NX Direct’s very own David Wood is here to share his story; the road that brought him to us, and where he’s going from here. At twenty years old, David Wood joined the NX Direct team in April of this year and has spent the last few months laying the foundation for a powerful career.
With childhood dreaming of becoming a civil engineer, Wood went straight into the workforce after high school, enrolling in college later. “It was the best decision I could have made because I changed my major when I did go to college from Civil Engineering to Financial Economics,” says Wood, “That time I spent working in the real world taught me to refocus on business.”
This month, we sat down with David Wood to unpack the last few months of his career.
Do you think you’ll be in the business industry for the long haul?
“I plan to grow in NX Direct and be promoted out as an owner of my own sales and marketing firm.”
What is your greatest skill?
“My greatest skill is my willingness to learn. I am always seeking new opportunities to learn and grow in my position to better myself and those around me.”
Are you more team-oriented or more independently motivated?
“I am most definitely team-oriented. I love working with everyone in NX Direct and growing as a team. It is awesome to see everyone growing in our business together.”
How has your career grown since starting at the company?
“I started as a 19-year-old from a small town. I was always a little outgoing but never extremely extroverted. In just three months in this business, I have grown to be very outgoing in sales. I love having fun with customers and talking with them.”
What values are important to you in a teammate or hiree?
“Motivation over everything else. If someone is motivated, then they can be trained to acquire the characteristics needed to be successful in our business. I also highly value commitment. If someone is committed, that means they are willing to work hard to grow in our business.”
What is your leadership style?
“I use more of a coaching leadership style. I strive to build up those in our business so they know what they can be. If someone is motivated and committed and can see what they can be in the business, they will usually do all they can to hit their goals.”
How do you respond to criticism?
“I tell every person I work with, ‘I am a very direct person. If you see anything I can do better, please let me know because I love criticism and learning from my mistakes.’ I welcome criticism as it allows me to be the best I can be. As long as I maintain a student mentality and am willing to learn from anyone, I can constantly be growing and perfecting my work.”
What is your favorite thing about your company?
“My favorite thing about NX Direct is the energy. My coworkers love to come into the office to go out and talk to people for a living. It is awesome to see how energetic everyone is and how everyone loves to be there.”
What drew you to your company in the first place?
“I’ve always wanted to learn sales. However, as I grew in the business, I saw it as more than simply an opportunity to learn sales. I saw it as an opportunity to grow as a leader and a person to eventually be a business owner.”
What business advice would you give to people hoping to start a career?
“My first advice to those wanting to start a career is to always have a student mentality. Many people get to a point where they feel like they know everything and are not willing to continue learning. This is not a good mindset to have. Another piece of advice I would give is to find out why you’re doing what you’re doing and focus on it. If you know your why and you focus on it, it motivates you to work hard and to have a higher willingness to learn.”
Would you recommend this career style to young leaders?
“I would definitely recommend this career style to other young leaders. That said, I do believe one must have and maintain a student mentality to be successful in the business. If they have that, the sky’s the limit for how much they can grow in this career.”
What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment to date?
“Accomplishment is defined as ‘something that has been achieved successfully.’ Right now, I can honestly say that my greatest accomplishment is getting to where I am today. I’ve worked hard and faced many failures, but I’ve fought through and become the man I am today. I view where I am now as something I achieved successfully because I learned through the failures.”
How do you measure your own performance and success?
“I measure my performance and success by how I react when I am faced with failure. When someone or a situation tries to put me down, I will be defined by how I react to it. If I allow it to control me, then I have failed. If I use it as an opportunity to push past it and grow, then I see it as a success because I learned something from it.”
Who inspires you?
“My parents inspire me. My mom and dad both grew up with nothing. However, they didn’t allow that to stop them from achieving their dreams. My dad now works as the Public Works Director of my hometown and my mom works as a Nurse Practitioner in the hospital of my hometown. They have both inspired me to know that I can truly be whatever I set my mind to as long as I want it bad enough.”
Do you consider yourself a spiritual or religious person?
“I am both. I am a very spiritual and religious person and give glory to God for all my successes in life. I constantly look to Him for guidance in my life to be on the right path.”
Are you an extrovert or an introvert?
“The funny thing is, I still can’t answer this question. I honestly would say I’m both. I’m an extrovert when I want to be and I’m an introvert when I want to be. I am super outgoing when I speak to customers, but when getting groceries, I like to put in my earbuds and keep to myself.”
Not every businessperson can jump into a new career and find such success in a matter of months, but David Wood is no average entrepreneur. The entire NX Direct team is so grateful to work alongside someone as inspiring at David Wood, and at just twenty-years-old, we couldn’t be more impressed with his success so far. There’s a long road ahead of David Wood, and we can’t wait to see where it leads.