ISSUE #036 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

They set a plate of carved meat down between the seven of us that somebody nicknamed the Beef Charcuterie Board. It was glorious.

We sat there for over two hours. Eating, laughing, going deep on what we were grateful for this year and what we'd learned the hard way. The conversation bounced everywhere, giving each other a hard time about nothing, then getting quiet enough to talk about the wins we were still excited about and the hard things we're still walking through.

I'll tell you why that dinner mattered so much in a minute. But first you need to know what the two days before it looked like.

ISSUE #035 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

I can't remember his name.

I remember his face. I remember the way he stood at the front of that room like there was nowhere else he'd rather be. And I remember that he didn't care how many chairs he had.

ISSUE #034 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

You've seen this interview.

Some founder who built something remarkable is sitting in a nice chair under good lighting, and the host asks the question they always ask: What taught you the most?

She pauses. Smiles a little. "Honestly? My biggest mistakes."

Everybody nods. It's humble. It sounds exactly like the truth. And a few million people walk away with the same conclusion: mistakes are the real teacher. Go make some.

ISSUE #033 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

I watched a room full of people spend an hour telling my friend Vicki what she meant to them.

It was her 60th birthday surprise party. About sixty people packed in, most of whom had known her for years, some for decades. Kathryn and I drove a few hours to be there.

ISSUE #032 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

We're Not in a Storm. We're in a Stormy Season.

A few weeks ago I was sitting with one of my coaching clients. She started her company more than fifteen years ago, and in the last year and a half it has taken off. People from all over want what she offers. It's been exciting, exhausting, and everything in between.

ISSUE #031 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

If you read our last issue, you know I ended up in emergency surgery.

I'm doing better. I'm healing well. But my life has changed, and here's the strange part - I'm not entirely sure how much.

Not because nobody's told me anything. Everybody has an opinion.

ISSUE #030 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

Last night, I woke up with a pain in my stomach.

Not the kind where you roll over, blame dinner, and go back to sleep.

This one stayed.

It ran through my upper abdomen and into my back. I shifted around. I got up. I lay back down. I tried to decide whether it was serious or whether I was being dramatic, which according to Kathryn, is not always a decision I am qualified to make on my own.

It was a long night.

ISSUE #029 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

A quick note before we begin. Two weeks ago, I told you Uncertainty was the next in the VUCA series. Here it is - Enjoy! [Read the first issue in the VUCA series here]

Uncertainty isn't new. You've lived with it your whole life

Will it rain tomorrow? Will the check come today? Will traffic make you late? That's uncertainty. It's background noise. You've built enough instinct around it that it barely registers.

That's not what's coming for your business.

ISSUE #028 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

A quick note before we begin: at the end of last week's issue, I told you Uncertainty was next. It still is, one week from today. But today is the 250th birthday of the United States, and I couldn't let that pass without writing to you about it.

The Sword

There's an old sword leaning against a wall in our home.

A saber - long, thin, and tired-looking. It still has its sheath, tattered as it is, and the metal is pitted and tarnished.

It's the definition of old. Some would say it's a piece of junk.

I love it.

ISSUE #027 | THE LEADERSHIP CONTRARIAN

The first night, we had dinner at the Inn. It was spectacular. And because we were staying right there, we didn't have to drive anywhere, we just took a walk. Dusk was thinning. The stars were starting to come out. And then, in the air just over the dirt road, we saw lights.