Today, my blogging starts from a place of reflection. It's because next week we are hosting client and friend Joseph Otting for the October Good Leadership Breakfast. He's flying in from Washington D.C. where he's the second most powerful person in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. So here is my chain of reflective thought: How did I meet Joseph Otting? What work did we do together that made us so close? How did Otting become the head of banking in the USA? What will people hear that will be surprising? On our very first coaching call he said:

The U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles, California, was a stimulating reminder of how our latest book project began. The pathway for spreading goodness through good leaders had me in Los Angeles for most of last week. While breaking a sweat on my morning walk, I had one of those blast from the past, "Shazam" moments. While walking [...]

Journalists (me included) like to hype the story that has branded Pahoua: her family immigrated from Laos under hardship, landing in America, aided in part by a good Samaritan who adopted their family. She thrived in school, was the first in her family to go to college and finish graduate school. But, that's not what left the biggest impression.

Here's a question that's likely to be a surprise - a curve ball coming out of the blue. I wonder, do you have the space in your life to let goodness grow around you? I’m asking that question because I caught myself saying one particular word a lot within the past 3-4 weeks. I often said it aloud with people, and even more often said it to myself in my inner mind. It’s a word that stifles momentum and sends a weird message into our psyche… that word is:

Ten days from today we'll host another Good Leadership Breakfast, and I'm especially excited about this one. Here's why: One of my most gratifying roles as the CEO of Good Leadership Enterprises is selecting and inviting the speakers for our breakfast series. Silly me, I thought it would get easier as the breakfast grew. With so many good choices, it helps immensely when someone from our circle of friends makes a strong recommendation. That's how I met Pahoua Hoffman.

Yesterday was Labor Day in the USA. Did you realize we take the day off to celebrate our jobs? Yesterday was Labor Day in the USA. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century, and became a federal holiday in 1894. It's also popularly known as the "last day of summer" in America, because [...]

Last Friday was our biggest Good Leadership Breakfast event since we started in 2010. By encouraging our regular ticket-holders to bring a "young leader" for free, we added 118 young people to the attendance. But, that wasn't the only reason we had new people in the room. Here's why:

One of my favorite goodness concepts is nothing significant ever happens alone. And never has that been more true than what happened at the Masters Alliance Young Leaders episode of the Good Leadership Breakfast Series. One hundred and eighteen young leaders attended at the invitation of ticket-holders to hear this compelling message:

Thank heavens leadership styles have changed. For readers around my age (that's 55), perhaps you will remember this: A recurring joke on the popular 1980s NBC sitcom Cheers comes from the voice of the beleaguered accountant Norm, who frequents the fictional Boston bar named Cheers. One exchange is particularly memorable and relevant to our Goodness Pays discussion:

Next Friday, August 17, 2018, is the Masters Alliance Young Leaders session of the Good Leadership Breakfast Series. Before back-to-school-time, our intention is to honor and inspire young leaders to live their lives on the idea: Goodness Pays. But, rather than having the message come from a parent-figure, we've reached into the realm of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Minnesota to identify a young leader whose path today has been shaped by a miraculous set of twists and turns. Here's the story of our speaker, Lindsey Riley: