The term leadership was popularized and utilized so much that it became a buzzword. The result of the term being used so broadly is that it can lose its importance.

Every great organization (and even the mediocre ones) talk about developing leaders. But in times of uncertainty, when the customer counts are down and the future looks less certain, the work of building leaders moves to the backburner.

The saying goes something like this: "We don't have time for leadership work right now. We need to focus on the real issues."

Here are some of those "real" priorities:

• Enhance our brand positioning or perception
• Increase operational excellence
• Drive customer loyalty
• Improve employee retention

Here's the uncomfortable truth:

‍If you're focusing on any of those elements without addressing leadership first, you're guaranteeing failure.

Leadership has become what I call a "prosperity pursuit"—something organizations invest in when times are good. It's treated as a nice-to-have rather than the foundation that determines success in every other area.

This is backward thinking. Leadership isn't the cherry on top—it's the bowl that holds everything else.

Consider Captain David Marquet and the USS Santa Fe. When Marquet took command, the submarine ranked as the worst-performing vessel in the fleet.

One year later, that same submarine with the exact same crew became the highest-rated in naval history.

What changed? Not the equipment. Not the crew. Not the mission.

Only the leadership approach changed.

Marquet transformed a command-and-control environment into a "leader-leader" model that pushed authority to where the information lived. The results were extraordinary—and they happened during high-pressure situations, not during peaceful times.

Here's the paradox:

‍Organizations invest in leadership when they can afford to, but they need the results leadership provides when they feel they can least afford it.

When uncertainty rules,

• strategy without leadership is just wishful thinking
• culture without leadership is just empty platitudes
• operations without leadership lacks a commitment to excellence
• talent without leadership will leave

If you're facing uncertainty right now, here's my counterintuitive advice: Find time to develop leaders. Leadership isn't what you work on when everything else is going well. It's what determines whether anything else goes well at all.

During certainty, mediocre leadership can hide. During uncertainty, leadership quality becomes the differentiator between organizations that merely survive and those that emerge stronger.

Are you treating leadership as a "good times" luxury, or as the foundation that will determine your success through uncertainty?

Find some strategic people practices to double down on this week, even though times are challenging.

‍

Today is Tax Day. The good news, this post isn’t about taxes!

A few weeks ago, I found myself surrounded by some of the most successful executives and entrepreneurs I know. The conversations were fascinating, the connections valuable, but something struck me as the weekend progressed.

I noticed how many of these incredibly accomplished individuals—people who had achieved more financial success than most could dream of—were constantly comparing themselves to others at the table. Despite having beautiful homes, thriving businesses, and financial security, there was an undercurrent of discontent. They were measuring themselves against peers who had bigger exits, larger investment portfolios, or more impressive real estate holdings.

It reminded me of a story I've always loved about Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller. At a party thrown by a billionaire hedge fund manager on Shelter Island, Vonnegut mentioned to his friend Heller that their host had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its entire history.

Heller's response was profound:

"Yes, but I have something he will never have—ENOUGH."

I’ve talked about the Value Equation before. But this experience made me consider a new equation. Let’s call it the Satisfaction Equation:

The math here is straightforward but powerful. Most people try to increase satisfaction by increasing what they have.

“If I could just get a little more money…”
“If my house was a little bit bigger…”
“When I get my new car…”

The challenge is that as we increase what we have, we also tend to increase what we want, leaving satisfaction as this elusive thing that we can never fully experience. While this is a great motivator for us, none of us wants to live our lives in a state of perpetual unhappiness.

However, there is another way to be more satisfied: decrease what we want.

This isn't about settling or lacking ambition. Rather, it's about distinguishing between meaningful growth and the endless pursuit of more for its own sake.

One of the greatest threats to our sense of "enough" is comparison. In today's world, we're not just keeping up with our neighbors—we're comparing ourselves to carefully curated social media profiles, industry success stories, and wealth rankings.

When we allow our definition of "enough" to be determined by external comparisons rather than our actual needs and values, we surrender our potential for contentment to forces beyond our control.

So how do we have a proper perspective on satisfaction?

1. Define your personal "enough." What level of resources would truly meet your needs and align with your values? It’s helpful to define enough, and realize that as you progress in life.
2. Practice gratitude deliberately. Research consistently shows that gratitude recalibrates our perception of what we have. Find ways to be thankful for what you have.
3. Invest in experiences and relationships. When we focus on things, there will always be someone who has more. The real riches in life are relationships and time together.

I’ve heard it said, “Wealth is like sea water—the more we drink, the thirstier we become.” This truth applies far beyond money.

The truly wealthy person isn't the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least to be content.

‍

Last week I wrote about being a human being, not a human doing, and I was surprised at how much it resonated. Activity alone is not strategic. Instead, we must ensure we are working on the right things.

Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, would evaluate his day from the perspective of a lion, asking himself: “Did I chase mice or hunt antelope today?”

The concept is recounted in multiple books, including Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss.

A lion is fully capable of capturing, killing, and eating a field mouse. But it turns out the energy required to do so exceeds the caloric content of the mouse itself. So a lion that spent its day hunting and eating field mice would slowly starve to death. A lion can't live on field mice. A lion needs antelope.

Antelopes are big animals. They take more speed and strength to capture and kill, and once killed, they provide a feast for the lion and her pride. A lion can live a long and happy life on a diet of antelope.

The distinction is important. Are you spending all your time and exhausting all your energy catching field mice? In the short term it might give you a nice, rewarding feeling. But in the long run you're going to die.

So ask yourself at the end of the day, "Did I spend today chasing mice or hunting antelope?"

This isn't just clever imagery - it's the stark difference between busy leaders and effective ones.

In sales, your "antelope" are those strategic clients who can transform your business, not the dozen small accounts that keep you running in circles.

In leadership, it's tackling your organization's #1 problem head-on instead of obsessing over processes that barely move the needle.

The mice will always be there - those quick wins, those easy tasks that make you feel productive. They're tempting because they're immediate and visible.

But at the end of the day, a menu of mice still leaves you hungry.

Hunting an antelope requires more effort, more focus, more courage. Doing so demands that you say "no" to good opportunities so you can say "yes" to great ones. It forces you to think beyond today's satisfaction toward tomorrow's feast.

At the end of each day, ask yourself one simple question - "Did I hunt antelope or chase mice?" Your honest answer will tell you more about your leadership effectiveness than any performance review ever could.

We must make the decision daily to pursue the big opportunities instead of the small.

Last week, I returned from a stretch of travel only to dive headfirst into a whirlwind of activity: an event at my son's school, baseball games, recital practice, Savannah Bananas games, and church commitments. By Sunday afternoon, I found myself itching to tackle my to-do list for the upcoming week.

I'll be transparent with you: I'm wired in a way that the more I do, the more worthy I feel. It's a trap I fall into repeatedly – sometimes focusing more on quantity than quality, more on activity than accomplishment.

Do you ever feel that way? Do you find your worth in what you do, not who you are?

This mindset reminds me of a beautiful poem I recently came across about "A Girl Who Didn't Stop." She climbed every mountain without pausing at the top. She danced through fields until each blade of grass was covered in dew. The sun knew her name, and so did the moon.

But beneath this constant motion was a fear – "a fear of sitting still; that if you're not moving forward, it must mean you never will."

The poem concludes with a profound realization: "For she was a human doing, human moving, human seeing; but she had never really taken the time to be a human being."

The poem’s conclusion is a profound realization for me.

How many of us are "human doings" rather than human beings?

When we're constantly in motion, we miss the richness of life. We sacrifice depth for breadth, presence for productivity.

In leadership, this can be particularly harmful. Leaders who are always doing often fail to:

1. Recognize opportunities for strategic conversations with clients
2. Listen deeply to their team members
3. Pause to reflect on important decisions in the business

The most effective leaders I know aren't those who do the most; they're those who know when to stop, reflect, and simply be.

I love this quote from Peter Drucker: “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

My challenge to you isn’t to be less productive. Rather, it's a call to work on the right things – the things that align with your deepest values and purpose. It's permission to pause, to breathe, to be purposefully present in your life and leadership.

The next time you feel the urge to fill every moment with activity, ask yourself:

• What am I avoiding by staying busy?
• Where could I benefit from slowing down?
• How might stillness enhance my leadership?
• What would it look like to find worth in being, not just doing?

So today, I invite you to join me in this counterintuitive journey – to find the power of purposeful presence. Exchange endless activity for intentionality on the most important things.

‍

Longevity has been a buzzword over the last couple of years. There’s no shortage of information. Eat this. Wear this monitor. Read this book. Listen to this podcast.

I think what we consume and do not consume matters. I’m making efforts to be healthier. But I also believe that many of those who thrive into their later years are people who live with the deepest sense of purpose. Purpose is different than simply being happy, it’s about pursuing things that matter.

A groundbreaking 23-year study has just confirmed what I've seen firsthand: having a sense of purpose is actually a stronger predictor of longevity than life satisfaction. This research reveals a profound truth that challenges our modern obsession with the pursuit of happiness.

The evidence is compelling. Researchers who followed participants for more than two decades discovered that when purpose in life (meaning) and life satisfaction (happiness) were compared head-to-head as predictors of longevity, purpose emerged as the clear winner.

This isn't just interesting science – it's a wake-up call for how we structure our lives and organizations. We've been sold a cultural narrative that happiness should be our ultimate goal. But what if that actually limits our potential and even our lifespan?

Adam Grant captured this brilliantly when he noted: "It's nice to feel happy today. It's important to have something to strive for tomorrow."

Think about it: happiness is fleeting. It comes and goes based on circumstances. Purpose, however, can carry you through both the mountain peaks and the valleys of life. Purpose guides you when everything else seems uncertain.

What This Means for Leaders

As leaders, we have a responsibility that extends beyond creating "happy" workplaces. The real challenge is helping our teams connect with something meaningful – work that serves a purpose beyond the paycheck.

I've often said, "When the purpose is clear, the mundane becomes meaningful." This simple truth can transform how your team approaches even the most routine aspects of their work.

One of the most impressive examples of purpose-driven leadership I've seen comes from KPMG's "10,000 Stories Challenge." When KPMG's leadership realized they needed to strengthen their organizational purpose, they didn't hire consultants to craft a statement. Instead, they invited their 27,000 employees to share stories about how their work was making a difference.

The goal was 10,000 stories. They received 42,000.

This initiative fundamentally changed how employees viewed their work. By articulating how their individual contributions served a greater purpose, people discovered new meaning in tasks they had previously considered mundane. Pride in employees’ work increased, and more employees reported that KPMG was a great place to work than previously.

How to Prioritize Purpose

Purpose isn't something you find in a weekend workshop. It's cultivated through intentional choices and consistent action. Here are three strategies I've seen work for leaders at all levels:

1. Connect your daily tasks to your deeper values. Even mundane work can be meaningful when you understand how it serves something you genuinely care about.
2. Invest in legacy thinking. Regularly ask yourself: "What am I building that will outlast me?" Over the past year, I’ve been exploring how to do this with my friend Eric Blumenthal on our podcast Legacy Makers aimed at encouraging dads.
3. Surround yourself with people who value your purpose. Your perspective is shaped by the people you spend time with. We see this beyond our professional work: one study showed that grandparents who helped with care of their grandchild had a 37% chance of living longer over a 20 year span.

Remember this:

Purpose is both a compass and an anchor. It provides direction when we're uncertain and stability when we're overwhelmed.

The next time you find yourself chasing happiness, pause and ask a deeper question: "What gives my life meaning?" The answer might not just improve your day – according to the science, it could extend your years.

And that's a purpose worth pursuing.

‍

Last week I was in Texas sharing strategies that individuals and businesses use to create authentic connections with customers. The principles I shared address a fundamental truth about human relationships: meaningful connections don't happen automatically—they require intention.

These principles extend far beyond traditional business-customer relationships. The same approach applies whether you're a nonprofit connecting with donors, a teacher engaging students, or a leader motivating your own team.

Here’s the bad news: creating authentic connections requires more work, more intentionality, and more energy. There's no shortcut.

Here's the good news: the results of those connections pay extraordinary dividends!

When you genuinely connect with someone, they become more than just a customer or client. They become a promoter—someone who actively tells others about their experience with you. This word-of-mouth advocacy is exponentially more powerful than any marketing campaign you could devise.

Paradoxically, the path to reaching the most people is to focus intently on impacting a smaller group exceptionally well.

Mass marketing aims for breadth, but depth creates true loyalty.

ADDO recently summed this up in a new video: The Paradox of Scale.

Want to grow your business and expand your impact? Start with the personal. So how do we do this?

A great place to start is by asking questions like:

• What does this specific customer need right now?
• Who is one person you can write a personal note to today?
• How can you improve the experience for the individual right  in front of you?

These aren't soft questions—they're the hardest-hitting growth strategy you're not using.

The answers should make you stop seeing your customers as numbers and start seeing them as individuals with unique needs and aspirations. And here’s the secret: what’s personal is universal. Scaling impact doesn't mean depersonalizing; it means personalizing so effectively that your approach naturally appeals to a broader audience.

Today, I challenge you to identify one relationship you can deepen through intentional, personal connection. It might be the smallest action that creates the biggest ripple in your business or organization.

Your next breakthrough might not be in a grand marketing plan; it might just be in a simple conversation.

‍

Last week I shared the language of leadership from Winston Churchill, which reminded me of another Churchill example that has grown increasingly meaningful to me over the years.

The year was 2011. It was our inaugural ADDO event. Around 700 leaders gathered for the ADDO Gathering, headlined by several prominent leaders, including Hall of Fame Football Coach Vince Dooley.

Coach Dooley was a mentor and a friend. He passed away a few years ago at 90 years old. Even at the time of him speaking at our event, he was almost 80. He was far more than just a football coach who had won a national championship. He was a historian, a horticulturist, and a Marine – a renaissance man if there ever was one.

He stood on stage that day and repeated the Winston Churchill quote that has since become etched in my mind:
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

I'll be honest – as someone still in my twenties at the time, I wasn't sold on that line. Does it really take courage to continue? And is that really what counts? In my mind, winning counted. Results counted. Achievement counted. Again, I hadn't even reached the age of 30.

But time has shown me that Churchill (and Coach Dooley) were right. With age comes experience, and with experience comes wisdom.

I've had my share of successes over the years. Moments where the vision came together perfectly, where the team executed flawlessly, where the impact exceeded expectations.

But I've also had business deals where I swung and missed.
I've felt the sting of criticism from colleagues I respected.
I've experienced moments that tested my resolve.
I've endured the sleepless nights wondering if an initiative was worth continuing.

And I'm guessing, if you've lived long enough, you have too.

So my encouragement today is simple but important: continue.

Continue when you encounter resistance.

Continue when you experience rejection.

Continue when you feel like no one understands your vision.

Continue when the path forward isn't clear.

Continue when you're tempted to take the easier route.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if you have a pulse, you have a purpose.

And since you have a purpose, the world needs what you have to offer.
And since you have something to offer, we need you to continue.

Your courage to continue might just be the difference between a good idea that dies and a great impact that transforms lives.

‍

While many industries require drastically different strategies and approaches, there are some skills that transcend all professional boundaries. Effective communication, particularly public speaking, is one of those universal skills.

I’ve seen this clearly over the last week as I've had the privilege to be with a variety of audiences, ranging from real estate professionals in Seattle to United States military leaders. Yesterday I was in my hometown with educators at a local school.

At the end of my talk, during a Question and Answer session, I was asked something that had nothing to do with my talk, but everyone could relate to: How do I become a better public speaker?

Speaking is what I do, not often something I specifically talk about. I leave that to the professionals like my friend Eva Rose Daniel.

That said, I know this to be true:

Effective leaders are effective communicators.

Harvard Business Review research shows the number one criteria for advancement and promotion for professionals is an ability to communicate effectively.

Right after college I worked for a United States Congressman. One of my first days on the job, he handed me a cassette tape and told me to listen to it. (Fortunately, my car at the time was older, so I was still able to play cassettes!)

The tape was a recording by James Humes, a speechwriter for nine US presidents,  who developed the Sir Winston Method, based on the communication strategies of Winston Churchill. His approach has shaped my speaking ever since.

His five secrets are reproduced below, with some slight tweaks and context added by me:  

1. Start Strong: Every speech should begin with a “hook”, or attention-getter, to grab the attention of the audience. Whether utilizing a question, a startling statement, a quotation, a personal anecdote, a reference to the occasion, humor, or some other technique, a speaker should immediately involve the audience before revealing the thesis of the presentation.

For instance, Winston Churchill began his address to the House of Commons when he became prime minister with one of his most famous lines: “I have nothing to offer but blood, tears, toil, and sweat.”  And when he came to the United States to address Congress in 1941, humor was his tool: “I can’t help but reflect that if my father had been American and my mother English instead of the other way around, I might have got here on my own.”

2. One Theme: After the hook, and before previewing major sub points of the speech, the speaker should reveal the thesis, or theme, to be developed. Major sub points within the body of the speech should all support the thesis, which should be referenced again in the conclusion of the speech.

Churchill once compared a speech to Beethoven’s 5th symphony: “A speech is like a symphony. It can have three movements, but it must have one dominant melody: dot, dot, dot…dah”.

3. Simple Language: By using active rather than passive voice, choosing short words, and avoiding jargon, speakers can make their message more comprehensible and more memorable.

After the Nazi conquest of France in World War II, Churchill impressed the world with his simple, yet direct, words: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” This instead of “Hostilities will be engaged on the coastal perimeter . . .”

4. Vivid Imagery: Imagery is a critical tool for any effective speaker; philosophical concepts must “come alive” if they are to be retained by the audience.

Churchill was a master of this technique. Whether referring to Italy as “the soft underbelly of Europe,” to an appeaser in the House of Commons as “one who feeds the crocodile hoping it will eat him last,” or to Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe as “an iron curtain,” he knew how to paint effective pictures in the minds of his listeners.

5. End with Emotion: It may be pride, hope, love, or patriotism, but exhibiting sincere emotion can help “seal the deal” at the conclusion of a speech.

The conclusion to one of Churchill’s most memorable speeches produced one of his most memorable phrases, as he demonstrated his pride in the British people: “Let us…brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: ‘This was their finest hour.’”  

I’ll leave you with this: whether or not you love public speaking, it’s a skill everyone should work on. Late United States President Gerald Ford once said, “If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.”

The roles you have make a difference, and your ability to communicate effectively can determine your impact as a leader. I'd encourage you to level up your speaking ability to accomplish your goals and inspire those around you. After all, the most influential leaders throughout history have been those who could not only envision a better future but also articulate that vision in a way that moved others to action.

‍

In my travels speaking to organizations across the globe, I've noticed a common thread emerging from conversations with both seasoned executives and emerging leaders: the challenge of maintaining optimism while facing harsh realities.

A Gallup study released this month puts hard data behind what many of us have intuitively known - when asked what they need most from their leaders, followers overwhelmingly point to one thing: hope.

Some have a tendency to scoff at that. We’ve all heard that “hope isn’t a strategy.”

It’s true that hope alone isn't enough.

But neither is a myopic focus on the current reality. The magic happens when we balance both: a candid assessment of reality with a hopefully vision for a brighter future.

Consider what either looks like in isolation:

Hope without Reality:

When hope isn't anchored in reality, it becomes nothing more than wishful thinking - fluffy, abstract, and ultimately unattainable. I've seen countless leaders lose credibility by painting rosy pictures that their teams could see right through. It's like building a house on sand; it might look beautiful for a moment, but it won't stand the test of time.

Reality without Hope:

A relentless focus on reality without any glimpse of hope is equally dangerous. I recently spoke with a middle manager whose leader prided himself on "telling it like it is." The result? A team discouraged, discontent, and disconnected from their work and each other. Reality without hope isn't leadership - it's a slow march to defeat.

The most effective leaders I've worked with acknowledge current challenges with unflinching honesty while simultaneously illuminating the path forward. They understand that hope isn't about denying reality - it's about seeing beyond reality to the possibilities and potential that lies ahead.

Here's what this looks like in practice for great leaders:

• When sharing difficult news, they pair it with specific, actionable steps forward
• They celebrate small wins while maintaining focus on larger challenges
• They create space for both authentic concern and genuine optimism
• They ground future possibilities in present capabilities

The next time you face a challenging situation with your team, remember: your job isn't to choose between hope and reality. It's to hold them both in balance, showing your people that the path forward runs straight through the middle of these seemingly opposing forces.

Because at its core, leadership isn't about making people feel good or making them face facts.

Great leaders help people get from where they are to where they need to be.

‍