Speaking strictly from a professional standpoint, have you ever wondered, “How did I get here?” During childhood, we are introduced to any number of occupations that sound exciting, like a fire fighter or a police officer; offer fortune and fame, such as a professional athlete or musician, or are altruistic, like a doctor or a nurse.
People of a certain age may recall the short-lived TV series “The Kingdom of Could Be You,” animated shorts that took a fanciful peek into what children may do with their lives once they grow up. Unfortunately, and considering the show aired in 1973-74, office technology dealer was not listed among them.
The only time a career in our neck of the occupational woods was ever viewed as a fait accompli was in scenarios where a son or daughter had completed school and taken a position within their parents’ business. Typically, the industry is discovered while the young candidate is busy making other plans.
As Monday’s deadline for submitting nominations for the 2024 ENX Magazine Difference Makers recognition program draw closer (enter your nomination here) we felt it appropriate to examine a few of the launching points of our 2023 honorees. Was it fate that led our honorees here? Coincidence? Timing? All of these variables likely played a role. As you read some of these backstories, consider the circumstances that led you to the world of office technology.
David Lynch, Repeat Business Systems. Lynch may win the award for Least Likely Office Tech Candidate. He was a brutalizing defenseman in hockey who could dish out punishment and clear the net front of opposing interlopers. A back injury and subsequent surgery led him to sign on with Glens Falls Business Machines as a service technician, and that firm was acquired by RBS. He is now RBS’ COO.
Allison Seltzner, Konica Minolta. She was chugging along in her pharmaceuticals career when the company was bought out by a competitor. Seltzner had a choice: move to Detroit with the firm, or take a buyout. She opted for the latter. Seltzner interviewed with Minolta for a color specialist role, and the hiring manager gave her an interesting test: cold call and come back with 250 business cards. She won the gig, and the rest is history.
Lindsay Keller, The Swenson Group. The Great Recession cost many people their jobs, including Keller’s husband, and her daughter was only a year old. Around the time she had found TSG, Keller had worked as an enumerator for the U.S. Census Bureau. “It was one of the best decisions I could have made,” she observed about joining TSG, “and it felt entirely unplanned.”
Justin Wagner, MTS Office Systems. Wagner is one of a small core of office technology executives who migrated over from education. He’d spent three years as an elementary school teacher, just long enough to realize it wasn’t his true calling. By chance, a fellow Sunday School member who was transitioning out of an office equipment career to become a stay-at-home mother suggested to Wagner that he had a personality that would lend to being a copier salesperson. She was right.
Nathan Schwenke, Digitech Systems. OK, so his journey to the office tech sector wasn’t quite so improbable. In 1996, he founded his own company, Datapeak, a direct mail/data processing concern. But business took a drastic hit in 2001 following 9/11, so Schwenke needed to pivot. It just so happened that his sister worked at Digitech Systems, and she was a conduit to his career switch. But the entrepreneurial spirit lives on with Schwenke—he’s the owner of Midwest Diggers, a brick-and-mortar business serving the treasure hunting hobby. This is also has a YouTube channel that features Schwenke, his son and their band of metal-detecting friends as they go out on hunts in search of hidden treasure.
Share the next memorable foray into the office technology industry by nominating a Difference Maker today. Deadline is Monday, March 11.
