Walk of Faith

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.…

10 Graceful Lessons

Here are 10 lessons Julie learned from her mom, Grace Davis. Julie shared these lessons at her mom's memorial service on Nov. 15, 1994, and we want to share them with you now: Always know how very special you are – God only made one of you.  Believe in yourself. Make connections, touch lives. Everyone…

Exercise Your Heart

  There is no exercise better for the HEART than reaching downand lifting people UP. - John Holmes Have a need? Help someone else succeed. If you are a servant leader at work or a servant leader to the world, take a moment to pause and lift someone up today. It's the fastest way to lift yourself up. Learn simple tips…

What Do You Believe?

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…

Are You Ready for Success?

One of our good clients shared his fortune with us that stated, "Your current plans are going to succeed if stick to them".   In 20+ years of helping clients with strategic planning and execution, this is virutally always a true statement. Very rarely have we found clients whose plans are way off base. Much…

Peace

My father was an artist, so we never purchased holiday cards.  Instead, he painted this Dove of Peace.  At the bottom right, he added in elegant, white script, "PEACE from The Colan Family." It became our family's signature holiday card for many years. So today I wish you peace in your heart, peace in your…

The Gift of The Present

The holiday season is hectic, so we will keep this post even shorter than usual. Here is our favorite poem that keeps things in perspective for us. We hope it does the same for you . . . Yesterday is History,Tomorrow is a Mystery,Today is a Gift,That’s why they call it the Present. May you…

Your Leadership Legacy: Live it Now

Inheritance is what we leave to others. Legacy is what we leave in them. Here is my favorite true story of living and leaving a legacy. In the early 1900s, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn’t famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for entangling the Windy City in everything from bootlegged booze and…

11 Reflections from Maya Angelou

Wake forest gate

When the great American poet, the late Maya Angelou, reflected on her life and learnings, she said, “I’ve learned that… No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. You can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three…

A Father’s Legacy

On March 4, 1914, my late father, Peter Colantuono was born and would soon become part of the Greatest Generation. Over 100 years later, I sit in my ergonomic office chair gazing out my window at a beautiful tree line. It’s a welcome mental break from considering a particular client’s challenge and polishing up a…