The Right Balance Between Home and Work
Successful leaders often have one problem: success at work and failure at home. Maybe failure is too strong of a word for you. Maybe your statement is: “success at work, no success at home.” You evaluate and decide. The prototypical story is that of a successful father who is absent, and therefore his marriage and […]
Daddy, Carry Me
I want to share about family, reflecting as a leader on this most honored role we all have: to be part of a family. Our twins, Emily (who we call Emmy) and Luke, were a gift from the Lord to Joanne and I. Now, as they turn three, their words, minced with the beauty and […]
Reflections on World Politics
If you follow world politics, you know about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. Growing up in Lebanon, I was among the millions who lived under the terror of the Assad regime’s bombs for over a decade. First, it was led by the father, Hafez, and then his son, Bashar. Now, they are […]
Reflections on a New Year
A year, a complete rotation of the earth around the sun, is a marker in the march of time through the ages toward eternity. For me, having a January 3rd birthday, the end of the calendar year is also a mark of another year of life. This morning, my six-year-old son Danny said, “I see […]
Reflections on Parenting
Our twins will turn three on January 3rd, which is also my birthday! Emmy came first, then seven minutes later Luke arrived. It was one of the biggest miracles and blessings Joanne and I have had, and we thank the Lord for them. Luke does not eat well. He is also a bit taller than […]
Reflections on Life
As we end this year, I am reflecting on what really matters in a leader’s life. Please indulge me a bit as I wander through some hallways of rhetorical fog and hopefully come out on the other end with some thoughts to take away. Like anyone, my life includes a mix of successes and failures, […]
Closing the Year with Purpose and Gratitude
To my friends in leadership, As the year comes to a close, I invite you to join my staff and I this week as we reflect on our bigger purpose as Christians. With that in mind, we close our laptops and open our hearts to the wonder of Emmanuel, “God with us.” We […]
Enduring Uncertainty
Leaders are in the business of trying, creating, exploring, and theorizing followed by testing, giving individuals a chance, revealing visions, and extending opportunities to a team. All of these actions have something in common: uncertainty. As humans, it is only natural to crave clarity, direction, a sense of control—certainty. However, effective leadership, especially that of […]
The Secret of Resolve and Resilience
The secret of resolve and resilience is to become comfortable with pain. There is no hope for a leader who resides in comfort and relaxation. We know this. Still, at times we too forget that sacrifice, not comfort, is at the heart of growth and progress. When I recall my 30-hour shifts during my medical […]
On Frustration
Nothing gets under my skin more than when a leader says “I’m frustrated.” Quite frankly, it really frustrates me. I’m being cheeky here, but it does seem that some of us love to get frustrated. It is a go-to emotion we absent-mindedly employ. When we get emotional, engaging any emotion, our limbic system takes charge […]