This week, we welcome Tim Naddy, CFO of the Savannah Bananas—a team that has redefined what it means to create value for fans (and, not incidentally, built a wildly successful business doing it). But this conversation goes well beyond yellow tuxedos and sold-out stadiums.
At the center is Tim’s book, EDYM: Every Decision You Make, a deceptively simple premise that turns out to be anything but: every choice—large or small—carries weight, compounds over time, and ultimately shapes both outcomes and identity.
We explore how this philosophy plays out inside an organization famous for breaking every conventional “rule” in baseball. From pricing and fan experience to internal culture and leadership, Tim shares how intentional decision-making—not spreadsheets alone—drives extraordinary results.
Along the way, we challenge the notion that financial leadership is about control and compliance, and instead reframe it as stewardship of choices, trade-offs, and consequences.
Because in the end, every decision you make… makes you.
If you think being a CFO is about reporting the past, this episode might just convince you it’s really about designing the future.
SHOW NOTES
Segment one
Tim has a new book out! EDYM (Every Decision You Make): What’s the COST of the Dream? https://www.amazon.com/EDYM-Every-Decision-You-Make/dp/B0GSSND5Q3
The "Parable of the Broken Window" is a famous economic illustration by Frédéric Bastiat from his 1850 essay, "That Which Is Seen, and That Which Is Not Seen," explaining the concept of opportunity cost and the broken window fallacy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window
Did you know that Tim Naddy created a course at Savannah College of Art & Design (aka, “SCAD”) and personally teaches it??? https://www.scad.edu/academics/faculty/timothy-naddy
Regarding Tim’s accounting class at SCAD, an art and design school: “While I’m teaching cost accounting, there’s ways to mask it, so that you don’t feel like it’s accounting.”
Segment two
Derek Klena and the Savannah Bananas Mulan/Frozen medley https://www.tiktok.com/@ryansavosh93/video/7622148737275596045
From Broadway to the Savannah Bananas, here is Derek Klena’s Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Klena
Reese Alexiades of the Savannah Bananas https://thesavannahbananas.com/player-card/reese-alexiades/
"One Piece" Reese Walk-Up https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K_oMNYh7e6M
Segment three
“Our job as CFOs is to make sure that the math works. But in addition to that, we also have to be the best storytellers on the planet because what comes into our office are a bunch of different rivulets of all these different things that need to be managed. What comes out of our office needs to be a consistent message — a consistent framework — so people can trust what’s coming out of our office.” —Dr. Tim Naddy of the Savannah Bananas
THIS is why people love the Savannah Bananas: “We are always talking about enhancing the fan experience. So what can we do to help fans and remove friction points?” —Dr. Tim Naddy of the Savannah Bananas
Dr. Tim Naddy’s new book, EDYM (Every Decision You Make), teaches you to think like a CFO: understand the numbers, protect your cash, and make smarter calls so your business (and dreams) actually survive. https://www.amazon.com/EDYM-Every-Decision-You-Make/dp/B0GSSND5Q3
“At the end of the day, numbers have to make sense. There also is the other side of it. There’s so much more value that the number is not really telling you.” —Dr. Tim Naddy
Segment four
Fun fact: Dr. Tim Naddy low-key wanted to be in the Secret Service…and shot a 298/300 at firearms proficiency training!
A big THANK YOU to Dr. Tim Naddy of the Savannah Bananas for joining us today. Check out his brand new book, Every Decision You Make https://www.amazon.com/EDYM-Every-Decision-You-Make/dp/B0GSSND5Q3
Bonus Content is Available As Well
Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.
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