It’s about doing something different By Todd Ordal I used to fly airplanes. Most of my time was spent in a twin-engine aircraft flying business trips. It was an efficient way for me to get around because, at the time, I was in charge of hundreds of retail stores countrywide. In addition to flying business trips, […]
Taking a hard right with your strategy is a harrowing experiment. Just ask Ron Johnson and Bill Ackman, JCPenney’s former CEO and his previously supportive board member, respectively, who’ve both been bounced out of the company. Reed Hastings at Netflix also understands this, but so far he’s been relatively successful. The difference between the JCPenney […]
Bigger isn’t always better By Todd Ordal Which of the below sound like good business advice? You should: • Maximize profits. • Minimize expenses. • Minimize conflict. • Maximize customer service. • Maximize market share. In some cases and to some degree, these statements are true. However, they can also be extremely problematic. Maximize profits over […]
Sometimes, you just need to show up By Todd Ordal Perhaps you saw Peter Sellers’ last movie, Being There (out in 1979, just this side of the Jurassic period). In it, a simple-minded gardener named Chance ends up being seen as a guru of sorts. By merely “being there,” he influences the rich and powerful with his simple […]
But why would you want to? By Todd Ordal How to Work with Anyone: That was the title of a blog post I saw recently. I didn’t read it. What a dumb objective! Why would you want to work with “anyone” when you have choices? This isn’t North Korea! Let’s get a few exceptions out of […]
August, 2013 I’m a sucker for spy/crime/detective novels. The coolest thing is finding an author you love who has written a series of these. Many years ago, it was Robert Ludlum. In the past year, my favorite series have been by Michael Connelly (the Harry Bosch series) and Dennis Lehane (the Kenzie and Gennaro series). […]
Disaster can happen quickly By Todd Ordal The recent plane crash in San Francisco brought the phrase “low and slow” into the public press. I’m not currently flying, but I used to spend many hours behind the yoke of a multiengine aircraft and have come close to that experience a few times. There are other apropos […]
I’ve been obsessed with the Tour de France for years. Thanks to recording devices, I’ve only missed a couple of televised stages since Greg LeMond’s dramatic win on the Champs-Élysées in 1989 on the final stage. While driving across Utah once with my wife and kids on vacation, I had a friend call me every […]
Know the difference between bad luck and poor performance By Todd Ordal “If y’all just go out there and execute, everything will be fine!” my CEO said to me many years ago, after I pointed out that our business model was losing relevance. The fact that he was a big-hat, no-cattle kind of leader was apparent […]
Well, maybe some of you have By Todd Ordal This guy never made the cover of The Wall Street Journal and had few financial resources, little to no technology and many hurdles. Yet he ignited a huge growth spurt and united a disparate organization into an empire. He built infrastructure to facilitate more efficient distribution, developed a complex […]