Steve Faulkner, CEBS’ Post

Hi, I’m Steve, and there are many of you I’m connected with, but have not yet met. I live in a lovely Shea Homes suburban development called Highlands Ranch, just south of Denver, Colorado. My wife and I raised our two sons and two nieces here over the last 20 years. Our youngest is now 21. We were originally from the Bay Area. I went to high school in Santa Rosa, CA, and college at Cal Poly, SLO. If you speak with me and a bit of an accent slips out here and there, it's because I was born in England and raised there until I was 12. I retained my dry sense of humor and love of British shows, from anything with Ricky Gervais, to detective shows like Broadchurch or Unforgotten, or more edgy shows like Mobland or Gangs of London. I've never been a particularly good athlete, but a healthy diet and exercise are important to me.  I'm still chasing the dream of bench pressing 225 once in my life before I die, but I feel like the window of time is closing on me! I’ve been learning Muay Thai over the last year, and I've been doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu since September 2011. It never seems to get any easier, which is part of what makes it fascinating and addictive. I earned my black belt a couple of years ago, but I'm still fighting for my life with athletic, young, blue belts. I try to get 10 days of snowboarding in every winter, and over the last few summers, I have risked life and limb learning to dirtbike in the foothills. In my spare time, I'm trying to learn Spanish, and I enjoy reading. I enjoy books about sales, negotiation, and communication (I’m always recommending ‘Never Split the Difference’, by Chris Voss), and love that I can apply some of the things I learn in recruiting. I also enjoy sociology (Malcolm Gladwell-type books) and history, as well as historical fiction. I just reread ‘Pillars of the Earth’, by Ken Follett, for the first time since my mid twenties, and enjoyed it all over again. Professionally, I’ve been recruiting in employee benefits for the last 23 years. I love the space.  Everyone jokes about how no one grew up wanting to be in insurance, but it’s a great, hidden niche.  I’m lucky because my candidate pool of client-facing people is sociable and fun to talk to. It’s great to connect with you here, and I hope you’re winning more than losing this week! Please say hello in the comments - I’d love to hear from you.