80% of family-owned businesses that transition to the next generation fail within 5 years. Owners find that after all of their decades of hard work and dedication their family legacy is lost. It feels like losing a family member. After working with dozens of clients, I’ve traced the failures down to four root causes: 1) Trust issues, which makes leadership ineffective.2) Accountability Issues, that destroy productivity. 3) Unresolved family and organizational conflict that results in culture issues.4) Operational issuesWe teach business owners how to equip the next generation leaders with the skills, mindset, and passion to overcome these obstacles. Newly equipped we inspire them to lead and grow their businesses in a new way ensuring that a business legacy lives on.

I lost one of my best friends when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11/01. He was an amazing man who was focused on giving back as much as he could and radiating unconditional love to everyone he met. His impact is still being felt today. His life inspired me so much that I left my job in corporate America to dedicate my life to developing more leaders like him. Several decades ago I read a book that helped change my perspective on life, Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning." Viktor Frankl had spent years in Nazi concentration camps. He survived because he was able to reframe the constant conflict he faced and use it to fuel his meaning to help others. If he survived the holocaust, he could share his theories on overcoming adversity and have positive impact on the world. He felt that if people could overcome their internal conflicts that they could transform their lives and eventually transform the future of the world. He believed that conflict was a necessary step in the personal innovation process. Viktor Frankl once said, “When we are no longer able to change a situation—we are challenged to change ourselves.” Instinctively, in the face of challenges, most people falter. They see conflict as something to avoid, not something to embrace and use. Innovation cannot happen without conflict and an organization that resists change is destined to fail. You can measure the success of your life, or your organization, by your ability to resolve conflict in healthy ways. A leader that can do that can change the world.

Co-Chairman and Co-Developer of John Maxwell's YouthMax youth leadership program. Tomorrow's leaders need to be trained today. Our focus is on building the communication skills and the character of the participants in our program.

* Leadership Development* Organizational Change* Business Strategy

Led sales teams for national mortgage companies New Century Mortgage, H&R Block Mortgage, Countrywide Home Loans, and Progressive Mortgage. Managed staffs as large as 75 loan officers. Managed, trained, and coached team on sales and underwriting. Consistently had highest employee retention and loan originator success.

I had a duel role as commercial lines underwriter and transition specialist. I was responsible for underwriting a very active 6 million dollar territory in central Ohio. As a transition specialist I helped agencies in transition to insure a smooth changeover and better prepare incoming team to be successful moving forward.

Golf Professional, Director of Golf Instruction, and/or General Manager at Faribault G&CC, River Oaks GC, and Heritage Links GC in Southeast Minnesota. Skills included Human Resources development and implementation, sales and merchandising, inventory control, staff management, scheduling and payroll, budget control and P&L, golf tournament organization, golf coaching. Developed Heritage Links golf school.