About Reagan Pufall

I'm a lucky guy.

I’ve had two jobs as a manager. The first one was helping turn around an organization that was facing severe financial and operational problems while also being in the media and political spotlight. The second was building a brand-new business operation from scratch. Both jobs were sometimes maddening, often fun, always challenging, and ultimately very successful. So for me management has been a great adventure, never humdrum.

Every step along the way I’ve been fortunate to work with excellent people, folks who were superb employees and became great friends. Currently I’m an executive with a Berkshire Hathaway insurance company. My division is running smoothly and generating consistently great results, allowing me to focus my attention on initiatives that will get us even better results in the future. Good work if you can get it!

I didn't set out to become a business executive. In fact, until I was in my 30’s I was an attorney and had absolutely no interest in management. However, my interest increased by necessity when, much to my surprise and with no prior management experience, I was offered the position of Chief Operating Officer of an insurance organization that I had previously served as in-house legal counsel.

Once my very persistent CEO had convinced me to make the transition from lawyer to manager I jumped into it 100%. No half-measures for me! I set out to learn all I could about how to be a successful manager and leader.

At first, I read everything about management and leadership that I could get my hands on. I gained some valuable knowledge, but over time I came to be skeptical of business books and magazines. Much of what is written in them either seems irrelevant to my workplace reality or just plain doesn’t work. On the other hand, the ideas and techniques that really do work for me are rarely mentioned.

So I set out to discover and refine the techniques of successful management for myself. The scientific method is a wonderful thing: develop a theory, test the theory, and observe the results. Then refine the theory and test it again to produce better and better results. This is how I approach my work as a manager and this is how I have developed the management techniques that work well for me.

One of the reasons I created this blog is to reach out to other managers who are conducting their own experiments and making their own discoveries, to share what I have learned and to hear what they have learned. Just as in a scientific undertaking, we will make more rapid progress if we pool our experience.

The other reason I created this blog is to foster the idea of good management. "Good" as in benevolent as well as skillful. Those of us who are fortunate enough to be in positions of authority face a choice: will we use our authority for good or ill? Our behavior as managers affects not just ourselves, but all those who work for us. We have an opportunity to help our employees build rewarding careers, grow as professionals, and fulfill their potential as human beings. We have an opportunity to get excellent results by building a positive workplace in which people can enjoy doing great work. We have an opportunity to make our corner of the world a better place.

So I'm seeking to link up with other managers who are committed to doing well by doing good. Our motto can be: "Make your organization the way you want the world to be." Maybe we can start something. Maybe our ideas can add up to more than scattered islands of goodness. Maybe we can not only build successful careers and companies, but also make the world a little better place while we're at it.

I hope you enjoy and benefit from my posts just as I look forward to learning from your comments. Good managing!