Who is going to be the one to take modern prefab into modern levels of mass production to bring the price down?

I picked an amazing dinner spot at Ciao Bella. She picked a slow chick flick (me, two other guys + 100 teenage girls). Together we had one of the most fun, relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable anniversaries we’ve ever had.

Our marriage has really strengthened this year. We turned a corner in France that we’ve struggled to get around for years. It’s exciting.

Along with just having fun, we talked about some goals we have for our marriage for year #10.

1. Pray together more (needs to be quantified)
2. Serve more (needs to be quantified)
3. Define our first official budget ever!
4. Take a real vacation, this year and ever year (I’m praying for a miracle that we’ll spend our 10th anniversary in Italy or at least on a beach)
5. Get a nice espresso machine to change my starbucks habit from buying drinks to buying beans. 

This is my new “nephew” Koen Nikhil Mehta. He thinks I’m so cool. And I think the same thing about him.

Vice Chairman and CEO of Best Buy

• Spent 7 years watching other people lead
• Being bankrupt, gives the freedom to have creativity bloom

Leaders get into leadership because they want affirmation of themselves.

• True leaders get their joy out of seeing the leadership qualities of others come out.
• Once again: Marcus Buckingham rocks!
• The Biggest part of the job of the CEO: Staying engaged with the people that make the difference.

Motivating Leaders: Find your leadership base

• do you believe in it?
• how are coding what you’re doing? (are you masking what you really feel about your work).

How many 25 year old women here the voice of God tell them they should take on the prison system?

Not many, I’d guess. 

Catherine Rohr, overall else, seems to be a person who takes joy in being called to do work in the hardest places. 

The Vision: She looks for proven entrepreneurs in the prison system. (Insert chuckle). The key is to find people who really are sick and tired of their old ways. First, she breaks down the tough guy barriers. Then puts them through business boot camp. 

Then they graduate, get housing, job placement, medical insurance, and then they help them start the business ideas that burgeoned in prison. She achieves a single digit return to prison rate. 

Unbelievable. 

“These guys have been takers all their lives. Now, 70% of them give back to the program with financial donations.”

-Catherine Rohr

This creates the multi-generational community impact we’re all looking for. These guys get out, turn around their life and turn around their families too…

The message for the inmates

• We can be broken and still be loved.

Handling Criticism as a leader:

• Don’t let emotions over the criticism get in the way of the business.
• Ask if this is legit feedback. If it is, engage it. If it isn’t, ignore it.

Keeping from Burning Out:

• scheduled down time
• have no privacy, sacrifice privacy and gain acountability
• If there is time when someone doesn’t know where you are during the day, that’s a problem

The SwellHouse advertises mass-customization. In essence, it’s mass produced, with the ability to quickly customize it to your modular needs…It essentially comes as a bunch of boxes that get shipped from the factory, bolted together on site with all the energy, plumbing and information systems hidden away in the cavities.

I like the standard design of this house. The “S” model as the call it, has sliding panels and walls that merge the inside world and the outside world by creating courtyards on the inside of the building. They use stand “green” practices and materials to make this house have a smaller environmental footprint, aside from the smaller footprint of the factory produced modular building process overall.

Check it out.

• Align
• Empower
• Serve
• Collaborate

People find their passion for leadership in their life stories…

How do leaders develop?

1. Understand the purpose of your leadership.
2. Get feedback, prayer & introspection.
3. Will you be true to your values.
4. Discover your intrinsic motivations. Lead from your strengths. (are you in your sweet spot?)
5. Build a supportive team around you. Have one person that you’re able to have complete transparency with.
6. Lead an integrated life. Be the same person in all environments of life. Congruency.

• Leadership in endeavors and issues that matter to God. 
• Just because I’m leading and people are following, doesn’t mean that I’m leading in things that matter to God. 
• Are Jesus and I on the same page?

A few of Bill’s axiom’s that hit me:

“If it feels funky, engage.”

• This is me to a fault
• I need to extend this by saying, if it feels funky, engage diplomatically. 
• Great leaders have the courage to call out when things are heading in a God-inspired direction, I want to grow in this area.