Staubach Scores With Forty Under 40 Honorees

Most of those in attendance at last month’s Forty Under 40 luncheon recognized keynote speaker Roger Staubach as a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy and two Super Bowls.

“That’s not the reason I asked him to come here,” former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. chief operating officer Don Soderquist said while introducing Staubach. “I invited him to come because of who he is. I asked him to come because he’s a man of character, he’s a man of principles.”

Soderquist, who currently serves as the founding executive of the Siloam Springs-based center for leadership and ethics that bears his name, went on to laud Staubach as “a family man” and “a patriot.”

Staubach didn’t disappoint when he took the stage at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, delighting a crowd of 400-plus with stories from both his business and football careers, as well as offering words of inspiration at the 14th annual event.

“There’s no traffic jams on the extra mile,” Staubach said while encouraging those in attendance to work hard and stress the kind of teamwork that builds trust.

Staubach also said it’s important for leaders to maintain a competitive fire, just not at the expense of others. All of those qualities, he said, are what helps successful leaders survive and thrive during tough times like the economic downturn of recent years.

“Adversity reveals genius,” Staubach said. “Prosperity conceals it.”

Staubach delivered much the same message during an intimate meeting with honorees prior to the luncheon. He also revealed he began working in commercial real estate during offseasons during his career with the Dallas Cowboys.

Staubach won the Heisman at Navy in 1963, then served a four-year military stint before resuming his football career in Dallas.

It was during that time he founded The Staubach Co., which ultimately merged with Jones Lang LaSalle in 2008. The company posted $2.5 billion in revenues last year.

Still, Staubach came across as humble and low-key during his speech, though it was peppered with humorous anecdotes from his playing days and family life. Staubach used the experience of the 1971 Cowboys as an example of what can happen when talent is matched with hard work and togetherness.

“If you have the right people in the right places, and everybody is working together,” Staubach said, “miracles can happen.”