Blast from the Past

Ted was born in Elko, Nevada, and spent his early childhood moving through small communities near Native American reservations, where his father worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Eventually the family settled in Globe, Arizona, where Ted graduated from Globe High School in 1978.

His parents basically told him to go out and find his way—and Ted has been doing exactly that ever since.  One of his first stops was his grandparents’ cotton farm in Casa Grande, where he learned about hard work and developed a fascination with cotton that would eventually shape much of his early career. He attended Central Arizona College before following his high school sweetheart, Debbie, to Tucson and the University of Arizona.

Yes, following Debbie turned out to be a pretty good decision. They eventually married, and she has been his rock throughout this remarkable journey.

After earning a marketing degree, Ted entered the industrial chemical business in Phoenix and quickly found himself handling major accounts. When a quality-control problem caused the company to lose an important customer, Ted took it hard—even though the problem wasn’t his fault.

So what did he do?  He went back to school.  Ted earned another degree, this time in agribusiness at Arizona State University, and returned to the world he had first learned about on his grandparents’ farm: cotton.

That decision launched an extraordinary chapter that would take him from Arizona to California, Memphis, Dallas and eventually around the world. Companies were bought and sold underneath him with almost comical regularity. Ted worked in cottonseed oil, computers, operations and international cotton sales and became an expert in premium Pima cotton.

Along the way, however, the confident young executive received some lessons he didn’t expect. After a workplace conflict, a boss gave him an ultimatum: take a Dale Carnegie course and learn how to work better with people—or find another job.  Ted took the course.

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Then came an even bigger dose of humility. At about age 30, after traveling the world and enjoying the perks of a successful career, he was sent to South Texas to work at the lowest rung of the operation, sorting cotton alongside migrant workers and prison laborers in brutal conditions without air conditioning.

Ted initially viewed the assignment almost as punishment.  Instead, he fell in love with the people.  Looking back today, that experience seems like one of those moments in Ted’s life that didn’t make sense at the time but would become enormously important later.

His career rebounded and once again Ted found himself traveling the world and buying and selling cotton. Eventually he raised his hand for another challenge: running a new raw-cotton-yarn division.

This time, though, Ted couldn’t make it work.  He tried everything he knew for a year, but the combination of market forces, relationships and a product that wasn’t quite right proved too much. His health, confidence and spirit suffered. Eventually Ted flew back to Phoenix and told his boss something that was incredibly difficult for a lifelong “can-do” guy to admit:

He couldn’t get it done.  Ted considered himself a failure.  In hindsight, it may have been one of the most important things that ever happened to him.

Ted had always been an idea guy, and one of those ideas was literally written on an index card: a better grooming table for professional pet groomers. He patented it, worked with an engineer to build it, developed the business and eventually sold the product and patent to an established pet-supply company.

And then, once again, Ted Taylor needed something new to do.  Enter a neighbor named Len, who was involved with a struggling aerospace company called Phoenix Logistics. Len believed Ted could help turn it around.  There was just one small problem.  Ted knew virtually nothing about aerospace—and not nearly enough about corporate finance to turn around a failing company.

Naturally, Ted said yes.  With the help of a mentor named Russ, Ted learned what he needed to know, worked with a management team filled with talented engineers, and helped turn the company around. That success led to three more turnaround assignments.

But Ted’s story was never going to be a straight line.  His last turnaround venture, in 2007–2008, included an ownership stake in a company with an idea that simply never caught on. They eventually sold the company and did okay financially, but at age 48 Ted once again found himself without a job and emotionally exhausted.

There was another deeply personal struggle as well. Ted and Debbie had been unable to have children despite years of trying. It was another disappointment Ted had to reconcile as he searched for meaning and wondered what he was supposed to do next.

And that brings us to perhaps the most unlikely chapter in the whole Ted Taylor story. He decided he wanted to sell men’s clothing at Nordstrom.  Why on earth would he want to do that we asked?  Because he thought he could help men feel better about themselves.

After repeatedly applying, Ted finally got the job. And he loved it. For five months he helped customers, rebuilt his confidence and began rediscovering the joy that had been missing from his life.  Then his pastor called.

For three years Ted had volunteered with Family Promise, an organization helping families experiencing homelessness. His pastor, who served as the Chairman of the Family Promise Board of Directors, called Ted and told him that the current executive director was retiring.  He wanted Ted to take over.

Ted was stunned. He didn’t even know how many employees the organization had.

Well the answer was two—including him.  But his pastor believed in him, and Ted began to realize something else: maybe all those strange turns in his life had actually been preparing him for this.  Within weeks of taking the job, Ted says his world opened up.

The businessman who had traveled the world selling cotton was suddenly speaking to churches and community groups about families in need. The man who had once worked beside migrant laborers was now advocating for vulnerable families. The turnaround specialist discovered that the most meaningful turnaround of his career might not involve a company at all.

And Family Promise began to flourish.  The debt Ted inherited disappeared. Supporters stepped forward. After touring the operation, one man returned with a check for $63,000.

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Then came another remarkable example.  In 2012, a family entering the shelter had a dog they desperately wanted to keep, but pets weren’t allowed. Ted couldn’t accept that the family might have to lose its pet simply because it had lost its home.

So he started looking for a solution.

That led to him meeting a very well placed executive at the PetSmart Corporation.  This person believed in Ted and the Family Promise mission.  He arraigned for the company to provide $54,000 to create a pet sanctuary within the facility. The idea grew from there, ultimately helping inspire similar pet accommodations throughout the Family Promise network.

That story seems to capture Ted Taylor better than almost anything else we heard.  See a problem. Don’t assume it can’t be solved. Find people who can help. And then get to work.

When we asked Ted where those instincts came from, he talked about his grandparents. They never had much in excess, but they were among the most generous people he knew—to their workers, their neighbors and anyone else who needed help.

Eventually Ted realized that perhaps the blessings, failures, successes and detours in his own life weren’t separate stories at all. They were preparing him to serve.

That lesson also connects beautifully with Scottsdale Leadership. Our organization teaches people how to work with others, build relationships and get things done for the good of our community.

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But there is another kind of leadership that can’t necessarily be taught in a classroom: how you respond when the plan doesn’t work, when you lose something important, or when what feels like failure forces you onto an entirely different path.

Ted would tell you that those moments don’t have to be the end of the story.  Sometimes they are simply the beginning of the next chapter.

As we finished our conversation, Ted told us he is beginning to wind down his tenure at Family Promise after transforming the organization just as he had transformed businesses so many times before.

But don’t expect Ted Taylor to simply ride off into the Arizona sunset.  He describes what comes next as “rewiring” his life so he can continue helping others in whatever way he can.

After hearing the story of this kid from Globe who became a cotton expert, international businessman, inventor, turnaround specialist, Nordstrom salesman and nonprofit leader, we have learned one thing:  Never try to predict Ted Taylor’s next chapter.  We just know it will probably involve helping somebody.  And we can’t wait to see what he does next.​​​​​

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