This Eagle Scout has a real passion for family business, advising business owners, leadership at successful organizations, and mentoring Next Generation.
I am not a big fan of making annual New Year's Resolutions as I feel you should always have goals you are working towards. However, if the turning of the calendar is the motivation you need... I say go for it. One resolution that many people make is to lose weight or get in better shape. Anyone who has been reading this blog regularly knows that I have been working hard to improve my health during the past 3 years (it did actually start on January 1, 2006).
This summer I felt like I had hit a plateau and after discussing my frustration with a good friend, he encouraged me to hire a nutritionist. So in October, I started working with Brenda Hoover of Core Changes, LLC. The first thing we did was take some measurements which included my weight, visceral fat, body fat percentage. . . (this is a pretty humbling moment). I was at 16% body fat which for a 41 year old man was not bad, but not where I wanted to be. Brenda had me journal all my food intake and start a 12 week educational program. She taught me how to improve my conditioning program and how to eat a Low Glycemic Index diet. The Glycemic Index measures the speed at which carbohydrates break down in your digestive system and turn into glucose, the body’s main source of energy or fuel. The idea is to reduce simple carbohydrates (white sugar, white flour…) from your diet.
I decided that very first day that I was going to be very coachable and do everything she instructed. Well after 10 weeks I am down to 13% body fat. I have continued to work out each day and basically removed any food that was high on the Glycemic Index system. I have significantly improved all my metrics and feel so much better.
I think the moral of this story is that it is wise to seek the advice of professionals and then have a teachable spirit.Too often we think we know everything and do not want to take advice from others.Brenda and the team at Core Changes have made a huge difference in my life as it relates to my health and fitness!
One of the coolest parts of my job at McKonly & Asbury is getting to meet great companies with solid family-owned leadership. In my continuing series of highlighting Organizations that “Get It”, I am going to be profiling Brubacher Excavating, Inc. - a Lancaster County based family business that for over 35 years has made its mark as a top provider of excavating, paving, site utilities, drilling, and blasting services for both public and private markets.
When Ben Brubacher first started Brubacher Excavating, an enduring commitment to quality workmanship was part of its foundation. Today, it is clear that their commitment still lives and grows. Brubacher Excavating is a company eager to progress, but committed to maintaining its tradition of outstanding service to the regional marketplace in which our families all live and work.
The Eighth Habit is a sequel to The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.The Seven Habits introduced the concepts used to become effective whereas The Eighth Habit continues the move from effectiveness to greatness, or to create personal significance and greatness.
The Eighth Habit is considered a new paradigm and Dr. Stephen Covey uses many examples and metaphors in explaining the concepts of The Eighth Habit.The theme of The Eighth Habit is to “find your voice, and inspire others to find theirs”.Covey begins the book with a look at the current work environment, indicating that many people are not happy with their jobs and are not satisfied with their contribution to their organizations.He indicates that this is the typical voice of the workforce.There is more pressure to do more with less, which has created the environment of doing things that are urgent, rather than important.He concludes that if everyone is not on the same page than everything becomes urgent and it takes up a significant amount of your energy to address urgent issues, while leaving the important issues unattended.
By now I am sure everyone has read about Illinois Governor’s Rod Blagojevich arrest on corruption charges.Here is a person elected to lead a state who should have been focused on doing what is best for the people of Illinois, but instead (at least based on the wiretap transcripts) focused on what was in it for him.He was literally trying to sell the appointment of the vacant senate seat.When I first read about this story, I laughed out loud and thought he was just stupid or believed he was above the law (or maybe both).But then it got me thinking about leaders making an impact on those they serve.As leaders, we can choose to have a negative impact or a positive impact.Governor Blagojevich chose the path that would provide him the most impact (at least in terms of short term gains). However servant leadership is about creating a positive impact on others.This is accomplished by helping others find their voice (mentoring others; developing others…).This takes a selfless approach to others.Trying to make their life better.The greatest success we will ever know is helping others grow and succeed.In the case of Governor Blagojevich, he was clearly focused only on helping himself succeed and it looks like it will cost him everything.
One of my passions in life is working with family owned businesses.Family businesses enjoy a success rate far greater than other kinds of businesses.In the US, family businesses provide 65% of all wages.This group is the backbone of our country and will likely be the group that pulls us out of our current recession.This group is not without challenges, as I often hear the following:
We can’t talk about the real issues
We seem to have differing expectations about how to handle the business
As the family and business grow, we’re facing more confusion and conflict
Every family business member feels differently toward the business: some hate it, some love it, to some it is a dream come true, to others it is a nightmare.
A couple of key points on managing family in a family business:
As part of my continuing series of profiling “Servant Leaders” and also as an alumnus of Messiah College, I am proud to continue this series with a profile on Dr. Kim Phipps, President of Messiah College.
Dr. Phipps was named the eighth president of Messiah College in December 2004. Before accepting the position of president, she served as both academic dean and provost of Messiah College.
As President, she is committed to honoring the good work of her predecessors by continuing their legacy. These great individuals believed that Christian higher education was essential and should be transformational. They were willing to make personal sacrifices to ensure that Messiah’s mission was fulfilled. They possessed intellectual, personal, and spiritual maturity as evidenced in their teaching, scholarship, leadership, and personal examples of godly living. They sought to establish a college where intellectual rigor and spiritual understanding were harmoniously integrated, not separated. And this is exactly what Dr. Phipps is doing.
Today I turn 42 and I can truly say I feel younger (much healthier – thanks to some discipline) then I did at 32. However in speaking with my 7 year old son, he had a rather interesting perspective.He said, “Daddy you are almost 100.”I of course corrected him and indicated that I was a long way from that milestone.He thought for a moment and then replied, “You are not close to 1.”It was cute and certainly very profound – I am probably half way through life.This is a great time to look back and reflect on my life. I have been truly blessed and have accomplished many things, but believe I have much more life to live.As Abraham Lincoln once said, “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count.It’s the life in your years.”
