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About us · David Jovanovic
until the real problem is on the table.
Meet David, one of Provem’s two founders. His sharp, analytical mind breaks complicated things down until they come in bite-sized pieces. Then he won’t let up until it’s running in your business.
What makes David tick
Most of the problems owners describe to him aren’t actually the problem. They’re the symptom. So David would rather ask one question too many than one too few. Socrates did exactly the same in the marketplace of Athens: keep asking until the other person works it out for themselves. It worked 2,400 years ago, and it works in any business.
He likes to take his best ideas from history. Henry Ford borrowed the assembly line from the Chicago slaughterhouses, and Toyota got its kanban system from the American supermarket. So the best solution for your business may well come from a completely different industry.
Where does his drive for good processes come from? From his time in a government office. People there just ploughed through the work, there were no processes, and nobody felt responsible. Time, money and patience simply went up in smoke. Since then, David has been clear: anything that passes through his hands will be the opposite. So much for bureaucracy.
Then comes the uncomfortable part. If everything hangs on one person, that person is the bottleneck, however good they are. Every hour lost there is an hour the whole business doesn’t have. So David holds a mirror up to you. It stings for a moment. In return, you get something that runs without you.
How to spot him
- He listens more than he talks.The most important things usually get said in passing, and that’s exactly what he’s waiting for.
- He has a comparison for everything.From history, from philosophy or from a completely different industry. Sometimes you need a detour to see the direct route.
- He says what he sees.Kindly, but honestly. Even when it’s not what you want to hear.
- He doesn’t waste a single minute of project time.He learned that in IT, where every project without a plan ends in chaos. He and Maciej paid for that lesson during their training, with bad marks and failed projects.
And since David prefers numbers to opinions: he has advised more than 20 companies with over 100 staff, and at Provem itself more than 35 automations are running, clearing time for creative work every week.
His motto
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
That’s why David starts with the question everyone else is dodging. Usually it isn’t that hard once someone says it out loud.
Off the clock
When David isn’t tinkering with lines of code or getting his dopamine fix from sport, he’s deep in history and philosophy. To him, that’s the best business consultancy there is: a few thousand years of experience in how people make decisions, fail and do better next time.
Water polo left him with endless fighting spirit. And the realisation that in a team, nobody can hold on to the ball forever.
He grew up in Vienna and knows just about every corner of the city, which is why a lot of people call him “Compass”. Still, he’s happiest out in nature, with a good book and plenty of sunshine.
Classical & techno Classical or techno, as long as it gets him into the zone at work.
Lego He’s always open to suggestions for his next Lego build.
Curiosity He’s curiosity in human form. There’s probably no documentary he hasn’t seen.
Talk to David directly
Tell David where you’re stuck.
Happy to talk in German, English or Serbo-Croatian.