Bruce Decaster: Empowering People to Achieve Their Full Potential

Meet Bruce Decaster, the President and C.E.O. of Crescentia Global Talent Solutions, which provides recruiting services and Human Resource solutions to organizations worldwide. Bruce is a Global H.R. Executive with a Global M.B.A. Degree from Thunderbird School of Global Management. With over 15 years of professional experience in H.R. operations management, Bruce has worked for various multinational companies throughout his career, overseeing strategic and tactical H.R. transactions for approximately 4,000 employees worldwide, spanning ten countries. He has also worked with small companies, assisting companies with a small population of fewer than ten employees internationally. Multilingual and multicultural, Bruce is proficient in five languages, including English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and his native language, Papiamento.

Bruce’s initial exposure to international H.R. occurred during his tenure at a global language translation company. When the company decided to expand into the European market, Bruce jumped at the offer to supervise the merger between the two companies. Having spent over 17 months at the headquarters in the United States, Bruce was selected to serve as the Coordinator of Operations for the newly established European office in Munich, Germany. In this role, he was tasked with harmonizing the procedures and practices of both companies and aligning the German company with the current corporation-wide standards. Through this experience, Bruce understood the importance of being a “cosmopolitan manager,” as both groups had different goals and expectations.

Today in his current role at Crescentia Global Talent Solutions, Bruce has an exceptional opportunity to offer strategic H.R. guidance to several companies across the globe. In this position, he leads a team of H.R. consultants and international recruiters, serving as an H.R. leader. Bruce’s responsibilities also include providing consultative recommendations to clients on all facets of H.R., guaranteeing that H.R. programs, policies, and procedures are administered uniformly and align with organizational objectives and requirements.

Leading the Charge

In a book he recently co-authored, “The Art of Serving Two Masters: A Simple Guide to Maximizing Your Performance While Working Two Jobs,” Bruce shared an anecdote called “The Man from P.C.V.” The story portrays his encounter with an intoxicated man who taught him an important life lesson, which remained with him throughout the years. The lesson learned was to avoid making hasty or harsh judgments. One cannot predict what another person is going through at a given time. As a leader, one can either lighten someone’s burden or break them down.

Motivating Creativity

With experience managing two businesses or jobs simultaneously, Bruce has become proficient in balancing his professional responsibilities and family obligations as a husband and father to three busy kids. To manage these competing priorities, Bruce prefers prioritizing critical items that provide genuine value. As his book highlights, Bruce uses the well-known “jar of time” analogy to illustrate this point. In the analogy, a business teacher fills a jar with building blocks until it reaches the top and asks if it is full. The students respond affirmatively, but the teacher proceeds to add marbles that fill the gaps between the blocks until the jar is full. Next, the teacher fills in the remaining spaces with sand before adding a glass of water, which fills in the final gaps, thus emphasizing the importance of prioritizing the most critical items first, leaving room for other tasks that require attention.

Bruce believes the purpose of this “jar of time” exercise is often misconstrued as merely being able to fit more tasks into a given period. However, the true essence of the analogy lies in understanding the order of priorities for tasks. The blocks represent the most significant tasks that need to be accomplished, while the water is the least important. By putting the blocks first, followed by the marbles, sand, and water, everything fits. Conversely, if one were to put the water, sand, and marbles in first, the blocks would not fit. Thus, it is essential to determine which tasks are critical and prioritize them accordingly. This approach ensures that the most important responsibilities are addressed first, leaving time and energy for less important ones.

Bruce recounts, “Many years ago, I was hosting an H.R. conference where I flew in members of my staff from different countries. The day before my full-day training and presentation, I noticed that a member of my staff seemed a bit down. I asked her what was wrong, and after a short “I am fine,” I could still tell something was not quite right. I asked her manager, who then told me that her husband had won tickets to a Ricky Martin concert but that the concert was in a faraway city where she would need to skip my day-long presentation to make it to the concert. I went back to her and told her that ten years from now, she would not remember anything about my presentation but that she would certainly remember the time she went to a Ricky Martin concert with her husband. I can still see the thrill of excitement in her eyes even today. Ironically, after all these years, I cannot even remember the details of my own presentation.”

Mission and Vision

Crescentia Global Talent Solutions is addressing the evolving needs of its clients by providing global talent solutions that cater to multiple countries. With clients recognizing the benefits of having one partner who can cater to their needs across borders, Crescentia has stepped up to provide a comprehensive solution. The company operates with a “think locally, act globally” approach, which enables it to cater to clients’ needs across multiple countries. Regardless of where a client requires support, whether in Australia, Peru, or Canada, Crescentia delivers the same expertise and service to all locations.

Looking Towards the Future

In his recently published book, Bruce details his experience in H.R. and shares those experiences with readers who want to have a roadmap on the pitfalls they should avoid if they are wanting to start a side business or work a second job.

Bruce is currently engaged in two projects. The first is authoring a book aimed at helping managers and employees effectively navigate a multicultural work environment. This book seeks to equip readers with the knowledge and tools to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Bruce is also working to establish a non-profit organization that aims to address the issue of affordable housing in multiple countries.