Force Multiplier

 The older I get, I find myself reading more memoirs and biographies in my spare reading time. 

As I was reading the reviews this morning on The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant…one review in particular caught my attention. 

“Provides leadership lessons that can be obtained nowhere else…Ulysses Grant in his Memoirs gives us a unique glimpse of someone who found that the habit of reflection could serve as a force multiplier for leadership.”

I hovered on this for a while this morning- reflection as a force multiplier for leadership. 

As you know - I have a deep appreciation for journaling. Baking journaling / reflection into your daily routine can be a force multiplier in your leadership journey. 

As leaders, force multipliers are a game changer. It is an edge that will take us from good to great. 

Win the Day. I am always in your corner. Take care - pja

5 Year Resume

Circling back to the Savannah Bananas…I listened to a podcast last week with their CEO (Jesse Cole). Here is the link – well worth the listen. 

 

5 things really stood out to me:

 

1. They have a waiting list of over 12,000 people to work for them. 
2. In their ten+ years of existence, they have only had five people leave on their own accord. (Talk about a retention rate!) 
3. Obsession is awesome. If you can find something you are obsessed with, so few people in the world get to have that. 
4. Whatever’s normal… do the exact opposite. No one goes home excited about normal. Normal gets normal results. There’s a lot of normal in the world, not a lot of extraordinary. 
5. The 5 Year Resume. Everyone who interviews with the Bananas has to write a resume for themselves on what they will accomplish in the next five years. They are looking for visionaries. 

 

I really hovered on the last one. Not everyone has the ability to cast vision. Yet, as leaders, one of our greatest callings is to be able to see what others don’t see…then, execute. Vision without action is simply daydreaming. If we want to be the best of the best, our charge must be to cast the vision- then enact an action plan to make it happen. 

 

The work we do is not easy. But it is gratifying…beyond measure. 

 

Be a visionary. The next generation depends on us. 

 

I am always in your corner. Win the Day- pja

 

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How Are You Showing Up?

 I came across this quote over the weekend…and believe it speaks volumes to the work we are doing each and every day. 

 

"Your value is embedded in the action that you take to have the team have success. Whatever role you have, we actually all have the same role and that's to help your team win. How you impact and how you show up is everything."

~Tracy Joyner – Head Women’s Soccer Coach (Oregon) 

 

I hovered on this line:

How you impact- and how you show up is everything. 

 

As I have shared with you many times before- I start my day journaling. I have since taken on a night time journaling routine. 

 

It is simply one question: How did I show up today? I score myself on a scale of 1-10. Then I take some time to think about how I could have been better. 

 

I am usually pretty hard on myself. Shakespeare said it best, ‘To thine own self be true.” 

 

A resolution I have for 2026 is an ardent focus on the ‘3 P’s’. 

 

1. Purposeful 
2. Productive
3. Present

 

Our team needs us to show up every day. How are you showing up? What is your impact? 

To Thine Own Self Be True. 

 

I am in your corner. Always. 

 

Lead. Be Present. Be impactful. Win the Day. 

 

Take care – pja

 

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The Leader's Mindset

 I came across this video over the break. It is short. But well worth the watch. 

 

Coach Cignetti, head football coach at Indiana, certainly has an intense edge to him. But, he’s a leader. And a winner. (google him😊) 

 

Although there are a number of take aways from this clip…here are three I took away from it:

 

1. Leadership is a mindset…without compromise. What do you stand for?
2. “I wasn’t going to lower my standards.” – What standards are you setting and standing for?
3. “I had to set an expectation”- What expectations are you setting? 

 

 

As we venture into 2026, what mindset are you bringing to the team and for your team? How are you showing up for the role in which you have been called? 

 

Everyone wins when leader gets better. 

 

I am always in your corner. Win the Day. Take care - pja

 

Aside from watching the video, 37 seconds to read. 

30 Day Challenge

December 1. 30 days left in the year. My monthly challenge to you: Find your resolutions/ goals  you scripted for the year. Or, perhaps it was a word for the year you planned on being on more intentional with.  

Find a few minutes of quiet reflection…How did you do? Where did you excel? Where did you fall short? 

 

Now, moving forward, what will you carry into the new year-or, where will you pivot to for growth?

 

Most importantly, start now. There is nothing magical about January 1. Rather, I contend the most ‘magical’ thing you can do is seize today. None of us are promised tomorrow. Don’t wait another 30 days to enact the growth you want to see in yourself. 

 

Stack daily wins. If you start today, imagine the momentum you will have as you approach the new year. Remember, everyone wins when the leader gets better. 

 

I am in your corner. Always. Get after it today. And Win the Day. PJA 

 

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See the 10

Once again, our Monday Morning Minute of Motivation comes from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. 

I was reading an article yesterday on Roman Wilson, a 2^nd year wide receiver for the Steelers. 

 

Reporters were interviewing Aaron Rogers, the Steelers quarterback, about Wilson.

 

He had this to say:

 

“I’m going to coach you to your potential, not to what I’m seeing…So I’m going to hold you to a high standard.”

 

One thing I have always challenged myself with…and often times fall short: do I see a ’10’  in people? Or, is my default, to what ‘I’m seeing?’ And, to that end, are we holding everyone to a high standard? 

 

Coach your people to their potential. See the ‘10’ in everyone you encounter. Hold them to a high standard. Then, imagine what our culture would be like if we operated with fidelity in this daily practice. And, to that end, imagine how much your leadership prowess would grow. 

 

I’m always in your corner. Win the Day. Take care- pja

 

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The USS Nimitz

I read about this incident recently. The USS Nimitz (aircraft carrier)  pulled into Guam for a port call. While there, one of the sailors went missing. 

A massive search ensued. They never found the sailor. Days later, the ship set sail. 

 

I can’t begin to imagine the agonizing decision to leave…knowing not everyone was accounted for. 

 

I believe there are a bevy of leadership lessons here. 

 

In particular, as you wrap up another year, I challenge you to reflect on the year. 

 

Leadership is about connecting. 

 

As you look at the gamut of people you have to/ get to connect with, who is one person (s) you have failed to connect with?

 

Don’t let the ship set sail- don’t let the year end without making a concerted effort to go after that one -or more- person you need to connect with. 

 

It’s not easy. Yet, this is what we are called to do as leaders. Lead for all. Not just some. 

 

And, a favorite John Maxwell quote I love- and try to live by: “If you are leading, and no one is following, you are simply out for a walk.”

 

Have a great week. Win the Day. I am always in your corner. 

 

Take care – pja

 

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