Our Testimonials

I had the pleasure of working with Dennis when he was a member of the TEC (Vistage) group which I chaired. Dennis was influential in the group, being very quick to contribute, offering new, realistic ideas and suggestions as to how other members could exceed their expectations by setting "stretch" goals and objectives. Dennis has an excellent brain for business and is a dynamic personality; he is a pleasure to work with and I highly recommend him to those with whom he is or will be associated.

Dennis and I have a rich history of working together. Throughout this relationship, he has always been a true business activist, collaborative and thorough. With such a diverse background, his successes reflect a broad range of skill sets and remarkable insight. Dennis brings a rare combination of youthful exuberance and seasoned professionalism to the table, and that means a distinct advantage in any business environment.

I've known Dennis since early on in my career. I was the Editor for one of his many publications and found him to be a very inspiring, motivating colleague. He's a big-picture thinker and always open to new ideas. His energy and enthusiasm follows him, and I've always admired his knowledge and determination in making a business work. He's also a fair and fun person. 

Dennis has the foresight to hire me as a youngster! Dennis Zink served as a mentor in the early days but also gave me the latitude to grow as a publishing pro. He always showed understanding and had vision. And he had the willingness to make tough decisions, even when it meant ruffling feathers. His honesty and sincerity are admirable.

I've known Dennis for 20 plus years and have always respected his keen insights and quick study with any business situation. He first mentored me when I was publishing a small chain of family magazines in Orlando, Florida. Thanks to Dennis' help, I successfully sold that company in 1995 right on schedule. Today, I'm fortunate again to have Dennis on the advisory board for my current company GRAND Media, publishers of GRAND Magazine. Not only did he quickly understand the dynamics of a digital based industry, he was honest and forthright in his feedback to me. He didn't waste time telling me what I wanted to hear, but what I needed to hear. He focused like a laser beam on the areas of most importance and was able to communicate succinctly so no time was wasted. I most heartily recommend Dennis Zink for any business person who wants to cut to the chase for a successful enterprise. 

I've known Dennis for over 15 years. He has been an amazing friend, mentor, business partner and sports partner. We have shared a lot of business and personal life experiences over the years, some good and some not so good. He has always been there for me and I have greatly appreciated that. Dennis is driven in business, personally and in sports. He is a great competitor with a drive to win. I've been on his team and played against him and have enjoyed both aspects. Dennis is a valuable asset on your team and against you. He makes you a better player on your side, but ironically he will make you better playing against you too. He is always looking for ways to improve in business and personally. His high energy has a way of enhancing your own performance when he is around. Dennis Zink is definitely someone you should get to know and have on your team.

"I have known Dennis personally for over 25 years. I have sought out his expertise through the years on subjects ranging from financial advice, business strategies, acquisitions and risk management. He has always led me in the right direction. I greatly value his opinion and business savvy. I highly recommend Dennis for anything where success is paramount."

After nearly 30 years, I still haven't met the person who can hold a candle to Dennis Zink when it comes to the publishing business and to strategic communications and business plan consulting. He simply has a unique insight into what it takes to move the needle. I've never seen a situation in which he isn't comfortable and knowledgeable ... two things any executive looks for when trying to find that extra voice to help make a difference. 

I was in Dennis's first Manatee Chamber CEO program. He was a great facilitator and lead the group into great discussions. I highly recommend Dennis and the CEO program to   everyone.

Dennis goes well beyond what you would expect. His one on one meetings solidify and keep busy people on track to complete tasks and meet goals. He's not afraid to say what some others may shy from saying...he says what needs to be said and gets to the goal at hand. Excellent facilitator.

I have had the pleasure of working with Dennis Zink as the facilitator for our CEO Roundtable with the Manatee Chamber of Commerce. Dennis is well organized and has focused on using our time productively and providing us with useful content. He does an excellent job integrating presentations with group discussions. I have enjoyed the experience thus far and look forward to becoming more involved with the Roundtable and my team members.

Dennis has done an excellent job facilitating the CEO Roundtable program. His meetings are concise, well organized and conducted in strict of observance and consideration of the agenda and the clock. The discussions he leads in our monthly meetings are engaging and relevant to real world business challenges and he is very attentive to ensuring all opinions are heard on the particular subject matter. 

Dennis wants to know. He asks pertinent questions and drives down to make you think. He is an incredible listener with your success as his goal. Highly focused, Dennis manages and challenges 10 to 12 top performers in the community at our monthly meeting. He also coordinates with each of the team regularly during the month and disseminates information suited for our growth. Dennis is an incredible communicator and with all of his talents, skills and expertise, never makes you feel inadequate. He has been not only a mentor to me but also a formidable tennis opponent. 

I frequently recommend Dennis Zink as a speaker and as a consultant for three distinguishing characteristics: his attention to detail, his strong core of business knowledge and his diligence to stay current in a changing market-place. In just over the last year that I have known Dennis, there have been multiple reasons to see this displayed. For example, when I asked Dennis to speak at an event as part of a panel on his background in publishing, not only did Dennis show up with a value added take home for all attendees, but that take home had been customized for the audience in attendance. Dennis knew who the attendees were and what some of their needs might be because he took the time to look up the profiles and sites of the registered attendees to prepare to best meet the needs of his audience. He didn’t just look at demographics of our group, he looked at our attendees as relevant individuals and business owners and knew them as that. Above all else, “getting stuff done” is Dennis’ trademark. Whether in his businesses or his community work, very little stays unchanged around Dennis. In his recent appointment as Vice Chair of Manasota SCORE, Dennis has launched CEO roundtables in conjunction with the Manatee Chamber, as well as a podcasting series and has several additionally transformative initiatives in implementation. So often we refer people based on what they do and not what they don’t do. When referring Dennis Zink to any project – it is both. Dennis gets done what needs to be done and more and does what others can’t or won’t do to make it happen and refuses to accept the standard benchmark of acceptable effort, behavior or performance as his end goal. 

I highly recommend and endorse Dennis Zink. Dennis exhibits strong interpersonal skills, is resourceful, creative and solution-oriented. Dennis is the go-to person for mentorship and Podcasts. I would advocate his support on any business project because of his willingness to share knowledge, his insight into business practices and his kindness. 

I am a member of a CEO Round Table with Dennis Zink as the group’s facilitator and organizer “extraordinaire.” Dennis is a highly competent and connected professional with broad expertise in topics relevant to C level executives. He displays the key qualities that are essential to successful individuals. He is a big picture thinker who is responsive and relevant; with a keen attention to detail. Dennis has a high touch approach that is focused on the individual needs of the Round Table group members. I appreciate his ability to consult with us personally and develop agendas that are meaningful to the diverse business sectors he works with monthly. What topics that Dennis does not know he has the ability to locate and curate an array of quality guest speakers for our meetings. As SCORE’s Vice Chairman he generously shares resources of printed materials, workshops, and a webinar series he recently developed called “Been There, Done That!,” as well as his MeetUp group called “Success Strategies for Business Owners.” Starting and ending meetings on time and keeping the pace lively and fun are two of Dennis’s attributes that keep me engaged in the Round Table sessions. I highly recommend Dennis for executives and organizations interested in optimizing both their short-and long-term results.

This past year I've had the pleasure of working with Dennis on several occasions as part of SCORE, with their MeetUp (Success Strategies for Business Owners) also at the Manatee Chamber CEO Roundtable. On each occasion I was a speaker. Dennis is always very detail oriented and was able to host each event without any problems or delays. Dennis kept me informed every step of the way, making it an enjoyable experience for me as the speaker. I would take the opportunity to speak at any event that Dennis is hosting.

Dennis conceived and initiated the SCORE podcast series "Been There, Done That". He asks thoughtful questions and moderates the programs extremely well.

I hired Dennis Zink as Advertising Director for Colorado Business Magazine. Within eight months, Dennis was promoted to Publisher and soon became Vice President of the Consumer Publishing Division, achieving monumental results. Over the years, I stayed in touch with Dennis and recently asked him to take the Harrison Assessment, as I am affiliated with HAI. Dennis scored a 98% in Suitability for the position of CEO. This is a remarkable score, the likes of which I don’t see often, if at all. There is a worldwide shortage of the kind of authentic leadership and talent that Dennis possesses. He is a “Money Ball” executive and will make a difference as CEO in any turnaround situation or high-growth company. 

“Change Agent” seems to say it all. Dennis initially made his impact in print, on paper, a true 20th Century publishing success story. Today this ‘agent for change’ has left cellulose pulp in favor of his 21st Century calling, the digitized bits, bytes and data of the electronic information age. Remaining true to his roots for communicating ideas, Dennis still writes for the papers, but I favor and regularly tune in to his audio podcast “Been There, Done That” for new thoughts and ideas. As a 'business alchemist' Dennis would say he turns Zinc into Gold; I say he keeps “think” from ever getting old.

I asked Dennis Zink if he would help Briana, a twenty-year old college art student who came home from New York for her father's funeral to find that she was expected to continue her father's Spanish language monthly magazine. While she produced and distributed three issues by herself, she does not have the business background needed to manage the operation effectively. Mr. Zink met with us at my request--I had met him a year earlier at a gathering of entrepreneurs. We met for coffee. Mr. Zink started the meeting by asking Briana what her goals were and then, gently, what she knew about her business--how she was tracking her ad sales, her distribution, and how her interest in "up-dating" the magazine met the interests of her audience and her ad-buyers. For an hour and a half, Mr. Zink asked specific questions. He acted more like a coach with a prized athlete, a father with a daughter. He gave Briana a list of specific data points to bring to the next meeting. We did not know when we asked for help that we were asking someone who has managed magazines. A little serendipity that was magical for us.

It has been a pleasure working with Dennis Zink, as he brings a fresh spirit of creativity, energy, and entrepreneurial innovation into everything he does. The SCORE podcast series has also showed how Dennis thrives in putting together high-quality, professional, recordings in a unique way (via Skype).  

I have worked with Dennis for some time in SCORE. He has been a terrific leader as Chairperson and I hope he will consider to continue to do so. The chapter has made great progress looking at many avenues not explored in the past. I think that approach is the contributing factor to being able to provide 106% more services to our business community in 2015. I am very happy with the leadership and dedication Dennis exhibits in his role.

Under Dennis's leadership, SCORE Manasota (Chapter 116) placed second out of over 300 chapters nationally. Our volunteers delivered 106% more services to small business owners and entrepreneurs over the prior year. Dennis is a master at energizing and mobilizing our all-volunteer executive team and membership to innovate and continuously improve by focusing on impact, reach and relevance while having fun. He has an uncanny ability to identify common ground and connect the dots in creative ways that result in win-win-win community partnerships. Dennis sets the gold standard for leadership!

I would like to recommend Dennis Zink for a well-deserved recognition due to his contributions to education and educational initiatives. Dennis has been in close collaboration with the State College of Florida’s Business and Technology Department for a number of years. Dennis has collaborated with ideas and instructor referrals, and was also part of an export initiative for the SCF’s BAS Program in International Business and Trade. The initiative offered internships to students at two local companies in the fall of 2015. He has also been a conduit for disseminating information to businesses in the area about the need to secure internships for SCF’s Lower and Upper Division business students.