Tom Fox is the former physician and current gifted photographer whose inspiring images grace the pages of The Nature of Excellence. This majestic image is one of Tom’s "flower-scapes" in the Wind River Range (near the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming). The amazing proliferation of alpine sunflowers leads the eye to the beautiful, secluded lake below—while…
The Christ the Redeemer statue is one of the new seven wonders of the world and a cultural icon for Rio de Janeiro. A past summer Olympics cemented this image into the minds of millions. What really struck me was this video of workers making repairs from lightning damage. The workers take a real walk of faith on several levels (starting at 1 min.…
I have a family tradition of writing and reading letters to each family member for holidays, birthdays, and special occasions. The letter might contain encouragement, advice, a blessing, a reflection, or a story. I hit a milestone birthday a couple of years ago... yep, I turned 40 :). So, I wrote this letter to my…
When was the last time that you did something for the first time? Last year, I mentioned to my husband that I wanted to learn stand-up comedy. It made me nauseous to think about it, but I knew I needed to lean into it so I could grow. So, a few months later, Lee bought…
After hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of flights around the world were forced to land at airports that weren’t their intended destinations. A whopping thirty-eight of these rerouted planes touched down in the small…
Although it’s an ambitious goal to change the world as a whole, we often underestimate our singular power to positively change the world for those around us. While we might not all be Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or Martin Luther King, Jr., each of us has the power to change someone’s world with the gift of…
The book, Stick with It: Mastering the Art of Adherence, describes how reinforcing rituals creates connections that ignite passion for any team or family. Rituals help ignite passion, which is one of three components in the Adherence Equation: For years, I have written personal “Letters from Dad” to my wife and each of my three children…
When Sara was a student, she was a terrible test-taker and had a very hard time retaining what she read. At 16 years old, her parents separated, and she lost a close friend who was run over by a car while they were riding bikes together. This trauma, coupled with Sara’s learning struggles, created intense…
About 350 years ago, a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year, they established a town site. The next year, they elected a town government. The third year, the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness. In the fourth year, the people tried…
We have been blessed with the opportunity to serve hundreds of CEOs since we started our leadership advisory business. Our clients lead Fortune 1000 enterprises, mid-market companies, and smaller, growth businesses. We continue to grow with them and learn from them. So, in this new series, we will share the best leadership advice that one of our…
