Today is a historic day for the United States of America; for the 59th time in our country’s history, we inaugurated a new president and vice-president, and began another chapter in our leadership history. As is common for inaugurations, there were a lot of words spoken about where our country finds itself and where the…

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In his book, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, the final quality John Maxwell describes is vision. While other 20 qualities help us understand a leader’s make up, it’s the final quality that helps us understand what makes a leader attractive. Without vision, a leader cannot lead. It is the quintessential piece of leadership.…

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One of my favorite lessons John Maxwell teaches is, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” The most important point is the first one—“A leader knows the way”—because if the leader doesn’t know the way it will be impossible to go the way and show the way.…

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“John, we have a problem.” As a leader, you get used to hearing those words. Challenges are a daily part of leadership. However, when this time when I heard them, I felt my stomach drop. I was young and had just left the church in Hillham, my first position as a leader. I had moved…

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Last week I talked to you about rewriting your story into one of significance. You may have been thinking more about how you can make a difference in the lives of others. Today I want to encourage you to think big: How can you partner with like-valued people to make a bigger difference than you…

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Culture seems to be the new emphasis for leaders these days. Five years ago if you would have brought up the subject, people would look at you blankly. Now, everyone recognizes its importance. Recently at a conference, I stated that I believe culture eats vision for lunch.  Afterward, someone asked me, “So does that mean…

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According to legend, when Alexander the Great saw that his empire stretched across the entire known world, he wept for there were no more kingdoms left to conquer. Whether true or mythical, the story powerfully portrays Alexander’s goal-drivenness. The ambitious general always set his sights on new lands to add to his domain. Once he…

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“Time waits for no man.” You’ve probably heard that saying. And it’s true; time marches on, and it’s up to us to keep up with it. We need to be conscious of the clock, or we’ll never make any progress toward our goals. But I believe there’s more to success than reaching goals. True success…

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How do you respond when a great opportunity presents itself? I’m a firm believer in finding and embracing new opportunities. But I don’t chase an opportunity without evaluating it according to some specific criteria. How do I evaluate an opportunity? I run it through a series of tests. Only after it passes them do I…

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Last month we focused on Gifts of Wisdom.  I wanted to blog about one of the wisest things John Maxwell has taught me.  “Invest in yourself more than others.”  Two things I have learned from John’s insight.  First, is one of capacity.  Spend more time, energy and resources developing yourself.  If you want to have…

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