Five Questions: Jeff Dietz

Jeff Dietz joined AvantGuard in early February as the operations manager, running the company's Rexburg, Idaho, site. He has about 15 years of experience in call centers; this is his first role in the security industry. “What I'm really trying to create here in Rexburg is a culture of fun around some high performance goals,” he said. Security Systems News talked with Dietz in early May to ask him five questions.

Are you married, do you have kids?

Not married; I do have a daughter. She is four years old and she's my life. That's where I spend most of my time outside of work. � We live in Idaho, so there's lots of outdoorsy, fun events that we like to just get out and do.

What do you like about where you live?

It used to be ranked in the top 10 places to live in America. It's a great place to raise a family. It's really close to lots of attractions like Yellowstone and skiing, mountain biking, four-wheeling, snowmobiling. You're kind of in the center of being able to pop over to a lot of different things.

Do you have any pets?

I do have a little Chihuahua-shih tzu. I'm allergic to pets, but my daughter really wanted one, so I've made it work. I've had him for going on two years now.

What's the best book you read recently?

The best book I've read recently would probably be Winning from Jack Welch. Really, he's somebody that I look up to in the business world. He's got a lot of concepts in that book that I think apply to a lot of different businesses.

What do you like most about the security industry?

It has got to be the most rewarding industry that I've worked in. Whenever I get asked 'Where do you work?' I tell them and they [ask] 'I haven't heard of that before. What is that all about?' and I [say] 'Well, we're able to protect property and save lives, and this is how we do it.'