Robert Merritt

Robert Merritt

Chief Operating Officer

Robert grew up in a small town east of Kansas City. After graduating from Missouri Valley College in 2000 he moved here to work in the field of IT. He began his career with Cable Dahmer in 2004 as contract IT labor. He was hired full time in January of 2007 as the system administrator. Over the years he began taking on special projects and assisting with the integration of new acquisitions.  

In his current role he is responsible for the physical operations of the company. Whether it be the building itself, the infrastructure inside that building, or the services and equipment needed to function. He has 3 children ( Chasity, Carter and Owen) and has been married to his wife Christa for 23 years. They live in Lee's Summit.

How do you bring core values into your role?

Whether it be Cable Dahmer's core values or my own personal core values I use them every day. Integrity , do what you say you're going to do. Attitude, find the positive even in the negative. FUN, everything's better when it's FUN! Legacy, don't forget to help the next one in line.

What 1–2 strategic shifts could double our execution speed or customer fulfillment?

We need to eliminate the phrase " not my job" and " who's going to pay for this" . I hate to admit it, but I think we waste far too much time trying to figure out whose job it is or who's going to pay for it. We need to shift to the complete opposite, just do it. If you see a weed sticking up in the parking lot, don't think it's not my job... pull the weed. Trash on the ground, pick it up. Customers looking for help, HELP THEM. In the end we are ALL going to pay for it if the customer doesn't feel taken care of and chooses to go somewhere else.  One of my favorite sayings I wrote on my whiteboard years ago was " I'd rather be fired for doing something, then fired for doing nothing" 

How are you building the next generation of operators under you?

"Take someone with you.” Here lately any time I'm doing something that I know some day someone else is going to have to do I "take someone with me". I show them what I'm doing and try to explain the reasons why I'm doing it that way.

They may just watch and have no Idea what I'm doing, or they ask a bunch of questions, either way it's a learning experience for both of us.