Free Newsletter
Recent Articles from Todd Ordal
Who do you need to be as a leader?
I have been fortunate to work with some great leaders, and over the years have identified that they all had some common capabilities.
The actions of a successful CEO
There are lots of exhortations from the sidelines as to what CEOs need to do, but what do you actually do? What activity makes it onto your calendar?
Here are the top five things a great CEO must know about business
The questions I asked myself years ago as a CEO, and the questions I see my CEO clients ask themselves now about improving, usually fall into three buckets: What do I need to know? What do I need to do? Whom do I need to be?
How to become the Michelangelo of business
What if you took a chisel to your business and tried to carve out the essential elements, those things that made it more David than Paul Bunyan and his blue ox. What would you cut?
Is your success a decision or an accident?
I’m a coach, not a therapist, so I don’t spend much time looking backward with my clients. Rather, we look forward to a desired state and flesh out how to get there.
Vanity versus vision: Which leader's team has a chance to win?
There’s a relatively bright line between two types of leaders that I look for when I consider new clients: those concerned primarily with their vanity versus those concerned with developing a vision.
How to know if you’re breathing your own exhaust
Much like not noticing spinach in your front teeth without a mirror, it’s difficult to see, but you might be getting your leg pulled. They tell you what you want to hear because you’re the one whose praise or criticism carries the most weight.
Why you need to aim higher
Nobody gets to start over, but you can start fresh. What if tomorrow you did that thing that scares the heck out of you but has a possible world-changing outcome? If you continue to say, “I can’t,” you’re right.
Are you just brilliant and admirable or actually indispensable?
The world needs a lot of Einsteins in the C-suite. It also occasionally needs Churchills. If you’re a board member hiring a new CEO, you need to know which one you need. If you’re a candidate for the top job, you need to know who you are.
Do you default to central control?
My advice on whether the nexus of control should be at the “federal” level (the corporate office) or the “state” level (the individual unit or the shop floor) is that there’s no one right answer in business.
Some cowboy wisdom to foster business success
Some time ago, I wrote a piece on cowboy wisdom for the business world. (You can find it here.) I recently stumbled on some additional Will Rogers quotes that are wonderful observations about a successful life in business. See if you agree with me.
Why knowing who does what makes all the difference
Although I’m skeptical of the “no boss” environments touted by many but with few transferable examples, I’m not arguing for hierarchy — just clarity around who “owns” what.
