Lauren’s Blog

Are you too focused on success? The greatest challenge The Colonel issued to his daughters was to choose significance over mere success. He said, “Anyone can be successful, kiddo… Making a lot of money, that’s easy. Choose to be significant.”...

The Colonel said, “Blowing out someone else’s candle won’t make yours shine any brighter, kiddo.” https://vimeo.com/743204254 Leaders regularly lift others up, not put others down. We have all met people who put others down to make themselves look or feel bigger...

Dad said, “You’ve got to be an optimist. When your team can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, you have to be able to show it to them and convince them it’s not a train.” https://vimeo.com/743187405 Optimism is not a squishy, overly idealist characteristic....

When I was a sales director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, I heard a joke that went something like, “There goes my team. I must follow them, for I am their leader!” While that may cause a chuckle, I wonder how many leaders feel that way because they have stopped...

I have been a talker my whole life. (I know you find that SHOCKING.) My mother used to say, “Lauren Ann, stop talking just to hear the sound of your own voice.” When I moved into a management role, The Colonel put it this way: “Stop talking. Listen. You don’t learn...

I believe there are three ways to lead: by example, by example, and (you guessed it) by example. The Colonel said: “Don’t tell your team what kind of leader you are. They won’t follow you because of what you say. Show them what kind of leader you are in your...

The Colonel said, “Sometimes you just have to give up the spotlight. Ya know, kiddo, the maestro – the LEADER of the orchestra has to turn his back on the audience to lead the musicians effectively.” https://vimeo.com/735243640 This was a hard leadership lesson for...

The Colonel said, “People will be watching you, kiddo. They will measure your character by the way you treat those who report to you.” Dad believed the measure of a human being is largely how they treat the people who can’t do anything for them. You see, it’s easy...