I admit to having an affinity for the “awe shucks” people in the world. I’ve met combat veterans who are not fond of attention and will tell you that they were just “doing their job”—of getting shot at to protect you and me! My father-in-law was of this variety (and as a WWII vet, the […]
Whoever said you can have it all either had a small wish list or a small capacity for reason. Oh, I’m a big fan of shooting for the stars and fearless behavior. I also believe you should do what makes your heart sing — as long as it doesn’t make someone else’s quit! However, too […]
Over a beer recently, a friend recounted putting together a new grill that he described as large enough to have a sleeping cabin. He said he had his head down focusing on the details only to realize when he stood back that he’d put the shelves on backward. I appreciate his experience because numerous times […]
My friend Dave and I have something in common: We’ll both die at least twice. Each of us had medical occurrences that caused breath and blood to stop flowing — his very recently, mine when I was a young man. I’d like to keep it to two; the first occurrence wasn’t so fun. Unlike physical […]
Let’s not assume that great leaders are necessary for success! Success in business requires a number of ingredients and if you get some of them right, you can make progress. I like to cook and occasionally I produce something that is pretty good, maybe even darn good, just not as good as it could be. […]
“ … organizational culture represents the collective values, beliefs, and principles of organizational members and is a product of such factors as history, product, market, technology, and strategy, type of employees, management style, and national culture. Culture includes the organization’s vision, values, norms, systems, symbols, language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits.” —excerpt from Wikipedia’s definition of […]
I discuss strategy with my colleague, Don Van Winkle. Take a listen! Todd Ordal coaches CEOs to higher levels of success. He is a former CEO and has led teams as large as 7,000 people. Todd is the author of, Never Kick a Cow Chip On A Hot Day: Real Lessons for Real CEOs and Those […]
There’s a huge difference Todd Ordal Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Is it Superman? No, it’s just another heroic CEO. Resembling Jimmy Olsen in his early career, our hero is somehow transformed by his newly refurbished office on mahogany row into […]
One of the dumbest things I ever did was sell my two shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock many years ago. “Warren Buffett is getting old,” I said to myself, “and he certainly can’t continue this kind of record!” Well, he has! The overall return (based upon market value) of Berkshire Hathaway stock for the past […]
Don’t take cultural change lightly My wife and I recently read articles about Pope Francis publicly tongue-lashing his curia for the extreme office politics it practiced. One of us compared it with the mafia, but I won’t say which because one of us is a practicing Catholic. My wife didn’t ask me, “If the curia […]