Cheryl Otto's Secret Sauce for Success

1. Who are you? What's your story?

Hi, I’m Cheryl Otto, the Founder of the Workplace Investigator Network. I’ve been an investigator for almost 30 years. I got my law degree at the University of Windsor. After graduating, I practiced for 2 years or so. I had a lot of great experiences; was exposed to many different ways my law degree could be used and I didn’t want to do any of it! My roommate from law school was working as a workplace investigator and I knew instantly that this was going to be much more interesting than practicing law. So, she mentored me and 30 years, three successful businesses, and over 500 investigations later and I’m still passionate about it.

I closed my workplace investigations business in 2021 so I could switch my focus to mentoring and training investigators - I’ve trained over 1000 investigators - and connecting organizations with qualified investigators. This is all part of my commitment to maintaining the integrity and excellence of the industry. My latest passion is to help investigators utilize a trauma-informed approach.

2. What's your definition of success?

I don’t define success with money (although it helps!). I use other markers like maintaining an impeccable reputation after decades in the business dealing with difficult situations. For me, success is when clients come back again and again. That’s when I know that, even when the report isn’t in their favour, they trust that I have done a thorough and fair investigation.

Maintaining my integrity as an investigator, mentor, trainer, and business owner has also been a metric of my success. I think growth at all costs can lead to making decisions that don’t honour the responsibility put in front of you as an investigator. Integrity is important because as an investigator you have to be neutral, and you have to treat everyone fairly and respectfully. When you’re investigating an allegation, lives can literally be altered by your decision. I never took that lightly and I never forgot that it was about the real people involved in the investigation. Real lives will be affected, either way, so maintaining integrity is one of the most important ways an investigator can define success.

Another way I like to measure success and that’s by the relationships I have in the industry. It’s easy to get caught up in the competition as an entrepreneur but I prefer to think of other investigators as colleagues in the industry. I think when you hit a level of success you can stand in your confidence and focus on collaborating instead of competing.

Finally, my version of success is holistic. Having a good work-life balance is not just a measure of success, it's a measure of health and happiness.

3. How did you achieve success?

The glib answer is that I worked my ass off. I made sure that I showed up every time with a commitment to execute a thorough and fair investigation. I also put a lot of time and effort into networking, being a part of the larger community and constantly meeting new people. I never did any marketing in my first two businesses - it was all through word of mouth which came from happy clients and all of those great relationships I’ve built.

The other way that I achieved success is by building a great team. Once again, it comes down to the people you connect with. I always preferred to train and mentor the right personality versus hiring based solely on experience. One of my best employees was a client first. When she was downsized out of her organization, she called me up and said she’d love to work with me. I said yes right away and was happy to train and mentor her. Good people gravitated toward me and I welcomed them because they had what you can’t really teach - people skills.

4. What's your secret sauce for success?

I think it’s that when I’m faced with a difficult situation, which is most of the time in workplace investigations, I find a way to help everyone see that there is a way through it. I help them see that the problem can be solved, and we just start solving it together. I help them understand things and communicate at their level. This approach puts people at ease, and they feel confident in the way forward.

The other secret sauce, I think, is that I never lose sight of the fact that business is about people. It’s about the people we meet, the ones who are our clients, and the people who will be impacted by the report I’m tasked with presenting.

5. How do you prioritize peace?

Minimizing stress is critical for me so the first thing is making sure that I didn’t turn into a workaholic.

I do meditation and breathwork daily - as a practice and a prescription for stress. In fact, I’m a certified meditation instructor. I trained at the Chopra Centre. I don’t actually teach (yet!) but it was important to me that I follow my interest in meditation.

I also prioritize peace by getting lots of sunshine! I go to California to escape the Canadian winters every year.

6. Anything else you would like to share?

As a person with a disability, I’ve faced many challenges (physical and mental) that have forced me to prioritize my health which includes reducing stress.

This transcends to my success because I can help others reframe stress and move forward with greater ease and peace. My challenges and disability have gifted me the ability to look at difficult situations in a different way. And, in a way, that has become my super-power.