PPB October 2017

Phil Sunshine Founder & Chairman The Sunshine Group Maitland, Florida Number of direct reports: 7 S ince 1968, when Phil Sunshine opened the doors of his distributorship, The Sunshine Group, he has offered a welcoming, instructive and supportive environment that has attracted and retained an impressive employee fan base. Among them are his two nominators, Debbie Bassett and Leslie Wiesenfeld—both 12-year veterans with the company—who continue to be inspired by their boss. It starts with his age. “At 81 he is not afraid to learn all he can about computers and technology,” says Bassett. “He wants to stay as current as possible by researching how new technology works, even if he will never use it himself.” She’s also impressed with his consistent, positive outlook and his depth of industry knowledge. “Phil has the best personality in the entire world,” she says. “He’s always sunny, as we like to put it. Funny, witty and extremely knowledgeable about the industry, he could sell ice to an Eskimo. Sales reps come to him with questions about how to get into a client’s office, and he will stop what he is doing and share his techniques.” Sunshine entered the promotional products industry in 1968 after several years in sales at a defense contractor. In those days, the only technology used in sales was a desk phone, and salespeople found new customers through cold calls. But Sunshine has kept up through the decades, and can easily relate to today’s way of conducting business, say his nominators. “He has been able to adjust to the ever- changing technology and the way sales work today,” says Wiesenfeld. “Many customers want to email or text instead of picking up the phone, and this has never slowed him down in any way.” She says he still loves to make cold calls and is very successful at it, and he can work with Millennials, too. “Phil is a very exciting person to be around,” she adds. “He always comes in happy and ready for any challenge that comes his way. He has seen and been through the good times and bad, so it is nice to have an experienced mentor to help us get through the same.” When the recession hit in 2008, it affected the company’s sales and money was tight. Sunshine led several decisions to scale back and made some hard choices with layoffs to get the company through. “He had the experience we did not have and he was here to help show us the way,” says Wiesenfeld. By 2010, with his guidance, the company was in a better positon and hired back the accounting manager who was laid off. “Without his experience in the business for so many years, I do not believe we would have fared as well,” she adds. Tina Berres Filipski is editor of PPB . His best boss Russ Flotkoeter, field manager at U.O. Colson. I was his favorite sales rep in Florida, so he was very nice to me. What managing others has taught him about himself How wonderful I am! His best advice for other bosses Recognize the strengths and weaknesses in others, then help them mitigate the challenges so they focus and excel at their strengths. Phil’s cool factor He comes in every day with a smile or joke, or singing a random song. Phil Sunshine enjoys having a good time; it’s a culture that permeates his company too. Phil Sunshine with his two nominators, Leslie Wiesenfeld, left, and Debbie Bassett. Best Bosses | FEATURE | OCTOBER 2017 | 43