”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

“The toughest work I have ever taken on is the work of self improvement. Personal development, personal growth and leadership skills improvement require reaching deep into self awareness, personal decisions, emotional intelligence and personal discipline to recreate the persona of who you are. This work can be painful, humiliating, and revealing but it is so worth it. “ J Loren Norris

“Regardless your level of leadership, your ability to ascertain awareness of and manage your emotions is a crucial key to your success. Sadly, much of society today has equated passion with toxic masculinity and done everything plausible to root it out. Leaders must learn to bridle, or harness their deepest passions and direct them successfully.” J Loren Norris 

”Its not enough to declare an idea valid or effective based on academic theory alone. Sufficient effort should be made to try and test any leadership idea in small samples for systems, processes and duplicatable results.” J Loren Norris 

“The ability to lead neutrally through some of the most polarized times in history demands a leader who has the maturity, wisdom and confidence to set aside their own opinions, biases and experiences and accept the insights and input of diverse peoples.” J Loren Norris

“Whether your passion is to make it to the pros from a D1 college or to run a global sales company or to rule the free world, if you find yourself distracted, the dividing of your attention will reduce or eliminate the power of your focus to accomplish your goals.” J Loren Norris
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Watch the #leadingleaderspodcast video 1-11-21

“Just because an influencer has millions of followers and millions of downloads does not imply they are an effective and genuine leader. Committing yourself to lead with influence not to seek the fame of being an influencer is hard work with a more desirable payoff than fame alone.” J Loren Norris

”A society, team, organization or family must recognize and respect the needs of each of its members equally in order to function with any sense of justice or modicum of fairness. To down play, diminish or ignore anyone’s needs compared to another is inequity. As a team leader, the variance of social, mental, financial investment made in various team members is not related to their inherent value as humans, but to the value of their contribution to a desired outcome.” J Loren Norris

“If you are only tracking your progress without tracking your process, you are managing only the results and not the attitudes, actions and behaviors which brought the results. If you are researching, learning, studying, practicing progressing, but keeping no record of it, HOW DO YOU KNOW you’re progressing?” J Loren Norris

“A great idea is often a fleeting thing. The moment a brilliant idea comes to mind is not always convenient. Nevertheless, leaders will find a way to record that brilliance in the instant because the notion will evaporate as quickly as it came.”  J Loren Norris

“I CONSIDER IT EQUALLY VILE TO A RACIAL SLUR. DEROGATORY REMARKS ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION. ​If the best counter you have to a thought I share is to ridicule and call names, then your limited inability to converse honestly and intelligently exposes itself.” J Loren Norris

Watch the video!!

“Too many leaders view their employee through the same lenses parents use to see no flaws in their own children. If it seems like everything is going well and you can spot no issues, perhaps its time for a 360 evaluation with people who will tell the leaders the truth.” J Loren Norris

“THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE QUALITY OF THE QUESTIONS YOU’RE WILLING TO ASK YOURSELF.” Christian Simpson

“I type faster with my thumbs than with my keyboard and I get hand cramps when I write too much. But neuroscience data tells us we better remember notes taken by hand. As a part of my legacy,  these notes, unless physically stolen or destroyed cannot be hacked.“ J Loren Norris

“WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR A COACH OR MENTOR? SHOULDN’T THEY INVEST THEIR TIME IN ME FOR FREE? ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE NOT SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN WHAT I NEED?” J LOREN NORRIS

“LEADERS MUST HOLD THE LINE ON JUSTICE, RIGHT AND WRONG AS BASELINES. OTHERWISE EVERY INTERVIEW BECOMES AN INTERROGATION AND YOU MAY BE GUILTY OF WHAT YOU DID NOT KNOW WAS WRONG.” J Loren Norris

“There a too many people in this world who are too lazy or too conniving to earn success on their own merit. They will do all they can to get close enough to you to live and ‘succeed’ in your shadow. They will contribute little and take all they can.” J Loren Norris

“It’s real easy to sling around the phrase ‘pivot’ to describe how leaders might address change.  The real issue is having a vision so well defined that a change in game plan, tactics and strategies doesn’t mean a crushing of the vision or a dismantling of the organization. Nor does it mean spinning in circles making no progress. “ J Loren Norris

“One of  the most powerful tools of psychological warfare is a simple question: A question which offers no real answer, but carries in it an accusation and challenging of all that you hold to be truth.” J Loren Norris 

“Look it’s easy to entertain, to distract and to strive to gain the attention of the masses. Ok it’s not easy but it’s popular and requires gadgets and a willingness to do whatever gets the most views. Creating content that brings insight, influence and transformative impact requires more effort and may not make you wealthy but it’s well worth the effort.” J Loren Norris 

“Nothing will more quickly erode the trust of the people you lead than your tolerance and ineptness to deal with ongoing injustice. Core values, clear vision, consistent communication and transparent accountability are required to maintain a just and equitable system. All of those are roles and responsibilities of true leadership.” J Loren Norris