Thought Leaders

I engaged an 84-year old cowboy (Ben) in conversation during a luncheon not long ago. Ben was an interesting character, with bright eyes and a quick wit. He had been a working cowboy his entire adult life and a ranch manager for over 40 years. Ben told me that he had...

According to leadership guru Dan Rockwell, “Wisdom is practical know-how. (Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.)” From observing others over the years it appears to me that wisdom gatherers fall into three categories: Happenstancers – With this group, little...

Those in leadership roles frequently feel the burden of that responsibility. It is real! To whom much is given, much is required. Being the best leaders we can be requires us to spend some of our personal resources on self-care. If WE are not healthy and...

I recently read Future Driven: Will Your Students Thrive In An Unpredictable World? by David Geurin (2017). This book was as much about pedagogy and engagement as it was about affecting future- and life-ready students. But, of course! Are those not inextricable...

Getting better. On purpose. Every day. Easier said than done. But it always starts with reflection. It’s hard to purposefully move toward improvement (either personal or collective) until/unless we turn the mirror on ourselves. That mirror-gazing is both a look at...

When we create targets — goals, outcomes, expectations — in life or work, we are faced with a series of decisions about how to hit those targets. Most of those decisions fall into one of two categories: Speed — How fast and with what intensity are we going to pursue...

I used to believe in coincidences and random events. No longer. I have come to view the encounters I have with others, even in this space, as being Providentially directed. My clarity of understanding in that regard, though embarrassingly late arriving,...

School culture is pivotal for the success of its students, but also for the retention of its personnel. When thinking about school culture, the people are who establish the atmosphere. It can be a place to get an education or it can be a dynamic learning environment....

We have all heard the saying “Riding for the Brand.” My grandfather was a cowboy at heart, and growing up I can remember hearing him say this a lot. Obviously I didn’t put much stock in what it meant back then, but I did know that if it was important enough for my...