshall Plan for Romania, but we have EU funds and an extraordinary nature, a well-spoken earth. We can not burn historical and developmental stages as we would like, but we have new technologies and communications that can help us recover … It’s all a matter of time.

In addition, I think we should all learn to lose ourselves, let the free will do our job, enjoy more present, otherwise we risk that our goals and achievement will steal our lives. I would recommend to those who want to change something to start with themselves, as suggested by author Eckhart Tolle in the book “A New Earth”…

Are you religious? How would you express your belief in a few words?

I’m religious in my way … each of us has a divine side, especially if he cultivates it, but there is no time to develop the subject. I believe in the well done thing, in the power of the good that accepts, understands and helps to transform the evil, for the good done and not imposed by each of us. I remember the words of a good friend and counselor in the spirit: “I do my best and God does the rest!”

Interview published in eFinance