Feb 10, 2021
Today’s Coaching Through Stories episode features former VA Secretary, Robert “Bob” McDonald. Dr. Eric Bean is also joined by guest co-host, University of South Carolina President, Robert “Bob” Caslen. Learn how McDonald placed character at the heart of culture change to deliver Veterans with consistent, high-quality experiences and achieve sales metrics as the CEO at The Procter & Gamble Company. Listen to this episode and get the dose of depth and inspiration you need!
McDonald is credited with rescuing the VA from the brink and transforming the VA culturally to provide better and faster care for the nation’s veterans. Prior to serving as the VA Secretary, McDonald led Procter and Gamble (P&G) and significantly impacted their product portfolio, “expanded the marketing footprint by adding nearly one billion people to its global customer base, and grew the firm’s organic sales by an average of three percent per year.”
Caslen is a retired Three-Star Lt. General who served 43 years in the U.S. Army and as the former Superintendent at West Point. He is the current President of the University of South Carolina and a co-author of the phenomenal book entitled The Character Edge: Leading and Winning with Integrity.
Episode Highlights:
Three Key Points:
Quotes:
“I think it’s a shame that too many people waste their time reacting rather than leading to where you want to go.”
“Character is defined as putting the needs of the organization above yourself.”
“If your ambition is for yourself, chances are you are not going to win in the long term. If your ambition is for the organization, you stand a much better chance of winning.”
“Choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong.”
“Purpose and values are the foundation of any high performance in the organization.”
“In the sense you are taking initiative based on the values, you’re guided by the values, you are not guided by the rules.”
Taking the quote from Theodore Roosevelt’s The man in the arena: “Basically, it’s easy to be the man in the arena. But if you are the man in the arena, you are getting the bloody nose, you’re getting knocked down, you get up again… Who’s better? What Leads to a more fulfilling life? The person standing outside of the arena throwing the stones or the person in the arena constantly getting up? You know you gotta apologize one or twice, I’d rather be in the arena. I think it leads to a more fulfilling life.”
“As you grow within the company and as you train on culture and purpose and it’s all written down, then you’re promoted based on that.”
“I stopped the military culture that had developed in VA. No more tent cards, no more standing up with my come in the room, no more calling me secretary. I am Bob and I want to have an ultimate relationship with you. So intimate that when something goes wrong you’ll tell me it goes wrong.”
Resources Mentioned:
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