As I stumbled for my alarm at 3:00 a.m. on my first day on the job as a street washer, I wondered what I was getting myself into. CBS had asked my company to participate in its hit reality show Undercover Boss. As the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) at that time, I’d agreed…

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This week’s blog post is a modified lesson on team success from Leader Core, a program designed specifically for leaders of teams. If you’re leading a group of three or more people and want to join a community of other leaders who are living out leadership while being mentored monthly by me, then I encourage…

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The other day, Mark Cole, the CEO of all our companies, asked a question to our leadership team that I thought was powerful. Looking around the room at our executive vice presidents, he asked, “Who would fill your chair if you weren’t here?” Mark is one of the best and most capable leaders I know,…

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Leadership is all about people; always has been, always will be. If you’re like me, you love to get things done. Maybe you tend to be task driven and action oriented. As I’ve traveled around the world with John Maxwell I’ve observed many leaders who share these characteristics. Which makes the most difficult thing about…

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Yesterday, October 10th, was World Mental Health Day. In honor of this day, John and I decided to write about mental health this week. If you missed John’s blog post earlier in the week, I want to encourage you to go back and read it as well. Just to echo John before we go too…

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I am extremely excited for today, because it’s the official release date for my newest book, How to Lead When Your Boss Can’t (or Won’t). It’s an abridgment of my book, The 360-Degree Leader, distilling my best teaching on the concept of leading up within an organization. I’ve been studying leadership for over fifty years,…

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It’s 8:00pm on Friday night after a long week and you are the only one at the office. You were hoping to get home and take your wife out on an impromptu dinner date, but there was just way too much to get done before the weekend. Yes, you know you’re doing too much. And…

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My dad was the first influence in my life to teach me the importance of relationships. In his words, “The only thing that will last is what you invest in people.” Acquisitions and possessions will all fade away, but what you place inside of the people around you will remain long after you are gone.…

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I was reminded of a valuable lesson in a team meeting recently. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an event our team will host this year. After setting aside an entire afternoon to prepare ideas, I felt very confident about what I was bringing to the meeting. But soon after the meeting began,…

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One of the four key areas I’m constantly trying to grow in myself is my attitude. I know from first-hand experience that a good attitude is essential for success, because so much of how we view the world is rooted in the attitude we choose. Normally I use a blog post to offer you teaching…

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