About Dave

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I'm a self-taught entrepreneur who first went into business for myself in 2007 after ten years in the technical field. Initially, I was inspired by the idea of helping introverted entrepreneurs succeed in their own businesses.

After working with business owners in a wide variety of industries including marketing, technology, construction, real estate, retail, nonprofit, medical and others, I started to see a common pattern emerge: the deterioration of trust was the single biggest factor that I witnessed causing businesses to fail. In most cases, the problem is sadly preventable.

I set out to build a company that creates high-trust workplace cultures where people look forward to coming to work every day and are excited about the future and their careers. I don't believe that fulfilling careers should be limited to people who work for large companies, nor do I believe that happiness is simply a matter of salary and benefits. The key is simple but not easy: creating an environment where communication is healthy and effective, where the real issues are out on the table… and last but not least, where broken promises are addressed head-on.

I've also found that leadership gets all of the highlight reels, but management is undervalued and taken for granted. The tendency with business leaders in companies of all sizes is to give directives without a full understanding of what is required to carry out those directives. Most commonly this results in making promises without knowing if the organization can deliver or not, leading to a downward spiral of broken trust and lost confidence. At the core of the issue is a lack of effective management. Management structures, when they work properly, should provide a clear and accurate feedback loop showing an organization's leaders a real-time picture of what was promised, what actually got done, and the reasons for any gaps that occurred.

The cycle of broken promises is complex to manage for a variety of reasons. Many times, promises are not clear, or a mismatch of expectations causes friction or resentment. Other times, promises are made with the best of intentions, but life happens and plans change. The way an organization's leadership manages unmet expectations will largely govern the organization's ability to create trust. I found that in many cases, it takes an outside pair of eyes to view the situation objectively and identify what is not being said out loud. When people perceive a workplace culture as "toxic", communication stops and trust further deteriorates.

Everything that I do is based around a systematic and quantifiable approach. I am a firm believer that every promise and expectation must be pinned to a number in order to hold the right people accountable for the right things. Quantification often requires restructuring roles and job responsibilities. It also requires starting a small business with a specific plan to overcome the predictable growing pains, rather than waiting for problems to happen and reacting too late.

I'm not looking for customers; I'm looking for partners and collaborators who share the same commitments and values that I do. If you want to join forces with me and build the future of the world economy one building block at a time, I look forward to connecting with you!

Who We Serve

Brick & Mortar Businesses

I enjoy working with "Main Street" businesses that rely on community goodwill and face-to-face customer relationships!

Self-Employed Professionals

I find it rewarding to work with self-employed individuals (like me!)

Ready to get started?

Call me at 919-723-7916 or email me at dave@dave-baldwin.com