Dave Posten recently joined ECS as a Partner, and he provides some insight as to how he became a part of the team. Here, Dave admittedly pushes himself outside of his comfort zone and shares his story.
I grew up in the ‘70s in the Midwest. While it was a relatively poor community where I lived, the area was rich with pride and talent. We settled there because we were attracted to the incredibly strong school district, and we had some special needs within my family.
Our family was amongst the poorest in the community. But what my parents didn’t provide in the way of material things was – unbeknownst to me at the time – far overshadowed by the values and life lessons they did indeed “gift” me.
My late father taught me a great many things: he made sure I knew how to learn from trial and error. He instilled in me an understanding of the enormous value of a hands-on approach. He also ensured I learned lots of other lessons – including the hard bumps that still benefit me today. My mother and grandmother also shared their vast wisdom, and due to their insistence, I grew up with the belief that I could do ANYTHING I set my mind to.
I developed tremendous confidence, adopted a “can-do” attitude, and developed a Midwestern work ethic from a young age. These attributes made me rich beyond my wildest imagination and prepared me well for my upcoming career.
I met my wife Michelle while we were in our mid-twenties, and she became an ever-present sounding board and another true believer in what “we” could accomplish. As a CPA with decades of managerial, financial and HR experience, we complimented our learnings and experiences on a daily basis.
Over the years, I have been blessed with opportunities to work in companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 50s, from true “mom & pops” to global giants (and several others that don’t fit into any of these categories). I have worked with and fought against some of the largest brands in the world – and took a couple from scratch and grew them to their ultimate status as highly sought-after firms.
Tactically and strategically I have embraced most of the challenges of business. I managed customers of ALL sizes in four distinct industries from three distinct levels of the organizations. I have been a critical force in helping multiple companies break through top-line ceilings of $5, $10 and $100 million in sales. I used, mis-used, developed, trashed, switched and successfully redesigned CRMs throughout that 27-year span. I have been a part of, managed and/or led sales teams ranging in size from 1 to 5,000, at all levels: locally, regionally, nationally and globally.
In all my years working with a wide variety of companies, I have learned that there is very little that can effectively replace the trio of great leadership, hard work and team focus. I have also learned that that not having the right tools and guidance can lead to hard bumps. (The ones you really don’t want to encounter in the workplace.)
Now my journey continues at ECS, where I have brought my experience so others may gain – but I can still share quality time with my wife and three kids. I do believe it is my strong desire to succeed, along with extensive cross functional experience, that drives my ability to uncover opportunities to improve businesses, to find creative solutions to problems, and to work cross functionally with diverse teams.
And with my well-established success in Healthcare, Distribution, Security, Logistics, HR and Finance I am absolutely confident that I can help ECS’s clients improve their organizations… and so is my Mom who was absolutely right, as I can – and have – accomplished anything and everything I set my mind to doing.
Want to chat more with Dave and find out more details from life in the Midwest, or what it was like to work with such a diverse range of companies?
And yes, he loves to share more about his experiences and find out about the paths others have taken. Reach him at dposten@thinkempirical.com, 563-508-8512, or connect with Dave on LinkedIn.
