Blue Hope Performance Lab

A few words from Lockett Stewart at Blue Hope Performance Lab & Gratia Foundation:? Since we started Blue Hope Performance Lab, we seem to get one comment from people a lot. It mostly relates to ‘why’ we structured Blue Hope Performance Lab and its internal counterpart, Gratia Foundation, into a 501(c)(3) company where all of the profits from our paying clients and all donations go to support our effort to make a real difference in the many hurting communities around us. Let me explain using the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. In one of my favorite episodes, he talks about a quote by Walt Whitman that says, “Be curious, not judgmental.” Now I am not calling anyone out for being judgmental by their comments! Instead I am grateful for their curiosity about ‘why’ we use our profits in the way we do.? What I really like about the episode is how it challenged people to use their curiosity to explore what they couldn’t understand so they would be able to avoid underestimating what people could do. For me personally, I had spent decades researching human mindsets and behaviors and was still baffled at individuals’ unhealthy or ineffective choices and patterns. As I began to consider my research and consulting experience from a spirit of curiosity, I started asking questions about individuals struggling with personal and often systemic issues. I saw new respect for the “fight” and resiliency of these often unseen, hidden, and unheard individuals. My curiosity also birthed a new level of humility in me and an esteem for them and their struggle; it compelled me as well as my friends and colleagues to come alongside these individuals (and the many small organizations trying to help them) and support them as agents of change.? Simply put, Ted’s explanation in this episode to be curious reinforced my realization that I was underestimating what each of us could do if we tried to make a real, sustainable difference together.? So in the spirit of Ted Lasso’s wisdom, come be curious with us. Through Gratia Foundation we are ‘pulling alongside’ organizations and their leaders such as Peace Preparatory Academy and Glaciers Ice who serve as a direct response to change the things that keep people unseen, or unheard, or hidden. There are two ways.? 1?? Come experience our world-class leadership development programs where we will collaborate with you to optimize the performance of your organizations, your teams, and the individuals who lead.? 2?? Come join our effort to support and pull alongside these people affecting real change in their communities.? Contact us at https://buff.ly/49AhrPB and even if you choose not to collaborate with us directly,? stir up your curiosity right where you are and make a difference in others’ lives. Curiosity in action invites beautiful change. As you cultivate a curious spirit, you may discover as I have that once change begins in us, it flows through us as well.? #CuriosityForChange

We are leadership fanatics at Blue Hope Performance Lab. With that in mind, we will be posting wisdom and practical experience from some very relevant and effective leaders across the globe. Recently, we had a chance to sit down with our friend Alex Campos, the CEO of Vensure Employer Solutions.?Alex has over 30 years of experience in the HR, insurance, and technology industries. One of his companies, Vensure, is the largest privately held Professional Employer Organization (PEO), providing over 50 service offerings and partnering with more than 40 companies.?Under his direction, Vensure has built an unmatched portfolio of HR/HCM technology, managed services, and global business process outsourcing (BPO). Alex was born in Cuba and hails from a family that escaped communism in Cuba when he was only seven years old. His ability to foster strong relationships with influential business and political leaders has allowed him to guide Vensure to the top levels of performance. Alex is recognized as a dynamic leader and visionary, helping to drive Vensure's success. This is an excerpt from a larger conversation with Alex that contains valuable insights into his leadership:?? Question: You said something about being good at something to me earlier – can you explain more about this? Response: General Patton has a saying that I use all the time. He says a good plan violently executed today will always be the perfect plan on the drawing board. And the general idea is to get a good plan together, don’t get stuck overthinking it, and go execute it. You will tweak it. You will pivot. You have to be able to do that. By the way, that's one thing I'm super good at. There are managers that I have seen that when they set a path, they think they have to stay on the path or else. Because they're tenacious. But wait a second -- you have to also be smart. I'm tenacious, but I'm tenacious with the?goal?in mind and not with the?path?in mind. I'm tenacious to get to the goal, not necessarily to stay on my path. I'm very flexible. If I have to weave and change and move and stuff, I'm okay with that. I do not want our people to set a path without being able to reevaluate it all the time to see if it needs permutations and improvements. Be tenacious about achieving the goal! We'll be sharing more from our interview with Alex in the near future.

We are leadership fanatics at Blue Hope Performance Lab. With that in mind, we will be posting wisdom and practical experience from some very relevant and effective leaders across the globe. Alex Campos is the CEO of Vensure Employer Solutions, a leading provider of HR services and technology for small and mid-sized businesses.?Alex has over 30 years of experience in the HR, insurance, and technology industries. In less than 20 years, Vensure has grown to become the largest privately held Professional Employer Organization (PEO), providing over 50 service offerings and partnering with more than 40 companies.?Under his direction, Vensure has acquired over seventy businesses in the last six years and built an unmatched portfolio of HR/HCM technology, Managed Services, and Global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). Alex was born in Cuba and hails from a family that escaped communism in Cuba when he was only seven years old. His ability to foster strong relationships with influential business and political leaders has allowed him to guide Vensure and many other companies to the top levels of performance. Alex is recognized as a dynamic leader and visionary, helping to drive Vensure's success. This is an excerpt from a larger conversation with Alex that contains valuable insights into his leadership:?? Question: If I gave you $2 and you had four things to spend it on. People. Strategy, execution, rule, and renewal/innovation. And you can only spend the 2 dollars on two of those. What would you choose? Response: I would say innovation and execution. So innovation, being a technologist, I believe strongly in that. I think that necessity is the mother of invention. So innovation is a very important thing. And execution, I think there are so many talented people in the world who fail to execute, who are scared to execute. A good one would also have been to choose people. I value people, but those will come if you have innovation, and you have execution. Without execution, even good people will fail. So, execution and innovation. We'll be sharing more from our interview with Alex in the near future.

The past years have been filled with challenges, division, and moments of uncertainty, which may have left many feeling disconnected from who they are and the meaning they find in their lives. But the Christmas season is a powerful reminder of hope, love, and compassion. It's a time when we can pause, reconnect with our faith and the personal values that shape us, and?rediscover the meaning we can create in our lives.?The birth of Christ symbolizes new beginnings and the enduring strength of light in times of darkness. So, let this be a moment for all of us to pause and breathe deeply, embrace gratitude for our blessings, and extend kindness and compassion to those around us. If you’ve lost touch with your sense of meaning, know that it’s never too late to rediscover it. A meaningful life is not something we find only in extraordinary moments; it’s something we create daily in the way we live, love, and serve. As you celebrate this season, we hope that you find inspiration in the simplicity and beauty of the Christmas story. May it bring clarity to your heart, peace to your mind, and a renewed sense of connection to meaning in your life. Merry Christmas and blessings to you and your family.

We are leadership fanatics at Blue Hope Performance Lab. With that in mind, we will be posting wisdom and practical experience from some relevant and effective leaders across the globe. Bryan Ganz, the CEO and President of?Byrna Technologies, is recognized for his leadership in navigating the complex journey of transforming a small company with potential into one that delivers tangible results for its customers, shareholders, and employees. Under his leadership, Byrna Technologies has positioned itself as a prominent player in the non-lethal personal security sector. The company, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker BYRN, focuses on developing, manufacturing, and selling innovative non-lethal security solutions, catering to personal and professional markets. This is an excerpt from a larger conversation with Bryan that contains valuable insights into his leadership:?? Question: What do you see as the CEO's key responsibilities at Byrna Technologies? Response: I think that the CEO of any small company, any startup company, basically is three things. The first is to create a vision. What is your company all about? What is the mission? Who are you? What are you selling? What are you creating? What are you building? And, with Byrna, we're building less lethal weapons. Our mission is to save lives. This is the vision that I have and the vision that was created. The second is to put the team together, to assemble the right team. It works well if you get the right team together. You can get an all-star team, but if they are not a cohesive team, it means nothing. So, you've got to put the team together correctly. And then I think the third part of being the CEO is to incentivize, motivate, monitor, and push people back on track when they start to get off track. But again, if you haven't come up with the right vision, mission, and product, if you haven't put the right team together, you can do all of the third part, and it's just not going to work. We'll be sharing more from our interview with Bryan in the near future.

I read Shane Jackson's newsletter about gratitude and gratefulness this week and was moved by it. Rather than try to paraphrase, I thought I would share this small passage he wrote: "Gratefulness is a wonderful thing. It is recognizing what you have been given – the good things in your life. It is honoring the person or people who sacrificed something so they could give it to you. Being grateful means feeling thankful and expressing appreciation to others for their support and generosity, acknowledging what they have done. Gratitude, though, is something entirely different.?It’s the value of choosing to look for things to be thankful for. It is the discipline of finding the good in every circumstance. Gratefulness is saying "thank you" when you are aware that someone has given you something specific.?Gratitude is being aware that everything you have is a gift. When it comes to?experiencing the most joyful version of our lives,?gratitude is a choice we can make regardless of our circumstances or what is happening to us.?It’s essential to living joyfully. My hope is that this Thanksgiving isn’t merely an opportunity for momentary gratefulness but a moment for us to choose the ongoing discipline of gratitude – being aware, throughout the year, that all of life is a gift that can bring us continual joy." Happy Thanksgiving from the Blue Hope Performance Lab & Gratia Foundation team

Thank you -- to every veteran who served and sacrificed to keep us safe and free. Because of you, we have these freedoms and rights as a nation and people.

Whenever you’re ready, there are proven approaches that Blue Hope Performance Lab can provide you to help your business to grow. Our experienced team works with individuals and organizations, offering tailored human-centric leadership development and employee solutions that enhance relevant capabilities, strengthen and stabilize a client’s culture, align and develop leadership teams, increase employee engagement, and drive positive change where it counts.?We have helped many executives and their companies over the last 10+ years to enhance their leadership and business performance. And by partnering with the Blue Hope Performance Lab team, businesses not only benefit from high-impact, human-centered leadership programs and expert guidance . . . . . . they also contribute to the broader social mission of Gratia Foundation (a division of Blue Hope Performance Lab at www.gratiafoundation.com) to support sustainable change in communities of people that are ‘at risk’ and vulnerable. All profits from the fees earned from the Lab’s business management solutions work combines with donations to support Gratia Foundation’s community projects serving?the distinct communities of Veterans transitioning to home life, First Responders managing the tragedy they see on a daily basis in their roles, vulnerable and ‘at risk’ youth and adults, and survivors of human trafficking. So, we hope that you’ll agree that by choosing the Blue Hope Performance Lab is not only the smart thing, but also the right thing.

We know that your leaders drive the organization, but do we know what drives your leaders. By partnering with the Blue Hope Performance Lab team, businesses not only benefit from high-impact, human-centered leadership programs and expert guidance . . . ? To develop and implement high-impact, human-centric leadership programs that attract and retain top talent that targets the most senior leaders to the high potential and fast rising young leaders. ? To offer an experienced team with a “fresh” perspective who serves as a confidential sounding and advisor for leaders navigating situations requiring cross-functional expertise to drive results. ? To develop unique solutions for leadership challenges that improve team formation, alignment, and performance. . . . but they also contribute to a broader social mission of Gratia Foundation to support sustainable change in communities of people that are ‘at risk’ and vulnerable. In our opinion, choosing this unique alternative (versus the tradition consulting) is the right thing and is also the smart thing.

We are leadership fanatics at Blue Hope Performance Lab. With that in mind, we are posting wisdom and practical experience from some very relevant and effective leaders across the globe. Ben Ward?is a passionate leader with over 20+ years of experience in sales leadership, and executive leadership training and development. As a leader in the trenches, mentoring tens of thousands of sales leaders, Ben has helped small to large organizations to overcome some of the biggest problems in the sales industry related to promoting and developing leaders. He is also the author of “Sellership” and “Pluck the FUD” where he outlined his seven-step framework that helps transform high-performing salespeople into remarkable leaders. This is an excerpt from a larger conversation with Ben that contains valuable insights on his leadership. Enjoy his simple truths about leading people!?? Question:?In your opinion, what is one of the most valuable skills that any leader should master? Response:?"It has to be my ‘soft like a brick’ principle! Let me explain what that means. The first part, the 'soft', is that your team has to know and believe that you care about them and have their best interests in mind. So, the question I always ask leaders, does their team consistently experience that from you? And do they believe it? Now, that does not mean that we go around having soft, fluffy conversations all the time. And those can be there, but real productivity also requires honest conversations challenging each other. And that leads to the second part of this principle -- the brick. A leader has to be skilled and willing to have the hard conversations when needed. But to be effective at challenging each other, we have to believe that the leader actually has our best interests in mind. The opportunity for every leader is to learn to be 'soft like a brick'. What are you doing as a leader? Do they know you care? Do they experience it? And if they don’t, do you really expect them to follow you and be inspired? At best, I find that you’ll only get at the very most, marginal compliance to the job requirements and average performance. The opportunity is that we all can learn how to land soft bricks. If they believe that you care about them, when the brick comes out, when you need to have that conversation with them, they're way more likely and willing to take that from you and be all right. Because they know that you care about them and they know that you've got their back." We'll be sharing more from our interview with Ben in the near future.