“In some cases other participants will study the rules just to use your ignorance of the rules to defeat you.“ J Loren Norris

A good leader recognizes gifts and talents in those they lead and matches them with coming opportunities rather than seeing every opportunity as their own. And every team member as a competitor.” J Loren Norris

“What seems like mild questioning of the right to rule will easily become a mutiny if not addressed.” J Loren Norris

“The lessons we learn in life are not just for our learning. We are meant to pass them on and save the pain for future generations. We should be trusted to leave the map through the toughest times and to the promised land of success. First good dads model behavior worth emulating. Second they keep record of thoughts, successes, failures, mistakes and relationship journeys in the form of a journal. This is a simple yet effective way to leave a lasting legacy.” J Loren Norris

​“The law of the picture: people do what people see is no more evident than in the role of Dad!  Children who see a dad who is courteous, selfless, kind and filled with gratitude learn to emulate those values. A father who chooses to be absent, aloof, or oblivious is not fulfilling the role of DAD. Living the core values you wish for your children to benefit from demands awareness, attention and action. Be present. Be invested. Be intentional. That’s a good dad.” J Loren Norris..

”Children seem to have a natural knack for telling lies when they believe it will benefit them. Selfishness, emotional responses, and sometime outright meanness actually are natural in humans. Its human nature. A good dad knows this and leads their children in the direction of choosing to tell the truth even when there are consequences. The discipline and determination will bring about friction in your in parental relationships but the payoff will be worth all the struggles. Go the hard work of training them in truth Dad.” J Loren Norris

“Speak love. Speak hope. Speak faith. Speak life. These things will remain as core values in the mind of your children all their life. The environment around them will speak fear, judgment, and constant comparison to unrealistic expectations. Like filters challenge beauty and fake esteem challenges confidence the narrative of the media and social media will mock and challenge your children's personal value and constantly mock their core values. Its up to you to solidify the narrative they will live by.” J Loren Norris

“A dad who is a good leader will sacrifice time, energy and resources to become better adept at understanding his children. Knowing their individual personalities, quirks, gifts, talents and interests will go a long way in helping them to become successful at life. Two rules to apply: number one start early, number two give them definitive boundaries padded with love.” J Loren Norris

“In the context of time and maturity, the last thing a parent wants to see is their children following in the foolish decisions they made themselves. The only mistake a dad can make to worsen such a circumstance is to respond harshly enough to damage their relationship. The stability a dad leads his family with contains the strength to face bad decisions and the consequences they bring with grace, wisdom and a firm stand on dependable core values. Dads must stand their ground without standing in hypocritical judgement.” J Loren Norris

“Responsibility does not imply ownership. There are people in our life we are responsible to and those we are responsible for. As a leader, dad will one day learn stewardship as an obligation with limited rights and privileges which diminish over time. Being a good steward means easing expectations, expressing gratitude and sharing the vision with permission to participate rather than demand.” J Loren Norris

​“Failure is not final and neither is success. Dad knows how and when to observe their children learning to walk and still encourage rather than judge. Dads who lead well never allow the sense of failure to become devastating overwhelm.  Dads build up the steps to success through failure and persistence. Dads love not because of tremendous success but in spite of tremendous failure.” J Loren Norris

​“If you’re a dad, you’re a leader like it or not. As a leader there are roles, duties, tasks and actions which no one can perform like you. To provide insights, education, wisdom and sustenance is part of your assignment. To provide protection from harm, injury, bad decisions and bad information are also your job. The pillars of society rest on your willingness and ability to complete these assignments.” J Loren Norris

“Dads carry a heavy burden of leadership and that is the demonstration of respect for others, especially those in authority. When the moral bearings of right and wrong are lost the core values are not passed from generation to generation, a lack of accountability, a lack of respect and selfish self destruction begin to creep in. Society eventually pays the price when dads drop the ball of demonstrating proper respect and discipline.” J Loren Norris

“One of the most frustrating aspects of human relationships rest in feeling like you have not been heard. No one enjoys the position of voicelessness. Leaders know that one of the wisest, if not the most humbling action they can take is taking the time to have a simple conversation with those they lead.” J Loren Norris

“Your best thought could be a better thought. Your best idea could be a better idea. The greatest thing on your mind could be improved by a mastermind. When you bathe your ideas in the thoughts and opinions of others you take a great risk. However, allowing others to apply friction to your ideas is like putting a gem stone in a tumbler. The rough edges are rubbed off and what comes out is a whole different quality of stone. That’s what a genuine mastermind accomplishes.” J Loren Norris

“Mutually assured destruction is sometimes the only deterrent to tyranny. However, a leader willing to metaphorically apply the death star approach should be cautioned about the natural reaction of the poison pill, sabotage and revolt. Some team members will feel betrayed by authority and will inflict as much damage as possible before moving on. Good leaders are aware of this tension and the team members most likely to act.” J Loren Norris

“It is cruel and unscrupulous to manipulate the meaning of a persons words when translating or repeating them. It is vile to do so with ill-intent. To interfere in communication by altering the facial expressions, intonation and emotional state is IMHO down right evil. But we have tools which many see as a game which does exactly that. Leaders must become masters of reality to deal with this new world of AR.” J Loren Norris

“Instructions not properly translated are instructions not properly given. Not amount of emphatic articulation, passion or conviction in verbal delivery or instructions makes up the difference. SHOUTING via text or email will not more clearly convey unclear instructions. Leaders who fail to insure their expectations and instructions are clear, will be leaders who are just as frustrated as the people they lead.” J Loren Norris ​

”The immeasurable worth of deeply held and strongly rooted values is undeniable. Unfortunately such values and those who hold to them are becoming more rare every day. Leaders know their values are essential to leading with legacy. They also know their values are priced out of the market. They are worth more than any pay raise, vacation, career promotion, other social incentives or political pressure. In short, leaders who know their values cannot be bought.” J Loren Norris

”Call it shading, facets, partial representation or any other name you like. Nuance is another word for conveying something other than the whole truth. Employees do it. Politicians do it. Toddlers do it. Attorneys do it. You have likely done it, I know I have. Good leaders understand the power and purpose of nuance all the while aware of its dangers. Be alert. Look closely, listen closer and always ask, what’s the whole, entire, complete truth.” J Loren Norris

“If your ego as a leader is too fragile to encourage the dreamers you lead, then its time to reevaluate your ego and self worth. If you are concerned about promoting a dreamer into their own dreams of entrepreneurship and not being able to replace them, consider this: your leadership thus far has empowered them to become who they are. You can repeat the process to cultivate another superstar and you must. The world needs all of the confident dreamers we can muster. If your leader is squelching your dreams, holding you back and not allowing you to imagine, to soar, to succeed, they have disqualified themselves from leading you.” J loren Norris

”You are free to say whatever you feel compelled to say. You are not free from the consequences of the reactions your words inspire. As a leader, you must allow your team the right to speak freely. You must also help them to understand the consequences not only of what was actually said, but the thoughts, feelings and ideas which leads to such speech.” J Loren Norris

“Study the genuine article and not the litany of fakes if you want to get past the deception and get closer to the truth. Leaders who live and thrive on the glitz and glamor of the spotlight and not the transformation of their people, those are the counterfeit. Leaders who do the right thing when no one is looking and nothing is to be gained, those are the genuine article, study them, follow them.” J Loren Norris

“To be confused by language is nothing new. To misunderstand, misinterpret, misconstrue are all human reactions to complicated or emotionally charged conversations. Those who artfully misuse language are doing so with ill intent to confuse and manipulate. Leaders love language and the artful application of it to produce connection, clarity and consensus.” J Loren Norris

“Sometimes the action you see is not what you should be cautious about. It’s not the struggle getting the most attention, the fight turning all the heads, the chaos stopping traffic which is reshaping society. Like a good ‘fight promoter’ the real game is happening in the back room between the power players and power brokers and they really don’t care who survives the scuffle… as long as they remain in power by provoking the scuffle. If you only deal in power, you are a tyrant and not a leader.” J Loren Norris