Leadership: The Yin and Yang of Head and Heart

Leadership: The Yin and Yang of Head and Heart

On May 22, 2011, around 6:20 p.m. I was walking down Connecticut Avenue in Joplin, Missouri. The debris on the street was heavy as I headed towards my office nearly 7 blocks away. I needed to grab my laptop before I headed to the emergency command center. The story of...
An Empty Stomach Has No Ears

An Empty Stomach Has No Ears

Recently, I spent some time in North Central Missouri in the community of Edina. A rural community in Knox County that bears a striking resemblance to the area I grew up in Southeast Kansas. A community group had come together to implement the Bright Futures...
Life is a Highway…Just Drive

Life is a Highway…Just Drive

As kids grow up, there are few things more unnerving for a parent than when they start learning to drive. Being in the passenger seat while they first try to parallel park is scary. It’s even scarier to imagine (or experience) not being in that seat as they pull...
Building Resilient Communities

Building Resilient Communities

Severe weather events, global conflict, and economic hardships seem to have become commonplace in this world we live in. Media coverage brings to light how people and communities respond when faced with the real-life drama created by extreme adversity. A word often...