I invite everyone to choose forgiveness rather than division, teamwork over personal ambition. – Jean-Francois Cope One of my passions is fly-fishing, which I enjoy not so much for the fish, as for the experience. Truth be told, I rarely catch anything worth keeping. I enjoy fly-fishing because, most of the time, you see the fish and then use a combination of skill, equipment and luck to try to catch it. I say you see the fish, but that is only if you are wearing polarized glasses. With … [Read more...]
Why I Don’t Believe in New Year’s Resolutions
My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out. — Ronald Reagan I do not set New Year’s resolutions; I set goals. The reason being, I rarely meet anybody who puts real thought into their resolutions. They usually arrive sometime between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve and discover that they are 40 lbs. overweight, or that smoking probably isn’t going to add years to their … [Read more...]
Leadership Interview: Jeff Shinabarger
As I gain access, I never want to forget my responsibility to forge pathways of access for others. – Jeff Shinabarger Jeff Shinabarger is a social entrepreneur and the author of More or Less and Yes or No. Jeff is Executive Director of Plywood People and has a vision to make Atlanta a center for social innovation, while personally engaging in over 100 problem solving start-ups. I am truly delighted to have Jeff with us on The Always Forward Leadership Podcast. Today’s conversation is … [Read more...]
So What Happens Now: 4 Ways to Lead after the Election
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. —Publilius Syrus It seems that, as of late, everywhere we look we find civic divide and hostile discourse. This environment makes it difficult for many leaders to meet a commitment to lift up men and women who want to lead or have the capacity to lead. Do not fall victim to that mentality. Great leaders do not add to the division with emotionally-charged conversation, but, instead, focus on what is in their hands at the present time. And when … [Read more...]
Trade-off
You will never feel truly satisfied by work until you are satisfied by life. – Heather Schuck A few years back I listened to Shonda Rhimes as she shared the commencement speech at Dartmouth. In this 25 minute speech she attempts to answer the question every leader is asking, “how do you do it all?” She concluded with, “you don’t.” If Shonda Rhimes is rocking and receiving an award for her latest show, then she is not at home working on homework with her three daughters, if she is at home … [Read more...]