By Business & Finance 
Pictured: 60 seconds with Nik Healy, co-founder and Solutions Director, Convergent
Nik Healy is co-founder and Solutions Director with document and information management consultancy, Convergent. A recent survey of industry leaders, conducted by Convergent, sheds light on a critical challenge faced by businesses, namely the struggle to manage and effectively utilise their growing volumes of documents and information, with 63% of Irish businesses admitting to struggling with too many systems.
What was your first job?
Without realising it at the time, I got my first job while on a flight to Canada just after I finished college. I sat beside the business owner who then contacted me and offered me a business analyst role in the Dublin based office of his consultancy company. It was a great start to my career as they were a small but specialised firm, so I got to work with very experienced people early on and learned the value of good data, documentation and procedures.
What pushed you to pursue a career in this field?
After my first job I travelled for a while and then really wanted to do something on my own. I had some hare-brained ideas and learned the hard way, eventually developing a franchise model, and then a managed print services company. It was this that lead to the eventual creation of Convergent as we saw that our Managed Print customers were really struggling with their information management. So, I was able to bring the experience and what I learned in my first job back into play – so it kind of went full circle.
What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
We are very proud of what we have created at Convergent. We have a very experienced and passionate team who love what they do. There is nothing more that excites us than learning about a new client’s business model and then working closely with them to give them the tools they need to expand and evolve their business. We have great relationships with our clients, some of whom have been with us from the start. I think we have built up a high level of trust because we constructively challenge them which helps to create really effective solutions.
Career wise, would you do anything differently?
It’s not something I think about. I don’t regret any of the experiences I’ve had so far, as I don’t believe you can really appreciate success unless you’ve experienced failure at some point also.
In one sentence, how would you define success?
I believe that if what you are doing makes you happy and you are passionate about it then that’s success!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
My late Dad used to say, “I don’t care what you do, as long as you’re good at it”, and I think that’s a pretty good approach to life.
How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
We motivate each other, to be honest. When you are part of a wonderful team that are all focused and enthusiastic about what we do then motivation is never a problem. The biggest challenge is channelling that passion and energy.
How do you handle adversity?
You must have a good support structure around you including your partner, family, friends, and colleagues. You also need other passions and interests that allow you to switch focus away from causes of stress, and with time you learn that even when things may seem awful or impossible, that those moments eventually pass, and you can and will overcome them. However, without adversity everything would just stay the same, so often you need to grab it with both hands, adapt and overcome it.
How do you relax?
I love to keep active so I cycle and run as often as I can, and still play 5-a-side soccer (badly). I love to cook with my kids, and I find gardening is a great way to relax. In recent years I’ve done some coaching in Naomh Olaf’s with my son’s team which has really been great fun.
What is your favourite (non-business) book?
I recently finished the trilogy of books by Khaled Hosseini which includes The Kite Runner. Geopolitics and colonial history really interest me, and Hosseini’s personal insight into the story of Afghanistan and his storytelling is just so absorbing.
What are your aspirations for the future of the business?
We want to continue to grow Convergent as a leader in information management consultancy, working with SMEs and using our strategic approach to developing great solutions for them.
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