Many leaders hire a new employee and instantly feel like they’ve gone from business leader to babysitter. When leaders describe what they mean by “babysitting” employees, what they’re really saying is they don’t want to spend any time at all with a new employee. The first day on the job they think they should be able to just show them their desk, give them a task, and the employee will know exactly what to do.

When Michael and I got married, we made a deal: I had to learn to like the drums, so that I could fully appreciate my husband’s percussive skills, and Michael had to learn to like football—specifically, the NFL. I fell in love with the NFL long before I fell in
love with Michael. I’m a 49ers fan first but root for Green Bay on the back end.

Michael thinks I got the easier part of the deal. Drumming seasons come and go, but the NFL is relentless.

One of the great stories of the NFL—especially for 49ers fans—is a story about how Coach Bill Walsh turned the struggling 49ers around with his leadership and management during the late ’70s and ’80s. Humor me for a second—I just have to geek out a little.

When I was twenty-seven years old, Kathryn and I had been married about a year and a half. One afternoon, I was walking across the parking lot from our car to our apartment, and I was feeling great. I had a skip in my step. Life was good. I thought to myself, "What can I be doing differently? What area do I need to grow in?" Almost immediately, I came to the happy conclusion: "Nothing. I'm good. There is nothing I need to improve!"

Celebrations, surprises, and random acts of kindness are key components of building a Passion and Provision company and creating a company culture employees look forward to coming to each day. When employees work at a place they enjoy and feel cared about, they'll find fulfillment in their contribution and do good work.

Do you wonder why your business is not as successful as it could be? Do your employees or the people you manage walk in the door of the office with a blank face, a loud sigh and look of hatred on their faces? If this sounds all too familiar then you most likely are lacking company culture in your business and need to learn how to motivate employees at your company. To really be a truly successful business you need to have employees that love to come to work—this all depends on the work environment YOU provide.

As a child, I (Michael) always knew I wanted to own a business one day. From standing in front of the local convenience store with my first shoe shining kit, to mowing neighbors’ lawns, I was always trying to make a buck. I even told my Sunday School teacher I wanted to become a ‘bachelor millionaire.'

Do you find yourself thinking “how is it 2022 already?” Time is relentless and the older we get, the faster it seems to tick along! We've been thinking a lot about how we frame up our reality. How we see and perceive the world we live in these days, and how we lead well with all that is swirling around us.

At 2,320 miles long, the Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the U.S. It has the world’s fourth-largest drainage basin, including all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. 

And it all starts from Lake Itasca, a small glacial lake only about 1.8 square miles in area, with an average depth of 20 to 35 feet.

Just as that small lake fuels a gigantic network of rivers and tributaries, the leader of a company has an exponential impact on the workplace culture. As a leader, one of your most important jobs is as CCO—chief culture officer.

Do you look forward to going to work each day? Do you leave work feeling hopeful and fulfilled? As a business leader or manager of your company, if you don’t, then your employees probably don’t either. And if you do, have you checked with your employees to see if they feel the same way? A huge part of building a Passion and Provision company is creating a space where your employees feel safe, engaged, heard and valued. A place where they can actually have fun while also doing good work and finding fulfillment in their contribution.

Social media can sometimes be a popularity contest. Everyone is screaming for attention and there is strength in numbers. The influence of a social media profile can be measured by its number of followers. A huge number of followers implies credibility and certain social media “Influencers” even make money from their popularity via product endorsements. There has been a race to build followers and some people have found a shortcut, but at what cost?