She thought I was joking. “No, seriously, I’m not joking.” “Yes you are – you’re pulling my leg.” “No I’m not.  That’s really what I hear.” My wife and I had been watching the national news.  A story came on about the latest internet sensation to capture social media across the country.  It’s the “Yanny or Laurel?” debate. Someone had …

“He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends” “A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense” I was thinking about these words of wisdom this week.  Basically they’re talking about “grace”. So what does it mean to be “gracious”? Being gracious to me is choosing …

“Dave, I’ve discovered that my comfort zone is outside my comfort zone.” What does that mean? “And I can’t remember the last time I went into work unafraid.” Ok, now I was really confused… Years ago, at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I was having lunch with a very successful entrepreneur in our community.  This leader had been successfully …

Under the watchful eye of his quarry he began to set the trap. Knowing that which he has hunting was insatiably curious, he actually created the scenario in which the hunted watched the creation of the very thing that would lead to its entrapment. Carefully the African tribesman bore a narrow channel into the side of the termite mound.  He …

The timing couldn’t have been worse.  We were right in the middle of our session when it happened. A fire alarm. Over 20 leaders were gathered for a 3 hour workshop on coaching.  Kim Ades from Frame of Mind Coaching was speaking to our TEC (The Executive Committee) group for executives.  We were all keen to learn more about coaching …

On a recent flight I watched the new King Arthur movie.  I was pleasantly surprised. Many of us are familiar with the legend of King Arthur to some degree.  I was vaguely aware of the story of a beloved English King named Arthur who had ruled with amazing grace and strength.  His true identity as the chosen king was publicly …

Who are you?  What do you do?  What do you say? These are the 3 aspects to every leader: Who you are.  What you do.  What you say.  Great leaders demonstrate integrity with all three.  Who they are is in alignment with what they do and say.  What they do is in alignment with who they are and what they …

Did you ever play catch with your dad when you were a kid? I was never a baseball or softball player, but I did play football.  My dad and I from time to time would pass the ball around.  Dad wasn’t much of a passer, but in his unique, awkward way he would get the ball across the yard and …

“Am I having a heart attack?” I don’t have time for this! “A staph infection in my elbow?” I don’t have time for this! “Skin cancer?” I don’t have time for this! Three leaders.  Three busy lives.  Three different stories of how schedules were interrupted by health issues.  Two are my clients, one is my story. Client number one owns …

What do Apple and Tesla have in common? George Blankenship of course.  George worked with both globally iconic brands as a senior executive. I recently had the pleasure of listening to George speak at our global leadership conference in San Diego.  George had the unique career opportunity to work directly with Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. He told this story …