In this 6‑questions‑in‑7‑minutes interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with David O'Brien, a training and human‑development professional who describes himself as a dad, husband, and new grandfather. O'Brien explains that his work centers on creating community‑based training that gives people agency over their development, linking personal goals to company success. He emphasizes that the most critical chapter for any organization is intentional culture building—moving beyond slogans to lived values that affect turnover, engagement, and performance. O'Brien advises leaders to balance analytical focus with genuine, heart‑based connection to their people, suggesting simple, intentional actions (e.g., asking about personal life events) can dramatically improve manager‑employee relationships. He recommends two fellow leaders—Ken Herfurth of Ander (wellness tech) and Dan Carroll of Performance Foodservice—as podcast guests. O'Brien shares a formative first‑job story at Maple City Dairy, where a mentor taught him respect for customers and responsibility. He concludes by directing listeners to his LinkedIn profile for further engagement. The episode underscores the importance of culture, people‑first leadership, and early experiential learning in business success.
Chapters
This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
I'm David O'Brien. I think who I am is a dad, a husband, a new grandfather to two grandchildren. What I do is I am in the training world, but I am all about creating training that enables people to learn and thrive in community, to have some agency over their own development, to be able to achieve their own goals that then connect to their company and allow them to benefit themselves and their family.
Well, David, it's great to have you on the show, and congratulations on the new grandchildren. That's very exciting.
Makes me feel a little old, so I don't let them say grandpa. I make them say papa. But other than that, it's wonderful. I love it.
Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
You know, I've always said to people that I don't have a real job. And I think what I mean by that is that in my world of human development, I'm— I spend my day helping people break through barriers that allow them to then achieve more of their own goals, that then allow them to benefit their family. And when that happens often enough, their employers go, holy cow, they're getting better at their job. And this is really good stuff. And I get the joy of seeing that happen for large numbers of people all the time, and then see it through my employees making it happen. So it doesn't feel like work. It's really joyful stuff.
No, I love it. And I hear the passion in your voice. It's very exciting. Question 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
You know, as I think about it, um, I think the most important chapter really has to be about the concept of how you build culture and values in the organization, right? I watch so many really talented organizations that spend time on business metrics and spreadsheets and strategic plans, and then they occasionally hire somebody to create posters for the wall about values or about commitments and slogans. And they forget that they have to be really intentional about creating a culture that keeps all that going. And I often try and remind leaders that the things they do create that culture that supports the values they wanted. You know, if the culture of the organization moves counter to their values that are on the wall that they keep telling people matter, then nothing really goes the way they planned. Turnover gets bad, engagement gets bad. All those key things that drive the organizational connectedness that lets people be at their best don't work. I think that's really critical for us to all remember in today's environment is that intentionality of culture.
I love that too. It's, it's so, so true. And I mean, I can think about many companies that I worked for that, as you said, the culture was a slogan, but it really wasn't lived in the organization. And so what you're saying is, is truly insightful. Thank you.
Yeah.
Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
You know, as I get an opportunity, because my, my role in development puts me around leaders on a regular basis, and although I've stopped in the last few years, I used to have lots of those C-level folks as executive coaching clients. And I think what I always tried to help them understand is that as much time as they were spending on the math, the the metrics, the forecasts, the everything, they had to devote an equal amount of time to, okay, do I know my people? Am I working to understand what motivates, what drives, what connects with my people organizationally? I think often leaders, we get busy. I know it happens to me. I get busy leading my organization and I take my eye off of, I wonder how things are going for Grady. His wife started a new job. It's been 6 weeks now. She's been at home for many years. He's having to make his own lunches. How's he doing? Right? And I think on a larger scale, when leaders exhibit that to their team, they're able to cascade that down the organization. But when they don't show that sort of interest and understanding, and connecting with the humans and what motivates them, all those things about the objective and the strategic plan get more difficult, right? Because they don't know how to talk to Dave about, well, Dave, let's work on this, but I need a little extra from you. You and I both remember the leaders we worked for, and everybody listening does, that we went the extra mile for. And And we didn't go the extra mile for the one that annoyed us. We didn't go the extra mile for the one that said, you know, they know that my son just got married, but they haven't asked a word. So I just try and tell leaders to make intentional efforts because some leaders are wired more analytically than more people-oriented, right?
Right.
And so it has to be an intentional activity that says, Hey, here's, here's how I'm going to connect with my people. Here's how my people are going to know the heart at which I serve the organization as much as they know the brain that's serving the strategy, the execution, and the financial side of the organization. Does that make sense?
It does, absolutely. And it's interesting too, because the leaders who are analytical in nature, it doesn't require a huge amount of time to connect with their people, but just showing a little bit of concern, as you said, for something that's going on in their life, that can, you know, do a huge amount to improve the relationship between the manager and the employee.
Often they seem to mistake it for, well, I'm not going out to dinner with them, I'm not going to go drink beer with them, and I go, that's not what connection is anyway. Right. It's what you just said. It's letting people see that there's a heart to the organizational leadership.
Absolutely. I mean, it's, it's, it's so important for the, both the heart and the mind. It really is. And, uh, that's how you connect with the people that you're, you're talking with and the people who work for you. So I really appreciate that insight. It's great. Question number 5, what other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
You know, since someone nominated me, I've actually taken a little time to think of it, and I thought of two people that I think are uniquely different but really serve to be great leaders. One is named Ken Herfurth, and Ken is the CEO and founder of a company called Ander, which operates in the wellness community to provide some technology around employee wellness and engagement. The other would be a really good friend who originated as a client, who is a guy named Dan Carroll. And Dan is the regional president of Performance Foodservice. But what Dan really is, is that leader that I just described, who knows how to get the best out of the business metrics because He connects extraordinarily well at the heart level with everybody on his team. I think they'd make great contributions.
Wonderful. I'll reach out to both of them. Thank you so much for the referral. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
Yeah, my first job, I grew up with a dad who was a car dealer who desperately wanted me to go not work for him and go learn from somebody else hard lessons, right? So, I remember at age 14 getting a job at Maple City Dairy. This was in a small community outside the Chicago area. It was an old-fashioned dairy and ice cream that was made nearby. I had 78-year-old Dorothy as my trainer. When people would complain, Dorothy would pull me aside and say, "The customer needs to be treated with respect. And she said, David, always smile at them, give them the next scoop of ice cream, even if you think they just wanted free ice cream, but always treat them with respect. And then I remember Hurlef Peterson, the owner of Maple City Dairy, taught me to drive a 4-speed Plymouth Valari station wagon, and I'd never driven a stick shift before, and I was 15 years old. And he said, don't worry, nobody will find out, and I really need you to deliver this ice cream to the It was a nursing home. So it was a, it was wonderful years.
I love this story.
Thank you for sharing that, David.
How can people find you?
You know, you can find me here on LinkedIn, uh, at David O'Brien. Um, and however I can serve the community of LinkedIn, uh, I'd be more than happy to, uh, grateful for you taking the time to let me share a couple of thoughts.
Well, and thank you so much for being on the show. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn.com/petealexander. YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
