Ricky SteeleAs Chief Development Officer at Delta Global Staffing, Ricky Steele identifies companies needing extraordinary talent whether it be technology, administrative, logistics, warehouse, drivers or security. Delta Global Staffing is truly a one stop shop connecting their clients with experienced talent that will keep their businesses maintained and growing.

Some of Ricky’s clients and employers have been small 20-person companies that need help fixing a specific problem, but the majority are larger companies needing talent across the enterprise like NCR, Dell, SunTrust and many others in the Fortune 500.

A War for Talent

With unemployment at less than 6% there is a huge war for talent. In some technology skill sets, there are 3 open positions for every potential employee. Ricky helps connect companies with high quality and well vetted talent. When his company receives payment, he finds affirmation in his ability to have served.

Someone believed in my story and thinks Delta Global Staffing and I may be of service, I get chills! I make sales through passion, which I believe is my key differentiator. Passion separates the ordinary from the extraordinary. The ABC’s of selling were once Always Be Closing. I believe the new and correct ABC’s of selling is Always Be Caring. When you are caring for your clients, contractors and your team, you will always succeed.

Ricky believes in working like an entrepreneur whether or not you’re the actual owner of the business. If you take responsibility for yourself and your enterprise, you’ll find success. The Board can fire the president, CEO or anyone else at their company but they never fire the worker who is a linchpin in the organization. People look to others for answers and leadership, so provide that.

Living By Example

Ricky was born in Atlanta but grew up in Columbus, Georgia where his father was networking before it had the name. Mr. Steele was a people person, and Ricky has spent his 52-year career trying to emulate that. Beyond his interest in those in his community, Ricky’s father was dedicated to hard work, and Ricky lives by his mantra: “The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary.”

Ricky received his first W-2 at age ten working as a batboy for a AA baseball team for $2 per night and he hasn’t stopped working since, doing well to fill his father’s footsteps. His code of ethics and dedication to God inspire him above all. In his effort to put the other person first, he constantly asks himself whether his actions are fair, honest, and caring.

It’s critical to keep moving, to find the fire in your belly, and to never cut corners. Although there is no I in team, there darn sure is an I in WIN and if you want to be a winner, you must do the work required. If we love who we serve, we may not end up on the cover of Rolling Stone, but we will be successful. The legacy of changed lives and touched lives is your legacy, not the number of zeros on your checking account. In the end, they don’t make hearses with luggage racks.

Relationship Developer

Recruiting top talent is not Ricky’s area of expertise especially in technology where he believes a Java developer is the fellow who created his latte at Starbucks. His job is to develop relationships, and he’s fueled both by his understanding of business development and his passion for helping people succeed.

To do this, Ricky wrote the book on networking: twice. He followed Heart of Networking with Heart of Networking: Second Edition, and he considers both books a great investment of time and resources. He gives the majority of his books away for free expecting nothing in return. To Ricky, if you give a gift expecting anything in return, that was not a gift. It was a bribe or what you consider a down payment on a future transaction.

Ricky suggests examining your own success by reconsidering its meaning. He recently met with billionaires Mark Cuban and Michael Dell, but he considers Bob Sleppy of Nuçi’s Space and Bill Bolling of the Atlanta Community Food Bank two of the most successful men he’s known. If money is what drives you, you’ll never have enough. The only way to get good at anything is just to get started.