RICK POST LEADS HIS TEAM THROUGH THE PANEMIC AND LETS NO CHALLENGE BE TOO BIG TO BLOCK HIM FROM HIS MISSION
•Seven days a week, he challenges himself to improve the business without neglecting the importance of family life. Getting results is not negotiable. •Ongoing communications keep associates informed of Compass’s priorities and resources. He’s created an own- ership culture by aligning objectives with training and awards.
Rick Post learned from his family that working hard was the way to succeed in business, and that you can’t sit back and wait for business opportunities to come to you. Re- sponsibility is a mantle he wears with earnestness and caring, for his family, friends, employees, clients and customers. Since joining Compass Group a decade ago, his personal and professional goals—“to live life and drive business to reach its highest potential”—have seamlessly merged. But no matter the pressures, he nurtures and cherishes the personal element and remains gen- uinely pleased that this realm he cares for so deeply is at its heart a people business. “I’m a kid from Brooklyn who didn’t finish his education. My goal is to continue to learn through life’s experiences. It’s helped me succeed in today’s business environment. My family has always been in the dairy business. When school was out, I was working in my brother’s or father’s store, and the money was good. I started when I was 12 but got serious about it at 16. I’d go to college three or four days and spend the rest in the store. I have an associates arts/sciences degree; I majored in psychology and marketing, took some business courses at Brooklyn College, then Dad died. I’m 15 credits short of a degree but I know I’m kidding myself to think I’ll go back. In 1977 I met my wife-to-be, Darlene, and Eddie, my future father-in-law, saw that I was coming home so tired. He introduced me to Avon Products where I started as assistant cafeteria manager in 1978. When you talk about mentoring, I learned everything about ownership skills from by brother, Tony, who died three years ago. That experience working for him, working 15 to 18 hours a day, working holidays with no down time—working in business-and-industry was like a vacation. I learned from my brother that you can’t wait for business opportunities to come to you. And, if you really loved what you did, weekends just came up upon you. What I learned from that store with real live customers you can’t learn from a book. It’s still paying off today. From my mom—she’s now 87—I learned everything about life. She raised six children; Dad was a successful businessman in the dairy business but when he became ill, she went to INA (it’s now Cigna Insurance) as a file clerk. She didn’t have experience in the business world, but she went on to become
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