🎧︎ EP33 Accomplishing What Others Said Couldn't Be Done with Rolfe Arnhym ‘53, Vistage Chair
This episode features an interview with Rolfe Arnhym ‘53, a Chair for Vistage, the world’s largest and most comprehensive executive coaching organization for small and midsize businesses with $1 million to $1 billion in revenue.
As a Vistage Chair, Rolfe mentors numerous business leaders in the community through three groups he oversees. He has served every community in his personal and professional life with a focus on service to others before oneself, and making each community better for future generations. Rolfe is a West Point graduate and retired Army officer with a distinguished 21-year military career, including two combat tours in Vietnam and commanding an Infantry Brigade in the Army Reserve. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and later as a Colonel in the Reserves. Rolfe has held numerous significant leadership positions including serving as CEO of the Pasadena, Long Beach, Palm Springs, and Beverly Hills Chambers of Commerce from 1978-1999.
In this episode of On Point, Rolfe talks about how he works at Vistage with CEOs and executives to develop and add to their professional skill sets and grow as business people. He provides insight on his highly varied career, and what inspired him to write a book for readers to gain insights into mentorship and coaching, being able to walk away with multiple calls to action. Rolfe also touches on the power of the Chamber of Commerce as an important resource to help you succeed in business, and sheds light on the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of moving the Army versus Navy game across the nation.
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“I find a general weakness right now in terms of people holding themselves accountable. They are ready to blame almost anybody else's circumstance, pin the tail on some other’s donkey; never-mind holding their people accountable. I find that internally and I worked very, very hard on this to make sure to help people establish core values. Some would call it a fundamentals and in my book, the number one core value is mutual respect, which is a fast way of saying, ‘treat others as you would have them treat you’, which makes a huge difference.” - Rolfe Arnhym
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Episode Timestamps
(02:22) Rolfe’s role at Vistage
(03:54) Moving the Army v. Navy game across the nation
(11:44) Impact the Army v. Navy game left on the West Coast
(14:38) Using the Army v. Navy game as a West Point marketing initiative
(17:42) Why Rolfe wrote Start Everything, Finish Nothing: The Curse of Modern Management
(19:52) Inviting the Mayor of Moscow to Beverly Hills
(24:49) Transitioning out of the military
(26:04) Creating the MILES system
(27:32) The Chamber of Commerce as a career path
(30:27) Rolfe’s relationship with West Point
(36:58) Lessons learned from over the years
(40:04) Life as a mentor
(41:37) How the Chamber of Commerce can help you
(44:55) Final thoughts
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