David Stoeffler

Birthday: March 8, 1959

Hometown: Mount Hope, Wis.

Married: Since 1978 to wife, Rose

Children: Christine, 22

Self portrait: Loves hamburgers and fries, likes to be in charge, has lots of ideas, frequently frustrated by inaction or delay.

Bad habit: Too little exercise, poor diet.

Pet peeve: People who see conspiracies where none exist.

Most dangerous story: Standing on top of a nuclear reactor during an emergency shutdown (of course, there really was no risk — just perceived danger).

My newspaper’s strength: Employees who care.

Worst part of the job: Meetings where nothing gets accomplished.

Best part of the job: Hiring or promoting good people.

Vacation spot: Yosemite or any place with water or mountains.

Books at bedside: “How to Think like Leonardo DaVinci” by Michael Gelb; and “Kennedy” biography by Ted Sorensen.

Best advice I could give a 20-year-old: Find something you enjoy doing, then do it as well as you can.

My trademark expression: “Are we having fun yet?”

My best asset is: Following through on my commitments.

Behind my back, employees say: He spends too much time in his office.

I wish I were a leader like: My boss, Bill Johnston, who does the best job providing feedback to people.

My most difficult decision as a leader: Sticking with an employee performance evaluation that I expected would eventually lead to the employee filing a lawsuit against us.

My worst decision as a leader: Not finding a way to hire Brant Houston (now executive director of IRE) when he was interested in a job while I was city editor at the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison.

Tips on leadership: Be open to criticism and honestly try to adjust or change in response. Give people a vision and a reason why change is needed.

What I worry about most is: Finding a balance between work and personal goals.

I’m happiest when: Someone I hired or promoted does a good job.