David Rocker

Leading Through Listening: The Quiet Power of Mentorship

When people ask me what made the biggest difference in my career, I don’t talk about titles, deals, or promotions. I talk about people. I talk about the handful of mentors who showed up at the right time with the right words—and sometimes, just a listening ear. I also talk about the people I’ve had […]

Rebuilding with Dignity: Workforce Development That Changes Lives

When I think about the work I’m most proud of in my career, it’s not the deals closed or companies scaled. It’s the people—specifically, the people who were given a second chance and used it to transform their lives. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to work on some incredible workforce development initiatives, and […]

Purpose-Driven Workplaces: Why Who You Hire Matters

When I think about the kind of impact I want to have—not just in business, but in life—it always comes back to people. More specifically, it comes back to the people who are too often overlooked in the hiring process: our veterans, returning citizens, and underserved individuals who are more than capable, but rarely given […]

Beyond the Bottom Line: Giving Back as a Core Value

For most of my career, I’ve been focused on performance. Helping companies grow, scale, and optimize their systems is what I do. I love numbers. I love the process. But over time, I’ve learned something more important: no amount of business success matters if it doesn’t also make a difference in people’s lives. Community engagement […]

Beyond Spreadsheets: How Engineers Can Lead in a Data-Driven World

As someone who started out with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech, I’ve always been fascinated by how things work — not just machines or software, but systems, workflows, and even organizations. Over the past three decades, I’ve worked in everything from corporate finance to consulting, helping companies of all sizes […]

The Human Side of Optimization: Leading People Through Process Change

When people hear the word “optimization,” they often think of spreadsheets, systems, and metrics. They picture process flow diagrams, automation tools, or dashboards with key performance indicators. That makes sense. After all, optimization is about making things better, faster, more efficient. But in all the talk about systems and numbers, one critical element often gets […]