The Kforce Story: 50 Plus Years of Great People Delivering Great Results

down off Bayshore area. When we moved into that building, Dave actually wired that whole building on the weekends. He and one of the tech guys pulled all the cable in the entire building. Then when we moved in, instead of having desks, they bought doors that served as the desk top. They already had holes drilled in them and that’s where the computer wires went and then you had two file cabinets, one on each side with the door on top—and that was your desk…in a cube. “ Michael Blackman, who started as a recruiter in 1992 and won Rookie of the Year in 1993 and achieved President’s Club status in 1994, also recalled the discipline and respect for the process that was drilled into them. “Every afternoon we had a meeting to report what we did that day and then spent an hour planning for the next day.” Every day they handwrote their list of phone calls for the next day. Said Michael, “You didn’t leave until you had one hundred calls planned.” There were other lessons shaping the culture at the time. For instance, Dave taught them when, and how, to say “no” to the clients. “At the end of the day,” he would tell them, “all you have in this business is your credibility.” “In order to manage the clients’ expectations,” Rich Cocchiaro said, “we began to under promise and over deliver,” thus avoiding disappointed and dissatisfied clients.

Above: Michael Blackman (right) joins Dave Dunkel in his band named Counteroffer, 1994. Below: Almost every article featuring Dave Dunkel mentioned two things: his band and his photo of the Three Stooges he kept in his office. The Tampa Tribune , Photographer Gary Rings.

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