National champion Mike Doss shares how Buckeyes prepared him for business success

Mike Doss, an alumnus of The Ohio State University and a national championship-winning Buckeye football player, recently returned to the Columbus campus to share how he translated the leadership lessons he learned on the field to the business world.

Doss was one of the keynote speakers at the Ohio State Center for Operational Excellence (COE) 2025 Summit at the Fawcett Center. The event brought together business professionals from around the nation to exchange ideas and best practices.

A Canton native, Doss is just one of eight three-time All-Americans in Ohio State history, according to the College Football Hall of Fame. As a senior in 2002, he served as co-captain of the Buckeyes team that won the national championship. He is an inductee of the College Football Hall of Fame and the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.

After graduating from Ohio State with a bachelor’s degree in communication, Doss went on to play in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts, the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals. He won Super Bowl XLI as a member of the Colts.

In 2019, Doss earned a master of business operational excellence (MBOE) degree from Ohio State.

“In Mike, I saw a leader who leads by example, a teammate who lifts others up, and a friend who genuinely cares,” said Laurie Spadaro, director of admissions and operations for Fisher College of Business executive degree programs.

After retiring from football, Doss reinvented himself and launched a successful business career, starting with medical equipment sales.

“I had to start my next journey,” he said. “I had to learn medical terms, had to learn putting on scrubs, putting on masks, and actually learning procedures, … being able to adapt, the same disciplines as an athlete, taking those same disciplines every day, learning the business.”

By applying the tenacity that he developed as an athlete to the business world, Doss became a successful sales representative, Spadaro said.

“His competitive nature served him well in this industry, and he became known for his consistency in meeting or exceeding sales goals by building strong relationships with key influencers and decision-makers,” she said. “He was a top performer year after year, achieving the president’s club award several times over his tenure.”

After a decade in medical sales, Doss realized he needed to pivot again. He sought a different career that would enable him to spend more time with his wife and three children. That decision led him to return to Ohio State, earn the MBOE degree and transition to real estate sales.

“At the end of the day, I love sales. I want to work with people, I want to interact with people,” he said. “I took those same experiences, those same disciplines that are about continuous improvement that I learned in MBOE, and I do it in real estate on a daily [basis]. It allows me to live my life and be able to raise my kids and be a dad.”

Doss said he continues to draw on and pay forward the lessons he learned as a Buckeye – in business and in life. He encouraged summit attendees to assess how they can align their actions with what matters most.

“When you stop growing, you start declining. How are you refining your tools? How are you training yourself, continuously improving yourselves in your current careers?” he said. “How are you improving your skillset?”

The COE 2025 Summit also featured keynote presentations by nationally recognized business advisers: Brodie Riordan, an organizational psychologist and executive coach; management consultant Sarah Tilkens; leadership coach Leah Roe; and journalist and author Celeste Headlee. Workshops and presentations included building a culture of continuous improvement, problem-solving strategies and navigating change.