James 1

The Need for Self-Awareness

2024-03-01T08:37:21-06:00March 7th, 2024|Tags: , , |

Leadership expert, Holly Moore, shared with me that one of the ways to improve team communication is for us individually to become more self-aware. When we speak, for us it naturally feels like we communicated clearly and properly.   But that is not always the case for those on the receiving end.   Holly recommends that it can be valuable to periodically ...

All About Attitude

2023-10-15T00:30:31-05:00October 30th, 2023|Tags: , , |

One of my favorite quotes is from Chuck Swindoll about attitudes. He says, “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”   The workplace has both optimists and pessimists, but the ones who seem to shine are optimists. These are the people who see opportunities during trying situations, while the pessimists ...

Land Mines

2023-05-21T11:24:36-05:00June 9th, 2023|Tags: , , |

As I marvel at how radically different America’s culture has become, I’m concerned for the small business owners. Common sense decisions, like not allowing a man in a girl’s bathroom, can get you sued or destroyed in today’s world.   It reminds me of a war movie where the soldiers are at the edge of a field full of land mines. ...

Piercing the Small Business Ceiling: Part I

2023-01-28T11:20:55-06:00February 21st, 2023|Tags: , , |

Jeff is an entrepreneur who called me to discuss his business. Over the last five years, Jeff has grown his startup business to ten employees.   But now, Jeff feels lonely, depressed, and unsure of his ability to grow the business beyond where it is now. Jeff’s issue is not uncommon.   There are stages in growing a business when it ...

Preparing for the Storm: Part V

2022-06-29T13:40:24-05:00July 15th, 2022|Tags: , , |

In this series, we’re discussing preparing for economic storms. The fourth and last step I recommend is decreasing payroll.   Many large organizations start with massive layoffs without considering other solutions.   Previously, I worked for a bank that frequently downsized. One year, the bank creatively allowed 40-hour employees to shift to 35 hours a week.   This allowed many working mothers ...

Overcoming Discouragement

2022-05-05T19:59:17-05:00May 25th, 2022|Tags: , , |

As an optimist, troubles must stack up pretty high before I begin to feel discouraged. However, I had one of those weeks recently.   Our upcoming event was becoming overwhelming. We were experiencing some online problems and I learned of some customer issues.  The discouragement was building. I needed solitude.   As I took a car ride, I prayed and asked God ...

Entrepreneurial Perseverance

2022-05-02T13:00:55-05:00May 5th, 2022|Tags: , , |

NEXT, an insurance company, recently surveyed small business owners. They discovered that the changes in the marketplace with supply chain issues, difficulty in finding staff, and rising wages are causing burnout for many business leaders.  Nearly 40% of the more than 1,000 small business owners surveyed admit to feeling "frustrated" or "stressed" by the state of America's workforce. 35% of ...

God Made Me Do It?

2022-03-02T20:10:59-06:00December 23rd, 2021|Tags: , , , |

A friend asked me to participate in an intervention years ago. We met with a Christian leader who was threatening to leave his family to run off with someone from his church. Never had I witnessed how easily evil could overtake someone who had previously taught God’s Word. I was amazed when he stated that God wanted him to leave ...

Enduring Patience

2022-03-02T20:05:36-06:00December 22nd, 2021|Tags: , , |

One of my children has experienced a tough season recently. On top of losing a job, she and her husband also had multiple car problems, surprise tax issues and the stomach flu. As a parent, I wanted desperately to solve their problems. But I knew if I stepped in too soon, how would they learn the patient endurance that comes ...

Double Minded

2022-03-02T19:58:20-06:00December 21st, 2021|Tags: , , , |

Years ago, I was involved in planning a new school. We had a meeting where our launch team was seeking wisdom from a group of experts about who should be our target customer. Unfortunately, our launch team had our own agenda that significantly differed from the experts. Our team doubted their collective wisdom because of our personal biases. Months later, ...

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