Pek Pongpaet and Amjad Sidqi: An Impekable View into Consulting

For product design consultancy Impekable, going the extra mile is just the standard route.

In an executive seminar at the 2023 International Conference, Impekable Founder Pek Pongpaet and General Manager Amjad Sidqi explained to students how they use an end-to-end consulting strategy to ensure their clients’ results meet — and even exceed — expectations. Impekable is a full-service development consultancy that leverages modern technology and cloud-based platforms to create memorable, user-friendly digital experiences.

Pongpaet, who currently serves as Impekable’s CEO, is an engineer by training who then pivoted his focus to design. With over 20 years of product leadership experience, he has delivered more than 300 software projects in various industries and markets. Pongpaet spoke alongside Sidqi, who worked for organizations including Interpol, eBay, and Boston Consulting Group before becoming Impekable’s General Manager. Sidqi has extensive experience in product management, user experience design, user growth, and software engineering.

Both Pongpaet and Sidqi have lived in various places overseas, providing them with unique insight when it comes to their work. Pongpaet is the son of a diplomat, which required him to move a lot throughout his childhood, and Sidqi has worked in countries from Switzerland to Dubai. Pongpaet says growing up in diverse locations has allowed him to more easily overcome cultural barriers. Sidqi echoes this sentiment, noting that each location has taught him different lessons that he still carries with him to this day.

“Each of those places, particularly ones where English is not their first language, I’ve found is such a learning experience,” Sidqi said. I think I’ve taken some really great organizational skills from living in Switzerland, but I’ve also taken the idea of having a healthy work environment from some of the other places I’ve been to, and that shows in my management of people.”

Sidqi says this international experience is helpful in the workplace because it allows them to better understand where others are coming from.

“I think in many ways, because of that international experience, it’s actually made us better consultants. We mentioned active listening and empathy in all of the things we spoke about [in our executive seminar] — you learn that by being in foreign environments. You have to develop those skills even more so, and I think it’s definitely something we’ve taken with us,” Sidqi said.

In their executive seminar, Pongpaet and Sidqi began by introducing themselves and their work at Impekable, and then offered students some valuable advice as they move into their careers. They emphasized the importance of developing a set of soft skills including communication and active listening, negotiation and persuasion, and emotional intelligence.

In terms of conflict resolution at work, they highlighted the “discuss and commit” strategy, in which all team members are given the chance to voice their opinions before fully committing to the plan decided on by the group. When discussing the nuances of decision-making under uncertainty, Pongpaet and Sidqi pointed to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s 40-70 rule: don’t make tough decisions with less than 40% of the information you need, but do make the decision with at most 70% — any longer and it will be too late, strategically speaking.

In addition to this advice, Pongpaet and Sidqi gave attendees a taste of product development consulting in the form of a case study. One of their clients had hoped to start a laundry service that incorporated features like gamification, a mobile platform, and a sustainability focus. They came to Impekable asking for help on just the technical side of the business — however, Impekable, as an end-to-end consultancy, took the initiative to validate the client’s initial ideas and business model. Pongpaet and Sidqi described the steps they took to set their client up for success, including performing a test-run using one brick-and-mortar laundromat location with family members and friends as the only customers, as well as invalidating the demand for gamification and sustainability among consumers. Ultimately, with the help of Impekable’s detail-oriented consulting, the client is set to generate revenue within five months.

In this case, Pongpaet and Sidqi emphasized the importance of communication and persuasion skills — without them, it would have been impossible to convince the client to rework their business model and start from the ground up. They provided several useful tips to seminar attendees, including starting with the least controversial and most factual elements, telling a story, avoiding presenting opinions as facts, and encouraging the expression of opposing viewpoints.

For college students and those just starting their careers, it can be difficult to have confidence in one’s ideas, much less present them to coworkers or clients. Pongpaet says that a combination of curiosity and preparation is key to overcoming this barrier.

“Number one is having curiosity. Oftentimes we’re not experts in the subject matter of our clients’ business or their industry, but if we’re curious, we can find out what we need to offer good advice,” Pongpaet said. “Adjacent to curiosity is preparation. I look at their business, what they do, and how they make money and what their product and service is so I’m prepared.”

Sidqi emphasizes the importance of not only facts and figures, but the ability to storytell.

“The less experience you have, the more you’re going to have [imposter syndrome]. We overcome that by having evidence for our claims and what we’re trying to implement, but at the same time, it’s your ability to tell a compelling story backed with evidence. We all learn facts and figures in science, but do we learn how to give compelling narratives on what we’re hypothesizing?” Sidqi said. “I think that’s what needs to carry forward in your career.”

At the end of the day, Pongpaet and Sidqi note that even those who do not plan on becoming consultants will need the skills of a consultant. Whether students were looking to enter consulting, engineering, or another field, they gained valuable insight from these Impekable leaders.