CORPORATE SIDEKICKS in the OHIO BIZ JOURNAL - Part 2

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He's No Dummy

Published in the OHIO BUSINESS JOURNAL

Written by John Sullivan

Corporate Sidekicks began in New York City when Fiala parted company with an animation house called Aniforms. He met the Aniforms people while doing the "actor/waiter/cab driver routine" in New York after graduating from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., where he earned an English degree and acted in theater productions. When he visited the Aniforms offices, he saw what they did and thought, "Wow, it's like theater, only with real money." After a few years of performing as a "business character" and writing scripts for corporate events, he was offered a deal. "The deal they offered me encouraged me to start my own business." So he left Aniforms in 1978 to start Corporate Sidekicks.

From the start, Fiala knew he needed something different for his business. Production companies that competed against Aniforms were eager to offer their clients a character, and Fiala wanted one that could be both an intermediary and an entertainment device. He contacted puppet builder Danny Seagren, who had worked with Jim Henson of Muppet fame, and asked him to develop one. The instructions were simple: "Big nose, large chin, funny face." The result was Max.

Max and Fiala moved to Chicago in 1987 after Fiala married Pauline. They moved to Ohio in 1996 and ran Corporate Sidekicks from a small building behind their home.

Max's philosophy is summed up in the phrase, "Maximum success with minimum effort," Fiala says. "He's the ultimate slacker who thinks the world owes him a living. A very good living. Max blurts out the things everyone thinks, but has the good sense and courtesy not to say out loud.

"Max speaks a language that is often foreign to corporate communications — the truth," Fiala says. "In research, we find out what's on the mind of the audience members — good and bad — and bring it right out in the open."

Tom Pappert, former vice president of sales at DaimlerChrysler, says Max "brings credibility. He proves, in a humorous way, that management understands the problems out there."

Grant Erikson, director of corporate communications for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., says hiring Max was "the best thing we ever did to improve communications with our people."