Overall and Random Observations

This is a compilation of random observations and thoughts from this expedition:


Invest in the Horn:  Those of you that have worked in a manufacturing environment and utilized forklifts in your operations understand the importance of using a horn for safety purposes.  The way that traffic and driving works in India is the same concept.  As Americans, we are used to using a horn only when it is needed.  Indians utilize a horn to communicate at all times.  They honk to let the crowd of vehicles know where their location is.  The traffic moves here like fluid always filling a void, maneuvering within inches of each other, often 3-4 vehicles across a 2-lane road with motor bikes zooming by on the left and the right.  If I was an investor in the Indian automotive sector, I would start a horn replacement service, because they have to blow through them at a rapid pace.

Waste Management: India lacks the infrastructure to adequately handle their solid waste and wastewater from their growing population.  Their streets overflow with garbage causing a horrid smell and subpar living condition.  The country has recently pushed for a "clean India" and is trying to educate the people about the importance of recycling, but they do not have a good strategy or infrastructure to help the cause. Another thing I noticed was the lack of infrastructure to handle their wastewater pollution.  Delhi dumbs nearly all of their raw sewage into the river in the city, and the river can be smelled from miles way.  All this contributes to their poor water quality for drinking and bathing.

The Selfie: The western fab of taking selfies has taken the country by storm.  Advertising for cell phones has plastered the concept of selfies all over the place.  All the locals have asked to take selfies with us and it can be seen all over the place.  We drove over a lake today and I saw 4 men in a john boat and one of them was even taking a selfie.

Shoes:  The lack of the modern tennis shoe over here is amazing.  A majority of the footwear utilized is sandals or flip flops or a type of leather moccasin.  Many people just go without any footwear.  I have never seen a society live everyday without wear any footwear.  They walk the streets, ride bikes, run over gravel, all barefooted.


Living Arrangements:  The nucleus family is only now starting to trend in India with the influx of people living in the city environment.  This is due to city living often being in the form of smaller apartments.  Traditional Indian homes consist of the entire immediate and extended family, including siblings and their spouses, their kids, and both sets of parents.  The rural homes used to be large enough to house everyone. Another living arrangement I noticed was many business owners have a home/business set-up.  They have a small store front on the street and a home in the back of the shop.


Animals:  It is unreal how many stray dogs and cattle we have seen wandering the streets of India.  Entire herds of cows just roam the countryside, the city streets, and on top of 3-ft highway medians. The traffic literally just flows right around them, as if they are not there.  The stray dogs can be seen nearly every minute of the day all over the place. Also, we have encountered many monkeys while in India.  They are like the raccoons of India, except you can find them during the day sometime.

The Western World Influence

India is currently experiencing a period of substantial growth.  We have been told on multiple occasions that if we return to the same locations five years from now, we will not recognize them, because the cities will be transformed due to the growing infrastructure.  Much of the growth is contributed to IT and manufacturing companies setting up shop here.  The country of India started off as a bunch of separate kingdoms.  Each kingdom had its unique attributes, including religions, traditions, languages, and even food. Today's India is divided into states, and the cultural differences from region to region still exist.  The influence from the west has brought uniformity to the metropolitan areas, but in rural India, many of the old traditions and way of life still exist.


Prasad Studios, Chennai:  We visited Prasad Studios, which had its origins in the film producing industry.  Over the course of its business transitions, it has gone from a film producing business to a film restoration/digitalization and film education organization.  Prasad is the world's largest film restoration company.  They take old films and either digitalize them so we can access them via DVD or other recent medias, or restore old and damaged films to their original state. They have restored over 550 films and digitalized over 3,000; many which include Hollywood and Academy Award films.  Large film industry companies like Warner Brothers contract them for services. Often times, film companies do not want their original films to leave the country for restoration, so Prasad will send technicians and equipment to the customer's country to conduct work.  They have restored such movies as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and many more.  It was amazing to see how the western film industry has impacted their business and services.

Great Lakes Institute of Management: Twenty-years ago a PhD professor had a vision of starting a privately held institute to educate Indians on management principles, so he began recruiting a few other professors and created the Great Lakes Institute of Management.  Those of you reading this from the Midwest may recognize the name of the institute, and that is no mistake.  When they started the higher education facility, they were not accredited, so they partnered with the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, which is where their name came from. Over the last twenty years, they have built the only LEED certified campus in the country, and have expanded additional satellite schools throughout India, focusing on business management at the graduate level. We spent the day visiting their campus, learning about their programs, and spending time with their Executive MBA students (professionals an equivalent program as mine).  We were then paired up with partners to go spend time out in the real world.  Our partner took us to see marble carving, a Hindu temple, and the tomb of St. Thomas, one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ. There happens to be a large population in India of Christian followers, which I found extremely interesting and motivating.

What We Came For

This purpose of this international business trip to India was not only to expose us to a different culture and how business is conducted here, but we were also tasked with developing a strategic marketing proposal for an Indian business.  TexValley, a wholesale textile mall, is located in the Erode district, which is known worldwide for their textile manufacturing operations.  Our team at Bradley conducted market research and a SWOT analysis in order to propose a five-part tactical plan to improve their business strategy.  The opportunity to conduct this type of project with TexValley was a fantastic learning experience for all of us.

My takeaways from this project:

• Know when you need help:  The holding partners at TexValley are all trained engineers.  They are experts at developing infrastructure and the facilities at TexValley show it.  They have done a fabulous job at making this site unique to the region and provide local vendors with a great environment to conduct business.  But they were the first ones to admit that just because they are a highly intelligent team, they are weak from a marketing aspect. They admitted that even though they have done an excellent job at learning the textile industry, they have not adequately marketed their offerings, and they need help.  One of our recommendations was to hire a brand ambassador and marketing consultant to help move their venture forward.
• Business is not all about metrics: Business is grounded on performance metrics, but a piece of the puzzle that cannot be overlooked is the impact people have on business.  Understanding your target market, or the people you are trying to entice, is more critical than your organization's productivity.  You can build Rome, but if the Romans won't come and stay in your city, what is the point?  TexValley's target market is small to medium size textile manufacturers, and this target market is still a very cash oriented group of businesses. The team here will need to invest in building trust with the local vendors, and educate them on what their infrastructure can offer them.  Without trust, the people will not buy into this new business venture. Understanding the people, what their needs and wants are, and what motivates them, is a critical path for TexValley.
• Everything is negotiable: TexValley not only has a huge mall that focuses on permanent vendor stores, but it also has a separate location for daily and weekly markets that vendors can rent to sell on a temporary basis.  All the products sold are handmade garments and products from right there in Erode.  Negotiating prices, whether it be for a multi-million dollar corporate deal or a point-of-purchase deal for a few clothing items, is an art and a science.  My buying strategy works like this:
• Find the products you are interested in.
• Let them communicate their product offering and price.
• Ask to see something else, as if their pricing was off.
• Lose interest and start a different conversation.
• Come back to the original products.
• Offer 40% of their original price. They will generally refuse or make a counter offer, then the game has started.
• If a mutual price cannot be agreed upon, I will try to bundle several items I am interested in and dilute their price down to get a better deal on a group of items.

I had the opportunity to make some great business connections for potential ventures.  I hope our marketing strategy has brought added-value to this organization and wish them success for the future.

The American Misconceptions

Today my team traveled from Chennai to Coimbatore in preparation to present our marketing proposal tomorrow for a textile retail complex in the city of Erode.  Upon arriving to the hotel I met some other Americans, which happen to be the first Americans we have encountered on this trip.  In fact, while site seeing over the last several days, I have made it a game to guess where certain people are from in search of other Americans, and I have met Brits, Australians, Canadians, and other Europeans, but no Americans.  During conversations with other international travelers there was a reoccurring theme that kept being brought up and that was the assumption that only 9-10% of Americans held a current passport and that this was one of the reasons why I had not encountered any fellow travelers from the motherland.  At first I started believing in this statistic until I started doing a little research of my own.  According to the most recent statistics tabulated by the State Department, roughly 46% of United States citizens hold current passports.  So the first misconception of Americans is quashed.


Next, there is a misconception that all Americans are unfriendly, trigger happy, and arrogant people.  Although, we do appreciate our rights to bare arms and at times can display an exuberant amount of pride for the US, as a whole, we are relatively friendly people.  After multiple encounters with other travelers, they all ended the conversations stating that we were friendlier than they expected.  I would probe further into their comments, because they sparked my curiosity.  I found out they generally had limited exposure to Americans and were using false stereotypes. On average, Americans do travel less internationally than others, so the chance to expose the world to our values and personalities is rather limited, which leads to these common misconceptions.


The way that I see it, Americans travel less outside of the country because we are blessed with having a large country with different cultures and beauty that often takes a life-time to experience and see.  Plus, many of us do not have the expendable incomes required to travel abroad in the first place. Traveling out of the US has been a great experience for me, and I would recommend each of you spread your wings and take a trip, if the opportunity arises.  It puts the world in perspective and opens our eyes to the fact that the world is a good place, full of love, safety, adventure, and curiosity. It will not only make us more cultured, but it will give the rest of the world an opportunity to learn who we really are, and help bring clarity to these common misconceptions.

Customer Service: The Hidden Cultural Gem of India

Customer service is a vital function in the strategy and tactical plan for the success of any business. By definition, customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services, but customer service is all about building trusting and long-term relationships. American businesses could definitely take a page out of the India Customer Service and Business Practices handbook.  Not only is the service from a customer perspective outstanding, but from a visiting business partnership perspective, the respect, professionalism, and gift-giving and tea-time traditions set the tone for great relationships.


Indian businesses have set the customer service standards beyond my expectations.  I will share a few of the experiences I have encountered below:

• Restaurant Services: The greatest differential between American and Indian restaurant services is the interaction of the waiters and the customers.  I am not sure if it an extension of their culture, but the servers are very punctual, respectable, and quick.  It is as if they watch us like hawks, but we cannot feel their presence during the meal. As an American, it almost feels like they are our servants, because they take such good care of us.  Keep in mind, the tipping expectation in this country are entirely different from the US.  There is no 10, 15, 20 percent tipping expectation or motivation judged on their services.  It is a low fixed rate of 100 to 150 Rs, which exchanges to $1.50-$2.30 US.  In fact, in their culture, if someone were to leave a large tip for their superb services, they would feel indentured to that person, so it is frowned upon. They simply provide excellent services because that is their job.
• Tour Bus Services:  Throughout our time in Delhi we had a bus driver and co-pilot pair that drove us all over the city and countryside.  These two gentlemen not only made sure of our safety in the hustle and bustle, but also provided us friendly services like making sure we always had cold water available and an air conditioned bus when we returned from site-seeing.  The passenger section of the bus was A/C, but the front where they traveled was not air conditioned, which caught our attention. The co-pilot would always promptly position the steps for our egress and boarding, and load and unload our luggage.  It was utterly impressive how the duo maneuvered the large bus through the hectic and nerve racking traffic of the small streets with a smile on their faces and not an ounce of frustration. Pictures of the duo sporting their new "Morton Buildings" ball caps are shown below.

• Indian Institute of Foreign Trade:  On the day we visited the IIFT, we were greeted with open arms.  It is a custom in Indian business to exchange gifts with business partners and/or customers. Our cohort provided the IIFT group with a gift, and they provided each one of us with gifts (shown below). This was a new and unique experience for us. It actually sets a great foundation for building trusting relationship with one another.  Half way through our visit they had tea-time and provided us with great food, tea, and coffee. Food is a great way to build relationships!

When I return to the States, I will definitely have a few more tricks up my sleeve when it comes to hosting and building relationships with customers and business partners. Thanks India!

A Little Spice in Your Kick

India has a long-standing tradition of having generous amounts of spice in their food.  The spice added in Indian food not only adds a nice kick to the flavor, but each spice often has additional benefits in nutrition and medicinal.  During the evolution of humans, meat was often carried in leaves while moving across the countryside.  It was stumbled upon that some leaves contributed additional flavor to the meat.  Over time, leaves, bark, berries, etc. were experimented with, and some found medicinal benefits of the spices from these sources.  All I know is that I have had more sweat on my brow during a meal here than I have ever had in the states.

• Of course I had to try the American favorite, McDonald's, while in India.  One unique thing about the McDonald's in India is that they do not serve beef.  In order for McDonald's to remain competitive in the Hindu markets, they have developed alternative menus to satisfy their target market.  I tried the Indian version of the Big Mac, called the Maharaja Mac.  It included two delicious chicken patties, fine sliced cheese, fiery jalapeno peppers, crunchy onions, a bed of lettuce, and a smooth exotic sauce on a bun. It most definitely had a kick to it.

• Breakfast in India has even been interesting.  A majority of the breakfast food includes a mixture of rice and vegetables with a variety of sauce additions.  The hotel also offered traditional breakfast foods such as muffins, cereal, omelets, and fruit. 

• Apparently in-flight cuisines are still a thing in India.  Today, we traveled from Delhi to Chennai (about 2.5 hour flight) and a meal was serve. The main course was rice and two vegetarian mixed sauces.  It also included bread and a spongy textured, milk based dessert.  It was delicious! A picture of the meal, and my new Indian travel friend, Sowjanya, included below!

• In Chennai, we are staying at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which includes four unique restaurants.  After checking in, a group of us went to a tailor in Chennai to get fitted for custom suits made from some of the best textiles in the world for a reasonable price.  Upon returning, we chose to eat dinner at the Chinese restaurant on-site.  I ordered the sliced lamb with pork fried rice and it was absolutely amazing.  It had a strong blend of spice that satisfied my taste buds for a fair price of 2400 Rs, which comes to roughly $36 US.  A picture of the group buying suits and the meal is shown below.

All in all, I am surprised as to how well my digestive system has handled the transition in diet in a short period of time.  Anyone who has traveled overseas is well-versed in the risk one takes when being adventurous when it comes to what they eat.

Personal Agendas: Your Gain or the Gain of Others for the Greater Good

The phrase "pushing one's personal or hidden agenda" is when an individual has an ulterior motive when carrying out an activity, often attempting to obtain additional personal gain.  I like to call it working an edge on someone.  As a leader, your objective must support your true intentions and the type of leader that you want others to experience.  To aid in preventing confusion, it is important that leaders clearly communication their intentions to others.  If not, others may interpret your lack of communication or lack of transparency as having a hidden agenda, creating distrust and adding strain on your organizations and your people. 


I have noticed many hidden agendas while on my travels and would like to share a few with you:

• Corruption:  Corruption seems to be a way life for many here in India.  The news channels on TV are constantly talking about the need for reform and finding ways to reduce the ability and impact of corruption on the country and its people.  Talking to tour guides and locals, they understand and have experienced how easy it is to influence outcomes by "paying someone off" socially, legally, or in business.  Many foreign businesses have a difficult time remaining profitable here due to the "under-the-table" transaction that occur.  Reducing and implementing preventative measures to curve corruption could have a positive impact on the India economy and its people.
• Everyone Gets a Cut:  It did not take us long to notice that our Taj Mahal tour guide had a hidden agenda, so we decided to ask.  Our tour started by visiting a prestigious hotel for a quick restroom break, and lunch was to be scheduled here as well. Next, we were off to the Taj Mahal.  When we arrived at the Taj, a gentlemen approached us about taking and developing nice 6x8 photos for 100 Rs a piece. After the Taj, our tour guide took us to a Marble Craftsman's shop to show us how the marble at the Taj was crafted over 300 years ago.  The craftsmen in Agra were direct descendants of the thousands of marble craftsmen the Emperor had employed for over 22 years during the construction of the Taj Mahal.  These craftsmen created beautiful and one of a kind art, in which we had an opportunity to purchase pieces, and we did.  We simply asked the tour guide what the personal relationship she had with the people on our tour and she explained that she got a cut of the profits from the photographer and the marble craftsmen, and that is why we got exposed to them.  She stated "It all helps our economy, and we all get a piece of the profits, this keeps our country going."  She understood that tourists spend money, and if the people of India work in unison and help each other, they can all make a living. Everyone wins.
• Gift Peddlers: Almost everywhere you travel to you will see people selling trinkets from fridge magnets to balloons to wooden chess boards.  They nearly swarm you like bees to try to sell a tourist an item.  We have been coached to ignore or communicate a Hindu phrase that tells them "I don't want."  One instance at the Taj, our entire group moved through the crowd of these peddlers to the bus.  Once on the bus, our tour guide went outside and grabbed each item they were selling and brought onto the bus for us to see.  No one was interested in anything when we were outside, amongst the hustle and bustle, but once things were shown to us in private, nearly all of us made a purchase.  It was amazing to see the contrast on how easy it was to get us to buy something.  Again, the tour guide was helping to stimulate their economy and provide a profit for the people of India.

Calmness Among Chaos

Words will not do justice to the experience I had traveling throughout New and Old Delhi today.  We began the day by doing a bus tour of New Delhi, including the Parliament Building, the President's Palace, and India Gate.  We then visited Old Delhi and began by entering the world's largest Muslim Mosque.  After the Mosque, we walked through the streets of Old Delhi.  To an American, a rural mid-westerner to be more specific, the scene was utter chaos.  The small and narrow side streets were overfilled with vendors of all sorts, buyers, tourists, dogs, donkeys, and the homeless; co-mingling and bumping shoulder to shoulder.  The larger streets were filled with people walking amongst motorists driving with no direction or order.  Observations I had amongst the chaos:

• Managing Expectations: It appears that there is an expectation and synergy among the people of Delhi while traveling and conducting local commerce.  This expectation is different than what we are accustom to in the US and it lacks order and structure.  I've watched motorbikes, rickshaws, and other vehicles drive on the complete opposite side of traffic, missing near collisions by inches, all while pedestrians are crossing between cars like on a Sunday stroll. The expectation itself is chaos, but functional.  As a leader in the US, setting expectations for yourself and those around you is a critical management tool in order to maintain order and structure. 

• Managing the Infrastructure:  As seen in the picture below, the infrastructure lacks requirements to maintain safety and growth.  The picture shows how the electrical lines are configured on many of the city blocks.  India also lacks adequate environmental compliance infrastructure, more specifically, waste management and wastewater treatment.  This makes it difficult to supply a clean and healthy water source.  With the world's largest population and a continued growth rate, India will need to invest in their infrastructure for the future.

• Managing Frustration:  Throughout our entire journey today, amongst all the chaos, one thing we did not witness was any frustration or anger towards others.  To be honest, the most high-strung and frustrated people out of the several thousands on the streets, were us Americans.  The bumping into people and cutting people off seemed to be a way of life for the locals.  At one point someone in our group yelled "Chivalry does not work in India, keep moving" because I kept letting women cut in front of me on the busy sidewalks.  When our tour bus tried to maneuver the small streets leaving, it ended up getting stuck between a curve and a large group of unoccupied motorbikes.  It was amazing to see the locals helping our driver get out of the chaos, which literally took 30 minutes to maneuver. 

There was a calm among the chaos.

First Day in India

Part of my Executive MBA international business trip requires a daily journal to document three unusual incidents, events, or observations that might relate to better ways of improving my management and leadership practices and interpersonal behaviors. 


Today we traveled to the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) for a presentation by an India marketing expert.  During his presentation he discussed how the social aspects of India have been changing due to the Millennial and Z Generations.  He discussed how these younger generations have completely different expectations than the more traditional generations before them.  They have grown increasing impatient for social and economic improvements and reform.  It made me realize that Millennials are not only impacting the US culture and economy, but our generation is making an impact across the world.  More than ever, it is critical for leaders to understand the expectations of the Millennials in order to motivate and inspire them to be successful and actively contribute to the improvement of the world.


After IIFT, we visited and toured the largest biscuit (cookie/snack food) manufacturer in the world.  Parle Products produces cookies, chips, and a variety of other candy products, and is headquartered in India.  During our visit we learned of the company's inception, product selection, and manufacturing process, but the most unique piece of information I took away was the pay scale for the manufacturing employees.  The facility's employees were unionized and worked a typical 3 shift work schedule, but it was astonishing that they only received roughly $2,300 salary per year.  For an India manufacturing worker, this is a modest pay scale, which is prevalent by their 0.5% turnover rate.  This pay differential compared to the US manufacturing world caught me off guard, but helped me understand why organizations often move to foreign countries.  In fact, this salary provides a comfortable living for the workers and their families.


The last unique situation I encountered on my first day was when I returned to the Le Meridien Hotel.  After the terrorist attack of 2008 in Mumbai, the hotel industry has increased their hotel security measures, including metal detectors and baggage screening upon entering the hotel.  Our cohort packing list included a pocket knife, which being a rural Midwesterner, I had no problem yielding one on a daily basis.  Upon entering the hotel through the metal detector, my knife was confiscated and checked in at the front desk like a cowboy's firearm in an old western movie.  At first I was upset, because 1) every member of our team either had one on them or in their rooms, and 2) I am an American, and no one is taking a pocket knife from me.  After cooling off and receiving some insightful words from a classmate, I began to understand this was a great learning opportunity on my journey to becoming a more empathetic leader.  The hotel staff was only trying to feel comfortable and ensure the safety of everyone, and as being a guest, not only in their hotel, but in their country, it was my responsibility to adhere to wishes and be supportive of their rules. I took a step-back and tried their shoes on.  Win-Win.  (Don't worry, I have an impound receipt for my knife, and will check it upon when I leave).

Leadership: The Waiting Game

Fortunately, my professional career has given me the opportunity to travel to a variety of geographical locations, including Michigan, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, the Carolinas, and Texas.  As many frequent flyers have become accustom to, waiting around in airports and bus stations has become a way of life.  In fact, I am waiting right now in the Chicago-O'Hare airport on a flight to New Jersey, in which I will then wait for a flight to New Delhi, India. The estimated total time I will spend waiting to arrive to my final destination (sitting on a bus, sitting in the terminals, sitting on a plane) will accumulate to approximately 28 hours.  It is important to understand that productive leaders often find proactive activities to occupy their down-time, inching away at their professional development and careers.  High-throughput leaders are often stuck in the dilemma of executing critical performance metrics now and strategizing for future endeavors, which requires patience.  The fact is, leading people and businesses into the future, requires patience and planning, and often entails a lot of waiting around to execute when the timing is right. 


If you are like me, today's fast pace and competitive work environment has added unwarranted pressures, which leads to more and more anxiety and obsessive compulsiveness.  In these conditions, it is easy to lose sight of the forest in the trees, narrowing your leadership focus on short-term objectives for short-term gains.  Patience is in fact a virtue, and today's leaders need to remain focused on long-term objectives to better position themselves and their organizations for the future.  It can be challenging to fight instant gratification, but waiting now, and solidifying your execution for the future, will bring you more success and joy in the long-run.

Improving Your Perspective as a Leader of People

In the multi-cultural and dynamic world we currently live in, it has never been more critical for leaders to enhance our perspectives, not only on the world around us, but the people we interact with daily.  In preparation for my international business trip with the Executive MBA Cohort from Bradley University to India, I have looked inward to evaluate my current perspective on how I interact with others from different backgrounds and upbringings.


We have all encountered situations from time to time that have made us feel uncomfortable and uneasy, mainly because of the lack of understanding or exposure to that situation.  This uncomfortable feeling may have even provoked an outcome that you wished would have been handled or ended differently.  To be successful as a leader, it is important that we navigate the world with a commitment to actions that will help us enhance our perspective and open our minds.  Actions that I plan to work on while embarking on my India adventure include:

• Wearing the Proverbial "Shoe" of Those I Encounter:  It is easy to judge others that look or act differently from you.  Putting judgement in the backseat, and attempting to understand others from a different cultural background will allow me to gain a new perspective on how I conduct myself as a leader in business and in my personal life.  The fact is, we do not know the stories of others unless we embrace their differences and probe into dialogue to help us understand what makes them tick.  Attempting to put myself in their world, and wear their "shoes" or in some cases, wear no shoes at all, will help me gain an appreciation for life.
• Embrace Life-Long Learning: I have always been an advocate for life-long learning.  The thing that appeals to me about life-long learning is the fact that there is a plethora of information in the world that I never knew about, and being able to acquire that knowledge and spread it to the people I interact with brings me enjoyment, pleasure, and a sense of purpose. People often fear what they do not understand, myself included, and in order to move beyond my fears, it is important for me to understand and continue to learn about the world around me.
• Disagreeing is Okay: I think I missed my calling of being an attorney.  I gravitate towards challenging the status quo and poking holes in facts that others deem to be true. This can be a curse at times because I have a hard time not voicing my opinion or challenging other people's opinions and thoughts.  It is important for me to understand and listen with an open-mind in order to seek to understand instead of seeking to be understood. Disagreements allow leaders to gain perspective in how others perceive the world around us, and once you understand how others think, you can gain insight to what motivates them.
•  Be Impactful:  I have challenged myself, as a leader, to wake up each day with the goal of having a positive impact on someone I come in contact with, whether that be a customer, a colleague, a loved one, or a complete stranger.  You never know what kind of impact a few kind words or spending the time to listen to someone else's problems or successes could have on the outcome of his or her day. The corner stone of being a leader is putting the needs of others before your own.

As leaders, in the US and around the world, continually striving to become the best version of ourselves and embracing the differences of others around us will move our organizations, our countries, and our world in the positive direction.