Square Peg, Round Hole
Square peg, round hole is one of my go to phrases in moments of frustration. It enters my mind and accelerates to the tip of my tongue in those moments. I am grateful that it tends to stay there…most of the time! There was a toy that most of us played with in our infancy. It was a simple, wooden toy. The toy set included a wooden mallet, three different shaped pegs, and three correlating holes. The set is complete with a round peg, round hole; star peg, star hole; and square peg, square hole. The intention is that each one fits in its respective hole. We are
Shortcuts Can Bypass
Shortcuts can bypass so many valuable lessons in a leader’s journey. One of my Father’s Day gifts to myself was a little solitude in the form of exercise. I got up early before the rest of the fam did and hiked Kennesaw Mountain. I hadn’t made the climb in a while, but it didn’t take long to see a new feature to the trail. Shortly into the hike I saw a newly installed split rail fence. It was in an area where the trail I use intersects with another trail. From there, the two trails become one. A primary rule of the park is to stay on the designated
Growing Tomatoes and People
The process of growing tomatoes and people have a lot in common. Yes, tomatoes and leadership! A gardener tends to the growth of plant, a leader tends to the growth of people. The intentions of a gardener and a leader are the same, growth of what they care for. There are nine and a half acres in Canton, Georgia that are extremely special to me. It is a piece of property that my Maw Maw and Paw Paw bought back in 1996 that we fondly refer to as, “The Land.” I spent many springs and summers as a teenager gardening alongside Paw Paw there. I learned the value
The Dark Seasons of Leadership
No leader is exempt from dark seasons of leadership. There are only two types of leaders, the ones who have walked through a dark season and the ones who are about to. That doesn’t sound very inspirational, does it? No matter how strong of a leader you are, consistently great is not realistic. There will be speed bumps and hurdles that create dark periods in our leadership journey. Darkness can invoke a lot of emotions: fear, loneliness, depression, uncertainty, anxiety, and sadness. You name it. It can be downright scary and leave you paralyzed. Darkness offers no hope. So, what do we when the lights go out in our
Would I Give My Life for Others?
Would I give my life for others? That is a question I wrestle with internally every Memorial Day. In a weekend that can be dominated by sports tournaments, cookouts, and vacations it can be difficult to find the space and solitude to adequately reflect on the magnitude of this question. If you asked this question to most people regarding their immediate family and dear friends, the answer would be yes. But what if it was for a complete stranger? Those people that we have never met? The people with differing views, or even our enemies? Would you? For those we remember and honor this weekend, their answer was
The Great Gift of Grace
We tend to lack the willingness to give the great gift of grace in this world. People are tired, stressed, and burned out. They are leaving the workforce in record numbers. Energy, patience, and resilience are depleted with no time for replenishment. This concept was placed on my heart through a discussion with our leadership team recently. We had just watched an episode of the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast titled Leading Out of a Crisis. The concept of giving our team grace came up in the discussion following. Our organization is not immune from the employment shortage crisis. Our success remains on the backs of those who continue
Playing the Long Game
Playing the long game is a good leadership strategy. My entire adult life has been spent coaching youth sports. Over those twenty-two years, I have learned that it’s not about winning early, it’s about winning later. I coach my son Grant’s 12U recreation baseball team. We just wrapped up our spring baseball season this past Saturday by winning the Acworth Baseball League Championship. We made an impressive run in the end of season tournament outscoring our opponents 46 to 11. Here is the deal though, the winning didn’t start Saturday, it started four months ago. The coaches and myself put measures in place early, to make sure we
Fear Less
Throughout our lives we are told to be fearless, but isn’t it more attainable to fear less? When I think of fearless, I think of the complete absence of fear. That just doesn’t exist. Regardless of how strong we may think we are, we will never be absent of it. When I think of fear less, I think of minimizing it in our lives. The same eight letters form each of these concepts, but one has a gap. A gap that pauses just enough to acknowledge fear, but shows the healthier quantity of it in our lives, less. Where is Fear Found? Webster’s Dictionary defines fear as,
Aim or Fire?
Aim or fire? Which one is it? Back in 2010, I served as the President of the Acworth Business Association. As President, you are responsible for the recruitment of board members to serve during your presidency. Networking is a critical piece to the success of any local business association or chamber of commerce. So, during the process of recruitment I reached out to a friend of mine, Parnick Jennings. He is a master networker. Parnick developed a program called, “Lagniappe.” The word Lagniappe in the Cajun world means, “a little something extra.” The program was basically our organization’s 101 program that acclimated new members. The event was always
Our Initial Investors
People who are the initial investors in something new are always positioned for a higher rate of return. Imagine what it would have been like to be an initial investor in Coca-Cola, Amazon, Google, Tesla, or any other company that has done extremely well in the stock market. You would probably be reading this post from your own island somewhere and not preparing to go to work! I think I would be a professional beach fisherman. Those that invested in these companies early, were paid out huge dividends later. The valuation of their initial investment is significantly higher than it was in the beginning. They invested a