Rick Cobb and Margie Rodino spent decades inside organizations, watching the same gap show up again and again: people say what matters to them, and then do something else. CQ Seek You is the book they wished existed.
Rick Cobb and Margie Rodino met [how/where]. Between them, they’ve spent more than seventy years in human resources and organizational development — inside companies going through the messy, human work of change. Somewhere along the way, they noticed the same pattern surfacing in boardroom after boardroom, coaching session after coaching session: the gap between what people said mattered to them and what they actually did with their time wasn’t a discipline problem. It was a hardwiring problem, nobody had ever taught them to look at the autopilot running their choices.
At fifty-six, Rick was diagnosed with ADHD, and [what that revealed / how it reframed the work] — the clearest example either of them had seen of how much of what gets called “personality” is really just wiring nobody ever examined. CQ Seek You started as the book they wished they’d had years earlier — for the people they were coaching, and for themselves.
[PLACEHOLDER — the real story: how Rick and Margie met/started working together, and the actual ADHD-at-56 narrative in their own words — this is flagged in the direction doc as the most distinctive, human detail available, and it shouldn’t be drafted secondhand]
70+ yrs combined HR/OD | WBBM Newsradio contributors | Coaches & OD practitioners
Before CQ, Rick and Margie built their careers as organizational consultants — strategic planning, change management, succession planning, and leadership development for small and mid-sized businesses.
That work is the foundation CQ is built on, and it’s also still available directly.
Margie Rodino
Co-Author
Margie Rodino has spent her career aligning corporate and people strategies to set companies up for greater success, innovation, and impact. She maximizes business effectiveness through people and building inspiring cultures.
Clients benefit from Margie’s innovative leadership and deep experience with all facets of Culture initiatives, Human Resources, Talent Acquisition & Retention, Compensation, and Team Building. Her work has garnered national recognition for transforming the health and benefits field while increasing employee engagement and return on investment.
Throughout her career, Margie has held executive roles including CHRO, Chief Talent Officer, and most recently, Chief Culture Officer. In this capacity, she has led the people side of a business transformation, spearheading Culture, Human Resources, Retention & Recruiting, and Employee Well-Being—reimagining and implementing solutions that create greater flexibility and next generation excellence in a manufacturing environment. Margie also brings to her work strong experience and the achievement of unprecedented results in labor negotiations as the first chair.
Margie is sought after as a business strategist for her track record of implementing solutions that drive sustainable growth and not simply a quick fix. She is also a frequent speaker on workforce and workplace development, the employee experience, and employee health and well-being. Beyond the corporate arena, Margie has consulted with the Chicago Public School System and Northwestern University, and she has been a featured guest on Talent Talk Radio. Margie is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and a Certified Compensation Professional.
Truman (Rick) Cobb
Co-Author
Rick Cobb is an expert in human capital management, workforce development, and transition counseling, who has spent his career working extensively with C-suite executives and Fortune 500 companies.
Prior to co-founding 2discern inc., Rick served as an Executive Vice President at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global leader in outplacement and coaching solutions. He oversaw relationship development and transition counseling across North America and led the team responsible for global business strategy and international expansion. While there, his input, innovations, and concepts helped the company achieve unprecedented growth in an increasingly commoditized and consolidating industry.
Having worked on a diverse array of workplace and talent challenges, Rick is adept at helping leaders make the tough calls that need to be made. He is strategic, unbiased and has experience in assessing core issues, ferreting out the true edges of a problem, and then presenting practical and economical paths forward. He is a firm believer in solving challenges through innovation, creativity and focused behaviors, so clients aren’t spending money on the same old solutions.
A connector at heart, Rick brings to every engagement a passion and strong interest to build genuine rapport and the relationships necessary to successfully implement progressive improvement strategies. He’s driven to inspire others to achieve excellence, greater success, and fulfillment in their careers.
Recognized as a thought leader and expert voice on workplace and employment trends, Rick is a regular contributor on WBBM and has made multiple appearances on CNN, CNBC, Fox Business MSNBC, NBC as well as NPR and WSJ Radio. Currently, he is writing a book on decision making.
Rick was a founding board member of Career Star Group, where he served for eight years. During his tenure, the organization grew from 6 to 70 countries, becoming the largest global outplacement provider organization in the world. His work on the board greatly expanded his perspective, and network of resources. He also served as a board member of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Cook County in Chicago. Rick is a graduate of Drake University.