While Dave Haviland has not been a direct employee of Patti Engineering, his mark on the company is indelible. For about 10 years, he has been working with the Patti Engineering leadership team to help them develop the business strategy through his consulting practice, Phimation.
“Dave Haviland is a trusted advisor and a dear friend. I am always confident to use him as a sounding board,” said Sam Hoff, CEO of Patti Engineering. “We very much appreciate his valuable advice.”
Dave and Sam met after Dave realized through LinkedIn that they both are connected to the same fraternity. Dave reached out, and as Sam is always open to new connections, they met soon after for lunch.
“I’ve liked working with Sam and his leadership team on how Patti Engineering can drive Industry 4.0 by capitalizing on our strengths of strategic understanding and hands-on experience. Many companies need help with Industry 4.0, and we know our customers’ success and our growth is going to come from successfully navigating the new opportunities,” says Haviland.
Dave grew up in Connecticut and attended Yale University, where he earned a degree in American Studies, although he says he was much more focused on creating three student organizations than he was on his assigned studies. After graduating from Yale, Dave spent two years as a teacher before moving to Washington D.C. Finally, he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a few years later founded his own consulting business, Phimation.
What has kept Dave working with Patti Engineering for the better part of a decade? He says, “Sam is open to hearing new ideas, and that infuses the whole organization. I also work with 3 project managers; they are remarkable in their technical skill, work ethic, and business instincts. The “middle layer” of a company is always important, and the company is in good hands in that area.”
Dave has built organizations most of his life and spends his time helping others build their businesses. The trend he is seeing across clients from various industries “Borrowing from Jack Welch, the pace of change of society and markets is faster than the pace of change inside most companies. It’s a challenge to be strategic, and agile, and innovative, and responsive. Most of my clients are changing how they manage their business. Those changes take work and investment, and are uncertain, complex and challenging. But if we make good pivots, we’ll make people’s lives better inside and outside the company.”
For someone just starting out, Dave advises, "My most valuable skill is knowing how I learn. Everyone's journey is different, and you'll live and learn and adjust as you go. And, important things usually take time to develop – most overnight successes took 10 years to create."
Dave has three siblings: a brother who does very similar work, a sister who stayed close to their hometown in Connecticut, and a twin sister who also became a teacher and stayed with it. An avid athlete, he enjoys "beer league" hockey on the weekends, along with surfing, biking, and even a little karaoke for a new kind of challenge. With his kids all in college, he enjoys his quiet evenings with Netflix, naps, long bike rides, fascinating podcasts, and relaxing hammock time.
