This week at church, the homily was about patience and our relentless need to focus on what hasn't been done. The priest talked about "dolce far niente" - the sweetness of doing nothing.

Last week, I was with a client - 1,700 employees, phenomenal culture - to launch a leadership program that identifies rising leaders across the organization, gets them in a room together, and builds next-gen relationships that will carry the company forward.

Every Spring, it seems like the grass just seems to grow.  Which leads to a discussion about mowing it, which leads to a discussion about how the lawn mower is broken - the blades are dull, the battery died, a mouse chewed some wires.  And my husband inevitably says, "We should just sell it and get a new one."

This week I sang for a funeral.  It was a B- on "performance".  Definitely missed a few notes, bad breath control, had some mic issues, and the whole time I was thinking, "Father D is going to be so disappointed.  He runs a tight ship and has high expectations."

Last week I had a super long day of client calls and teaching CI to a new leadership team.  By the end, I should have been exhausted. Instead, I was amped up (and so were they!)

My youngest just played her first club volleyball tournament. They won eight straight matches, made the finals, and finished second. It was intense, emotional (collective effervescence, anyone?) and the right outcome for where they are. 

Got a text from a loyal reader asking when my next newsletter was coming out. I said, "This week! What lesson has been on your mind lately?" He replied, "I'm learning that when I'm frustrated with someone I need to stop thinking about what they can do different and instead think about what I can do different. It all comes down to my leadership.”

Last week I had fancy dinner for a great cause and brought my executive network together.   One of them mentioned advice that had shifted his brain years earlier - "You know, you can hire people better than you."

Last week we were talking about the trait that excels at prioritizing workload and one person (who wasn't super strong in that trait) said "I'm great at prioritizing.  I always get my stuff done."  The person across the table said, "You're great at getting it all done but you overload yourself and work 18 hour days to do it."

This year brought 2 huge wins for me - Lisa and Brittany.  Lisa took over my rental property management in January.  For the first time in 4 years, our rents are current and our properties are up to date on licensing and maintenance.  

My view on things is too simplistic.  It all comes down to people.  You've got a goal?  One part of the plan isn't working and it's causing other parts to break down?  I'm going to have a very direct question for you - who owns the broken part?  Who is driving that initiative?

Last week was a blur of prep for the year ahead - for my girls (backpacks, and schedules, and buses, oh my!) - and for me. I took 2 days offline to step outside my normal space and think broadly about the next 6-12 months. 

Inside Culture Index, we joke about crushes - not romantic ones, but on "traits" we wish we had.  Right now mine is intense mental focus.  It's often mistaken for slow, but really it’s certainty.

Yesterday I joined 45,000 fans to watch the Savannah Bananas play baseball at Citizens Bank Park.  It was fast-paced, choreographed chaos - music, backflips, nonstop energy. (I loved it.)  And beneath the fun was one of the most magnetic, high-performance business models I’ve ever seen.

Earlier this week, our family gathered 'round the TV to watch a SpaceX rocket launch - an extra special one, since Benchmark Space Systems (my husband’s company) had two propulsion systems on board.

Back in 2015, I was on a road trip with some of my smartest (and most unfiltered) college friends. After a bottle rolled down a hill, I said, “That bottle has a design flaw.”  Ryan, never one to miss a moment, deadpanned: “Yeah. You are the design flaw, Beka. The design flaw is you.”

The lifetime net worth graph on these calls? Always the same.
Flat. Flat. Flat.  Then boom - hockey stick!

In Team of Teams, General McChrystal challenges leaders to stop micromanaging and start building people they trust to act as they would - aligned in values, able to make the call, and trusted to lead when you’re not in the room.

In just 48 hours, my family lost three people we love. Add in cancer treatments, a calendar full of end-of-year kid chaos, work pressures, and the ripple of economic instability… and I hit a wall.

I recently started a course to learn how to develop word-of-mouth referrals.  I know that mastering this skill will dramatically impact my journey.  But learning this skill is super uncomfortable - I hate asking for help.  The first few times, it came out "cringy" (as my kids would say) and I wanted to immediately stop.