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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…
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“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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Over the next few weeks, I’m unpacking the habits outlined in Be the Unicorn, not just as concepts, but as practical leadership traits that show up in the day-to-day reality of association management. My hope isn’t just that you recognize these traits in others, but that you begin to see where they already exist in…
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How many times do you walk past people and never even acknowledge them? Or worse, make a rude gesture because they cut in front of you in the Starbucks line or stepped into the elevator before letting others get out? And why would you even bother acknowledging anyone anyway? Most of the time, people have…
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William Vanderblomen realized something remarkable after 15 years of conducting executive searches. After combing data from that entire period, he identified a set of unique habits, traits, and attributes shared by the most effective leaders. He called them the “Twelve Data-Driven Habits that Separate the Best Leaders from the Rest,” outlined in his book Be…
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If you have known me for longer than eight years, you’ve heard or seen me talk or post about F3. My wife thinks I belongs to a cult. Apparently so do all of the other wives of other F3 guys across the country. I mean, we do get up at 5A, rain or shine, hot…