We are Growth Guru
We are dedicated to helping passionate leaders and
growth-focused companies move towards greater success.
Meet the Original Growth Guru: Rick Faber, MBA

After 30 years of rewarding career roles ranging from toilet paper sales to CEO, Rick discovered distinct patterns that differentiate successful businesses from struggling ones. He saw these same patterns emerge as he moved into a consultant and executive coach role to over 100 businesses. After facilitating multiple annual strategic planning meetings, EOS quarterlies and annual resets, Rick developed Growth Guru into a formal business operating system based on those differentiating factors that make all kinds of businesses successful.
Growth Guru will guide your organization toward greater success through shared vision, commitment, and transparent expectations. The results include the ability to:
• Respond to market changes faster
• Become more efficient and productive
• Improve teamwork and focus
• Improve communication and clarify goals
• Provide better service to customers
• Increased sales and revenue
The Team
Growth Guru helps businesses build powerful operating systems
based on commitment, foundational behaviors, transparency and metrics.

Rick Faber
Rick Faber is the founder of Growth Guru. He earned his BA from Northwestern College and his MBA from Creighton University. He’s had over 35 years of business experience as a National Director of Corporate Accounts, COO and Divisional President Roles for a publicly traded company. He is now a Vistage Chair and Coach. He has experience in distribution, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, law and environmental services.

Julie
Jacobsen
Julie Jacobsen has over 25+ years of Human Resource experience working in a variety of industries, including banking, consulting, non-profits, and property management. Julie launched and co-owns FFAdvantage Virtual Support Services, where she contracts with other executive assistants and HR professionals to provide quality administrative and HR support to CEO’s, business coaches and small business owners. In 2001, Julie earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is currently working on becoming a TTI Certified Trainer.

Eric Smith
Eric Smith is the Founder and President of Pillar Seminary, the national thought leader on training pastors how to run effective organizations and rightly apply Scripture to the modern world. For more than three decades, Eric has consulted with business and organizational leaders on strategic planning, vision execution, processes and talent acquisition. His Ph.D. is from Trinity College – University of Bristol, UK.

Jesse DePriest
Jesse is a Lean/SS Black Belt with a passion for lean leadership / coaching, strategic planning, problem solving, and process improvement. He has over 30 years’ leadership experience in manufacturing and service industries including General Management, Continuous Improvement, Sales/Business Development, Product and Operations Management, Customer Service, and Product Development.
He holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Science in Operations Management, an MBA, and served in the US Army for eight years as an officer and helicopter pilot. Jesse is an Adjunct Professor at Midland University MBA, Chair for American Society for Quality (section 1302), Advisory Board for Iowa Lean Consortium, and provides lean leadership coaching, mentoring, and consulting services through his consulting practice.