We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paul Bollinger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Paul with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic came from my Mom and Dad. I was the oldest of five children and had a lot of responsibility starting at an early age. My Mom often told me that I could be anything I wanted to be in life. When my Dad took me to a Fixed Base Operation (FBO) at the local airport when I was 16 years old I was excited about working around airplanes and learning to fly. When the FBO owner welcomed us, my Dad told him I cleaned toilets really well. That was a reality check for me and I did clean toilets really well and earned my pilots license a year later. One of my Dad’s favorite sayings was, “If you want the big house on the hill, get two jobs. If you want a free place to stay and three meals a day, you can go to jail.” To make his point, he took a group of us to the old jail in Louisville and it scared the hell out of me. I was not going to jail! In my career, I have held senior level positions in trade associations, nonprofits, large corporations, and the Pentagon. I learned a lot in every job, but it was like earning a Ph.D. working for the Air Force and the Army as a political appointee with Military Officers, civil servants, and consultants looking at your every decision. You have to be disciplined, strategic, and always looking out for your team.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I was very fortunate to have the experience I earned during my 40-year career all come together when I became the President & CEO of Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB). We provide sailing and boating instruction to people with disabilities, wounded warriors, and children from underserved communities. It is a very exciting and rewarding job to bring the thrill and freedom of sailing to people who never thought they would be on a boat, much less sailing it. I brought with me experience working as a lobbyist, marketing and PR director, and a business development leader for large capital projects, working with engineers, architects, public employees, and elected officials. When CRAB made the decision to build the premier adaptive boating center in the country, I was well positioned to make this project a reality. It took over six-years, but CRAB has completed construction and the opening of the Annapolis Adaptive Boating Center, a $6.2M project that will make access to Chesapeake Bay a reality for tens of thousands of people in the future. One of our guests who went sailing on a beautiful day told us, “Thank you for taking me the farthest I have ever been from my wheelchair, and the memories that put me in it.” It makes me tear up every time I tell this story.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I would consider curiosity, critical thinking, and humility are the three most important from my point of view. If you are not curious, you are not likely to be open to new ideas or the feelings of others. Curiosity is the key to opening the doorway to life. Critical thinking follows curiosity because you need to understand what you have learned. What is right, wrong, is this enough information? How does it shape your thinking or perceptions? What is the best path forward to execute your plan and how will it impact others?A lot goes into critical thinking and that is why it is so important. As for humility, if you don’t have it, you will be a lonely person. No one wants to be around an arrogant, selfish, self-centered boss. If you don’t have humility it is hard for you to see the value in others and your own weaknesses. Putting to work these 3 qualities is not easy or consistent, but it is vitally important to a successful and rewarding life.
I would add three attributes that are key building blocks to be more effective as a leader. Be a good writer, an excellent speaker or communicator, and enjoy reading to enhance your knowledge of people, ideas, and the world.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
At the nonprofit I lead, we are heading into an important strategic planning exercise for the next couple of months. We have accomplished our major goals for the past six-years, but our long term challenge is raising the necessary funds to keep our sailing and boating programs for people with disabilities free of charge. We do a reasonably good job of getting grants to support programs and operations, but to make the organization self-sustaining and not reliant on funds raised each year, we are going to need a robust endowment and planned giving programs. With a small staff this can be a challenge. Hiring a fundraising consulting firm has its pro’s and con’s. Fortunately we just opened the premier adaptive boating center in the country and have a 33-year track record of success. As the Baby Boomers get older and less able bodied, we are in a strong growth market for new guests and hopefully donors. This funding initiative will be my highest priority for the next year and it will be the foundation for the next 10 years. Then I might be able to go sailing with my wife, children, and grandchildren more often.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crabsailing.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.crabsailing.org
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/paul-bollinger-a63243131
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StVoaa8JKNI
Image Credits
None.
