Rob ‘Waldo’ Waldman – The Wingman – is a professional leadership speaker and author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller Never Fly Solo. He teaches organizations how to build trusting, revenue producing relationships with their employees, partners, and customers while sharing his experiences as a combat decorated F-16 fighter pilot and businessman.
He is a highly experienced combat veteran with over 2,650 flight hours and sixty-five real world combat missions, having flown both in Iraq enforcing the “No-Fly Zone” and in Yugoslavia during Operation Allied Force in 1999. Some of his military honors include five Air Medals, two Aerial Achievement Medals, four Air Force Commendation Medals, and two Meritorious Service Medals.
Waldo overcame massive claustrophobia and a fear of heights to become a fighter pilot and believes that the key to building a culture of trust lies with your wingmen – the men and women in your life who help you to overcome obstacles, adapt to change, and achieve success. In business and life, you should never fly solo!
Waldo is a graduate of the U.S Air Force Academy and also holds an MBA with a focus on Organizational Behavior. He is an inductee into the Professional Speaker Hall of Fame, a prestigious award that honors speakers who have reached the top echelon of platform excellence, and has been bestowed on less than 180 speakers worldwide. He is also a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), member of the board of the National Speaker’s Association, and his clients include Hewlett Packard, Verizon Wireless, New York Life, Siemens, Home Depot, Aflac, and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition to his speaking business, Waldo is also founder and President of The Wingman Foundation, a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to build funds and awareness for soldiers, veterans and their families in need.
Voted one of the Top 40 under 40 Business Leaders in Georgia, he’s been featured on Fox & Friends, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, The Harvard Business Review, Investor’s Business Daily, INC. Magazine, and Business Week.
Flying solo in business? You might think so. But take a good look around. You have support staff, co-workers and managers. You have suppliers, vendors, and distributors. And you have colleagues, family and significant others. In today’s super-charged, highly competitive world of rapid and constant change, those who build trust and work as a team will dodge the missiles of business and win.
By committing yourself to excellence and placing trust in others, you can overcome obstacles, adapt to change, and break performance barriersduring adverse times. By placing trust in your wingmen and by being a wingman to your clients, partners and co-workers, there is no business mission you can’t complete!
This keynote is not about relating combat tactics to winning in business.
Rather, it’s about focusing on what really matters in business – building high performance, trusting teams and fully serving your customers and co-workers. It’s about winning with integrity in highly competitive environments through disciplined training, dedicated teamwork, and courageous leadership.
Waldo overcame a lifelong battle with claustrophobia and a fear of heights to become a highly decorated fighter pilot with over 65 real world combat missions. His experience both in the military and business have taught him that success is about camaraderie, courage, and a commitment to excellence.
Audiences connect with Waldo because he truly speaks from the heart and has an infectious passion for helping people. His customized business analogies and captivating personal stories combined with dramatic jet fighter video footage and inspirational music will encourage you to prepare diligently for every mission, face challenges and change with courage, build more meaningful relationships, and maximize your potential both in business and in life!
Audiences will learn to:
Employ Loyal “Wingmen” to Promote Communication, Integrity, and Trust
“Check-6″ to Develop a Culture of Teamwork and Mutual Support
Execute a Business Game Plan to Survive and WIN!
“Chair-Fly” Sales Missions to Vastly Increase Revenues
Transform Relationships into Revenue
Convert Fear into Focus
Lead with Courage and Compassion