Based on my work with hundreds of people faced with adversity, I have found that resiliency is the most important factor in their success. Here are the seven most important attributes of resilient people: Resilient people carefully decide what they can control and what they can’t. Resilient people know there are always other solutions and they find ways to improvise and stay flexible. Resilient people recognize their fear, but do what they have to do anyway. Resilient people are realistically …
Austin Hatch: An Inspiration Last week at my Leaders Connect Breakfast, I had the honor to host one of my former students, Austin Hatch. As most of you know, Austin is an incredible young man who, after spending over 2 months in a coma following a plane crash, graduated from University of Michigan. Amazingly, this was the second plane crash that he had survived. When he came out of his coma, not only did he have to face the loss …
Do You Have a Temper Tantrum Problem? Here’s a quiz for you leaders: When you read the term, “temper tantrum”, what comes to mind? A. Little children out of control? B. Sports legends arguing with the refs or fighting with each other (Think Billy Martin, Bob Probert, or John McEnroe)? C. Drunks in a bar? D. Myself In my experience as a coach, very seldom do I see people selecting “myself” as the answer to this little quiz. I find …
I first met Steve Angerman in the mid-1980’s. At the time he was running a sporting goods and running store above Bivouac in Ann Arbor. I was impressed that, as a young man, he seemed to be doing what he loved, and he was very good at it. Over the next 30 years, with his business partner Randy, he built that little store into a large chain of nine running stores, called Running Fit. Additionally, he developed a substantial side …
April 23, 1968, Ann Arbor I was just 21 when I learned that Martin Luther King had been assassinated in Memphis. Several of my friends and I, who were all preparing to graduate from the University of Michigan, immediately gathered in our small apartment to watch on our tiny black and white TV to seek and understand the details of his death. Tears flowed as we sat in shock watching one of our heroes being remembered. His “I Have a Dream Speech“, played on continual repeat on the television and radio. …
Over a 25 year span, my Leaders Connect Program has grown significantly. From a humble start of 10 leaders sitting around a table talking about the challenges of leadership, the program has expanded. Now, Leaders Connect Ann Arbor offers a breakfast which regularly sells out with over 100 leaders attending a networking/leadership/learning event at Zingerman’s Roadhouse. Leaders Connect Ann Arbor would not be possible without my sponsors: Zingermans, Bank of Ann Arbor, Rehmann, and Office Evolution. This week on Friday we …