Here at the Halftime Institute, we’re proud of the caliber of men and women who make up our alumni and humbled by the way we see God using them to transform the world. We love to share their stories as a means of encouragement and inspiration for other Halftime Alumni as well as prospective Halftime Insitutue clients.
Let the story of Halftime Alum, Bob Doll, remind each of us that the skills and wisdom that were honed in our first half can be applied in ways that transform individuals and ultimately society.
When the stock market goes up or down, and people need straight answers, Nuveen Asset Management’s Senior Portfolio Manager and Chief Equities Strategist, Bob Doll, is the man they call. Just watch CNBC or Fox Business during any stock market turbulence, and you are pretty sure to see Bob being interviewed. Producers of these national television channels tell him that he is always a calming influence in times of trouble. Bob succinctly, and not surprisingly, explains why: “God is on His throne. The world may end, but that’s His call, not mine. Don’t get emotionally carried away by any of it.”
Bob read Halftime about 15 years ago and says that the principles were planted deep inside him, including the idea that he was probably not going to be doing what he was doing forever. Then began what he describes as “a slow journey” to figure out what that revelation meant in a practical, day-to-day sense.
Bob took the next step and became a part of a Halftime Institute cohort in 2011. At the time, Bob was involved in The New York City Leadership Center, and helped organize a Halftime Institute event there. “One of the things we did was to go through a self-discovery process together over the course of a calendar year, using the lessons learned from the book Halftime,” he says. “I didn’t know it at the time, but the end of the study coincided with the loss of my job, so it enabled me to have a fresher perspective, spend a lot of time on the subject of calling, and write a mission statement. My halftime season turned out to be a re-orientation, maybe even just a re-calibration. In essence, I stayed in my field.”
As a part of the Halftime Institute experience, Bob Doll created a personal board of directors to advise on his halftime season. His personal board all confirmed his decision, and he is glad he took that route.
“I get a chance to let people know that this is not all there is,” he says. “There is more. Let me tell you what the ‘more’ is: Where are your treasures? Your eternal portfolio is what’s most important.” His hope is to help others understand what matters most, and that one’s priorities have to be in the proper order to even begin to figure out what’s next.
Bob and his wife, Leslie, continue to be involved as Halftime Institute Alumni. They are both living out their second half callings – Bob in finance and Leslie ministering to marginalized women in the Middle East. They live in Princeton, New Jersey and have three children. He is also choir director at his local church. Bob serves on a number of boards including the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Word of Life Fellowship, New Canaan Society, Kingdom Advisors, National Christian Foundation, The Lausanne Movement, The New York City Leadership Center, Cairn University, the Wharton Graduate Executive Board, and the Princeton HealthCare System.
Whether your second half is a re-calibration of where God has you in your first half or an entirely new direction, we want to support you in finding the clarity, joy, and purpose, you need to live out your Ephesians 2:10 calling. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s any way we can serve you as you lean into the second half God has planned for you.
