Star City Six – Jake Peterson
Engineered Controls Inc. (www.engineeredcontrols.com) is a locally owned and operated business specializing in building automation, access, and security control solutions. Headquartered in Omaha, Engineered Controls also has full-service branch offices in Lincoln and Des Moines, IA, providing sales, consulting, construction, and 24/7 support services. Jake Peterson is a security sales engineer for Engineered Controls Inc.
Tell us a little about your business.
Engineered Controls is a building technology company. Our goal is to make buildings more efficient, comfortable, secure, and convenient for its occupants. We like to make buildings better and people happier and safer!
How did you get started in the business?
I served six years in the Navy and did two deployments. My job included a ton of electronics troubleshooting and I had a real love for figuring out and fixing our gear. That experience translated into my first job in this industry as a field service technician.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?
Making a shift from a technician position to my current sales and engineering role, and having to wear both hats at times through that transition. A lot of the fundamentals have remained the same, though: meet folks, help folks…rinse, wash, and repeat!
Tell us a little about your family.
My wife Brittany and I are raising our two amazing daughters, Alexis and Sawyer. We also have a two-year-old pup named Gryffindor. As a family, we love to camp, travel anywhere new, and have family movie nights!
What is the most unique or interesting thing about you that most people probably don’t know?
I was a foreign exchange student to Argentina when I was 15. I caught the “travel bug” pretty bad, which led me to joining in the Navy at 17 and experiencing lots of new things and places that I might not have gotten to experience otherwise.
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
This one is a little “out there” and hard to explain, but I’ll be bold and say it! I wish I had the super power to enforce the Golden Rule. For example, if you intentionally caused grief, fear, or harm to somebody, you’d feel the same pain or fear that they felt. I feel like there’d be an immediate halt to bullying, crime, and hate. On the positive side, though, if you caused someone to laugh, feel joy, or feel love, you’d feel those same feelings in return. Imagine what the world might look like if that ever happened!
If you could choose any other profession to be successful in, what would it be?
Motivational speaking or any role in which I could help a lot of people in an impactful way.
What is your favorite book or the last good book you read?
From the fiction shelf, I really loved The Warded Man series by Peter V. Brett. I’m also a pretty big Harry Potter nerd. In the personal development section, I’ve recently been reading The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone, which is really powerful!
If you could have dinner with one famous person from the past or present, who would it be?
There was an amazing entrepreneur and motivational speaker named Jim Rohn who passed away before I got a chance to meet him, but I’ve spent 100s of hours listening to his audio books in the car. I wish I had the chance to sit down with him and say thanks for inspiring me and helping so many others.
If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so?
Phone: (402) 434-2110 Ext. 409; Email: jpeterson@engineeredcontrols.com; Website: www.engineeredcontrols.com.