Jeralidine Williams is a prominent leader who lives in Tampa.  I was reading a feature about her in Forum, which is the magazine published by; The Florida Humanities Council, a group chaired by our CFO Casey Fletcher. She was asked in the interview what advice that she gives to younger people.  She said that she recommends to her 14-year-old grandson that he should “travel, study and listen so that he can learn about others.” Travelling […]

  “At some point in every game, somebody’s going to give in and I don’t ever want it to be us.  We want to be the last team standing.” – Roy Williams, University of North Carolina basketball coach   There are many of life’s events that are defined by whether you quit.    Think about it.  There are habits we try to create.  Programs of study we try to complete. Exercise routines we try to […]

Can I take a moment of privilege here? You guys compliment me from time to time on writing these notes.  I learned to appreciate writing by reading.  My mom taught English and put books in my hands at an early age.  Very quickly, if I had a book, I wasn’t any trouble to anyone. Sports Illustrated, the magazine, was one of my favorite reads.  It was quality journalism and storytelling all wrapped into one publication.  […]

Where do you derive “energy”? Here’s the concept I read about in Dr. Henry Cloud’s book – Integrity. He says that the 2nd Law of physics deals with “entropy”.   It says that when a system is left to its own resources, it will cease to grow.  If a system isn’t growing, it will begin to die.  It will break down over time. Have you ever walked into an old shed and observed the tools left […]

“A leader that won’t listen to others will eventually be surrounded by people that have nothing to say.” – Andy Stanley What’s the climate like at work? I believe that communication ought to be constant, transparent and courageous.  The stage for those three things to happen is set by a leader who listens well. The best teams communicate constantly.  Encouragement flows.  Teaching and sharing are a mainstay.  Total, constant communication means everyone takes their turn […]

“I can live with just about anything, but not lack of effort.  If you want to play in the game, you must give me 100%”.  – Roy Williams, University of North Carolina basketball coach. Effort is a funny thing.  It’s personal.  While we can notice when someone’s effort seems under par, the level of your effort is governed by you. You’re the only one who knows if there is more to give.  You’re the one […]

David Neeleman founded the airline Jet Blue.  It’s known as an innovative, low cost, customer service-based airline. When he started the company, Neeleman felt like they would need “nice” people to develop the culture he sought.  A “go to” question that was used in interviews was: “At work or in life, can you describe a time when you left your area to help someone else?” He said that they were surprised at how often that […]

I was exposed to a great business teacher over 40 years ago.  His name was Eugene Jennings. His lectures included many powerful models that remain in my head.  It’s rare a day passes that I don’t use one. One was called the APD Triad.  Jennings conviction was that most of us would find our careers featured “mobility”.  In the course of a career, new assignments and environments would come upon us. Jennings said we would […]

When was Hope introduced into your vocabulary? If you’re like me, it was when you were a young kid. I think my Mom taught it to me. When I wanted something, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen, she might say “we can hope” We could “hope” someone could get well.  We could “hope” someone would win.  We could hope someone might come for a visit or go out for dinner.  There was always […]

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously.  And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Our forefathers got it right when they decided to set aside a day to express our gratitude. Think about that time.  Many who came were disenfranchised.  They were seeking a place for a “fresh start.”  […]