How do I define a successful day?  For me, a successful day is one I can come home from knowing that I did my very best, I gave it my all, I made good choices that upheld my integrity and that I treated others with kindness and respect.  That is a successful day.  Every other …

If you happen to like Polar Bears, Pokemon, Chili, or Protein then February 27th is definitely your day to celebrate! That’s right – its National Polar Bear Day, National Pokemon Day, National Chili Day, and National Protein Day!  YEEEE-HAWWWW!!! I can’t help but wonder who comes up with all these random national holidays?  But whoever …

(The following blog is a guest post written by my son Dalton Anderson who is covering for me tonight as I’ve been swamped planning an upcoming University board conference I’m in charge of that takes place next week – thanks D!) I’m a product fanatic. Plain and simple. When I have a need (usually a …

Have you ever tried chasing after a two year old who is running as fast as he can down a long hallway while wearing four inch high heels?  Well, that’s exactly what I was doing Sunday.  We had been sitting in the chapel of our church listening to the speaker when my grandson started acting …

“You are the fellow that has to decide Whether you’ll do it or toss it aside. You are the fellow who makes up your mind Whether you’ll lead or will linger behind Whether you’ll try for the goal that’s afar Or just be contented to stay where you are. Take it or leave it. Here’s …

I spoke today in Atlanta Georgia at the National Ethics Directors Summit being held for University Ethics Directors from across the country as part of the APPE (Association for Practical & Professional Ethics) International Conference.  I was also able to spend the entire day with these Directors both before and after my talk and that …

Today I flew to Atlanta in order to speak tomorrow at a conference for the National Ethics Directors Summit being held for University Ethics Directors from across the country.  When I was asked to come and speak at this Summit I went to great lengths to move my schedule around so I could make it …

“Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect.” – Alan Cohen Today I went and spoke at Brigham Young University to a class of around 350 students.  After my presentation I spent time doing open Q&A with them and I have to admit that the Q&A portion is …

Welcome back from your holiday weekend! I hope everyone was able to make time for a little romance over Valentines. I know I personally have to credit my husband for knocking it out of the park with my favorite roses, cooking me breakfast, drawing hearts with crayon on my shower walls with cute sayings in …

“Today is Valentine’s Day. Or, as men like to call it, Extortion day.“ ~Jay Leno You can’t really call it extortion when we women are just as willing to accept things that don’t cost you money as our Valentines gift. Every girl loves a homemade card or home-cooked dinner from her sweetheart because it says …

One thing I learned many years ago is that you do a dis-service to an individual by leaving them in a role where they are not succeeding.  Some people don’t succeed due to their own faults, and others don’t succeed simply because they are not the right match for the position they have been placed …

“Be the kind of person who dares to face life’s challenges and overcome them rather than dodging them.” – Roy T. Bennett On the surface it may seem easy to dodge problems, to ignore them and hope they will go away, or sweep them under the rug and hope no one notices they are there…and …

Today as I was leaving a restaurant where I’d had a meeting with someone and as she and I were walking out to our cars in the parking lot a car driving past us slowed down and stopped right next to us.  The back window rolled down to reveal two little boys, around four or …

“There’s no kill switch on AWESOME.”  – Dilbert A woman who worked with terminally ill patients often asked them what their biggest regrets were from their life.  One of the regrets shared was that they wish they had let themselves be happier.  Note the phrase “let themselves be happier”, which was them acknowledging that they …

I have so many things to tell all of you about and yet each time I’ve tried to sit down to write a blog about them I get interrupted – From my husband being hospitalized unexpectedly last week, to me needing to fly to Washington DC this week for some really important meetings and to …

I learned many lessons through my years of leading companies, but without question, the most surprising thing I learned was this: The thing you can do that will make you the strongest, is the thing that is most counter-intuitive to do:   Be openly vulnerable. Being vulnerable was not my strong suit growing up. In my …

“You were born with the ability to change someone’s life. Don’t ever waste it.” We often hear that we must help ourselves before we can help someone else, and to some extent I believe that to be true.  But I also find it to be true that one of the best ways to help ourselves …

Clayton M. Christensen, renowned Harvard Business Professor, strategy consultant, best-selling author, mentor, church leader, husband, father, and grandfather, passed away just over a week ago at the age of 67. He was an amazing man who taught a powerful lesson on how we ought to measure our lives – both through his words and through …

While fans everywhere were excited to watch the Super Bowl game, I was excited because one of the Super Bowl commercials announced that Little Caesars Pizza is now offering home delivery!  YEEEEE  HAWWWWWW!!!!!  Touchdowns are nothing in excitement compared to how I feel about that news! Just think about it – we now have the …

I’ve got so many incredible things to share with all of you from my amazing trip to Palm Springs recently to be with Charles Koch and his wife Liz and so many other incredible friends we love dearly for our six month meeting to discuss the philanthropic giving we all do together via our group …

I was just finishing up a business meeting when my husband called yesterday to tell me he needed to get to the emergency room. Now anyone who knows my husband Rollin can understand why hearing those words over the phone shook me – My husband grew up on a dairy farm and he is stubborn …

My husband had to be rushed to the hospital this evening (he’s having severe stomach pain) so my daughter Ashley agreed to cover tonight’s blog post for me. Not gonna sugar coat it, it’s been a rough night…but I’m grateful for the doctors and nursing who are working hard to figure out what’s wrong. Here’s …

(The following is a guest post written by Dalton Anderson who is covering for his mother, Amy Rees Anderson, who just returned from a five day philanthropy trip and was in need of sleep) Winning has consequences. Be ready to accept them. It was third grade. I was a cute, well-groomed third-grader, with great hair …

Some of the greatest inventions in life have come about because someone saw a problem and decided they wanted to fix it!  One doesn’t necessarily have to be a great genius to solve a problem, in fact, some of the most amazing ideas come from people who simply want to find an easier way to …

“It`s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.’ – Roy Disney  It’s amazing how much pressure and stress it takes off your shoulders when, in advance, you have laid out the values you will adhere to in your life. If done in advance, then when faced with difficult decisions or …

All through my growing up years as I would run out the door of our home, my mother would yell the phrase “Remember who you are and what you stand for”. I would guess I have heard that phrase literally thousands of times as a child. Most days she said it I would roll my …

Let’s start with some #realtalk –  I am never going to be seen climbing an actual mountain because that would entail exercise which I strictly avoid at all costs 🙂 . But I have climbed my fair share of business mountains, emotional mountains, and spiritual mountains, throughout my life.  Each of which have taught me …

I was lying in bed last night when the phone beeped to alert me of an incoming text message. It was my kids wanting to know what the plan was for the family to get together on our day off the next day. “Day off?”, I thought to myself, “what do they mean day off?” …

She knew she was dying when she wrote the note which read:  “Regrets? I have a few. Too much worrying about finding the right husband and having children, being on time, being late and so on. It didn’t matter. It all works out, and it would have worked out without the worries and the tears. …

“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.” —Betty Reese When talking with employees of an organization you will often discover that the rank and file employees within the organization are far more aware of the problems going on then the management is.  And …