555: How a Billion-Dollar CEO Thinks and Leads (with Bill Canady)

555: How a Billion-Dollar CEO Thinks and Leads (with Bill Canady)

Your company’s next breakthrough isn’t about doing more, but doing less with purpose.

In this episode, I speak with Bill Canady, CEO of two major industrial companies (OTC Industrial Technologies and Arrowhead Engineered Products), a former U.S. Navy officer, and author of From Panic to Profit, about the operating system he’s used to turn around billion-dollar businesses and lead through uncertainty.

Bill brings a rare blend of military discipline, private equity strategy, and grounded human leadership. With more than 3,600 employees and $1.5 billion in revenue under his care, he shares what really drives growth, and why focus, not frenzy, is the secret to long-term results.

We talk about:

  • How Bill used 80/20 thinking to stabilize a struggling company during the pandemic

  • Why “doing everything” is the death of momentum and how to identify your critical few

  • The real reason most teams fail to deliver (hint: it’s not effort)

  • How AI is helping leaders focus on what matters and where human judgment still matters most

  • Why you may need to say no to good ideas to unlock great outcomes

  • The leadership triangle: visionary, operator, and prophet, and how to build teams that thrive

Bill also shares personal reflections on learning through failure, navigating high-stakes decisions, and how he’s applying his own advice as a continuous learner and leader of leaders.

Whether you’re in a turnaround, scaling up, or simply trying to get more focused in your business or career, this episode offers both strategic clarity and deeply practical tools for creating profitable, people-centered growth.

Bill Canady is the CEO of both OTC Industrial Technologies and Arrowhead Engineered Products (AEP). With over 30 years of experience, he specializes in driving organizational growth, cutting costs, and boosting profitability. At OTC, he led a 43% increase in revenue and an 80% rise in earnings, with annual sales now exceeding $1 billion. At AEP, he oversees more than 3,600 employees and $1.5 billion in sales. A U.S. Navy veteran, Bill holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in Business Administration from Elmhurst University. His Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS) has helped countless organizations overcome challenges and seize new growth opportunities.

Get Bill’s book here: https://rb.gy/3a4mou

From Panic to Profit: Uncover Value, Boost Revenue, and Grow Your Business with the 80/20 Principle

Here are some free gifts for you:

Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach

McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf

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97: The most important output in a consulting study | Management consulting project  | Benefits case

97: The most important output in a consulting study | Management consulting project  | Benefits case

An episode 96 of Strategy Skills iTunes podcast is here (Strategy Skills podcast is ranked among 5-10 top for careers in many countries worldwide).  One thing you always need to present in all of your management consulting projects is a business case. If you are not presenting a business case to a client, or a benefits case, I prefer the word benefits because it makes it clear you are looking for a benefit for a client, if you are not presenting a benefits case to a client you are making it very difficult for the client to make the decision to implement what you are saying in your recommendation as part of your management consulting project. www.FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to some episodes from our advanced #strategy programs.

21 Tammi 202010min

96: "Are you undervaluing your customers?" with Bain & Company's Rob Markey

96: "Are you undervaluing your customers?" with Bain & Company's Rob Markey

Listen to this thought-provoking discussion between Michael and Rob Markey, Bain and Company's partner.  Rob Markey, a partner and director at Bain & Company and the founder of the firm’s Global Customer Strategy and Marketing practice. He is a co-author of The Ultimate Question 2.0 and is the host of the Net Promoter System podcast. He is based in New York. https://www.firmsconsulting.com/

14 Tammi 20201h 9min

95: Value chain mapping | When value chain analysis are useful | Strategic management

95: Value chain mapping | When value chain analysis are useful | Strategic management

We have seen many value chain mapping examples. We have seen good value chain mapping, bad value chain mapping, incomplete value chain mapping. Ultimately, given the nature how value chain mapping will work, it can only do few things and it cannot do a few things. So if value chain mapping is presented to do things it cannot do it is flawed. When you do value chain analysis it is far more useful to see where profits are going to shift over time, that is one thing you have to do. Two, assign some probabilities of what are the odds of this happening. And 3, what influences those probabilities. You are analyzing the entire sector, the entire industry. A lot of things influencing a sector. Consumer spending can change with the recession. Recession can change things. Different legislation could cause profits move from point x to point y. Competitor making a misstep could cause it, new competitor entering, competitor going bankrupt. So whenever someone says I am so certain this will happen you should question their business judgement because you cannot predict the future. #valuechainmapping #valuechainanalysis #valuechainanalysisexplained https://www.firmsconsulting.com/

7 Tammi 20209min

94: Design the value chain you need | Value chain analysis | Management consulting

94: Design the value chain you need | Value chain analysis | Management consulting

An episode 94 of Strategy Skills iTunes podcast is here (Strategy Skills podcast is ranked among 5-10 top for careers in many countries worldwide).  www.FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to some episodes from our advanced #strategy programs.

31 Joulu 201917min

93: How to Manage Like Amazon (with CEO Advisor Ram Charan)

93: How to Manage Like Amazon (with CEO Advisor Ram Charan)

Every business wants to succeed like Amazon so we invited New York Times bestselling author & CEO Advisor Ram Charan to talk about How to Manage Like Amazon. From their high-velocity decision-making to their top talent hiring practices to their “Forever Day-1 Culture”, the insider secrets behind Amazon’s success are now within anyone’s grasp. Find out how Amazon does it and how you can too by listening to this fascinating conversation between Michael and Ram, whom Fortune calls “The most influential consultant alive” and whose book  Execution spent 150 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Ram's new book The Amazon Management System can be purchased here https://amzn.to/2RGGLy6 https://www.firmsconsulting.com

11 Joulu 201951min

92: Senior partner at McKinsey & a global leader of their Organization Practice

92: Senior partner at McKinsey & a global leader of their Organization Practice

Meet Bill Schaninger, Senior Partner at McKinsey and a global leader of their Organization Practice (based in Philadelphia). Bill focuses on driving large-scale organizational and cultural change for clients across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. An expert on the role of culture, values, talent and leadership in improving business outcomes, he helps executives enhance management effectiveness. Bill has published extensively in practitioner and academic journals, on organizational topics. FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to selected episodes from our advanced training programs.

25 Loka 20191h 10min

91: How do I know what is corporate strategy

91: How do I know what is corporate strategy

An episode 91 of Strategy Skills iTunes podcast is here (Strategy Skills podcast is ranked among 5-10 top for careers in many countries worldwide).  www.FIRMSconsulting.com - optin for email updates to receive access to some episodes from our advanced #strategicmanagement programs.

24 Syys 20195min

90: What makes corporate strategy different

90: What makes corporate strategy different

You can find more training resources here: Get free access to selected episodes when you sign up for email updates: https://www.firmsconsulting.com Get Access to Firmsconsulting Training by Becoming a Member Here: https://www.firmsconsulting.com/subscription-options/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firmsconsulting/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Firmsconsulting/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/firmsconsulting Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/firmsconsulting

21 Syys 20195min

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