If the only thing we ever pull from a bad situation is a story we can share in the next woe-is-me competition, at least it was good for something. Just kidding, no one wants to hear that crap. Well, almost no one. I’ve often heard that a small percentage does indeed want to hear how tough we have it...

I’ve often heard the phrase, “Life is tough. It’s even tougher if you’re stupid.” As harsh as that may be, here’s some context: I could share dozens of difficult situations I fought through in my teens and early twenties, most of which were self-induced, that could have provided me with far more val...

Five miles or so from where Cindy and I have lived since we got married, there's a giant oak tree by a sharp turn on a gravel road that could have spelled my demise had I been two feet farther to the right. It was 1995 and I was on my way to meet some friends to engage in a variety of inappropriate ...

As Cindy and I built the “FRAMEWORK for Applying The Values Advantage”, a comprehensive program designed to guidance organizations through the process of putting their core values into practice at every level, we wanted to be sure that it provided practical steps for defining and implementing specif...

The foundation we establish in every professional relationship supports the structure it’s based on. But without an allowance for adapting the framework as needed, that foundation won’t hold. In fact, construction standards in earthquake prone areas detail this specifically. An article called “Stren...

For me, measuring relational success at a high level is simple but would require a tremendous amount of time to list all the specifics detailing the who, how, and why behind it all. In fact, the examples I’ve provided to this point through each aspect of our look at leveraging leadership growth have...

I’ve based everything we’ve looked at to this point on the idea of Leveraging Leadership Growth and the strength you and I can each gain through great professional relationships. The framework for relational leadership is crucial, intentionally integrating humility and investing appropriately so we ...

Assuming we’ve taken the time to establish a relational foundation, the most effective way we can integrate humility into the structure is by continuously investing in the framework. In most cases, the idea of investments ties to finances. For a long-lasting framework that truly leverages leadership...

I’ve referenced humility multiple times throughout our look at leveraging leadership growth; that hasn’t been accidental. Without intentionally building a humble approach into each, we can’t reasonably expect to develop real strength through great professional relationships - if we can establish tho...

We wrap up the first half day session of our Recruitment, Retention, & Culture course with a lesson called “An Ethical Culture with Real Diversity & Inclusion.” The terms diversity, equity, & inclusion have been smeared through the headlines over the last several years, with both praise and condemna...

I’ve often heard the phrase, “Your network is your net worth.” While I haven’t spoken to that from a financial perspective to this point, the strength we can each develop through great professional relationships will definitely yield success in just about any aspect of our lives that we’re willing t...

Throughout this look at the strength we can each gain by building great professional relationships, I’ve referenced several of the amazing leaders I’ve had the privilege of learning from. I’ve also worked with some absolutely brilliant people over the years. That said, those two traits didn’t always...