Welcome to How Leaders Lead, where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world.

I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple that you can apply as you develop into a better leader.

That's what this podcast is all about.

Today's guest is Bob Grefield, the former CEO of

NASDAQ. Now these days, NASDAQ is a powerhouse stock exchange. But boy, that wasn't the case when

Bob took over. It was small and struggling. But during his time in charge, he grew the business,

if you can believe this number,

by 2,000 percent, attracting companies like Apple, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Amazon to list

on NASDAQ.

In this conversation, we go behind the scenes of that amazing turnaround, and you can see for

yourself how Bob's relentless focus

and drive help make it happen. If you've ever looked at a big project or even just your

days to-do list, and you've felt overwhelmed, this conversation is going to help you tap into

the power of focus. So here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours,

Bob Grefield.

Bob, thanks so much for taking time to be on a show. My pleasure to be here today, David.

You know, well, how's your week going, Bob? How's the week going? Yeah. Well, it's just starting, but I think, well, I'm here with you. Nothing unique going on. You're working on in the world of financial services? A couple things, but I can't really say it right now. Public company rules, you know, I don't want to violate those. You know, when you think about what you're working on,

what does have you the most excited these days without giving away a deal?

Well, you know, I've always been a person who gets excited about building things. So I believe in

the process, right? So when I see teams coming together and identifying mission and focusing on that

mission, I know good results will happen.

So in all my business endeavor is I try not to pay attention to here and now, but what is the

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