January 20, 2025 • 24 mins
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In this episode of the Lead, Learn, Laugh, Grow podcast, host Randy Gooch recounts a personal story involving a handcrafted bison-hide wallet to introduce an important leadership lesson on confronting challenges head-on. Randy then welcomes guest David Nevins, partner at Como Companies, who shares his leadership journey from growing Midwest Computech into a major IT service provider for schools to revitalizing Como Magazine. David discusses the importance of creativity, resilience, networking, and leveraging personal strengths and faith in leadership. They also explore decision-making styles, handling adversity, and maintaining work-life balance. The episode highlights the value of mentorship, continuous learning, and the impact of effective leadership on organizational health.
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Episode Transcript
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Randy (00:00):
Welcome to the Lead, Learn, Laugh, Grow podcast,
everyone.
I'm Randy Gooch.
I'm thrilled to be here with youtoday.
I want to share somethingpersonal, and meaningful for
leaders.
let me take you back to lastChristmas.
My kids gave me a beautiful newwallet.
It was handcrafted out of bisonhide by a gentleman named Chad
(00:20):
Glover.
let me tell you, it was a workof art.
Sleek, strong, and Americanmade.
Fast forward a couple months, Ihappened to run into Chad at an
event.
Naturally, I couldn't miss theopportunity I pulled out my
wallet, showed it off, and said,Chad, I think I have one of the
best looking and bestconstructed wallets in the
world.
We had a good laugh, and thenChad said something that stopped
(00:43):
me in my tracks.
He asked, Do you mind if I tellyou why I love making products
out of bison?
I said, Of course, I'm curious.
Chad explained there are threereasons he uses bison hide.
First, it's easy to source andverify that it's 100 percent
American made, which isimportant to him.
Second, while cowhide and bisonare about the same strength in
(01:03):
their natural state, bisonleather is processed in a way
that ends up being stronger andmore durable.
the third reason blew my mind.
when bisons see a storm coming.
They don't run away They gatherup and run straight into the
storm.
By doing this, they spend lesstime in it and are exposed to
danger for a shorter period oftime.
(01:25):
Now, here's the kicker.
Chad explained cattle do theopposite.
When a storm rolls in, they'llrun away from it.
They try to avoid it.
They get scattered.
they end up spending more timein the storm with greater
exposure to danger.
That's an awesome leadershiplesson.
Think about how many times inleadership or life Have we seen
(01:47):
a storm coming?
A tough conversation Achallenging decision to make?
Or a problem that seems too bigwe often rationalize or delay,
thinking it'll pass, maybe itwon't be as bad later Difficult
situations don't get easier withtime when you're avoiding them.
When we run away fromchallenges, We allow them to
(02:09):
grow bigger, more complex, morepainful.
When we face them head on, likethe bison, we minimize the time
and energy we spend in thosestorms.
The idea of being the bison hasstruck me and I've applied it in
many ways.
Whether having a hardconversation with a team member,
addressing a mistake that I'vemade, or making a decision I
(02:33):
know that will be unpopular.
I remind myself, don't delay,don't avoid, gather your
courage, face the storm, be thebison.
Leaders face these storms everyday.
I'm thrilled to introduce ourguest whose entrepreneurial
journey and leadership have lefta profound mark on technology
and local and regional business.
(02:54):
David Nevins partner at Comocompanies has a remarkable
career that embodies creativity.
Resilience and innovation.
David grew up in Tipton,Missouri.
Whereas entrepreneurial spiritwas evident early on.
From mowing lawns to plowingsnow during college with
foundational roots and businessmanagement, and a love for
(03:15):
creative outlets like music.
David found his calling intechnology.
A field that evolveddramatically during his career.
After a stint in the Kansas citytech scene.
David co-owner.
And grew Midwest Computech intoone, a Missouri's largest
management, it service providersfor school districts and
(03:36):
businesses.
His leadership expanded theirservice to over 100 school
districts in numerous businessesacross the country.
Transforming their model from abreak and fix to a proactive
management service.
Under his stewardship mid-westComputex became a leader in the
(03:56):
industry, navigating challenges,providing high quality it
services to districts withlimited.
Expertise and resources.
But what makes David's storyeven more compelling?
Is what he's doing now.
Today David is shaping thefuture of community focus media
(04:16):
at Como companies, along withhis wife, Sarah.
David is revitalizing Comomagazine.
A vital local publicationcelebrates Columbia Missouri's
people, businesses, and theirstories.
Their mission is clear toprovide meaningful, positive
storytelling in an age wherenegativity often dominates.
(04:38):
David's vision is about morethan business.
It's about fostering connection,civic, responsibility, and
community impact.
In this episode, we'll dive intoDavid's journey, exploring his
work at Como companies andlearning what leadership and
growth mean to him in this newchapter.
So let's get started.
David Nevins, welcome to thepodcast.
David (04:59):
Thanks Randy.
Randy (04:59):
I know this that every organization, every company,
rises on falls on leadership.
There's just no way to getaround it.
companies that are thriving,It's usually because there's
great leadership.
Get into some of your leadershipphilosophies and that sort of
thing.
As we look at that bison theme,that running through the storm a
metaphor like that play out insome of your experiences, I
(05:21):
imagine you've had times whereyou were the bison.
You met it head on.
I imagine there's a few timeswhere you're a little bit more
like cattle, didn't meet it.
Share some of those good things,bad things about meeting
difficulty and adversity headon.
David (05:34):
Yeah, I don't know that I consciously decide to be a
cattle or a bison in differentscenarios, and I think it's I
think sometimes it's situationdictates, and I don't know if I
would say cattle.
I like to approach things headon, but sometimes I'm not quick
to do that.
(05:54):
especially dependent on thesituation of what others might
perceive as needing to be done.
I like to use the term be quick,but don't hurry
Randy (06:00):
I like that,
David (06:01):
you can hurry through something just to get it done
but it has to be intentionalthere's an art to that, as far
as decision making I've become abig fan of Malcolm Gladwell and
I don't know if you're familiarwith him or not.
I saw him in a conference a fewyears ago.
He really spoke to me as far ashis messaging and how he
delivered.
And so I've read several of hisbooks since.
(06:22):
And in fact, I list, he's got arevisionist history podcast that
I find fascinating that, toucheson subjects you've never even
heard of.
one of his books he wrote isBlink and it really spoke to me
because the premise of the booktalks about decision making and
how some people make huge,decisions quickly.
and move on Whereas others getinto a paralysis by analysis and
(06:45):
they tend to, really thinkthrough.
I found myself reflectingthrough that book as it spoke to
me and that's how I operate.
I tend to make, big decisionswith what might seem like
limited information.
it just makes sense to me.
there's no other way to describeit.
Subconsciously we feel like Ihave an ability to discern that
there may be a good reason whyI'm taking longer on this.
(07:08):
since I took two or three dayson that, there's been a lot more
information come to light thatreally changed my perception and
thought process on, how thatdecision should be made.
Randy (07:19):
That's interesting.
the whole concept discernment,the gut, the decision seemingly
quick, but there is somethinggoing on.
In your brain, in yourexperience, and it's this
calculus you can't necessarilyexplain
David (07:33):
When you start to second guess yourself you go back
rethink and make bad decisionscounter to what you thought
initially.
Randy (07:39):
And, publicly education for quite some time, but before
that I was in some corporate,settings and entrepreneurial
settings.
So I came at it sometimes at adifferent approach, but I often
got weary in conversations whenwe would say, well, we just need
a little bit more information.
And it was okay, now are youneeding more information to make
(08:00):
a decision?
Or is this cover for you nothaving to make a decision That's
one thing that I've alwaysappreciated about Business to
some extent because you can'tafford To delay, I appreciate
that, particularlyentrepreneurial piece you tie
together.
And I think that's probablysomething that and I'm sure
there are studies out there andpeople very smart have written
(08:22):
about them, and researched it.
But that's part of thatentrepreneurial way of life
There's a certain level ofconfidence you can have.
do you find that the more youexercise that, the more
confident you get
David (08:34):
I find I operate best when I have a lot to process and
do, as opposed to.
Sitting around with idle timewith less stuff you tend to dig
in to take more time makingdecisions than you overthink
things.
Yeah.
so I do, and that's not foreverybody.
I think that's just how my brainis wired and how I'm.
(08:57):
set up to operate.
That's when I'm most efficientand at my best.
Randy (09:00):
one really good tool I used in coaching was the disc
analysis.
I liked it.
but then I read, PatrickLennconi's, book, six working
geniuses, That is awesome forbusiness because he describes
that all work can be divvied upinto these six categories.
he said, most people are reallygood at two and Functional at a
(09:21):
couple.
But there's gonna be two they'relousy at or they might be good
at it, but get No energy from itand that's what the disc and
those exams do Help you find outwhat that is, One of those
categories is discernment, andthat's one that I always score
high on, and I understandexactly what you're saying, but
that's not for everybody.
And there are people that workdifferently
David (09:43):
on my desk profile, I've seen a lot of them, a lot of
people have one or two highareas, I'm Almost across the
board in the middle oneverything.
I get all four areas probablymore innately than others.
that served me well because Ihave a better understanding or
empathy for people that operateway off the charts in these
levels.
(10:04):
I get and understand why theythink or operate that way.
I think that's helped me.
Randy (10:08):
I think it's important for people to explore further.
How they operate because ithelps you fit in
David (10:13):
Yeah
Randy (10:14):
Because if you are hardcore You got to realize a
couple out there are quite theopposite
David (10:18):
That's right.
Randy (10:19):
particularly in a leadership position You can't
lead in every instance the wayyou would like to be led
David (10:24):
I love those tools.
some companies some leaders.
become too reliant on them.
they're good benchmarks.
I've used them a couple of timeswhen there was a lot of discord
or disconnect amongst ourorganization to make everyone
sit down and talk through someof that it made a huge
difference.
they're like, Oh, now Iunderstand why Nate does not
respond well to me when Iapproach him about this or why
(10:47):
he responds that way
Randy (10:49):
One aha moment I had after I did these six working
geniuses, parallels the story inthe book, when I first took that
last position I liked it.
David (10:58):
And
Randy (11:00):
I was able to work in my geniuses a lot because it was
discernment and invention.
So it was bigger picture stuff,not totally out there, but
building things, buildingsystems, improving things that
were going and then being ableto discern.
It wasn't a lot of tenacity andGalvanizing So when I first took
over in that last position, Ihad great directors.
(11:21):
They were long term They've beenthere a long time.
They knew their stuff they knewhow to get the work done I could
help them tweak And decide okay,we could do this better I can
help you do this better and thatsort of thing and it worked
really good and it was enjoyableMost days were enjoyable But
then all of a sudden I had,resignations and retirements.
half of my executive team wasnew.
they were great people.
(11:41):
But they were new to the job,they were new to the role,.
My role had to change I had toconcentrate more on pushing the
work, the nuts, the bolts, andit was draining me But when I
got to work in those geniusareas, it's like the little pink
ever ready bunny, you know,boom, boom, boom.
You can do it all day long.
But I think that's so valuablewhen you start getting people,
(12:02):
particularly when they're reallyshining and they're wanting to
figure out why am I shining?
How can I keep this going?
those that are disgruntled ithelps them say, okay.
Maybe I'm not working my best isthere anything in my job that
could be rearranged as leaders.
That's one thing you can look atI like those tools as well
David (12:18):
That's great.
We're going through a very largetransition right now and from
the outside looking in it wouldseem like a terrible and chaotic
time I haven't had as much funrunning an organization.
As I am right now Doing all thethings that we need to do To
move us forward as I have inprobably 10 or 15 years and it
goes back to When we werebuilding that other company
(12:40):
there was such an open space forcreativity and new ways and
thinking of ways to do thingsand that creative space I love
along with the relationships andwith people and being creative
for other people and then seeingvalue in that.
I'm getting to do that againwithout the constraints of
that's not how this industryworks.
If I break it, I'll figure outhow to fix it that's really
(13:01):
exciting to me
Randy (13:02):
That's awesome.
What role has learning been inyour leadership journey and, and
what ways do you learn and, andmaybe who are you really, who
and what are you really learningfrom right now?
David (13:14):
I've been blessed through the role that I've had to have
ongoing and pretty frequentinteraction at a somewhat
intimate level with otherleaders of other organizations.
You know, just being, through,Midwest Computech that really
looked like having to sit downwith those leaders, whether it
(13:36):
be a superintendent businessowner director of technology as
a partner, you're Part of theirteam, that's the goal you have
to have a deeper understandingof their goals, their vision,
and how they operate as opposedto just a vendor relationship,
it's not a transactionalrelationship at all.
those relationships I've builtover the years have given me
insight into how.
(13:56):
leaders think, operate, how theydeal with people, how they deal
with adverse situations.
And so I've had a really uniqueand robust exposure through
that.
As far as ongoing learning andwhere do I pull from, I'll share
a dirty little secret, that cameto me over the last few days as
(14:17):
I was thinking through what wemight talk about and where this
might go.
Randy (14:20):
all ears.
David (14:22):
over my career, purchased, 40, 50 different
books on organizational healthto leadership, to you name it,
all the authors.
And I would say 90 plus percentof them I've read the first
third and then stopped.
I got what I needed out of thatfirst third of the book.
They laid out what they weregonna talk about and the scope
(14:43):
of their vision The last twothirds was the nuts and bolts of
it.
I'm not necessarily a nuts andbolts person.
I think part of my reason thatI, gave up on going through that
part of it was it didn'tinterest me as much, some
leaders and organizations gettoo in the weeds on those
things.
They can take that as the gospeland they just think that applies
(15:04):
and they'll do that to thedetriment of their organization.
you start to create theseprocesses that you do over and
over because the book said toand it meant a lot to you But if
it doesn't help the peopleyou're trying to get to make
your organization better, you'rewasting time.
I love being creative and if youput yourself in too much of a
structure you lose that.
It's important because timeschange, people change, you just
(15:27):
have to listen and then takethat information in and decide
what you're going to do with it.
I love the concepts you can takestuff and borrow from it, but I
tend to not go much deeper thanthat on a lot of that stuff.
Randy (15:40):
Absolutely.
David (15:40):
if you see all the books on my shelf, I've probably
glanced through them, but
Randy (15:45):
I
David (15:45):
can't take credit for reading
Randy (15:46):
during my 13 years of commuting, to Columbia, gave me
a lot of listening time.
audio books were my friends.
I do agree with you.
there's nothing worse than theleader that comes in and said,
Hey, I just read this book.
This is the best book I've everread.
Read it and we're going to doit.
it may have been the best bookfor you, and part of the toolkit
(16:08):
you need as a leader, but it'snot necessarily transferable,
David (16:12):
then you do that.
the next book you read, if it'sthe best book you've ever read,
then you're coming in and you'redoing the same thing.
some of that might shift fromwhat you're on.
So then you get thisorganizational chaos of people,
not sure what the direction is,or is it going to change?
why would I buy into this?
We've already moved away fromthat.
What's next after that.
And that's not healthy.
People in general don't respondwell to that over time.
Randy (16:34):
through your professional journey, your personal journey
to this point, What importanceor what level do you give to,
laugh, work life balance, maybebetter said, not taking yourself
too seriously.
What role does that play withyou as a leader?
David (16:48):
I really try not to take myself too seriously.
you lead by example.
whatever talents and skills Ihave, that's what God blessed me
with, not what I've created I'mjust here to share those and
realize everyone has differenttalents Sometimes people need a
leader.
to stand up and say, this iswhat we're doing.
Sometimes people need the spaceto make decisions themselves.
(17:11):
that's when they really grow.
They don't need someone tellingthem every single thing they
need to do moving forward.
Organizations will be their mosthealthy and successful when you
can foster and grow more ofthose people into realizing that
they have capacity to becreative, to make decisions, to
fail.
Otherwise they get stifled andthey feel like they're in a box
and they never grow.
(17:31):
trying to figure that balanceof, when it's necessary, when
it's time to step out front anddo those things.
And maybe when it's time to pullback and just set back and let
people do their thing.
And the challenge is sometimespeople will look to you.
is this okay, are we on theright path, you can give some
direction, but sometimes that'syour department.
That's your expertise.
(17:52):
Don't look at me to make thefinal decision.
If there is some dispute orthere needs to be a tiebreaker
yes, let me step in and get theinformation, but I don't want to
get bogged in that too often.
Randy (18:02):
you've mentioned a couple times what role does faith play
in your professional life?
David (18:07):
I really started to grow as a leader and business
professional when I learned tolean on my faith.
I'm an early riser.
The first thing I do everymorning is a Bible study, and I
feel, God lays things on myheart or helps me understand,
different things.
There's so much wisdom in theBible.
even if you're not a believer,if you were to just sit down and
(18:28):
read through, Proverbs or someof the other, just, you name it,
there's so much insight andwisdom it helps me ground
myself, realize I'm part of abigger.
puzzle.
I'm just doing my part in all ofthis and, it grounds me not get
too big for my britches as oneof my grandpas used to say all
the time.
and realize that everyone has arole in this.
(18:51):
And, I hope it gives me empathymakes me listen more, looking
back on my life, there have beenso many decisions,
opportunities, events that, havehad no other explanation than
God intervened in, what myfuture was going to look like
and pointed me in a direction.
once I reflected on that and sawthat for myself, it changed my
(19:15):
perspective of my future I leanon that every day.
Randy (19:18):
One last question.
what advice would you give to ayoung leader?
maybe not a young leader, butsomebody trying to lead and make
their way in a professionalsetting that may be struggling a
little bit emerging.
doesn't have it all figured outyet what advice would you give
them?
David (19:35):
build your network of relationships as far and wide as
you can without overreaching.
that was an important part of mygrowth, as a leader and business
owner.
Randy (19:45):
do that intentionally?
David (19:46):
it was almost an unintended consequence.
I grew my network, because wewere growing a business that
didn't have a lot of financialbacking.
We didn't have a lot of, dollarsto spend on marketing I knew if
we were going to, grow, if I wasgoing to succeed in this, it was
going to be based onrelationships and networking and
(20:11):
knowing people.
I knew that, especially in ourindustry where a high level of
trust was needed, to oversee andmanage technology, there had to
be a relationship behind that,that they felt like they could
trust you and that you justweren't the first person that
walked through the door thatcould solve their problem.
some people make decisions basedon that, and those people tend
to make a different decisionFind the next person that walks
(20:33):
through the door.
that was kind of not only forour short term success, but
longterm success.
But being exposed to thosepeople that I was able to lean
on, ask questions of, look upto, because a lot of times these
were people that had been inbusiness 10, 15, 20 years longer
than I had.
I built relationships and theygave great advice.
stable of close friends alsothat were going through that.
(20:54):
Same growth at same time.
And so we shared experiences andthoughts.
A peer group,
Randy (20:58):
going through the same things.
David (20:59):
I've been blessed with some great long term mentors
that are also really closefriends they didn't understand
the technical aspects oranything like that.
They were just an ear and gavegreat advice.
sometimes it was pertinent to myissue but a lot of times they
were just there to offer supportand encouragement and share
their experiences that they hadgone through as they were going
(21:20):
through their careers.
Really find a mentor, likesomeone that's been through the
wars and is willing to invest inyou.
Randy (21:27):
you're standing on the shoulders of others.
David (21:29):
Absolutely.
Randy (21:30):
Well, David, I want to thank you for taking this time
today.
I know you're very busy and Ithank you for doing this and,
thank you for joining me on thisinaugural growth thing that I'm
trying to do.
Look forward to talking with youin the future.
It's always exciting when we gettogether cause you always have
something going on new, lovefinding out today, but more
about your creative side andwe'll have to talk about that
(21:51):
music stuff further.
David (21:52):
I was really happy to do this.
I've known you for a long timeand Rotary allowed me to get
connected to a lot of people inthe community.
that might've been the mostimpactful, organization for me
because unlike networking eventswhere you kind of mingle I
haven't been great lately, but Igot to have breakfast with
fascinating people and sharestories and ask questions.
(22:14):
Brilliant people.
absolutely brilliant people.
go out of my way to sit down attheir table and chat with them.
Randy (22:20):
Right.
David (22:20):
I was like, how do I have an opportunity?
How would I ever know him if notfor that organization It was
amazing.
Randy (22:27):
critical for people to find groups in which they can
hear and think differently.
Yes.
one of the, lesson that, thatreally got drove home to me, I
grew up, with a very good friendhis father was a pioneer in
journalism, newspaper, earlycable TV this guy had all kinds
of stories.
I remember, my friend Mitch, hisfather, Took us out to eat one
(22:51):
time.
that was right around, whenReagan had just been elected he
was big in the Republican partyand wired he was sharing about
meeting Reagan and talkingsafari and all this stuff.
And I'm sitting there.
I didn't have any questions anddidn't realize what was going on
many years later.
Late night, I'm working on thecomputer, TV on, and I hear this
(23:12):
voice, and it's Mitch's dad,it's on this documentary about,
General MacArthur.
I missed an opportunity becauseI didn't ask that guy a single
question when I figured thatout, I got intentional If i'm in
a new spot, i'm going to talk tosomebody and not going to leave
any Conversation that I don't atleast Ask a couple questions.
(23:32):
Cause it will blow your mind.
you don't know what people havedone.
sometimes it takes one littlequestion, one little common
interest.
then there's this exchange thatenlightens you changes you and
makes you better as a person.
David (23:43):
This is my last thing I'll leave you with.
I have been intentional aboutit.
it's always best if you talkless If you ask questions
people, love to tell their storyyou can really glean so much
from that.
most people really want to leadwith that.
They want to tell you all aboutthem.
I try and give people thatopportunity because I get way
more from that than hearingmyself talk,
(24:05):
Once again, thank you so muchfor listening today.
The next episode will drop onFebruary 3, 2025.
It'll be with Dr.
Jeff Lashley, the recentlyretired president of Moberly
Area Community College.
Join us and we're going to talkabout leading with legacy in
mind.
Welcome to the Lead, Learn, Laugh, Grow podcast,
everyone.
I'm Randy Gooch.
I'm thrilled to be here with youtoday.
I want to share somethingpersonal, and meaningful for
leaders.
let me take you back to lastChristmas.
My kids gave me a beautiful newwallet.
It was handcrafted out of bisonhide by a gentleman named Chad
(00:20):
Glover.
let me tell you, it was a workof art.
Sleek, strong, and Americanmade.
Fast forward a couple months, Ihappened to run into Chad at an
event.
Naturally, I couldn't miss theopportunity I pulled out my
wallet, showed it off, and said,Chad, I think I have one of the
best looking and bestconstructed wallets in the
world.
We had a good laugh, and thenChad said something that stopped
(00:43):
me in my tracks.
He asked, Do you mind if I tellyou why I love making products
out of bison?
I said, Of course, I'm curious.
Chad explained there are threereasons he uses bison hide.
First, it's easy to source andverify that it's 100 percent
American made, which isimportant to him.
Second, while cowhide and bisonare about the same strength in
(01:03):
their natural state, bisonleather is processed in a way
that ends up being stronger andmore durable.
the third reason blew my mind.
when bisons see a storm coming.
They don't run away They gatherup and run straight into the
storm.
By doing this, they spend lesstime in it and are exposed to
danger for a shorter period oftime.
(01:25):
Now, here's the kicker.
Chad explained cattle do theopposite.
When a storm rolls in, they'llrun away from it.
They try to avoid it.
They get scattered.
they end up spending more timein the storm with greater
exposure to danger.
That's an awesome leadershiplesson.
Think about how many times inleadership or life Have we seen
(01:47):
a storm coming?
A tough conversation Achallenging decision to make?
Or a problem that seems too bigwe often rationalize or delay,
thinking it'll pass, maybe itwon't be as bad later Difficult
situations don't get easier withtime when you're avoiding them.
When we run away fromchallenges, We allow them to
(02:09):
grow bigger, more complex, morepainful.
When we face them head on, likethe bison, we minimize the time
and energy we spend in thosestorms.
The idea of being the bison hasstruck me and I've applied it in
many ways.
Whether having a hardconversation with a team member,
addressing a mistake that I'vemade, or making a decision I
(02:33):
know that will be unpopular.
I remind myself, don't delay,don't avoid, gather your
courage, face the storm, be thebison.
Leaders face these storms everyday.
I'm thrilled to introduce ourguest whose entrepreneurial
journey and leadership have lefta profound mark on technology
and local and regional business.
(02:54):
David Nevins partner at Comocompanies has a remarkable
career that embodies creativity.
Resilience and innovation.
David grew up in Tipton,Missouri.
Whereas entrepreneurial spiritwas evident early on.
From mowing lawns to plowingsnow during college with
foundational roots and businessmanagement, and a love for
(03:15):
creative outlets like music.
David found his calling intechnology.
A field that evolveddramatically during his career.
After a stint in the Kansas citytech scene.
David co-owner.
And grew Midwest Computech intoone, a Missouri's largest
management, it service providersfor school districts and
(03:36):
businesses.
His leadership expanded theirservice to over 100 school
districts in numerous businessesacross the country.
Transforming their model from abreak and fix to a proactive
management service.
Under his stewardship mid-westComputex became a leader in the
(03:56):
industry, navigating challenges,providing high quality it
services to districts withlimited.
Expertise and resources.
But what makes David's storyeven more compelling?
Is what he's doing now.
Today David is shaping thefuture of community focus media
(04:16):
at Como companies, along withhis wife, Sarah.
David is revitalizing Comomagazine.
A vital local publicationcelebrates Columbia Missouri's
people, businesses, and theirstories.
Their mission is clear toprovide meaningful, positive
storytelling in an age wherenegativity often dominates.
(04:38):
David's vision is about morethan business.
It's about fostering connection,civic, responsibility, and
community impact.
In this episode, we'll dive intoDavid's journey, exploring his
work at Como companies andlearning what leadership and
growth mean to him in this newchapter.
So let's get started.
David Nevins, welcome to thepodcast.
David (04:59):
Thanks Randy.
Randy (04:59):
I know this that every organization, every company,
rises on falls on leadership.
There's just no way to getaround it.
companies that are thriving,It's usually because there's
great leadership.
Get into some of your leadershipphilosophies and that sort of
thing.
As we look at that bison theme,that running through the storm a
metaphor like that play out insome of your experiences, I
(05:21):
imagine you've had times whereyou were the bison.
You met it head on.
I imagine there's a few timeswhere you're a little bit more
like cattle, didn't meet it.
Share some of those good things,bad things about meeting
difficulty and adversity headon.
David (05:34):
Yeah, I don't know that I consciously decide to be a
cattle or a bison in differentscenarios, and I think it's I
think sometimes it's situationdictates, and I don't know if I
would say cattle.
I like to approach things headon, but sometimes I'm not quick
to do that.
(05:54):
especially dependent on thesituation of what others might
perceive as needing to be done.
I like to use the term be quick,but don't hurry
Randy (06:00):
I like that,
David (06:01):
you can hurry through something just to get it done
but it has to be intentionalthere's an art to that, as far
as decision making I've become abig fan of Malcolm Gladwell and
I don't know if you're familiarwith him or not.
I saw him in a conference a fewyears ago.
He really spoke to me as far ashis messaging and how he
delivered.
And so I've read several of hisbooks since.
(06:22):
And in fact, I list, he's got arevisionist history podcast that
I find fascinating that, toucheson subjects you've never even
heard of.
one of his books he wrote isBlink and it really spoke to me
because the premise of the booktalks about decision making and
how some people make huge,decisions quickly.
and move on Whereas others getinto a paralysis by analysis and
(06:45):
they tend to, really thinkthrough.
I found myself reflectingthrough that book as it spoke to
me and that's how I operate.
I tend to make, big decisionswith what might seem like
limited information.
it just makes sense to me.
there's no other way to describeit.
Subconsciously we feel like Ihave an ability to discern that
there may be a good reason whyI'm taking longer on this.
(07:08):
since I took two or three dayson that, there's been a lot more
information come to light thatreally changed my perception and
thought process on, how thatdecision should be made.
Randy (07:19):
That's interesting.
the whole concept discernment,the gut, the decision seemingly
quick, but there is somethinggoing on.
In your brain, in yourexperience, and it's this
calculus you can't necessarilyexplain
David (07:33):
When you start to second guess yourself you go back
rethink and make bad decisionscounter to what you thought
initially.
Randy (07:39):
And, publicly education for quite some time, but before
that I was in some corporate,settings and entrepreneurial
settings.
So I came at it sometimes at adifferent approach, but I often
got weary in conversations whenwe would say, well, we just need
a little bit more information.
And it was okay, now are youneeding more information to make
(08:00):
a decision?
Or is this cover for you nothaving to make a decision That's
one thing that I've alwaysappreciated about Business to
some extent because you can'tafford To delay, I appreciate
that, particularlyentrepreneurial piece you tie
together.
And I think that's probablysomething that and I'm sure
there are studies out there andpeople very smart have written
(08:22):
about them, and researched it.
But that's part of thatentrepreneurial way of life
There's a certain level ofconfidence you can have.
do you find that the more youexercise that, the more
confident you get
David (08:34):
I find I operate best when I have a lot to process and
do, as opposed to.
Sitting around with idle timewith less stuff you tend to dig
in to take more time makingdecisions than you overthink
things.
Yeah.
so I do, and that's not foreverybody.
I think that's just how my brainis wired and how I'm.
(08:57):
set up to operate.
That's when I'm most efficientand at my best.
Randy (09:00):
one really good tool I used in coaching was the disc
analysis.
I liked it.
but then I read, PatrickLennconi's, book, six working
geniuses, That is awesome forbusiness because he describes
that all work can be divvied upinto these six categories.
he said, most people are reallygood at two and Functional at a
(09:21):
couple.
But there's gonna be two they'relousy at or they might be good
at it, but get No energy from itand that's what the disc and
those exams do Help you find outwhat that is, One of those
categories is discernment, andthat's one that I always score
high on, and I understandexactly what you're saying, but
that's not for everybody.
And there are people that workdifferently
David (09:43):
on my desk profile, I've seen a lot of them, a lot of
people have one or two highareas, I'm Almost across the
board in the middle oneverything.
I get all four areas probablymore innately than others.
that served me well because Ihave a better understanding or
empathy for people that operateway off the charts in these
levels.
(10:04):
I get and understand why theythink or operate that way.
I think that's helped me.
Randy (10:08):
I think it's important for people to explore further.
How they operate because ithelps you fit in
David (10:13):
Yeah
Randy (10:14):
Because if you are hardcore You got to realize a
couple out there are quite theopposite
David (10:18):
That's right.
Randy (10:19):
particularly in a leadership position You can't
lead in every instance the wayyou would like to be led
David (10:24):
I love those tools.
some companies some leaders.
become too reliant on them.
they're good benchmarks.
I've used them a couple of timeswhen there was a lot of discord
or disconnect amongst ourorganization to make everyone
sit down and talk through someof that it made a huge
difference.
they're like, Oh, now Iunderstand why Nate does not
respond well to me when Iapproach him about this or why
(10:47):
he responds that way
Randy (10:49):
One aha moment I had after I did these six working
geniuses, parallels the story inthe book, when I first took that
last position I liked it.
David (10:58):
And
Randy (11:00):
I was able to work in my geniuses a lot because it was
discernment and invention.
So it was bigger picture stuff,not totally out there, but
building things, buildingsystems, improving things that
were going and then being ableto discern.
It wasn't a lot of tenacity andGalvanizing So when I first took
over in that last position, Ihad great directors.
(11:21):
They were long term They've beenthere a long time.
They knew their stuff they knewhow to get the work done I could
help them tweak And decide okay,we could do this better I can
help you do this better and thatsort of thing and it worked
really good and it was enjoyableMost days were enjoyable But
then all of a sudden I had,resignations and retirements.
half of my executive team wasnew.
they were great people.
(11:41):
But they were new to the job,they were new to the role,.
My role had to change I had toconcentrate more on pushing the
work, the nuts, the bolts, andit was draining me But when I
got to work in those geniusareas, it's like the little pink
ever ready bunny, you know,boom, boom, boom.
You can do it all day long.
But I think that's so valuablewhen you start getting people,
(12:02):
particularly when they're reallyshining and they're wanting to
figure out why am I shining?
How can I keep this going?
those that are disgruntled ithelps them say, okay.
Maybe I'm not working my best isthere anything in my job that
could be rearranged as leaders.
That's one thing you can look atI like those tools as well
David (12:18):
That's great.
We're going through a very largetransition right now and from
the outside looking in it wouldseem like a terrible and chaotic
time I haven't had as much funrunning an organization.
As I am right now Doing all thethings that we need to do To
move us forward as I have inprobably 10 or 15 years and it
goes back to When we werebuilding that other company
(12:40):
there was such an open space forcreativity and new ways and
thinking of ways to do thingsand that creative space I love
along with the relationships andwith people and being creative
for other people and then seeingvalue in that.
I'm getting to do that againwithout the constraints of
that's not how this industryworks.
If I break it, I'll figure outhow to fix it that's really
(13:01):
exciting to me
Randy (13:02):
That's awesome.
What role has learning been inyour leadership journey and, and
what ways do you learn and, andmaybe who are you really, who
and what are you really learningfrom right now?
David (13:14):
I've been blessed through the role that I've had to have
ongoing and pretty frequentinteraction at a somewhat
intimate level with otherleaders of other organizations.
You know, just being, through,Midwest Computech that really
looked like having to sit downwith those leaders, whether it
(13:36):
be a superintendent businessowner director of technology as
a partner, you're Part of theirteam, that's the goal you have
to have a deeper understandingof their goals, their vision,
and how they operate as opposedto just a vendor relationship,
it's not a transactionalrelationship at all.
those relationships I've builtover the years have given me
insight into how.
(13:56):
leaders think, operate, how theydeal with people, how they deal
with adverse situations.
And so I've had a really uniqueand robust exposure through
that.
As far as ongoing learning andwhere do I pull from, I'll share
a dirty little secret, that cameto me over the last few days as
(14:17):
I was thinking through what wemight talk about and where this
might go.
Randy (14:20):
all ears.
David (14:22):
over my career, purchased, 40, 50 different
books on organizational healthto leadership, to you name it,
all the authors.
And I would say 90 plus percentof them I've read the first
third and then stopped.
I got what I needed out of thatfirst third of the book.
They laid out what they weregonna talk about and the scope
(14:43):
of their vision The last twothirds was the nuts and bolts of
it.
I'm not necessarily a nuts andbolts person.
I think part of my reason thatI, gave up on going through that
part of it was it didn'tinterest me as much, some
leaders and organizations gettoo in the weeds on those
things.
They can take that as the gospeland they just think that applies
(15:04):
and they'll do that to thedetriment of their organization.
you start to create theseprocesses that you do over and
over because the book said toand it meant a lot to you But if
it doesn't help the peopleyou're trying to get to make
your organization better, you'rewasting time.
I love being creative and if youput yourself in too much of a
structure you lose that.
It's important because timeschange, people change, you just
(15:27):
have to listen and then takethat information in and decide
what you're going to do with it.
I love the concepts you can takestuff and borrow from it, but I
tend to not go much deeper thanthat on a lot of that stuff.
Randy (15:40):
Absolutely.
David (15:40):
if you see all the books on my shelf, I've probably
glanced through them, but
Randy (15:45):
I
David (15:45):
can't take credit for reading
Randy (15:46):
during my 13 years of commuting, to Columbia, gave me
a lot of listening time.
audio books were my friends.
I do agree with you.
there's nothing worse than theleader that comes in and said,
Hey, I just read this book.
This is the best book I've everread.
Read it and we're going to doit.
it may have been the best bookfor you, and part of the toolkit
(16:08):
you need as a leader, but it'snot necessarily transferable,
David (16:12):
then you do that.
the next book you read, if it'sthe best book you've ever read,
then you're coming in and you'redoing the same thing.
some of that might shift fromwhat you're on.
So then you get thisorganizational chaos of people,
not sure what the direction is,or is it going to change?
why would I buy into this?
We've already moved away fromthat.
What's next after that.
And that's not healthy.
People in general don't respondwell to that over time.
Randy (16:34):
through your professional journey, your personal journey
to this point, What importanceor what level do you give to,
laugh, work life balance, maybebetter said, not taking yourself
too seriously.
What role does that play withyou as a leader?
David (16:48):
I really try not to take myself too seriously.
you lead by example.
whatever talents and skills Ihave, that's what God blessed me
with, not what I've created I'mjust here to share those and
realize everyone has differenttalents Sometimes people need a
leader.
to stand up and say, this iswhat we're doing.
Sometimes people need the spaceto make decisions themselves.
(17:11):
that's when they really grow.
They don't need someone tellingthem every single thing they
need to do moving forward.
Organizations will be their mosthealthy and successful when you
can foster and grow more ofthose people into realizing that
they have capacity to becreative, to make decisions, to
fail.
Otherwise they get stifled andthey feel like they're in a box
and they never grow.
(17:31):
trying to figure that balanceof, when it's necessary, when
it's time to step out front anddo those things.
And maybe when it's time to pullback and just set back and let
people do their thing.
And the challenge is sometimespeople will look to you.
is this okay, are we on theright path, you can give some
direction, but sometimes that'syour department.
That's your expertise.
(17:52):
Don't look at me to make thefinal decision.
If there is some dispute orthere needs to be a tiebreaker
yes, let me step in and get theinformation, but I don't want to
get bogged in that too often.
Randy (18:02):
you've mentioned a couple times what role does faith play
in your professional life?
David (18:07):
I really started to grow as a leader and business
professional when I learned tolean on my faith.
I'm an early riser.
The first thing I do everymorning is a Bible study, and I
feel, God lays things on myheart or helps me understand,
different things.
There's so much wisdom in theBible.
even if you're not a believer,if you were to just sit down and
(18:28):
read through, Proverbs or someof the other, just, you name it,
there's so much insight andwisdom it helps me ground
myself, realize I'm part of abigger.
puzzle.
I'm just doing my part in all ofthis and, it grounds me not get
too big for my britches as oneof my grandpas used to say all
the time.
and realize that everyone has arole in this.
(18:51):
And, I hope it gives me empathymakes me listen more, looking
back on my life, there have beenso many decisions,
opportunities, events that, havehad no other explanation than
God intervened in, what myfuture was going to look like
and pointed me in a direction.
once I reflected on that and sawthat for myself, it changed my
(19:15):
perspective of my future I leanon that every day.
Randy (19:18):
One last question.
what advice would you give to ayoung leader?
maybe not a young leader, butsomebody trying to lead and make
their way in a professionalsetting that may be struggling a
little bit emerging.
doesn't have it all figured outyet what advice would you give
them?
David (19:35):
build your network of relationships as far and wide as
you can without overreaching.
that was an important part of mygrowth, as a leader and business
owner.
Randy (19:45):
do that intentionally?
David (19:46):
it was almost an unintended consequence.
I grew my network, because wewere growing a business that
didn't have a lot of financialbacking.
We didn't have a lot of, dollarsto spend on marketing I knew if
we were going to, grow, if I wasgoing to succeed in this, it was
going to be based onrelationships and networking and
(20:11):
knowing people.
I knew that, especially in ourindustry where a high level of
trust was needed, to oversee andmanage technology, there had to
be a relationship behind that,that they felt like they could
trust you and that you justweren't the first person that
walked through the door thatcould solve their problem.
some people make decisions basedon that, and those people tend
to make a different decisionFind the next person that walks
(20:33):
through the door.
that was kind of not only forour short term success, but
longterm success.
But being exposed to thosepeople that I was able to lean
on, ask questions of, look upto, because a lot of times these
were people that had been inbusiness 10, 15, 20 years longer
than I had.
I built relationships and theygave great advice.
stable of close friends alsothat were going through that.
(20:54):
Same growth at same time.
And so we shared experiences andthoughts.
A peer group,
Randy (20:58):
going through the same things.
David (20:59):
I've been blessed with some great long term mentors
that are also really closefriends they didn't understand
the technical aspects oranything like that.
They were just an ear and gavegreat advice.
sometimes it was pertinent to myissue but a lot of times they
were just there to offer supportand encouragement and share
their experiences that they hadgone through as they were going
(21:20):
through their careers.
Really find a mentor, likesomeone that's been through the
wars and is willing to invest inyou.
Randy (21:27):
you're standing on the shoulders of others.
David (21:29):
Absolutely.
Randy (21:30):
Well, David, I want to thank you for taking this time
today.
I know you're very busy and Ithank you for doing this and,
thank you for joining me on thisinaugural growth thing that I'm
trying to do.
Look forward to talking with youin the future.
It's always exciting when we gettogether cause you always have
something going on new, lovefinding out today, but more
about your creative side andwe'll have to talk about that
(21:51):
music stuff further.
David (21:52):
I was really happy to do this.
I've known you for a long timeand Rotary allowed me to get
connected to a lot of people inthe community.
that might've been the mostimpactful, organization for me
because unlike networking eventswhere you kind of mingle I
haven't been great lately, but Igot to have breakfast with
fascinating people and sharestories and ask questions.
(22:14):
Brilliant people.
absolutely brilliant people.
go out of my way to sit down attheir table and chat with them.
Randy (22:20):
Right.
David (22:20):
I was like, how do I have an opportunity?
How would I ever know him if notfor that organization It was
amazing.
Randy (22:27):
critical for people to find groups in which they can
hear and think differently.
Yes.
one of the, lesson that, thatreally got drove home to me, I
grew up, with a very good friendhis father was a pioneer in
journalism, newspaper, earlycable TV this guy had all kinds
of stories.
I remember, my friend Mitch, hisfather, Took us out to eat one
(22:51):
time.
that was right around, whenReagan had just been elected he
was big in the Republican partyand wired he was sharing about
meeting Reagan and talkingsafari and all this stuff.
And I'm sitting there.
I didn't have any questions anddidn't realize what was going on
many years later.
Late night, I'm working on thecomputer, TV on, and I hear this
(23:12):
voice, and it's Mitch's dad,it's on this documentary about,
General MacArthur.
I missed an opportunity becauseI didn't ask that guy a single
question when I figured thatout, I got intentional If i'm in
a new spot, i'm going to talk tosomebody and not going to leave
any Conversation that I don't atleast Ask a couple questions.
(23:32):
Cause it will blow your mind.
you don't know what people havedone.
sometimes it takes one littlequestion, one little common
interest.
then there's this exchange thatenlightens you changes you and
makes you better as a person.
David (23:43):
This is my last thing I'll leave you with.
I have been intentional aboutit.
it's always best if you talkless If you ask questions
people, love to tell their storyyou can really glean so much
from that.
most people really want to leadwith that.
They want to tell you all aboutthem.
I try and give people thatopportunity because I get way
more from that than hearingmyself talk,
(24:05):
Once again, thank you so muchfor listening today.
The next episode will drop onFebruary 3, 2025.
It'll be with Dr.
Jeff Lashley, the recentlyretired president of Moberly
Area Community College.
Join us and we're going to talkabout leading with legacy in
mind.
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