These are the pillars of our operating procedures and strategic guidelines. They may seem simple but I use them constantly to assess whether we are on the right path, as individuals, and as a team.

The sooner we get out of an urban vs rural mindset, the sooner we begin building trust between those who feed and those who eat.

I never use my job title when I introduce myself. Instead of reciting your HR job title, tell others how you add value the organization.

Life does that to us, doesn’t it — come at inconvenient times in inconvenient ways asking more of us than we think we’re ready to give. Great leaders know that inconvenience transforms us and pushes us out of our comfortable box into unlimited potential.

Are you a people leader or people eater? And then I realized, sometimes those things are the same.

When you promote from within your company you’re not starting from scratch. You’re bringing over the passion and knowledge and values of your company to this new position. You’re using a bit of the sourdough starter you’ve been brewing on the counter for years.

How often do we do that? Stop too soon. Fail to take one more step. Fail to do the one last thing that will put us where we need to be. Fail to plot our course.

It is easy to become discouraged when the lion's share of the attention falls on one or two. Some folks seem made for attention. They thrive on it, work better in the midst of it. But all the attention in the world wouldn't have helped Neil Armstrong get back to earth if Michael Collins had decided to grab a little attention of his own and fly on home without him.

Sometimes life seems such a heavy burden to bear. We let problems grow out of proportion. It swallows us up. We lie trapped under a pile of dirty dishes, unable to move, unable to find the way.