Do I believe the best in others? This is a question that I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. Because believing the best in others is not something to be assumed; you must be intentional in checking the lens you’re looking through when viewing others. John Maxwell teaches a simple exercise to help cultivate the practice of valuing people – “put a 10 on their heads.” What he means by that is, give each person a score of 10 when you meet them (on a scale from 1 to 10 of course!). As you put a 10 on their head, you will find yourself believing the best about that person. You can imagine how dra ..read more

Photo Credit: (KY3) As I stumbled for my alarm at 3:00 a.m. on my first day on the job as a street washer, I wondered what I was getting myself into. CBS had asked my company to participate in its hit reality show Undercover Boss. As the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) at that time, I’d agreed to work at Silver Dollar City, our original theme park in Branson, Missouri. I had no idea that what was about to transpire would change my life and my leadership approach forever.   Before coming to HFE as CEO, I had spent 20 years in the auto industry where I witnessed mostly an a ..read more

The John Maxwell Enterprise Announces an Innovative Partnership Series for 21st Century Leadership: The League of Extraordinary Leaders The globe’s premier leadership organization shares a fresh strategy for expanding leadership training and influence through a series of strategic partnerships with five unique thought leaders and their organizations. Every significant brand—especially those built around a game-changing personality—arrives at a point where thought must be given to how it continues its growth beyond the energy provided by the founder. Sadly, most don’t develop that plan early e ..read more

Photo by SHaHraM Anhari on Unsplash This message is excerpted from the book Life Coaching for Successful Women: Powerful Questions, Practical Answers by Valorie Burton. Research shows that resilient people think differently. They have a set of skills – sometimes learned, other times innate – that allow them to persevere, manage stress, and triumph in the face of challenges. In the midst of your current challenges, which of the five traits of resilient people is it time to lean on? 1. They are authentic.Resilient people are at peace with their humanity. Perhaps it is because their mi ..read more

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash How can we build Great Teams within our organizations? And how can we sustain excellence once Greatness is captured? To find answers, where might we turn for a model of success? I suggest you start with USA Basketball. The collection of elite NBA and college basketball talent once known as the Dream Team lost its way a few years ago – as many successful teams do – and was in desperate need of a reboot when it turned to Mike Krzyzewski from Duke to serve as head coach. Krzyzewski understood that Team USA’s problem wasn’t one of talent; it was one of culture. I ..read more

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our lives. We went from a booming economy to great uncertainty almost overnight. We have seen illness, death, job loss, social unrest, increased anxiety, and a loss of normalcy in our lives. We are grieving over many things, including the sense of security many thought we possessed. But the truth is, the only things we can control are our own reactions and attitudes to what is put before us!  As we start to wind down 2021 and set our mind to a better 2022, I think we should seek to live out the universal commandment to love others.  No matter your faith ..read more

Photo by Matt Noble on Unsplash There’s a difference between a movement and a promotion.  A promotion starts big but quickly fades.  A movement starts small but eventually builds.  As leaders, we should be about movements — building something that lasts over time.   Many organizations spend more energy promoting events and products instead of reinforcing vision.  Sure, promotions have their place.  The problem is they compete with the language of the organization.  A promotion requires volume.  A movement requires vision. Think of it this way.  Your ..read more

A few weeks ago, I was sitting on the front row at a conference, preparing to go on stage and share how servant leadership can transform a culture. This is the message that’s been heavy on my heart for some time now; I could feel the excitement build within me as I imagined the people this message would help. Just before my time to speak, I paused to reflect on everything our country—our world— has been through over the past year (plus). As I looked back on our collective journey, I became overwhelmed—with gratitude. Gratitude for two main reasons: The ability and opportunity (at 76 years ol ..read more

Photo by Adem AY on Unsplash I recently enjoyed a few days of rest with Margaret, my wife. We were able to spend time together doing the things that we love, right in the middle of the busy summer season. Now that COVID restrictions are changing, in-person events are coming back, which means my calendar is filling up again with incredible opportunities to add value to leaders all around the world. Add to that the digital conferences that are now a mainstay of business culture, and the fact that we have studio space where I can go to record videos or host live broadcasts like Mondays with Maxwe ..read more

Photo by Caterina Berger on Unsplash This Saturday, I will turn 74 years old. Like most birthdays when you get older, I’ll celebrate in some way with my family and friends, but for the most part I’ll treat it like most other days: focused on the mission of transformation. But that doesn’t mean I won’t reflect on my life and what I’ve been blessed to accomplish over its course. I’ll spend a lot of time thinking about the lessons I’ve learned in seven decades. Of course, I’ve been doing that for a while now. Seventy years is a long time—and that means there are plenty of lessons to learn, from b ..read more