Our search business is extremely busy, perhaps (hopefully) a leading market indicator. Traveling extensively again reinforces the fact that I love going to different parts of the country, meeting new people, visiting long-term relationships, checking out new hotels and restaurants. Other than flying and dealing with airports, traveling is great!

While it’s a pleasant fantasy to believe that DAK’s busy calendar is directly attributable to our great service model, the fact is that we are never truly non-correlated or immune to economic pullbacks. When hiring hits a wall, recruiters are career counselors more than talent hunters! But our true love is being on the prowl...

Speaking of travel, several DAK recruiters have been extolling the virtues of Southwest Airlines. As a frequent flyer on another airline with tons of points and upgrade privileges, I avoided Southwest like the plague. UNTIL my airline of choice clipped me (and my client) for $1200 on a round trip coach fare between Philadelphia and Boston. YIPES! So when Southwest started Philly/Boston service, I gave it a shot and became a convert. Recently while getting organized at my seat, the Flight Attendent actually offered to hold my coffee cup while I put my suitcase in the overhead bin. May seem like a small gesture, but it meant a lot to me. Every time I fly Southwest (or have a friend or colleague insist on showing me their Apple Notebook), it underscores the importance of word of mouth. While we at DAK are not shy about Marketing, Branding and PR, this last market turndown underscored the wisdom of making your product or service as good as it possibly can be. Passion – objectivity – fair pricing – digging deep – these are the things we care about at DAK. If we do a great job for you, chances are you will speak well of us and mention us to industry associates. Word of mouth can make you or break you. We appreciate you helping us survive the great recession and look forward to the future.

This edition of the DAK Index features a Power Player interview with Dale Brown, CEO of the Financial Services Institute. With the 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Reform Act winding its way through Washington, the FSI’s mandate has never been more important, and Dale’s comments are extremely timely.

Our Featured Employee focus is on DAK Senior Consultant Eric Clark who heads up our Diversity Search initiative. Eric’s insights, and our own unique Mapping Program, should capture your interest.

In The News, we highlight our recent partnership with The Wall Street Warfighters Foundation, an organization that works with wounded veterans in our industry.

Our Delightful Dining pick is a classic Jersey Shore standby, Steve & Cookie's. We had another great experience there in October, and hope you get the chance to visit them.

Have a great start to 2011, see you in the Spring.

Enjoy,

Daniel A. Kreuter
President


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