Name: Greg Walter
Position: Charlotte Motor Speedway Exec VP
Where I’m from: Raleigh, N.C.
Where I call home: Charlotte
Focusing on right now: Finishing the year strong to put us in a great place for next year and beyond. Next year, we’re introducing the Roval (a hybrid road-course/oval track) to the NASCAR schedule for our fall race. We want to think further and further out with respect to the events at all the facilities here.
Best advice: Love what you do and have a passion for it. Also, when you’re in a role of leadership, it’s not about you -- it's about the people you’re responsible for and running business or segment of the business well.
Exec I admire: From the outside looking in it would be JEFF BEZOS at Amazon for their continuous innovation and the ease of their customer transaction. I’d also add DAN CATHY from Chick-fil-A for how they're able to replicate the same customer focused experience in all their stores and still maintain their tremendous growth.
A must for a new hire: The four traits I look for in a new hire are good character, willingness to learn, a sense of team and a strong work ethic. We can teach the rest.
Book shelf: The best book I’ve read this past year is “Extreme Ownership” by JOCKO WILLINK and LEIF BABIN. It’s one that a lot of our leadership has read here and has great lessons on how to lead a team. Another one I keep coming back to is “The Inspired Leader” by RICHARD BLACKABY. It’s a devotional with contributions by a number of CEOs on how their faith influences their leadership.
Must-have music: My taste is so eclectic that many find it strange. Apple Music and Amazon Music are a great way to satisfy my immediate taste whether it be THE ROLLING STONES or JOHNNY CASH and everything in between.
First thing in the morning: I’m a night owl so my mornings are compressed. My mornings start with the dog, who gets up first. I let her out, and start the coffee. Probably like the rest of the world, I look at my phone and see what developments happened over night.
Food for thought: My favorite foods usually involve cooking or smoking something outside on the grill because that usually involves friends or family.
Talking tech: I’m a big fan of the DAVID ALLEN “getting things done” system. So any technology I look at, I ask, “does it help me be more efficient?” Personally, having an iPad Pro with a stylus so I can take notes and put those into Evernote. It was a game changer for me.
How I unwind: I used to unwind a lot by getting on my road bike and disappearing for an hour or two on weekends, but I recently got re-certified for scuba diving. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the weekends diving with one of my daughters.
Day in the life: The day is a mixture of making decisions on the immediate, making sure we are all thinking through our next set of events, then equipping the team to be successful. That’s capped off with constantly thinking about what we are going to be doing next year, the next five years, the next 10 years and how are we preparing for that.
