Caterpillar Exec Ed Rapp on leadership lessons and staying strong against tough odds

If you don’t plan your personal life with the same rigor and discipline you do your professional life, your personal life will suffer, says Ed Rapp. As a Group President and former CFO for Caterpillar, Inc. during the financial crisis, Ed was a high-level, globe-trotting senior executive who never forgot the importance of keeping family front and center.

Ed and I go back more than 30 years when we worked together at Caterpillar. I left after a few years to go to grad school while Ed quickly moved up the chain and eventually became one of the top 3 executives at Caterpillar.

In today's conversation, we discuss his keys to being a successful business executive operating at the highest level, while also being a family man.

At the pinnacle of his career, life threw Ed a curveball and I encourage you to listen to this episode to the very end to learn what happened.

There are many great lessons in today's show and I'm very grateful to Ed for taking the time to share them.