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Sad, isn’t it, that David Hurd’s career plan was such a failure? He and his Army buddy, Ed Pagliai, never did get that custom furniture business off the ground.

Back when hopes were still high, and all they needed were a couple of jobs so they could save up money for woodworking equipment, they were walking along High Street one day. Dave said, hey, what’s that place? Bankers Life, Ed replied.

They walked in, talked to the guy in charge of hiring, and he said, “Fellas, you’re in luck,” as Hurd recalls it now. “We’re going to hire 15 college graduates this year, and you’re the first two.”

That was in 1954. Almost 40 years later, Hurd stepped down as chairman, president and CEO of Principal Financial Group Inc., the successor to Bankers Life. So at least his fallback career plan worked out pretty well.

When J. Barry Griswell announced that he’ll give up those same job titles at the somewhat tender age of 59, it seemed like a good time to check in with Hurd. What it’s like to rise up to that level of responsibility? What’s it like to set it aside?

“There were long, hard days,” said Hurd, now 78, “but there was also a sense of purpose and accomplishment and so forth, which made me feel pretty good.” As Principal CEO, he was “practically on a shuttle back and forth to Washington, D.C.,” and every year seemed to add more responsibilities, he recalled, “but I don’t ever remember being in a state of exhaustion.”

In those days, the company had a psychologist on retainer who would come in three or four times a year to talk to senior management people. Hurd appreciated that. “It was an opportunity for me to think out loud,” he said, and helped with retirement planning, too.

The Principal board had made a rule that no one could keep working in a line position after the age of 65, so there was no mystery about when it would be time to clean out his desk. But then what?

The CEO job is an invitation to community involvement, and Hurd had accepted it. When the job ended, he said, “I never wanted to just step away from it all. But the abstract idea of going somewhere for a year appealed to me.”

He and his wife talked about living in France for six months, and Hurd started making preparations. “I was taking French classes at Drake, and I went to France and lived with a family for three weeks,” he recalled. But they never went through with the idea, and his wife passed away in 1999.

Hurd remarried in 2002, moved to The Plaza in downtown Des Moines, and he has never stopped playing an active role in the community. He works with the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, the Iowa Environmental Council, the Des Moines Arts Festival, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities … the list goes on and on.

“If you’re involved as a businessman, I have difficulty imagining that it disappears when you retire,” he said. “But if you were not involved, I don’t know that the odds are very high you’ll become involved.”

Hurd comes across as a man who knew how to make the most of his opportunities in the corporate world and who also knows how to live a full and rewarding retirement. “I kind of like being involved,” he said. “I like seeing what progress is being made.”

But what if they hadn’t been hiring that day in 1954? What if he had never been the CEO of Principal? Was his retirement completely shaped by his resume?

No matter how he had spent his career, “I would certainly be involved in community organizations,” Hurd said. “But how identical to this, I don’t know.” He allowed that at least one thing might be different. “Another guy and I put on some running races for a number of years,” he said. “I might well have done more of that.”

Enough with the theoretical. The reality is, life after the Principal peak has been good for Dave Hurd. He and his wife travel, he takes Spanish classes, rows, exercises, plays Scrabble … “I think I’ve pretty well done what I wanted to do over the last 10 or 15 years,” he said.

“I’m trying to figure out if I have regrets, but I don’t really think I do.” r