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Attitude is everything, whatever battles you face

This week I ran into the wife of a friend of mine at Starbucks. I coached their boys in high school. The boys have done well in life. No surprise since in high school they were great kids on the field and off. It has been months since I have seen my friend. Usually we connect at a winter conference but since Lynnda and I have been traveling, we missed several meetings. When I asked how he was, I was shocked to learn he is battling cancer. Hopefully he will win. He is a fighter with a beautiful family and a lot to live for. It reminded me of my battle with cancer and how quickly our ...

Watching and waiting for winter to end

This is the final weekend of January, and that means that pretty much anything goes when it comes to the weather we will experience over the next few weeks. As I sit writing this column, the wind is whipping outside my window. There are snowflakes in the air, and the temperature out there is below the freezing mark. None of that is unusual for January — in fact, it’s all to be expected. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had enough of winter already. However, I don’t think Mother Nature, Jack Frost or Old Man Winter care about what I think. They are all bound to bring us ...

Leading by example, encouragement, vision

Last week I was interviewed on the America’s Talking podcast with a national following. The focus was on energy and manufacturing. Austin, the host, knew I coached high school soccer said, “This is my last question. Can you tell me the single most important leadership lesson you have learned from coaching youth soccer?” I responded, “Most important is leading by example.” What we do is more important than what we say. We can’t tell our players not to smoke, to be on time, or stay fit if we don’t first do those things. We tell our captains, “If you expect your players to ...

Finding your own sources of inspiration

Everyone needs some sources of inspiration. I have a few different ones, in a few different places. In my office at home, I have a handful of old, if not antique, items that I like to turn to when I need to think about the bigger picture. Two of them make up a set — a little, round pen/pencil holder and an accompanying container for holding items such as scissors, my glasses case, etc. Featured on the exterior of these metal cannisters are portraits of America’s presidents, from George Washington all the way up through Lyndon B. Johnson. While I did not live during the terms of ...

Tech, talent, education and the Cloud: Keys to prosperity

Like many midwestern states, Ohio is fighting against a brain drain as many talented young people leave for the coasts or the sunbelt. Though it’s been a challenge for employers, things could be starting to look up in Ohio, with part of the solution in the clouds — or The Cloud more specifically. According to the decennial U.S. Census, most of the state saw significant population declines in the last ten years, especially among young people who too often see a brighter future elsewhere. But Central Ohio is bucking this trend through a combination of tech, talent and education. ...

Lessons learned about meeting our needs

During our recent trip, Lynnda and I were returning from a business meeting in Tampa and stopped to see some old friends from Elkview who now live in Plant City, Florida. Our kids grew up and were in scouts together in Elkview. Al is struggling with some health issues since we last saw them two years ago. He lost a lot of weight, was walking with a cane and was clearly weaker than when we last saw him. In spite of his difficulties he was the same old Al. Smiling, welcoming and friendly. He told us about his health issues and his wife told us how he almost died at Christmas. Al’s ...