• Deferred Maintenance Is Not Just an Organizational Problem

    It’s hard to believe that at nearly 55 years old, I am in the best shape of my life. Just making that statement seems strange. But it didn’t happen by accident. It started when I lost a lot of weight between 2017 and 2018. You can read about that here. But losing weight was only…

  • What Does an Interim Executive Actually Do?

    Often, when board members or other nonprofit leaders hear the term “interim,” they immediately think of a placeholder. And that’s not surprising. It’s not unusual for a board, upon hearing they are losing their CEO, to make a knee-jerk reaction and appoint a past board chair or an internal staff member as the interim. While…

  • Apparently My Lunch Was a Leadership Strategy

    Several years ago, one of my staff members asked me a very odd question. She said, “Do you eat the same meal for breakfast and lunch every day?” As I thought about the question, I became a little self-conscious because I knew the answer immediately. I thought to myself, Gosh, I am really boring and…

  • Certified, Temporary and Fully Committed

    There are times in life when something new gets added to your story and you immediately realize it was not really new at all. It was just another piece of the puzzle finally finding its place. Recently, I was officially certified as an interim executive through Armstrong McGuire’s Interim Management Institute. After sharing the update…

  • Changing my Latitude Changed my Attitude

    This year, I will make my fourth annual pilgrimage to Key West. What is it that’s so special about this place? It’s not the white sandy beaches of Florida’s Gulf Coast or the clear blue-green waters of the Caribbean. No, Key West is something unique. My very first trip to the Keys was to celebrate…

  • When a Total Loss Becomes a Fresh Start

    “A car is not just a machine; it is a story. It is a collection of memories, a witness to our lives, and a reflection of our souls.” — Enzo Ferrari Spring in North Carolina always produces beautiful flowering plants and trees. However, with that beauty comes the persistence of that crazy yellow substance that…

  • Water the Seeds You’ve Sown

    Why Thank-You Notes Still Matter I don’t know about you, but growing up, my Mom was a stickler for writing thank-you cards. I can still hear her voice on the phone saying, “Jimmy, did you remember to write your Gran and thank her for your birthday card?” I knew it was a big deal, but…

  • The Ferris Bueller Formula for Staying Positive

    If you’ve ever worked in an office, you know the feeling of coming in on a Monday exhausted from the weekend. You want to sit down, fire up your computer, and disappear into your work until it’s time to go home. But there’s always that one person in the office who is always in a…

  • Four Leadership Traits That Sustain Great Association Leaders

    Over the past few weeks, we’ve unpacked what it means to “Be the Unicorn” in the association world. We’ve explored traits centered around action, mindset, adaptability and growth. This final group of traits feels especially important to me because they focus on influence, relationships and purpose. As an association professional for over 25 years, those…

  • Be the Unicorn Part 2: Leadership Traits That Help You Think Ahead and Grow

    Last week, we started unpacking what it means to “Be the Unicorn” in the association world, focusing on four traits centered around action: Fast, Authentic, Agile, and Solver. This week, we shift a bit. These next four traits are less about how leaders act in the moment and more about how they think, prepare, and…