Advance Praise for Taking Stock
A final principle, or theme, running throughout this book can be best summarized in the saying, “if something is inevitable, embrace it.” Peter has experienced great change throughout his long career. He instinctively knows how to accept change, how to cope with the uncertainty around it, and how to help others confront that uncertainty with confidence.
From his experiences and life challenges, Peter has developed a set of principles that guide his actions and have served well to make him a reliable, effective, and ethical leader.
Peter de Silva’s book is more than a primer on leadership and more than an autobiography. It is a series of lessons on leadership gained through personal experience as he confronted severe personal obstacles to achieve success for himself and those he led.
Tom Hoenig – Distinguished Senior Fellow, Mercatus Center
Vice-Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 1991–2011
In Taking Stock, I enjoyed experiencing the journey of a great American leader. Peter de Silva shares his ups and downs and persistence to succeed. Peter’s journey has been heroic.
—Terry Dunn, former president and CEO, JE Dunn Construction; former chairman, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Peter became a valued part of the TD Ameritrade executive team when we merged with Scottrade. As expected, Peter was a valuable expert in the wealth management and marketing realms. His real strength, however, was his influence on his peers and the impact he had throughout his entire organization. His people knew that Peter cared about them, and they would have followed him anywhere. It was not an accident that we were the best in the world at what we did.
—Joe Moglia, former board chairman, TD Ameritrade; chair of Athletics and executive director, football program, Coastal Carolina University
Peter de Silva is a leader with a big heart, a big soul, and a heap of humanity. Read TakingStock to learn and be inspired to lead in these critical times. The book is approachable without hype or pretense. It is an account of a true leader in a Midwestern city. This book about community leadership is worth your time and attention.
—Bernard Franklin, 2022 fellow, Advanced Leadership Initiative, Harvard University
In Taking Stock, Peter concisely and generously shares timeless lessons for principled leaders. It’s a practical and actionable how-to guide for successful leaders, regardless of their career stage, industry, or organization size. Crisply written, Taking Stock should be required reading in business schools everywhere.
—Gerry Lopez, former president and CEO, AMC Theatres
Peter has dedicated his life and efforts to four things: family, faith, business success, and giving back. His impact has been widespread, intentional, influential, and meaningful. Taking Stock provides personal and compelling insight into Peter’s caring nature and unique leadership contributions. A must read.
—Jeanette Prenger, Founder and CEO, ECCO Select
Taking Stock is our invitation to follow Peter de Silva on his journey to becoming a great leader and man. We see him making choices when he encounters the road sign DANGER AHEAD, regarding his health, and we see how those choices shaped him. Along the way, we see more and more people—family, associates, and customers—willing and happy to climb aboard and follow Peter’s lead to the next stop. At every turn, there is a lesson to learn. Chief among them is that trusting relationships, built on mutual respect, inspire others to follow you. Great leaders understand this. Peter de Silva is a great leader.
—Sylvester (Sly) James, co-founder, Wickham James Strategies and Solutions; former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
Persistence through adversity, a willingness to work and think hard, and a belief in the power of ethical leadership describe Peter de Silva’s professional career and personal character. His story in Taking Stock is a compelling read and is highly instructive. Peter de Silva is what the best of American business leaders, and outstanding American citizens, look like.
—Peter J. Travers, managing member, Chase Field LLC; chairman, board of trustees, National Review Institute
Taking Stock is more than a business leadership book. Yes, there is tremendous value in Peter’s ten leadership principles. The real value is the view that leadership in any organization or situation is a lot like life. Taking Stock reminds us that resilience, persistence, optimism, character, and caring for people around you are the foundational elements of dynamic leadership and life. Taking Stock reveals the art of leadership while showing us real-world situations and events—good and challenging—that made Peter a leader in the financial world and in life. He is someone we can all relate to and look up to as we pursue a life of meaning, impact, and purpose.
—Randy Freer, president and CEO Teton Ridge; former CEO, Hulu
My longtime friend, Peter de Silva, has put together a compelling account of how he overcame a serious physical problem and became a highly successful leader of one of our nation’s top retail financial companies.
—Christopher “Kit” Bond, former US Senator, Missouri
A young adult pushing a wheelbarrow laden with construction debris could be considered a metaphor for working hard to get ahead. It is an apt metaphor for Peter de Silva. This was literally how he started forty-three years ago in our professional relationship. That relationship became a lifelong friendship. And it was an apt metaphor for his career journey.
—Roger Lockwood, chairman, Lockwood/McKinnon Company
Despite overwhelming odds against success caused by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), Peter persevered to become an inspirational, accomplished, and successful business leader. Taking Stock is a fascinating look at his ferociously positive mindset for conquering adversity with time-tested principles and integrity.
—Patrick Livney, founder and chair, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation (CMTRF)
Peter has written a terrific book on the leadership skills he learned throughout his highly successful career. He shares these lessons in a highly personal way, putting everything into context and exposing himself as a leader and a human being.
—Len Stecklow, former Fidelity Investments and TD Ameritrade executive
Peter quickly rises to the top in any consideration as a conservative, a Christian, an investment adviser, and an American.
—Stephen Plaster, chairman and CEO, Evergreen Investments
Infused with hard-won wisdom, Peter de Silva’s Taking Stock is an invitation to reflect on and refine your professional and personal compass. He offers his own well-traveled map of key leadership principles as a guide. If you care deeply about your impact and reputation as a principled leader and seek long-term happiness as you grow your career, put this book on your required reading list.
—Karen Fenaroli, founder and CEO, Fenaroli & Associates; serial entrepreneur and boardroom C-suite coach
In Taking Stock, Peter’s reflections reveal the heart, soul, and character of a man continually invested in changing our world for the better. This work is a true treasure, filled with gems of wisdom and advice from Peter’s vast business and life experiences. Taking Stock calls on us all to better reflect on our lives and our opportunities to enrich the lives of those around us.
—Reverend Tim Merrill, 2021 fellow, Advanced Leadership Initiative, Harvard University; founder, Watu Moja
Taking Stock gave me new insights on how special Peter de Silva is—as a business leader and a Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) patient. His largely silent struggles with CMT have clearly made Peter a more empathetic and inclusive leader. The book also offered me, as a mother of a young woman with CMT, a much greater appreciation for the often nuanced physical and emotional challenges of this often-invisible disease.
—Cleary Simpson, CEO, Charcot-Marie-Tooth Research Foundation
A requisite read for any leader, Taking Stock is a master plan of de Silva’s ten proven principles for successful ethical leadership.
—Tom Chulick, former chairman and CEO, UMB Bank St. Louis and president of the Midwest Regions
Having had the pleasure of working with Peter in community and corporate settings, I know him as an effective, principled, and caring leader. He has made a difference in many lives. We can learn much from his journey and the insights he imparts.
—Tom Butch, former financial services executive and community leader
Peter de Silva reminds us it is never too late to be “Taking Stock” in our lives. He shares his personal mosaic and how he found the courage at Harvard to unveil his secret and dedicate his third chapter to the discovery of a cure.
—Linda Rebrovick, corporate board director, Harvard University Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics Advisory Board & 2021 Fellow, Advanced Leadership Initiative