“Many coaches, teachers, trainers and consultants will sell you a course or program, deliver their content and mosey on down the road. Their commitment is oriented to the sale more than the transformation of the buyer. I know this is a grossed generalization, unless you are the buyer. “ J Loren Norris

​“In the world we live in, everything is a war, literally or figuratively. In many cases, the war begins and ends with words. In some cases, ‘thems fighting words’ becomes the battle cry leading to the loss of life and property. Opinions, contradictory facts, emotional flare ups, all of these rest in the bosom the ever powerful narrative.” J Loren Norris

”Leaders must maintain the ability to accept the mistakes, errors and even differing opinions of those they lead. Diversity demands the open mindedness and maturity to realize no one has a lock on the best ideas. Often, the greatest ideas come from the least likely places. Grace allows us to hear, to respect and to appreciate people and ideas from a wide cross section of humanity.” J Loren Norris ​

“Few things are as frustrating for a leader, a parent or anyone as defending yourself against false accusations. However, the cancel culture and other narrative based agendas leave a very similar sense of emotional dissonance when attacking, editing or altering history, or even current events with a narrative which does not resonate with the eyewitness accounts.” J Loren Norris

​“Just because your leadership title gives you the power, right or authority to CHANGE SOMETHING, to mess with something, to tweak something, to manipulate something, does NOT mean you should.” J Loren Norris

“The ability to persuade, coerce or manipulate is not the same as the right to do so. Neither is it an indication as to the level of responsibility, accountability and intent of the person or persons employing such tactics. From gaslighting to dog whistles, rhetoric has been deployed through narrative for as long as humans have had language. The art from, steps, stages, practices of psychological warfare have been studied, developed and deployed mostly in the last 60-75 years. In this lens, we must understand, influence, persuasion, coercion are all tools - neutral in their existence and only the intent of the user can be judged as either good of bad.” J Loren Norris

​“The social, political and religious landscape is changing as fast as the sandy beach in high tide. Words spoken yesterday, last week, last year or even last decade are being reviewed, second guessed and evaluated for compliance to a ubiquitous standard.” J Loren Norris 

“Diversity demands we all bounce ideas off of others who live outside of our world purview, who can offer a new perspective to consider and who can apply the ‘poke, stretch, smash, pull and twist test’ to the leader’s ideas.” J Loren Norris

“Leaders are held accountable for every action, decision, declaration and determination they make. The risk of trusting without verifying information provided by others is not unlike trusting the layer of ice on your swimming pool or the invisible ice on the patio.” J Loren Norris 

“Success is not a right or a gift it is a privileged opportunity that waits on the other side of tremendous effort and sacrifice. If you want it, pay the price.” J Loren Norris

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“So many students whose future was questionable passed through her life to find grace and patience and UNDYING UNWAVERING PERSISTENT belief in them. She scolded, spurred, suggested and simply refused to quit them. She tutored, tormented and touched lives like a great teacher does. She saw them grow, groan, graduate and go on to be great young men and women who contribute strongly to society and their own families.” J Loren Norris

​“Trust requires more than simply knowing what to expect. It requires sharing what scares us to reveal with those who work most closely with us. I don’t mean airing your dirty laundry, telling all your secrets, reading your diary out loud. But if you’re not willing to be authentically vulnerable you should not expect trust in the face of your own human frailty and inevitable failure.” J Loren Norris

“Leaders are often thought to be impervious to the opinion of others. The haters gonna hate. Their voices will destroy everything in their path like lava out of control. If you internalize and begin to believe the judgmental lies, and destructive vibes they’ll ruin your life. Take the time, write the lines, review the face looking back at you. Ask yourself what’s true about you. Ask yourself ‘Why the attitude?’ Ask yourself ‘What do I need to correct?’ Then take a breath and forget the rest. If your attitude stinks, it’s probably your story that’s rotten. CAN IT!” J Loren Norris

“From new hire candidates to Presidential candidates, a slip of the tongue, an unexpected facial expression, a questionable body gesture have been the undoing of great hope-filled opportunities. Leaders must learn what drives these responses, how attitude impacts their presentation and how to gain mastery of these artifacts before they lose control of their future.” J Loren Norris

​“When a destructive attitude is damaging your bottom line, you often won’t know it until the annual numbers are reviewed. By then, its only numbers and might be blamed on sales, processes, systems, market conditions or customer trends. Take the time to hire a secret shopper, conduct an attitude assessment of your own or hire J Loren Norris for an Attitude Hack Live Training. Whatever you choose to do, DO NOT ignore or minimize the impact an attitude will have on sales, team morale, employee retention and the bottom line.” J Loren Norris

​“Whether you are the top leader in your organization or you are subject to them, the attitude you bring to the encounter and the attitude they bring will have a huge impact on your relationships. The secret ingredient behind EVERY ATTITUDE is the subject of this brief video lesson. Watch the video...”  J Loren Norris

”Leadership is built on lessons learned through education and experience. In my understanding that is the definition of wisdom. If you want wisdom, you need to ask. If you want to share wisdom, a story is always significantly more effective than a lecture. Especially if that story is something you have actually lived through. That’s what I call Storypower.” J Loren Norris

”Life, relationships, careers, responsibilities are often complicated enough to be overwhelming.  We often look for the right time, the right place and the right people to deliver profound thoughts regarding leadership. Just remember some of the most profound lessons delivered happen in the simpler moments of life.” J Loren Norris

“NO AMOUNT OF ACTION is equal to adequate time spent thinking, planning and considering the action before you embark. Taking action for the sake of taking action, being busy for the sake of being busy, these are the behavior of a hamster on a wheel. Get off the action treadmill for a moment and spend sometime in strategic thinking.” J Loren Norris

“In a day when every offer, every sell, every relationship seems to be based on bribes otherwise known as ‘freemiums’, its uncommon for people to join, follow, buy or participate without first being satisfied with the answer to one specific question: WHATS IN IT FOR ME? Leaders who do not address this question or who have an insufficient answer to it demonstrate diminished market value. In a head to head contest, they will lose every time.” J Loren Norris

”The farm team is the ideal place for practice that perfects the maturation process of growth. Its where natural talent is honed through improved skills application. Its where the discipline needed either shows up or doesn’t. Its where weaknesses are exposed and opportunities are revealed. Every leadership candidate should serve on the farm team at some point and every leadership developer should employ one.” J Loren Norris

​“Leaders and communicators use stories to connect, to influence and to transform. But not every story has the same degree of power to reach so deep into the soul and inspire action. The best communicators select stories which resonate with the crowd they are sharing with.” J Loren Norris 

“Simply measuring the results to determine the gap between desired and achieved results will lead to ‘minding the gap’ philosophy and management style. This results not in true change or transformation but in the proverbial carrot and stick way of leading.” J Loren Norris

”Leaders are expected to be super human in some aspects. Incredible skills, wisdom, insight and compassion are the minimum bar of a leader. But among all the traits a leader must possess I believe the most important is fairness.” J Loren Norris

“Now is a time like few in history. Sure we have seen political and social upheaval before. We have seen unrest, riots, danger and calamity before. We have been through wars and rumors of wars. We have endured lies, propaganda, selfish agendas, and out right evil words and deeds. Now is a time when the call of the peace maker must ring louder than every other voice.” J Loren Norris