by Chelsea Nelson
Interactive Communications Director

September’s Lunch with a Leader took place recently with Dave Golden as the featured speaker. The Lunch with a Leader series offers United Way of Salt Lake’s Young Leaders a chance to learn from the best by having the opportunity to have lunch with our community’s most accomplished business and civic leaders. Dave Golden is the Executive Vice President and Manager of Wells Fargo Commercial Banking Group’s Mountain Division and is also a United Way of Salt Lake board member. Dave also serves on The Downtown Alliance board and is the co-chair of The Friends of The Utah Performing Arts Center. Thank you to Dave for taking the time to host this month’s lunch!

Here are what a few Young Leaders who were in attendance had to say about their experience learning from Dave:

Marshall Sayer, Zions Bank
September found the Young Leaders gathering at the Wells Fargo Building in Salt Lake City to hear from one of the intermountain region’s foremost commercial bankers, Dave Golden.  Being my first time to attend the Lunch with a Leader series, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but as I entered the room and met Dave, I immediately felt at ease and Dave’s smile was infectious throughout his whole presentation.

Dave took his time to highlight what he termed the “ten points for life”, which help individuals excel and contribute at a higher level in their community.  I would love to share all ten points and my thoughts on each one; however, to simply ‘wet the appetite,’ I am going to share two of his points that I found especially impactful.

One of his early points was to ‘compete hard, but with class.’  In any industry or profession, those who excel are the individuals who give everything they have each day and are relentless in their pursuits and responsibilities.  What I really enjoyed in his commentary was the mention of ‘class.’  Too often people cheat, use underhand tactics, or slander others in order to achieve some lofty goal.  Dave, however, spoke about taking the high road while respecting others along the way–and never doing anything that would compromise your integrity, or undermine someone else.  What a great principle!

The second point I would like to highlight is to ‘effect change instead of reacting.’  Too often we find ourselves reacting to forces around us or actions that others have taken that may place us on the defensive.  It is within each one of us to create opportunities that change our sphere of reference and impact society for good.  Dave used Apple as an example of effecting change.  We all know that Apple entered the phone market with the iPhone and has made a lasting change that all other manufacturers are now reacting to.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first Lunch with a Leader experience and look forward to the next opportunity to learn from distinguished leaders and implement their insights on how to make our community a better place.

Heather Wyler, Zions Bank
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting David Golden with Wells Fargo Bank.  This was my first Lunch with a Leader and I’m glad I went.  David has been in banking since 1980 and 32 of these years has been spent in commercial banking.  David talked to us about his 10 points for life.

There were two which stood at the most for me.  First, “know accounting, especially if you are in banking”.  Dave stated if you own your business you should know accounting.  He has seen too many businesses fail, because they can’t maintain their own books.

The second point of life which stood out to me and the one I like the most was “compete hard, but with class.”  How many times have we all seen co-workers, friends, or acquaintances lose to someone and then display their frustration through childish behaviors?  David gave an example of company he was trying to add to his portfolio and he thought he had them.  However, he received a phone call from his boss saying the company decided not to sign.  David called them up and asked them what had changed their mind.  Dave later found out it was a competitor he knew and admired.  So, since Dave couldn’t beat him, he hired him! What a great example.

Thank you to those Young Leaders who participated in this month’s Lunch with a Leader! If you have questions about Young Leaders, or how to get involved, please visit our website or contact Megan Rogers or Rochelle Davis.

megan@uw.org | rochelle@uw.org