Risk Taking
I’ve been reading some very good books over the last few months and find that business is always built on risk. In actuality, everything we do has some sort of risk. BUT… You’ve got to be a risk taker if you want to succeed in any area of life. Principled risks is being willing to challenge yourself beyond your ability and comfort zone.
Theodore Roosevelt said:
I chose not to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can. I’ll seek opportunity, not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled & dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk, to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I’ll refuse to live from hand to mouth. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence, the thrill of fulfillment to the steel calm of utopia. I will never cower before the master, nor bend to any threat. It’s my heritage to stand erect, proud & unafraid, to face the world boldly and say, ‘with Gods help, this I have done!’
I’ve had successes and failures, and I always learn more from my failures than my successes. I am so thankful for Godly, Successful men who have mentored and continue to guide me as I trust God for continued direction.
Sincerely,
Dave Ober
Thoughts
These are areas I strive to improve every day!
-Always seek advise
-Have trusted advisors (mentors)
-Be humble and teachable
-Take responsibility
-Lead from the front
-Don’t take people for-granted
-People are more important than things
-Work on improving yourself
-Be a lifetime learner
-Have a personal relationship with God
-Don’t be in such a hurry
-Exercise
-Read the Bible
-Involve yourself in something bigger than yourself
-Impact is more important than impress
-Be real
-Be a good listener
-Treat all people with dignity and respect
-Forgive yourself and others
-Pursue progress not perfection
-Whenever you attempt to be different, know that you will have many critics
-Read, Listen and associate with people who will improve your life
-Guard your heart
Sincerely,
David A. Ober
ECS- Sr.Management Team
Welcome Mark and Laura Thompson to the Sr. Management staff at Environmental Cleaning Services. Prior to joining the ECS team, Mark Served in the United States Army as a Team Leader and SGT. in an airborne infantry Battalion. Also served two years in Alaska as an airborne contingency response force for the Pacific Rim. Mark spent 2012 conducting combat operations in Eastern Afghanistan. Laura is our Office Manager and head of HR department and Mark is our Operations Manager. Mark and Laura are a tremendous asset to our expanding Leadership Team.
Family
Tonight at the gym I saw on the back of a T-shirt the word ‘family,’ After a long and challenging day, it was a great reminder to keep things in perspective. Thank you to the one who wore this t-shirt.
There are many forms of family. I’m so thankful for my different forms of family! My business customers, my employees, my community of friends, which extends all over the country, my church, my family, and most of all, my wife, children, their spouses, and grandchildren.
No matter how challenging my day may be, it’s always very special to come home and spend time with those you love the most. Coming home to a safe, loving environment has always been a sense of safety and security.
Not everyone has this same situation and so it is our duty, for those who do, to pass it on. This is why we must get involved and be a shining example and encouragement wherever God has planted us!
Never take family for granted.
Sincerely,
Dave Ober
ECS – Attracts High Quality in their Management Team!
We would like to highlight our regional manager for our Wilmington area! Josh Ober! 
After graduating high school in 2008, Josh decided to pursue his passion and join the military. He spent five years in the active duty United States Marine Corps. In his time in the Marines he served on three different deployments. Josh promoted fast through the ranks of Marines and in just over 3 years time, he earned his meritorious promotion to the rank of Sergeant. After making the hard decision to honorably discharge from the Marine Corps, Josh began working for Environmental Cleaning Solutions Inc. as a full time employee at the Harrisburg Mall. His hard work, diligence, and attention to detail in his time at the Harrisburg Mall paid off as he is now our Divisional Manager for the Philadelphia, PA / Wilmington, DE regional area where he now lives with his wife Amanda.
What Are You Preparing For?
Success comes when opportunity and preparedness meet.
There are the extremes in both directions; The one direction is sitting on the lazy-boy recliner waiting for something to happen; The other direction is going out aggressively trying to pursue whatever comes your way.
My opinion, as well as many others, is that one must grow on the inside first. What does that mean? Personal development is not very popular among some, however when you look at all areas of your life, are you pleased with all the results? For example, what about the areas of Family, Friends, Finances, Faith, Freedom, Fun, Fitness, Following. If you’re not pleased and satisfied with your results in any particular area, there is something you can do about that. First, you must take full responsibility for the situation. Then, wherever you are at is because of the present level of thinking in that area. And you can’t expect to improve in that area until you change your thinking. So in order to get to where you want to be, you must develop more. How? Read, Listen, Associate! Do research! Find some good solid information that will improve that area, which will improve your results. There are good books or books on CD that you can listen to. Then find a mentor to help you keep accountable in that area.
We call this: INFORMATION > ACTION > RESULTS
Information always leads to action, which leads to results. If you don’t like your results, change your information, which will change your actions, which will improve your results.
Sincerely,
David A. Ober, CFO
Environmental Cleaning Solutions inc.
Creating Culture!
Creating culture in business is something that must be completely intentional. It doesn’t just happen.
It’s been a very long time since writing my last post. I kind of feel like the famous Bible story about David the shepherd, not seen very much, but on the back side of the mountain, tending and protecting his sheep, learning, growing and being tested. That’s how my last calendar year was. I haven’t always been victorious, sometimes I lost, but I always learned great life lessons.
In 2014, Environmental Cleaning Solutions, Inc. grew over 300%. Expansion was fast and furious. Many factors went into this large and fast growth. Life changed for all of us. One of the many factors that enabled us to experience this kind of growth was the LIFE Leadership development company. Improving my people skills, learning to work ‘on’ my business and not ‘in’ my business, learning to look at our employees as teammates, and partners and building relationships with many of them, instead of looking at them as a ‘means to an end’, being real, finding purpose, and many more factors…
Changing and growing yourself is a journey, not a destination.
In 2014 we started a monthly corporate leadership training program (LIFE Leadership) with all of our managers. Starting anything new, requires intentional effort, is at times awkward, and you must know why, or you’ll quit. However, the changes in growth have and continue to be phenomenal.
In studying many other companies, there seems to be some common threads of success. Some of those common threads are:
– Purpose, Vision, Values, and Focus
– Personal & Leadership Development
– Focus on Mentorship
– Overcome yourself: if too cocky, sand off the rough edges; if lack of confidence, build it.
– Be Teachable
– Learn to Delegate, duplicate yourself
– Trust Others, believe in your employees, expect excellence
– Lead by Example
I’ve been self-employed for over 26 years. With many successes and failures, you must re-visit the ‘why’ often to keep growing and not become stale.
As a Leadership Team, we are re-visiting every aspect of our business. From company vision to how we hire, we are asking the tough questions. We hired consultants and are even entertaining the thought of re-branding our company with a new logo. Input from our teammates is extremely important.
We love our Teammates, our Leaders, and our customers! We are humbled to be a growing company in some difficult economic times. We have offices in Harrisburg, PA; Reading, PA; and Wilmington, DE, with our Headquarters in Lebanon, PA.
Stay tuned!
Sincerely,
David A Ober
daveober.team@gmail.com
Our competition is information!
http://georgeguzzardo.typepad.com/my-blog/2013/06/information-is-your-competition.html
great article to help us understand the new rules of the Information Age! If information is your competition isn’t it time for the leadership advantage? Leadership will not stop the inevitable changes that will come from the information age, it will only prepare you to win. God Bless, George Guzzardo
Dave Ober Leadership 