David B. Braden.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: BalanceSHEET - Assistant Vice President of Cargill Inc. - Interview

For a class in business school, Dave Braden read a passage in a self-help book by Wayne Dyer, and says that the powerful notion about attitudes, moods and reactions being completely within one's own control has stayed with him. It reads: "Success has nothing to do with wealth or status, and everything to do with one's decision to be happy."

Goes by: Dave

Title: Assistant Vice President and Assistant Treasurer

Company: Cargill Inc., agricultural trading and processing

Born: Bloomington, Ind., Jan. 22, 1952

Spouse: Ann, for 31 years

Children: Alex, 27; Julia, 23

Education: BA, Anthropology, Miami University, 1974; MBA, Colgate Darden School (Univ. of Virginia), 1978

Career Summary: Federal National Mortgage Association, Washington, D.C., 1974-76, mortgage specialist, getting my first exposure to business, bureaucracy and present-value analysis; Cargill Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., Financial Analyst, 1978-81; Financial Officer, 1981-93; Assistant Vice President and Assistant Treasurer, 1993-present.

FEI Chapter: Twin Cities Chapter, since 1995; have chaired the Membership Retention Committee, served as Treasurer, then President. Also FEI Midwest Area Director and Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) Vice Chair.

Leisure: Running, reading, playing blues and folk guitar, cabin "puttering."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Stress Management: I run at least four times a week, which is a great stress reducer. I try to maximize "office productivity" and minimize work brought home.

Time Management: I arrive at work early, and during the day I ensure ownership of tasks is well understood by owners, to keep things moving. When tempted to procrastinate, I ask myself, "What more will I know tomorrow about this than I know now?" If the answer is "Nothing," I act.

Favorite Book: A book with a lasting impact on me is Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. Although it's not without controversy, the book helps illuminate issues about the tremendous inequities in standards of living around the world. Far from the credit those of us in economically-developed nations like to give ourselves, we learn that the vagaries of geography have been overwhelming historical determinants of how we live today.

If I could, I'd spend one hour with: If my wife is reading this, the answer is "You, honey!" Otherwise, I might choose Thomas Jefferson, both to be in the presence of such brilliance and to try to grasp the thinking behind the incredible democracy he and others crafted. I...