Ops Week
Monday, January 26, 2026 - Friday, January 30, 2026
11:30am - 2:00pm ET, each day
Practice Lead, Advisory Services
at Punctuation
David Baker
David is the author of five books, three of which focus on the central elements of the business of expertise: positioning, financial management, and leadership.
I speak to, write for, and consult with the expertise marketplace. I’ve worked with 1100+ firms, and tens of thousands of others have been through our seminars or attended a speaking engagement.
I managed a publisher and mail order book house (Eisenbrauns) from 1983-1988 and then owned and ran a marketing firm in Warsaw, IN, from 1988-1994.
I own RockBench Publishing Corp., a traditional and electronic publisher of courageous thought leadership insight. Through it we give sharp thinkers the sort of platform they deserve. Search for “rockbench publishing” at Amazon and you’ll get a feel for the quality of the offerings.
My work has been discussed in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fast Company. Inc. Magazine, Forbes, MarketingProfs, and BusinessWeek.
I have also contributed portions of Cameron Foote’s The Business Side of Creativity, Robert Bly’s Internet Direct Mail: The Complete Guide to Successful E-Mail Marketing Campaigns, and the new AIGA book on Professional Practices in Graphic Design (also translated into Chinese). I have contributed to a dozen other publications by leading authors, and a three-part booklet series was published by NewPage, entitled David C. Baker Speaks. The 10,000 copies were sold out.
Probably a highlight of my career was when David Maister asked to include some of my work in his own published material.
Thursday, January 29 | 11:30am - 2:00pm ET
Finance: The Eight Metrics for Running Your Firm
Running a firm means juggling a lot of numbers—but knowing which ones actually matter is what separates clarity from chaos. David C. Baker will walk through the eight most important metrics every firm leader should understand, explaining not just what they are, but why they matter and how they work together.
More importantly, we’ll dig into what happens when those metrics don’t all move in the same direction. What does it really mean when utilization is up but profit is down? Or when revenue looks strong but stress levels are rising? David will help you interpret these mixed signals, avoid common misreads, and understand the tradeoffs that come with real-world decision-making.
This session is practical, candid, and refreshingly human—designed to help you stop chasing every number and start using metrics as tools for better leadership. Expect clarity, a few “aha” moments, and a bit of fun along the way as we make sense of what the arrows are actually telling you.
