Leadership group, students told of need for business balance

story and photo by Linda Kaufenberg

Balance is a key to effective leadership, according to Mike Callan.

Callan, president of Fort Smith-based Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp., was the final speaker of the Fall 360 Leadership Series. The series was created by a group of John Brown University graduate alumni to provide professional development and networking opportunities for professionals in the Fort Smith region.

Callan joined AOG in 1985 after completing his juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas. In 2008 he assumed the role of the company’s president.

Faye Dancer described Callan as an Arkansan by birth and choice, a member of the inaugural Leadership Arkansas and president of the Charleston School Board during the 2008-2009 school year.

“In addition to all those things, he is a great boss,” Dancer said.

To deliver his presentation, Callan used a PowerPoint presentation. He said his daughters would be proud of him for doing the PowerPoint.

“They are very interested in making sure I don’t embarrass them,” said Callan, noting one daughter is a freshman at Ole Miss and the other a junior at UA. “That makes for some interesting time around our house.”

Callan said we all work at balancing our work, family and obligations. Running a business should be no different.

“In running a business, it’s also a balancing act,” he explained. “You have to balance your shareholders, society, employees and customers. This is not something you know, it’s something you learn.”

Obviously, it’s important to ensure customers are satisfied. But business owners/managers also have three other parties to consider. Vendors must be treated fairly and paid on time. Employees also must be treated fairly and given an opportunity to benefit from company success. And the company should be mindful to invest in the immediate communities in which it operates.

Callan said AIG, General Motors, Lehman Brothers and many companies in the airline industry were all victims of confidence and did not have balance.

“I will tell you that if you examine each company, someone got arrogant and overconfident,” Callan said. “They moved away from obligations as a whole and lost their balance.”

During a question and answer period, Callan was asked what attributes he had to first get hired at AOG. Callan answered that, in addition to luck, he was taught as a child to always work hard at what you do.

Guests at the luncheon were members of Euper Lane Gifted and Talented program, along with their teacher Lillian Silverstone and Principal Sherri Penix.