THANK YOU, ALAN SCHONBERG!

Thank You, Alan Schonberg!! Alan R. Schonberg 1928 -‐ 2013

Thank You, Alan Schonberg!!

Nov 17 2013

Alan is gone, but will live in our hearts and minds forever. On Friday, November 15th 2013, 07:45 am, surrounded by his nearest and dearest. During the last 6 months Alan has sent us some e-‐mails concerning his health. The last received was on Sunday, November 10th 2013. I decided to start a Facebook Group to honour Alan – and could not think of a beQer name than “Thank You, Alan Schonberg”. The response has been overwhelming, and hopefully has helped Carole and Alan’s family a liQle bit during some very tough Wmes. However – not all people are using Facebook and social media very much. I have therefore gathered together all input into this electronic book, which you are free to download and share. This is made by passion and gratefulness to an outstanding person:

THANK YOU, ALAN! Norway, November 17th 2013

Trond Larsen


Nov 10 2013


Dear All: Here is my current health status and the last update I will dictate personally. I wish this one were as easy to write as were the earlier ones, but quite a few things have changed. The lung cancer has spread to the bones, which means it travels more virulently and rapidly to the vital organs. Accordingly, my life expectancy has been reduced from 6 months to approximately 3 months...but who knows, could be less… and could certainly be more. The hospital recommended, and we have joined with, the Hospice of the Western Reserve, who is proving to be invaluable in their support both psychically, Wme-‐wise, and in their caring. I've also embarked on a new regimen of medicaWon -‐-‐ a new protocol, designed to give me a higher quality of life between now and the inevitable. Happily, part of the medicaWon is an appeWte sWmulus, so I am eaWng beQer. The dilemma is that the day will come, but we don't know what day that will be. Someone in the family will noWfy you when that day occurs, however. At this point, I want to acknowledge the love, care and support given to me by my loving wife, Carole. She has been a 6-‐month, 24/7 healthcare provider that has made these past 6 months livable and bearable for me. I also want to thank my family, the medical community, and the community at large for all the wonderful support, caring and concern they have shown me. We are not planning on the tradiWonal funeral service, Shiva (period of mourning), but rather, per my request, I will be turned over to the Case Western Reserve University Department of Anatomy, donaWng my 85 year-‐old body (such as it is) to medical science. My family will then set a date and venue for a CelebraWon of Life -‐ Memorial, to which of course, you will all be invited. Once again, I feel so self-‐absorbed in sending you these updates, but at the same Wme so very blessed to have so many people in my life that I have loved and whom I hope have loved me. Alan P.S. Please understand that I cannot take phone calls, or respond to emails.

Alan Schonberg 25157 Letchworth Road Beachwood, Ohio 44122


Nov 11 2013


Nov 11 2013

I’ve heard some recruiters try to simplify our business in order that non-‐recruiters might understand it: “RecruiWng is merely a maQer of matching the right company from the yellow pages with the right person from the white pages. You just have to make one hell of a lot of phone calls to find that match.” The recruiWng business is far more complicated than that of course, but it does underscore the importance of speaking to ‘one hell of a lot of people.’ Recrui.ng: An Intensely Personal Business Being a recruiter is an intensely personal business and an intensely personal sales job. We sell two parWes with different needs at the same Wme. We sell our services and our ability to find top talent to employers. We sell our services and our ability to find beQer jobs for candidates. Where traveling salesmen on the road may visit and speak to six to eight prospects a day, recruiters “travel by phone” speaking to 50 or more people a day. Since we don’t see our prospects most of the Wme, we must be excellent listeners and masterful communicators using just the phone. The recruiWng business gets even more complicated than that. It’s not just about conversaWons. We deal with people, not products. So things change. Almost constantly. Within the mind of a candidate or employer, there exists a maelstrom of ever-‐changing thought, emoWons, desires, needs, fears, and moWvaWons. Candidates are influenced by parents, spouses, children, friends and co-‐workers with regard to any decision about making a career change, with an over-‐riding concern of avoiding a wrong decision. Employer’s minds are influenced too. They are influenced by their boss (and their boss’s boss); budgets, compeWWon, and even the fear of hiring the wrong person for what it might do to their own career. So understanding people, truly understanding them, became the basis for how the business of MRI got its foundaWon – from listening, truly listening, to our candidates and employers, and of providing them the highest levels of professional service. Helping people navigate through big decisions affecWng their careers and their businesses is the very thing that Alan Schonberg has always done so well — and it is what all recruiters do each and every day.


Nov 11 2013

He’s a Listener Anyone who has met Alan will tell you that when you speak to him he truly listens. As he listens, you know that he is focused on you and only you. If you spoke to him in a room full of people, you would think you are the only person in the room. That’s how intently he listens. His sincere interest in people, and to be of service to them, is at his core. If asked, he’d go out of his way to provide advice or guidance to someone. He likes to help people solve problems. Alan also has an uncanny knack of not only remembering the names of the people he deals with, but he remembers their spouse’s names and their children’s names, too. Within the MRI family of owners and their employees, Alan has always made himself available. People call him from all over the world to get his counsel on everything from business to personal maQers. He is very generous with his Wme and he is looked upon as an incredibly wise man with deep and broad knowledge of many subjects aside from just business. I couldn’t agree more. What I’ve Witnessed I have witnessed Alan’s style with regard to helping people make important decisions. I’ve even experienced it firsthand myself. When presented with a situaWon, and being asked what might be the best way to handle it, Alan will reflect for a moment and suggest that there are perhaps three possible ways to approach it. He doesn’t tell you which opWon to take. He will lay out the first opWon (including its pluses or minuses) which may sound like a good resoluWon. Then he follows it by a second opWon, which may sound to be a liQle beQer, including its own posiWves and negaWves. When he gets to the third opWon and explains it, you soon realize on your own it is apparent that this is the best opWon of all. Alan helps you realize this and he supports you in choosing this course of acWon by empowering you to take responsibility for it. He helps you overcome your fear of making the wrong decision. I’ve never seen this process done by anyone else so arqully. It is far more common to hear someone tell you what to do, rather than help you weigh all the opWons and allow you to make your own decision.


Nov 11 2013

Pioneer of Employer Paid Fees In my opinion, Alan is the consummate sales professional. He built MRI though his art of selling. He was masterful in how he led the franchisees into new horizons of recruiWng. He was the first to pioneer taking the business from APF (Applicant Paid Fees) to enWrely EPF (Employer Paid Fees) in the 1960’s and the enWre recruitment industry followed. He coined the phrase and the methodology of “conWngency search,” and the enWre industry followed. He oversaw and helped to evolve the most sophisWcated training programs in the industry – from paper manuals to VCR training tapes, to broadcast TV/satellite training, to videoconferencing training in each office, to DVDs and ulWmately into online training courses with MRI University and an online Video Vault of thousands of hours of training sessions and lectures on best pracWces. And so much more, space will not allow me to detail it all. What makes Alan so special is that he makes other people feel special. He makes you feel beQer and bigger. He makes everyone feel comfortable, because he has a way with people through his warm and caring personality. He finds conversaWon with people from all walks of life easy, and as a result, people are drawn to him and they trust him. As surgeons have skilled hands, as accountants have knowledge of tax law, as lawyers have knowledge of the law, Alan’s stock in trade is his uncanny ability to relate to people. Family Man Beyond his many business and philanthropic achievements, Alan is most proud of his blended family of seven adult children, fourteen grandchildren and one great grandchild, with another on the way this fall. Generous with his Wme for people in the MRI family, Alan is most generous with his Wme for his family, orchestraWng magnificent family trips or flying from coast to coast to aQend graduaWon ceremonies or weddings of his grandchildren, birthday celebraWons, or just a family visit. He is loved by everyone in his family, but Alan is also loved by the thousands of members of the MRI family as well. Alan is a Renaissance man. A man for all seasons. I have long respected, admired and loved him. I am most proud to say I am his son-‐in-‐law.

Peter C. Co8on is president of Best Sales Talent, Inc. specializing in the search, recruitment and placement of sales, sales management and marke>ng talent. Peter writes a blog for his website. You can follow him on Twi8er @pco8on


Nov 11 2013


Nov 12 2013


Nov 12 2013

From Doug Bugie, founder of Humana InternaWonal (MRI Worldwide): GreeWngs Friends and Colleagues, a truly great and good man is passing very soon, Alan Schonberg. His life was about one thing, liting people up. He gave far more than he received in almost superhuman quanWWes, not only in recruitment, but across many fields of acWvity. Some of you have already dropped me a note on this-‐-‐please do it again through this link below in whatever words you choose. It will mean a great deal to the global recruitment community most importantly his Family, who will never have met most of you, but need to know you are here in support, they need to know he was there for you. A truly inspiring Facebook group has emerged through the efforts of MRIWorldWide (Humana) Trond Larsen of Scandinavia. There is no one even close in my life over the past 40 years like Alan who gave me more guidance, real support and most importantly the values that we have all brought and bring to the recruitment industry, or if not in it directly, into our working and personal lives. I know you wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to send a final message to Alan , his Family and to the global recruitment industry who will be reading this. Personally , I will miss him like a great spiritual father, but also, just a very down to earth, funny, warm caring human being (who was always there for me) who lited thousands to where they felt and acted like they were '10 feet tall' as he'd like to say. He literally invented the broad-‐based search industry through which we propelled ourselves into global markets, posiWvely affecWng literally tens of thousands of lives , franchise owners, companies and candidates and helping create beQer lives for our Families in the process.


Nov 12 2013

I am glad we have taken that journey together one way or another, all of us , including knowing Alan. I have to say , 'it ain't over yet' for life's wonderful journey ahead even with all its twists and turns. So many of you are sWll making great things happen or enjoying the fruits of your success (and sWll making things happen!) big Wme. In fact here in Cleveland, there will eventually be CelebraWon of Alan's Life, again to lit people up,not sadden them, once this becomes appropriate. The message: Let's move ever forward! Alan well be gone in maQer of days, but his kindness and guidance will live on within the hearts and minds of too many to count both inside and outside recruitment. Please add your thoughts. I think the world should know outside the USA (with the excepWon of Trond being good enough and wise enough to get this started) , that Alan ma#ered, he had an impact on lives on a global scale and that his final word, one word, in his reWrement was 'Care'. Please think about people you know who would want to see this, to know this and spread the word today how to send their thoughts via Facebook with the aQachment below. I have only sent this to a core group. I have purposely blind copied each of you on this to protect privacy, but you know who you are-‐-‐you're all sWll part of the same Family we created long ago and the echoes keep moving ever outward. This Facebook grouping has hardly penetrated the breadth of the USA much less the world. This can't stand Please take a few moments of reflecWon and send a message far and wide on what you thought of him and what he stood for. People like Alan don't come along very oten in life...

Your friend now and always, Doug Bugie


Nov 13 2013


Nov 12 2013


Nov 13 2013


Nov 14 2013


Nov 14 2013

From the one and only – GW, It is always great to hear from you and I appreciate your note and thoughts regarding our dear friend Alan. You have beauWfully expressed many of the same thoughts I have about Alan…..35 years ago I got “hooked” on ARS and we have been close ever since…..when he reWred in 1998 from MRI, I wanted to insure he was given the respect he so justly deserved. It has been a long journey since then to today…..he was literally glued to my hip at all of our events…..he and Carole never missed a PaceseQer ConvenWon including our most recent last March in Los Cabos….he was always on stage with me presenWng the Alan R. Schonberg MRINetwork Person of the Year Award….(we always discussed if he should wear his white dinner jacket or his black tux he had custom made in Hong Kong….too funny……one year he came down to the awards ceremony in his white dinner jacket with ugly brown pants…..said he forgot his black pants and ,”no one would noWce….oh my gosh we laughed unWl we cried”…..By the way, no one noWced! 3 years ago we were at the AtlanWs and being the overwhelming property it is, I rented hover scooters for both Alan and Carole….they rode them everywhere…..Alan would boast his was faster than Carole’s…..I would always get them a limo transfer to and from the hotel, nice suite which Alan enjoyed of course…..and then I welcome all the PaceseQer buses upon arrival….ARS would spend a good deal of Wme with me in the recepWon lobby……going over names, who is doing well……standard ARS operaWng procedure. He never missed a Global Workshop either…..unWl this past October….you know Doug, he was coming (We were in Vegas)….and three day before his right lung collapsed…..I would always honor Alan on stage during our Ring of Honor Ceremony…(folks with MRI 25 years or more) and Alan would always speak last…..typical Alan….providing hope and encouragement….we would banter about “how many Global Workshops he had been to….I would say 48 or whatever, and he would say…”uh no, GW….I think it is 49….”…..which would then move to his comic rouWne about the old days…. 5 years ago I had all the Ring of Honor folks at Global Workshop honor Alan on his 80th birthday…..not a dry eye in the house….he cut the cake and made his normal comments…..”you know, we really shouldn’t be eaWng this….it is

full of fat etc…..”….


Nov 14 2013

Anyway, I had planned to do the same this year at Global but try as Alan did, his doctors refused to let him fly…….so, I brought him in by surprise on the big screen via skype in the main ballroom…..(I will have to get you the link to watch…….he was seated at his computer, (Carole in the background) and he proceeds to tell everyone, “they are the right place, at the right Wme, with the right company!! (even with his very frail voice)…..he was sensaWonal as always…..I of course, was bursWng with pride…..here is our friend, full of cancer, 85 years old, failing voice and he let them know what he was thinking….you could have heard a pin drop…. I have at least 100 stories about Alan with each one being funnier (or more meaningful than the previous)…….(working closely with him for all of these years you get to see it first hand)…..when we talked a few days ago (we were going to have lunch again but he was just too faWgued)….he let me know how the cancer had progressed and he was on to the next stage in his journey…..fully confident it was okay with him and was prepared for what was to come……..I then reminded him about PaceseQer next March and reminded him about how I needed he and Carole there…..I swear Doug….he said, “Ah GW….what are the dates again and let me get my calendar”….I cried….. I guess I knew this day would someday come…..you stated it so appropriately, ater you spoke to Alan, no maQer what was going on in your life, you knew it would be okay…….and you are right….his spirit will live within us forever…. Yes, sadly we will be together at the CelebraWon but do look forward to reconnecWng and geung caught up with you…..he spoke of you all the Wme Doug….how proud he was and is of you and your accomplishments….always said when I would ask, “GW, Doug is doing beauWfully, you wouldn’t believe how well!”…..(you can hearing him saying it I know…’ One last one….Henri and I are flying with Alan and Carole somewhere (we traveled a good deal together as he got older)…..anyway, they get into a liQle dispute about something and Alan proclaims, “Carole, please, please, you must listen to me……how am able to control your thinking if you won’t listen to me!!!”…..We laughed for hours and sWll do today…..

All the best, GW


Nov 14 2013

I was thinking the other day….I have publically introduced Alan at least 500 Wmes or more on stages or events around the world..…..each Wme it was the greatest honor of my life….I would always say….”Once upon a Wme…..there was a man named Alan R. Schonberg…….but only once…” Alan provided hope to everyone he touched…..simply put, he gave you hope….no maQer the obstacles you were facing…..he would say, “put one foot in front of the other and begin walking…..” And….as we face a certain future without Alan….I plan on doing just that…..he wants it that way of course…. I would be fine if you would want to post my email to you Doug……(I have shared with Alan what he has meant to me…..fairly personal and things only he would understand). One last one you might enjoy (you know I have dozens and dozens of stories)…..Alan loved to use the word “glorious” when he was delivering his moWvaWon welcome messages from the stage…..as in “ next year is going to be “glorious” beyond our wildest dreams! We are going to shoot to the moon! Let’s work together because it will be glorious!! … (by the way, one Wme he caught me doing an imitaWon of him.…..I turned around and there he was….Alan said, “Ah GW, how long have you been doing an imitaWon of me?” I said, “gee Alan, I didn’t know you were there…..not too long….”, to which he replied, “ not very well either but I like it…..work on it a liQle bit…” Anyway, just prior to one of his welcome talks many years ago, I bet several long Wme MRI Family members how many Wmes Alan would use the word glorious in his opening remarks….(the number was 5…..) As he got ready to speak, I shared the bet and number of Wmes…..he smiled and winked…….he hit all 5 and got a standing ovaWon as usual….come to think of it….ARS got a standing ovaWon every Wme I introduced him the last 25 plus years….anywhere in the world! Hope….courage….character…..respect….always said and did the right thing….that is Alan…..only one….we are so, so fortunate…. All the best, GW

(P.S……I have been calling his home number for close to 30 years….the number is the same….never changed in 30 years….however, every Wme Alan would leave me a message….he would leave his home number….I laughed every single Wme....)


Nov 14 2013


Nov 14 2013

From James Caan -‐ the founder of Humana together with Doug Bugie forwarded through Doug: Dear Doug As you know, I have always both admired and respected Alan as I think he has been a true icon in our industry as an innovater, and a true visionary. From my iniWal dealings with him many, many years ago, I have always maintained the utmost respect for him – not only for the amazing organisaWon he created but also for what he has given back to communiWes around the world. He is truly someone who we can all learn from and someone who I really believe got the balance just right. Please do express my warmest wishes when you do see or speak to him. Best regards James


Nov 14 2013


Nov 14 2013

Hi Alan, I do not know what year Doug first introduced me to you. I know I had more hair!!!. I do however, remember the occasion. We had the honour of siung down for breakfast with you in a London Hotel just off Park Lane. We broke bread together (well a full english breakfast for myself I was growing lad) whilst Kevin Cox, Guy Lean, Gary Wilson, and Richard Morgan and myself asked you quesWons about your vision, the business, search, franchising, your family and your extended MRI Family. I'd heard so much about you from Doug who drove us all crazy in those early days challenging us to live the vision that you created. Doug tells me he has mellowed, that is BS! You ingrained in him your own work ethic and it permeated across geographic and cultural boundaries. Ater I'd finished my fith round of toast and the mushrooms someone could not finish. We asked you what kept you going and other successful people in this business going. Your answer? "I care! You have to care! Care about their lives. Care about their families (professionally and personally). If you do not care! Then find something you do care about because this business will not work for you”. This message that you delivered has provided me with a firm foundaWon to base many decisions that have ulWmately been the correct ones using this as a litmus test. There are thousands of people that Care about you Alan. I'm just another lucky individual that has benefited from working in search, working in franchising and working with many of the talented individuals that exist in the networks you created. Thanks for that breakfast and your wise words. Before I sign off can I ask you a small favour? Could you remind GW that he sWll owes me a Steak "n" Eggs breakfast!! Thank you. John


Nov 14 2013


Nov 15 2013


Nov 14 2013


Nov 15 2013


Nov 15 2013

Dear Alan, Not sure what to say during Wmes like this…some are ‘quotes’, adjecWves and personal recollecWons to share with you about you: “If you have a talent, that’s God’s git to you. If you use that talent, that’s your git to God” (Red Skelton) You have obviously used your talent as a git to God and in using that talent, you’ve given a git to others. “Vision is the ability to see potenWal in what others overlook” (Pastor Rick Warren) My perspecWve of your creaWng the conWngency recruiWng business and founding MRI. I personally think your vision is also the ability to see potenWal in other people that they don’t see in themselves. “Class Act” – a person who is generous and does nice things for others. I was introduced to you in 1996 by Jane PrenWce at my 1st Regional MeeWng in Las Vegas. (I was with MRI maybe 2 months). You shook my hand and said in a very sincere and meaningful way…“It’s good to have you, welcome aboard” I thought, “Wow!”, how cool is this…the Founder & CEO of this firm took his Wme to greet me. You had a lot of people around you at the Wme but I can sWll see you breaking away from them to shake my hand. The original AE Basic Training video series (with “Mary Ann” and Jerry Hill having his challenges of pronouncing words that had the leQer “s” in it) was invaluable to me. This was the “playbook” and I think I wore out our VCR player and the videos from watching them over & over. When a prospecWve employer would say they had a need, or I got a send-‐out or offer, I’d be saying to myself… “What do I now??!!” and I could always go back and re-‐watch them and the secWons I needed help with. The ongoing AE training program you created taught me skills to help in the “game of recruiWng” but more importantly…the “game of life”. I , "Thank You" for being so commiQed & passionate about wanWng others to succeed. I hope you will be able to see this message so you know you have made a posiWve impact and difference in my life. Sincerely & Respecqully…., “God Bless” Todd Todd Provost


Nov 15 2013


Nov 15 2013

From Kevin Cox, head of franchising in Humana, working with Doug Bugie, we have received the following: "I read the Fordyce leQer a few months back and sent an email to Peter then -‐ it is a very sad Wme when one so great passes -‐ and it must be even more so for you as I know what he meant to you and how close you have always been. Way back in the early ’90’s, having joined a very small company in London run by a strange American from the mid-‐west who had chosen to seQle in London and build the word that is recruitment franchising on a global basis, I heard about this mythical being called Alan Schonberg. Over the years, that strange American -‐ Doug Bugie -‐ not only was my boss but became a friend too and he so oten talked about his mentor, Alan, and what he had done for him over the years and, more importantly, what he had taught him about working with people with humanity and humility and never forgeung that they, too, had a soul and feelings. These mantras from Alan were disWlled in me via Doug but it was not for many years unWl I met Alan, himself. I have always been amazed that one so busy could have all the Wme in the world for you and never appeared to stop giving of himself to anyone. Over the years MRI has changed and with it , unfortunately, some of Alan's founding principles have been lost in the name of profit and progress -‐ however, for those people’s lives that Alan touched, they will remain touched and his memory revered. Thank you Alan for mentoring my mentor!!!!"


Nov 15 2013


Nov 16 2013


Nov 16 2013

Ater reading through the many posts on here from people in the MRI Family, I wanted to pass on my condolences to Alan's family and friends. I first met Mr Schonberg when I was just 13. It was at paceseQer in Hawaii, and I'd just had a major operaWon on my stomach. Ater having lunch with my mum, Alan soon learnt about this and saw me by the pool. He was asking me about myself, my interests, what I wanted to do when I was older and how my 24 hour trip from Manchester to Hawaii was! Alan taught and guided my mum, and many of you in ways I'm sure you'll be forever grateful, but by doing that, he also guided all of your children. Alan always remembered my sister and I's names, and always made an effort to talk with us and see how we were geung on since we last saw him. He taught my mum Sandra Hill to live her dreams, but he also taught me this too. When I told him at 13 that I wanted to be a journalist, he didn't even flinch, he believed in me from the start, just like he believed in recruitment and his MRI Family. I would just like to thank Alan for everything he taught me, and something he said to me will always sWck with me: "Love what you do, and do what you love. Never give up, and you will live your dream” Thank you Mr Schonberg. I'll miss you in the Dominican! Rest in peace, Melanie x


Nov 16 2013


Nov 16 2013

I first met Alan & Carol waaaaay back in the 80's at a Northeastern Regional meeWng. His love for the business was amazing, and inspiring. We had quite a wonderful conversaWon about the way we as recruiters were uniquely posiWoned to help both our clients and our candidates. I never forgot that, and it became a litmus test for every deal I did. It seems like every Wme we were gathered, he made Wme for a chat. And I always learned a bit. He and Carol were such a gracious couple, and always made me feel welcome at the table. Carol, I hope your many happy memories will soon take the place of the grief you feel today. Hugs & Prayers for you & your family from Portland. When somebody dies, a cloud turns into an angel and flies up to tell God to put another flower on a pillow. A bird gives the message back to the world, and sings a silent prayer that makes the rain cry. People disappear, but they never really go away. The spirits up there put the sun to bed, wake up grass, and spin the earth in dizzy circles. SomeWmes you can see them dancing in a cloud during the day-‐Wme, when they're supposed to be sleeping. They paint the rainbows and also the sunsets and make waves splash and tug at the Wde. They toss shooWng stars and listen to Wishes. And when they sing wind-‐ songs, they whisper to us, don't miss me too much. The view is nice and I'm doing just fine.


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THANK YOU, ALAN SCHONBERG!

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