Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo said, “A player-coached team is better than a coach-coached team.” A powerful insight about great teams! The “players” have a huge role in leadership. The eyes of the team aren’t only for the coach. The players step up. They set standards. They model the fulfillment of the standards. They […]

I read a book this year called Give and Take by Adam Grant. He proposes an interesting model of organizational interaction. He says there are three types of people: takers, matchers, and givers. Takers approach things with a win/lose approach. In every interaction, they try to gain more in return than they contribute. Matchers have fairness as […]

We’ve been using the words “tour ready” to demonstrate the high-quality work and effort we put into doing our jobs. Yesterday I received a review from a property owner in Indiana.  In Shipshewana, we have a team who buys trees for our sawmill and a crew that visits the property, picks the select trees, cuts […]

“People don’t bloom where they are planted.  They bloom where they are loved.” – Bob Goff Some folks think “love” isn’t an appropriate word for the workplace.  Love is personal.  Love is private. Reserved for families and close friends.  I get it.  It would be weird to go around saying “I love you” to acquaintances at […]