CEOs and other leaders can find leadership advice from the likes of Martha Stewart, Steve Jobs, Tony Soprano, Jack Welsh, Oprah and even Jesus. They can read about how to lead by serving, by leaning in, by becoming great rather than merely good and by breaking all of the rules.
While the stories of the rise and fall of the mighty (and the Almighty) demonstrate valuable lessons, the implied message is that you too can be the next Martha or Steve or Jack. Only in Garrison Kiellor’s mythical Lake Wobegon are all of the women strong, the men good looking, the children above average and the CEOs god-like.
What is missing? Real lessons for real leaders in real language.
Todd Ordal is a former business leader with 25 years in management roles who led teams as large as 7,000 employees, was CEO of several companies and has served on over 10 boards of directors. He did a lot of good work in those roles and also made a lot of mistakes. Todd now helps other CEOs and executives lead better, profit more and sleep more soundly at night—usually without narcotics!
Todd’s clients are successful business people, but they are not rock stars, untouchables or even god-like. They work hard, they are emotionally intelligent, they want to win and they want to run an ethical business that is a great place to work. In other words, they are “real” and they want real lessons on leadership, not platitudes, parables or posturing. If you want to learn the real lessons to become a successful “real” CEO start here!