Every episode of Distribution Talk begins with the guest’s origin story. Alex Chausovsky’s origin story IS this episode. As president of 3DM Consulting, Alex distills his impressive knowledge of the geopolitical climate into strategic business advice. While he would’ve no doubt succeeded anywhere in the world, it’s Alex’s trajectory from Kyiv, Ukraine, to the United States that informs his life’s work: helping businesses mitigate risk and thrive in times of market uncertainty.
“We didn’t have a direct path to the States,” Alex begins, recalling his family’s journey from Ukraine to Austria to the US right before the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a scene straight out of a movie, Alex and his family waited alongside other refugees to learn which country would take them in. After months of anticipation, the Chausovsky family received their golden ticket.
On May 25th, 1990, 10-year-old Alex, his younger brother, and their parents arrived in Dallas, TX. “My parents, who were both highly educated in the Soviet Union, went to work doing anything they could get their hands on,” says Alex, while he watched American television to learn English. “I was a kid; it was a great adventure and super-formative in the sense that it made me flexible, nimble, [and] open to possibility.”
Those qualities would serve Alex well. After he earned his MBA, he held roles at an impressive array of consulting groups and amassed a number of speaking opportunities for various industries and trade groups. “Then, of course, COVID hit in 2020.” But Alex was better positioned to navigate upheaval than most. He and his brother started 3DM Consulting to guide others through volatile business waters, like what’s currently happening in the Strait of Hormuz. “We’ve helped several companies be way ahead of the game on that one,” he says.
For distributors, looking beyond the headlines means asking questions like:
- What vulnerabilities are hiding beyond your tier-one suppliers?
- How could disruptions to energy, aluminum, helium, fertilizer, or chemical inputs ripple through your supply chain?
- What does your business look like under scenario A, B, or C?
- How would your team’s decisions compare with those made by an AI model?
“Fear-mongering is missing the point,” notes Alex, who contends that small to medium businesses deserve the same objective, targeted analysis as the Fortune 500. “The good news is there’s a methodology by which you can, not long-term but in the short term at least, look for markers and telltale signs that will give you a sense of where things are headed.”
QUOTES
“I also think it’s a real testament to what America was for us ideologically and what I think it still is. I think it gets lost in the noise today because of all of the political kind of polarization that exists.”
“For me, the American dream still very much exists. I mean, I live it every day.”
“The belief that if you work hard, if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and do things that other people aren’t willing to do, and you really hustle, you can achieve amazing things that are literally impossible in most other parts of the world.”
“I think public speaking is the number one biggest fear that people have––more than death.”
“I’m here only because of the kindness of others and because of the opportunities that I was given by people throughout my life. Why not help other people do the same thing? It doesn’t cost me anything to do that.”
“Right now especially, you can’t just have a single strategy and focus on execution. You’ve gotta be prepared for different types of things to happen, at least from a working plan idea. You don’t have to be ready to pull the trigger immediately, but at least thinking about what does my business look like in scenario A versus B versus C. So that’s what we’re doing now.”
“The good news is that there is a methodology by which you can, not long term, but in the short term at least, look for markers and telltale signs that will give you a sense of where things are headed.”
“I tend to find that there are folks out there who think that the world is a zero-sum game. It doesn’t have to be,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be that someone has to lose for you to win.”
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
CONNECT WITH JASON
CONNECT WITH ALEX
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Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth, and achieve personal goals.
This episode was edited by The Creative Impostor Studios
Special thanks to our sponsors for this episode: Moblico, INxSQL, and Profit2.
