When I was a teenager, my neighbor became involved in local politics. Elmer was first elected as a municipal judge. One evening I watched Elmer in action. A man and his attorney argued against a traffic violation. The attorney cited legal codes and arguments that seemed to me to be a smoke screen to avoid the truth. Elmer proclaimed, “Son, […]

POW Network is an organization that investigates military imposters. Their website claims, “More imposters lie about earning high military declarations for battlefield bravery than the actual number of real-life hero recipients.” It’s tragic that imposters are dishonoring our veterans for their own personal gain. Some imposters do it for the ability to scam money from others, others do it for […]

The Center for Creative Leadership conducted a seminar discussing the importance of effective communication within the workplace. During this seminar the instructor listed five key steps to building communication skills. Communicate relentlessly. Simplify and be direct. Listen and encourage input. Illustrate through stories. Affirm with actions. Effective communication is not a slurry of words strewn about in effort to gain […]

Recently, Pete Greig, author of Red Moon Rising, shared a personal story with me. Pete has a friend, I’ll call Tim. As a seasoned teacher, Tim’s pastor urged Tim to lead their Sunday School program. When Tim finally agreed, the pastor publicly prayed over Tim for surrendering to his call to teach youth. Tim was angry. He had faithfully taught […]

My friend, Pete, shared recently at an event that when he turned 40, he realized he had become financially successful, but wasn’t internally fulfilled. He craved significance. So, he pledged to give away $10 million in his lifetime. Years later, someone challenged him to add another “0” on the end of his financial pledge. Pete soon realized that this higher […]

Recently, Unconventional Business Network hosted a new Leadership Summit. There were far more details and concerns than the events we traditionally host. When I go to bed, normally I fall to sleep quickly and don’t wake up until 7 hours later. As the event drew near, I found myself waking-up after just 5 hours of sleep. It was my internal […]

After former police officer, Amber Guyger, was convicted for killing her neighbor, Judge Kemp, at Guyger’s request, gave Guyger a hug and, then, gave her a Bible. As a black judge, Tammy Kemp set the internet abuzz for hugging a white ex-cop, who had killed a black man. I believe Judge Kemp understands that God desires justice for the victim, […]

A recent study by Family Enterprise USA states “only 7% of next gens think their family business has a strategy fit for the digital age.” The next generation has a clear advantage to curate ideas, to streamline processes using technology and to understand how to serve their market in a new, fresh digital way. This time in history is dynamic […]

In 2007, Unconventional Business Network held our first all-day conference. After the conference, our final speaker, Chip Ingram, said, “Rick this event was amazing, but God wants me to warn you to prepare for a spiritual battle over the next month.” That month our garage door, our dishwasher and our garbage disposal broke. When the dryer broke as well, Kathy […]

Early in my consulting practice, I bid on a consulting project for a mortgage lender named Tom. When I shared about my Biblical approach to consulting, Tom’s eyes went cold and the meeting ended abruptly. I didn’t get the project. And, I chalked it up to failure on my part. Two years later, Tom’s brother informed me that Tom instead […]