When was the last time you experienced the emotions of Surprise and Delight? Did you receive an unexpected gift from a friend? Were you the recipient of an act of kindness? Was there a hand-written note lying in your mailbox? Who went the extra mile to serve you in a manner that made you feel …
Category: Leadership and Culture
Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes
In an ideal world, everyone would be willing to Walk a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes demonstrating a Habit of Awareness of Others in efforts to create a flourishing community. However, the reality is that most of us are more interested in our own perspective and having our own opinions supported than we are at …
Nothing But Crickets
Have you ever stood in front of a group of people, whether as the sage on the stage in a college classroom, as a small group leader, or as the supervisor in a business meeting and experienced that sinking feeling when you ask a question and no one says a word? That awkward silence continues, …
Hub of the Wheel
Have you ever experienced a word in your vocabulary that is taken for granted? You know its general meaning and your pencil (or keyboard) has placed the letters in the boxes of a crossword puzzle, but when the combination of individual letters are connected, or you speak the word aloud, a simple vocabulary word comes …
The Hospitable Leader
Recognizing that other people may not track with my philosophy that one should view an athletic event or a college classroom as an opportunity to demonstrate hospitality, my hope is that even those who disagree will be able to connect with the concept of a Hospitable Leader. Author Terry A. Smith invites us to ponder …
Lesson of the Slime Mold
The more hours spent engaged in research on a flourishing life, the more convinced I become that a successful definition rests more in relational equity and connecting with others than in the measurement of achievements and successes. Whether it’s words of wisdom from the Reverend Billy Graham in Nearing Home or Bob Buford’s Finishing Well, …
Culture of Hospitality
Ponder this question with me: Can a preeminent athletic program be created through a culture of hospitality? Several years ago, in one of my classes, and I don’t remember which course it happened to occur in, probably in sport facilities during our home court/field debate, the topic emerged around this concept of viewing the opponent …
The Hospitality Room
For those of us who routinely are a part of a sporting event, whether as a volunteer or an employee, we understand the importance of the hospitality room where we can refresh ourselves with snacks and visit with colleagues during intermissions of play. During the more than two decades that Jackson served as the host …
Bump the Lamp
Other than working in women’s retail for a short period of time in high school, very few of the jobs I’ve held would be considered working in customer service; however, over the years, I’ve come to believe that most of us actually engage in more hospitality opportunities than we realize. Although the responsibilities described in …
Good, Better, Best
Once upon a time there was a retail and appliance store called Sears (sadly there are only a few locations remaining) where almost every single item we ever owned was purchased. Every appliance in our home had a Kenmore label purchased with a Sears employee discount. This retailer was so prominent during the 70s and …
Flourishing @ Life 