Definition Of Success – George McKerrow

November 26th, 2012

Often the most profound truths are stated with elegant simplicity.
George McKerrow, founder of Longhorn Steakhouse, in his fast-paced, ‘never say die’ world knows true success is not found in external ‘stuff’, awards or accolades. Listen to his simple, yet deep definition of success.

Success is out Ahead – George McKerrow

November 26th, 2012

Inspirational leaders have a common trait of forward thinking and movement. George McKerrow, Founder of Longhorn Steakhouse, is always facing forward ~ learning, leading and living. He shares candidly of mistakes and lessons learned, but focuses on success and how life is always in motion. Listen to the energy and enthusiasm in his voice and his spirit!

Home is Not a Street Address

January 4th, 2012

“A man should never neglect his family for business.”-Walt Disney

Home is not a just a street address. Home is a shelter from life’s storms. It is a place to begin again. Home is a place, not where they HAVE to take you in, but a place where they WANT to take you in. Home resides inside your heart, and that awareness evolves throughout our lives. An emotional “home” is created when someone loves us on our “being” and not our “doing”–even when we miss the soccer goal, don’t hit our numbers, or aren’t on top of our game. Home is a feeling within that “everything will be ok.” This doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen. Read more »

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

December 8th, 2011

“Every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds…to look from a higher plateau than the last generation.”

~Ellison Onizuka, Astronaut-Challenger

How does one navigate the treacherous crossing from the Information Age to the Inspiration Age?  How can you know for sure if your leadership is “sea-worthy” enough to withstand the tremendous sea change now transforming business in ways we can only begin to imagine.  With exponentially faster technology and a generation concerned with a moral imperative for higher consciousness in business, the inevitable transformation is already influencing leadership and accountability.  We are all striving to see past the horizon and peer into the future to anticpate vast complexities before they arise.  One thing is certain, the very fabric of time is changing.  Leaders must understand the scope of changes and adapt to meet them. Read more »

Profit, Inspiration, and the Future

November 23rd, 2011

Traditionally, CEOs focus primarily on growth and profit, and understandably so. This book offers an inside look at uniquely inspired leaders who live by their values to achieve growth and profit in their own unique way. As Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Less Traveled,” so beautifully depicts, we live in a life of difficult choices. In all of our decisions, in life and business, there is always a consequence of choosing which fork in the road to take:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Read more »

Turtle on a Post – An Interview with Dr. Betty Siegel

November 15th, 2011

Whenever you see a turtle on a post, you know the turtle didn’t get there by itself. Dr. Betty Siegel, former President of Kennesaw State University, discusses the life lesson we can learn from this fact and how we can apply this to brilliant leadership.

Let the Game Come to You

November 10th, 2011

Living here in Atlanta I am a huge baseball and football fan. The Atlanta Braves were doing well this year and leading by 8½ games in early September.  It looked like the playoffs were a sure thing! Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. They lost the lead and a chance of playing in the post-season.

Before the demise of the Braves was certain, Chipper Jones, who plays third base, said something to the team. Chipper is a 15 year veteran of the team and the young players look to him for counsel, advice and leadership. He commands a lot of respect and has shown himself to be a leader with his history of success. At one of the team meetings, he said, “Hey guys, we’re trying too hard. You have to let the game come to you.”

I was intrigued by the fact that a baseball player, Read more »

Leading from Essence

November 3rd, 2011

The Brilliant Leader Model™ shows a correlation between the leader’s internal resources and the outer circumstances which he or she faces. Ignoring this link can lead to an assortment of organizational problems, failures, poor attitudes, and bad relationships. Paying attention to the feeling inner side of the leader is the fastest way of creating value in the outer world of results. The ancient wisdom “As within, so without” works personally in life and professionally at the office.

The Brilliant Leader Model™ holds a reverent space for the value of a leader’s personal reflection time and spirituality. During scheduled quiet time, a leader demonstrates rejuvenating self-care which ultimately spills over into business empowerment, with an attitude of service towards others. While the soul is impossible to describe, we know its vibrant, expressive, and transformational qualities. What some may call their most powerful inner resource “potential,” the model refers to it as “core essence.” Read more »

3 Lessons Learned From a Brilliant Executive: Steve Jobs

October 25th, 2011

I recently heard about a book called “The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth”. The premise is that the Geeks, the Nerds, and the folks that were not very popular in High School have often become very wealthy. You can think of numerous examples: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, the Google guys – Larry Page and Sergey Brin. These brilliant minds are behind numerous tech related, web-based, social networks, programs and software that have really changed our lives. Generally, those that are the most successful in life are like most of us. They have played by the rules, done the right thing, and had a few wild ideas or occasional experiences along the way. Read more »

Leading on Shifting Sand

October 20th, 2011

Traditional leadership models focus on action, performance, and results. Leaders scrutinize and streamline critical external resources and activities to get results in ways that are better, faster, and smarter. While these essential objectives will always be relevant to business, a new leadership paradigm is emerging for the 21st century and beyond. While leadership models of the past did not fully address the human side of leaders, we now know it to be the most critical element in creating the ultimate, sustainable success for an organization. In business, the threat is no longer just the competitive “jungle out there” but also the lack of clarity within the leader. With longevity and legacy on their minds, CEOs are now adopting holistic models where thriving replaces surviving, where values of inclusion and collaboration replace the old school of exclusion and competition. In the wise words of Steve Green, a CEO from Savannah, Georgia, “Leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room but getting the smartest people in the room.” Read more »