Q. In the ever evolving and competitive world of IT, how have you approached change and used it to your advantage?

SF: At Ntiva, we’ve watched the industry change dramatically from when we first started in 2004. For starters, the sheer number of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) has grown dramatically, and most businesses now understand the value an MSP can bring.

However, with this growth comes commoditization and price pressure. One of the many things we’ve started to really focus on is making sure that the day-to-day support we provide is as automated as possible, which is better for both the client and us.

This means we can use our technical talent for more strategic and important things, such as helping our clients understand how technology can help them grow. We’re able to look not just at what cool new technology will help their business, but understand what their business processes and goals are, and how to make them more efficient.

As an example, I’m thinking of a non-profit that we helped by taking unnecessary steps and duplicationof tasks out of their workload, allowing existing employees to focus on more worthwhile tasks. By introducing newer technologies, we were able to drive efficiency, improve their customer experience, and help maximize their resources.

On the flip side, sometimes it’s easy to go in and be excited and automate everything, but if it doesn’t present value, it’s not worth it. You must create an environment for your clients to thrive.

The other challenge we’ve run into is recruiting and retaining tech talent, which is in very high demand. We’ve had to come up with creative ways to do this, whether it’s by providing more opportunities for them to grow here by moving them out of the day to day minutia, or starting new programs thatelevate young people in under-served communities who arelooking for career opportunities and growth.

And of course, we ourselves are adapting to the same technology that we want our clients to adapt to, with the same idea, to make us more efficient and to create a better client experience.

Q. What was your journey like to get where you are?

SF: Exhausting and rewarding all at the same time. At the end of the day, I’m completely dedicated to our mission here of growing people. So, I’ve made choices in my life where my focus is on this instead of other things. Those are sacrifices that I chose to make and I don’t regret them.

It’s the legacy and the fulfillment that I’m looking for. As I continue to learn and grow myself, what I’m finding is that it’s not about how I spend my time, it’s more about the quality of time that I do spend and how present I am in all cases.

So, at Ntiva, the key here isn’t just to burn 20 hours a day but to make sure that every moment that I’m spending here is really focused on making that impact and just being truly present. If I have a moment to do something for me personally, whether it’s spending time with my family, working out or playing a sport, my goal is to be present for that as well.

Q. How does a CEO maintain focus on the bottom line and growth while at the same time foster its employees’ successful growth and work life?

SF: We as a business exist to grow people,using technology at the accelerator for that, andit can be very challenging. I’d say it was a little bit easier before we had a private equity sponsor, because even though they believe 100 percent in the mission, at the end of the day their responsibility is to provide an extraordinary return to their investors.

From my perspective, it’s managing both sides of this that is the challenge. I’m a huge investor and I obviously want to maximize the return there but at the same time, I don’t want to deviate from our mission of growing people. So, it’s a constant, delicate balance of managing up, managing down and really making sure that no matter what is going on, we’re staying true to our core values and our mission of growing people.

Q. What has been the biggest let down in your career so far?

SF: How do I pick just one?!

My biggest struggle is attracting, retaining and growing the best people, that’s definitely an on-going battle. But yes, I’ve made mistakes. I’m not afraid of failing, I try to remember everything that I’ve ever done wrong so I don’t repeat it, but my goal is to be right more often that I’m wrong.

Looking into the last few months, I’d say the biggest disappointment to me was losing a potential key player, a strong sales leader who was being brought in through one of our more recent acquisitions. I was hoping he could make a big impact on the company, but it turned out that he wasnot ready to work with other people.

That became a challenge and a conflict and something that unfortunately, I was not able to resolve. It was better to figure out a way to amicably split,but it lost me a huge asset which I was hoping to achieve on that transaction. I’m grateful that we figured this out quickly, that he wasn’t a good fit within 60 days of the transaction,instead of wasting valuable time that could have impeded the growth of our employees or clients.

So again, learning from my mistakes and not repeating them is definitely a priority and a constant work in progress.

Connect with Steven on LinkedIn.

Steven Freidkin

Steven Freidkin is the CEO and founder of Ntiva, Inc., a full-service technology firm that provides businesses with advanced technology expertise and support, including managed IT services, strategic consulting, cloud services, cyber-security and telecom solutions.

Steven started his first IT consulting company in high school and furthered its efforts during his college career at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His love for technology and natural customer service skills grew the business year over year, until 2004 when Ntiva was officially incorporated. Today, Ntiva has over 130 employees who serve over 700 clients.

Steven’s current focus is working with Ntiva clients to align their organizational initiatives and growth efforts with technology; developing strategic growth plans for Ntiva; identifying opportunities for business development; and finally, creating an environment for top technical talent to develop.

About Ntiva

Ntiva is a trusted IT services company that provides businesses with advanced technology expertise, including managed IT, cloud services, cyber security solutions and 24x7 support.