Do you know what has happened 139 times?  The number 1 seed defeating the 16 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Do you know what has happened 1 time?  The number 16 seed defeating the 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Number 1 seeds are 139-1.  That auspicious loss was experienced by the Virginia Cavaliers.  Yeah, the same team that won the NCAA tournament this year.  And that quote by the coach became a frequent refrain this season after he heard it on a TED talk…

A new friend and client was regaling me with some of the extraordinary history of the early Coptic that his family emanates from.  He recently told me about how they give a new name to a person before they enter the priesthood in the Coptic faith.  It is such a rich and compelling picture that I haven’t been able to get it out of mind…

A lot of our conversations with leaders is starting to include the Enneagram.  It is an ancient typing system that has really caught fire over the last few years.  We actually encourage three typing tests because of their low cost, approachability, and unique insights they provide.  Each of these can be found online for free or very little cost…

After surviving a Holocaust experience, Victor Frankl became a psychotherapist and ended up in the Viennese hospital system where they had a tremendous problem with depression and suicide.  Translating and redeeming the horrors of his experience under the Nazis helped him create a simple three-step process that is now known as Logotherapy:

1. Identify a simple project that if you don’t work on, someone will suffer.  Something that makes the world a better place….

I’ve learned a lot about clarifying messages.  I heard a podcast, went to a conference, read a book, and then became a certified guide in a message clarifying process called “StoryBrand.”  Most of the other guides are in the marketing space and I suppose it is just another tool in their toolkit for how they help clients.

I think, possibly because I am not a full-time marketing person with experience and an expansive toolkit, it has become something way more than another tool….

I spent a lot of years trying to sanctify the life I had lived, the decisions I had made, and possibly even my family of origin.  The Baptist church I was baptized in at 19 said some really cool things about me coming “Just as I am” and the new bible I was reading said some pretty amazing stuff about forgiveness; past, present, and future.  I think I intellectually accepted all that, but I am not sure that I really believed…

Our family loves to have movie nights.  It has been a real challenge to find movies that we consider family friendly, but still meet the standard of a quality movie.  Finding something we feel is appropriate for our young teenagers that doesn’t insult their sensibilities is getting harder and harder.  

Recently we watched The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, a Netflix production that is available now on that platform.  Compelling storytelling of the true story of a drought-ridden farmer and his family in Malawi that are facing the extinction of their way of life.  A thinly educated…

I know the face well.  When I talk to individuals or groups of leaders, I have seen that face, those eyes, hundreds of times.  It is a look that says, “I know what you are saying is theoretically true, but it isn’t true for me,” or even… 

“You don’t know my life or circumstance.”

How do I know that many of them are thinking that?  Because I have heard it said so many times.  We talk a lot about the “unforced rhythms of grace” that Jesus talked about.  We reference that he said that we should …

We use a lot of business colloquialisms.  They are born of a mash-up of various coaching certifications, a lot of business book reading, numerous podcast listens, Kingdom theology, and 50 years of combined business management, consulting, and coaching.  They are standing the test of time and our resolve around them is deepening.

You often hear this talked about in terms of sales concentration for a company.  For example; “80% of our sales come from 20% of our clients”.  Or in the not-for-profit world it often sounds like “20% of the people doing 80% of the work” or “80% of our funding comes from 20% of the donors”.  Sometimes you will hear it discussed in terms of wealth distribution.  There have been numerous studies both domestically and internationally that show an approximate 80% of wealth being held in the hands of 20% of the population.

Maybe it is the fact that I sort of raised myself, making many of the decisions in my formative years that an adult typically helps guide.  Maybe it is the uglier self-protective side of my Enneagram 8 shining through.  Maybe it is the orphan spirit in me that sort of feels like I am on my own and in my own category.

But for whatever reason, I’ve never really been affected much by the wealth or power of other people.  I have had a relatively easier time being around people of significant means and not being particularly affected by that fact…

One of the most glorious gifts of the Kingdom is that, as redeemed, even the challenges, screw-ups, mistakes, and missteps of our lives, are to our further qualification.  Instead of disqualifying us from having an impact, they are actually the fuel or the experiential currency necessary to live an impactful life.

When I started to look at the low points of my life as preparation instead of disqualification, I went from victim to victor.  I am not disqualified, but even more qualified than most.  While I felt that I was running through a thick forest…

In the “Queen of Katwe”, Fiona is little. Economically, socially, and in pretty much every other way you might imagine.  She becomes fascinated with the budding chess club in her shanty town of Katwe, Uganda.  A young girl who seems even more little than her, tells her:

“In chess, the little one can become the big one.”

Fiona’s story is the stuff of inspiration and unearthed glory.  This is one to gather the family for a viewing.  From the first quote in my initial viewing of the trailer, I was hooked.

One of the most elusive destinations for leaders and organizations is “life-work balance”.  Everyone is trying to solve this problem.  So are we.

We have a bunch of tools and have helped a lot of leaders make progress in managing their time and schedules.  In fact, one of our informal metrics has to do with how many leaders we have worked with that have achieved enough margin through their owner-to-team-lead transitions, that they actually take Friday or some other day off.

Whether you are aware of it or not, your company has a billboard and it is right beside the highway of every person’s life.  What yours is saying and how to cultivate the feeling people have about it is crucially important to your future success.  Believe me, it is not blank.  It is saying something.

Ironically, studies show that “likes” or starred reviews are impacting decision making in far greater measure than personal referrals do.  They are one of the forms of billboards…

There is a show that my wife likes. Correction, there is show that my wife along with millions of other Americans like. The premise is this: find the worst looking house on the street in the nicest neighborhood and restore the hidden glory of the home. Take what is hidden beneath a bunch of decay, neglect, or just really poor design choices and restore it into the nicest house on the block.

I’ve had a series of conversations as a result of a podcast I heard.  The podcast talked about all the anticipation and expectation tied to the Christmas season and the somewhat ironic hurry everyone seemed to be in to exit that season.

For most of us, we live a life during the Christmas season that is dramatically different than how we live the rest of the year.

Rare is the week where I don’t talk to at least one person overwhelmed by their situation.  Typically it is in regards to their own life circumstance, but it is a fairly common occurrence to talk to a leader frustrated, confused, or overwhelmed by their organizational challenges as well.  The “reference system” of everything going on around us tends to crowd out any hope or expectation for change and a different future.  When we assess the litany of issues swirling around us, it is nearly impossible to imagine things getting any better.

There is a great story told almost 2,000 years ago, it goes something like this…

“A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”

Now, most of the folks I run with are doing many of the right things. They are attending religious services, going to small group studies, doing daily intentional things. In their work…