Tag Archives: leaders

The Good Kind Of Tired

Last week was crazy for me – during the week I had dinner with Utah Governor Gary Herbert, the First Lady, Governor Scott Walker (Wisconsin), and a few other business leaders at the Governor’s mansion to discuss the importance the States need to play in driving Washington to balance the federal budget.  After the dinner […]

Thank You For Your Service

November 11th is US holiday dedicated to honoring military veterans and celebrating their service. And I believe its also a day we should honor and celebrate the families of the veterans who are as much the heroes as those who serve. I am so grateful to veterans and their families for affording me a great nation of freedom […]

The Launch Of The Amy Rees Anderson Academic Entrepreneurs Program At USU

Last week we announced the creation of the “Amy Rees Anderson Academic Entrepreneurs” Program at Utah State University in partnership with the Center For Growth And Opportunity and today I was so excited to get to go and meet with our very first cohort of female fellows in the program. I was blown away at […]

Favorite Moments and Greatest Achievements of 2017

I can hardly believe that 2017 is almost over.  This past year has held some of the happiest moments of life, and truth be told, it has also held many of the saddest moments of my life.  Without a doubt it is a year I will be happy to have come to a close as […]

There is no such thing as a perfect parent

“There is no such thing as a perfect parent so just be a real one.” – Sue Atkins Without a doubt the hardest job on the planet is that of being a parent. The stakes are so high because every mistake you make as a parent affects your children and you realize that so you […]

When Someone Believes In You

Nothing is more motivating or inspiring than knowing that someone else believes in you and is willing to put their trust in you. It is one of the greatest feelings on earth. As parents one of the best things we can do for our children is to start when they are very young letting them […]

Accomplish Your Vision And Create The Legacy Your Heart Desires

For part of last week I attended a summit where we discussed philanthropic leadership in Higher Education where Donors from across the country gathered together to talk about lessons we have learned regarding charitable giving to Universities and to share successful programs that have been established at different Universities and how we can all work […]

How To Achieve More Than The American Dream (Forbes Article)

“The essence of America – that which really unites us – is not ethnicity, or nationality, or religion – it is an idea – and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” – Condoleeza Rice The American Dream Awards is an event put on by the […]

No Man Is Above Unconscious Gender Bias In The Workplace – It’s “Unconscious” (Forbes Article)

Imagine you are watching the following scenario take place: A small meeting is being held in a board room. At one end of the table sits a man (we will refer to him as man A) and across from him sitting side by side at the table is another man (man B) and a woman. […]

Doing our part to be deserving of their sacrifice

November 11th we honor people who sacrificed of themselves so that a Nation could protect the sacred gift of freedom for its citizens. I stand in awe of the amazing Veterans who so selflessly served, as well as those who continue to serve, for such an important cause. These veterans willingly chose to leave their homes and […]

What It Takes To Be A Great Employee: The Parable Of The Oranges (Forbes Article)

Being a great employee pays off with better positions, higher pay, and more frequent promotions. But some workers struggle to know exactly what it takes to become a truly great employee. As an Entrepreneur and CEO one of the most important elements of having a successful company is having a workforce of great employees. That […]

Successful Companies Don’t Just Have A Brand Identity, They Create A Total Brand Experience (Forbes Article)

Successful companies don’t just have a brand identity, they create a total brand experience. A total brand experience causes people to FEEL their brand, and I can’t think of a finer example of a Company who has mastered creating a total brand experience then Disney.   Several years ago I was asked to come out to Disney […]

Profit From Failure

You probably read today’s title and wondered how it is possible for anyone to profit from failure. It is success we profit from, is it not?  The profits from success may be far more obvious to everyone, but I would submit that we can profit just as greatly from failure if we choose to. My […]

Changing From The Outside In. It works!

Today I was at the annual meeting for the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business Advisory Board I serve on. They invited renowned speaker, Jack Zenger to speak to us over dinner. Jack Zenger is the founder of Zenger Folkman, a professional services firm that provides leadership development programs and Jack is considered […]

Wishy Washy Wishing

The last two days I had the privilege of attending the invitation only Annual MindShare Conference hosted by Intermountain Healthcare. At this conference they bring together top healthcare executives and experts from around the world to network with one another and to share innovations and ideas around healthcare. It was a fascinating conference and it […]

The Fastest Way To Achieve Success Is To First Help Others Succeed (Forbes Article)

Without a doubt, the fastest way to achieve success is to first help others succeed. Yet, there seems to be a belief in the business world that the only way to get ahead is to only watch out for ‘number one’. That is simply not the case. Brian Tracy explained it best when he said, […]

Put Yourself In The Running. Even If You Don’t Get Chosen, You Will Get Noticed (Forbes Article)

If there is something you want badly enough my advice is: Put yourself in the running. Even if you don’t get chosen, you will get noticed. As the CEO of a fast growing company I was constantly looking for great people to fill management positions within the company. Even though growth is a huge blessing […]

Become What Inspires You

“Become what inspires you.” What a GREAT quote! I guess I have never thought of it like that before so when I saw that quote I had to share it. We have to start by asking ourselves “What inspires us?” I asked myself that question and then I sat down and started typing up a […]

Be Fearlessly Authentic!

I LOVE authentic people. People who are genuine and real and ‘what you see is what you get’. People who are open about their fears and insecurities are endearing because they are people you can relate to. Whereas people that act like they have never made mistakes or that they know everything make the rest […]

5 Ways To Get A Promotion (Forbes Article)

Job security is something everyone longs for, and typically we moving up in the organization as a sign that our jobs are indeed secure. Increased wealth and opportunity are also things we long for, and a promotion at work can help to achieve that. But receiving a promotion doesn’t always come easy, so here are […]

CEO Perspective on Treating Employees Well (and other tips)

I was interviewed on Real Recognition Radio by Roy Saunderson and S. Max Brown and the episode aired earlier today.  During the interviewed we discussed questions such as:  Are there differences in the way men and women lead? What makes a great leader?  How important is communication in a company?  How to build a culture? How to […]

People CAN Change Their Past – Put Mistakes Behind You. (Forbes Article)

People often think they can’t change their past, but I disagree. Perhaps we can’t change every mistake in our past, but we have to remember that the past is a moving target. Every day that goes by us becomes a part of our past history. Whatever we do today will become a part of our […]

Admitting You Were Wrong Doesn’t Make You Weak – It Makes You Awesome! (Forbes Article)

It takes tremendous fortitude to utter the words “I was wrong, and I am sorry”.  I love that word: fortitude. I could list the dictionary definition of fortitude, but let’s be honest, why go to that trouble when Bill Gates blessed us with Microsoft Word’s single click to see its synonyms, which are: strength, courage, […]

Good Employees Make Mistakes. Great Leaders Allow Them To. (Forbes Article)

As a business leader I found that one of the scariest things to do was to give your people the freedom to make mistakes which will allow them to learn and grow, for the obvious reason that mistakes in any company can be costly.  Scared as I was, I knew that truly great leaders found […]

Becoming a Great Leader is a Lifelong Quest, but One Well Worth Pursuing (Forbes Article)

I have spent many years as the leader of several companies. I hope that during that time I have learned a bit about what it takes to become a great leader. Many of the lessons I am still learning, but I wanted to share a few of the things I have come to learn thus […]

Good Leaders are invaluable to a company. Bad Leaders will destroy it. (Forbes Article)

Good Leaders are invaluable to a company.  Bad Leaders will destroy it.   When good leadership is in place in a company it can be felt throughout the entire organization.  There is a corporate culture that isn’t forced, it has been developed.  Communication is daily and open. Everyone understands the vision and goals of the organization […]