The matriarch of popular psychology, Dr. Joyce Brothers, passed away last week.  She was an American pioneer, providing pointed insights on topics like relationships, power and money in the early days of television.  My favorite Dr. Brothers observation: “We’re all trying to better ourselves…whether homemaker or executive, we all share a need to improve our lives.” Dr. Brothers paved the way for coaches like me: making positive psychology a popular discussion for good leaders who want to get to the next level.

I believe Dr. Brothers would embrace our work around personal leadership and our programs to help good leaders get to the ‘next level.’ We’ve been studying and coaching leaders for several years now and I’ve come to this conclusion:

Good leaders want to work less, have more fun and create better results. Is this possible?…Dr. Brothers built a legacy helping us all believe it’s possible. The secret: learning how to have a strong and stable command of our own personal leadership and knowing how to get powerful people working together. Are you ready?

Last week at the Good Leadership Breakfast, we launched Good Leadership Certification to help leaders like you reach the next level. It’s a pilot project for what we believe will be the next level of the Good Leadership movement. Watch the video here. We believe this is a magnetic concept, because within 24 hours we enrolled the first three of 36 participants.  Our friends at Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company eagerly agreed to sponsor and co-host the program.

I have good reason to believe group coaching programs will be the wave of the future. Recently, my friends Paul Dominski and Brandon Sullivan helped me complete a groundbreaking research project with Matt Norman, President of Dale Carnegie Training of the Upper Midwest. The How Leaders Grow Today research articulates “mentoring” and “resource networks” as two of the four most powerful ingredients for how leaders fuel their own development. Get the research summary here.

Good leaders make a habit of seeking out the best coaches to help them get to the next level.  And they surround themselves with good leaders — because when good leaders work together with good intentions, great things are possible.

Drop me a note and share what you think: is it possible for you to work less, have more fun and get better results?

Reply to me directly if you want to know more about how you can be involved in the Good Leadership Certification pilot project.

When I was 18 years old, I participated in a domestic student exchange. Forty students from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, temporarily lived and went to school in Albany, Georgia. The first day of school I felt like a foreigner when a sweet Southern Belle asked me “So where y’all from?” When I said South Dakota, she said: “That’s cute, I bet y’all don’t have cars there do ya?” Then she deepened her blunder by wondering out loud what it would be like to have a Buffalo as a pet.  That was 1980.

Today, it’s totally obvious that I’m a white male living north of the Mason Dixon line.  I travel extensively, seldom experiencing naïveté when asked: “Where are you from?” But that’s not the norm for everyone.

That’s why I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend Kurt Kwan — if you join me at the Good Leadership Breakfast this Friday, you’ll get to meet him!  Kurt is an Asian born leader living and working in the Twin Cities.  He’s a perfect speaker for the breakfast, because he knows how to channel his personal power into radiating goodness.

Unlike most of the leaders we have featured, Kurt Kwan uses theater as a leadership canvas.  He has appeared on nearly every important stage in the Twin Cities and touched hundreds of corporate audiences across the country through Breaking Ice. He has a strong, solid command of his own personal leadership.  He is a community developer who really knows how to get powerful people (who don’t look like one another) leading together.

Personally, I’ve grown by watching him masterfully break down silliness, ignorance and naïveté. He is especially gifted at answering the “where are you from?” question. Attendees at last year’s Good Leadership Conference were moved to a standing ovation by the Leading Together performance, anchored by Kurt Kwan.  Watch a clip here. On Friday morning, we’ll get a sample of that magic and we’ll all get to work on our answers to the “where are you from?” question.

Good leaders today make a habit of discovering opportunity comes in many shapes, sizes, abilities and colors. And we surround ourselves with people who help us understand our own personal bias and harvest the richness of where we are from.

Please share with us: what naïveté have you encountered about where you are from?

Then please join us at the Good Leadership Breakfast this Friday.

Executives often use the phrase “let’s look at this situation from 30,000 feet…” as a technique to help employees rise above daily minutia to see the bigger picture. Dilbert would counter: that’s why executives are lost in the clouds.

A mile high perspective is probably a good compromise. Perched on the eastern slopes of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Denver is known as the “Mile High city.” It’s a popular leadership retreat destination because of the scenery and we can appropriately use the high-up-in-the-air metaphor.

Last week I was a speaker and coach at the leadership conference for The Private Client Reserve of US Bank in Denver.  The President, Michael Boardman, asked his leaders to look at their leadership in the context of the big picture in the banking and wealth management industry. According to the world’s most credible source, trust in the banking industry has never been lower. The Edelman Trust Barometer articulates what bankers and financial advisers already see and feel: they are climbing a really steep cliff.

The good news: while the public trust in national banks is at historic lows — we Americans have a high degree of trust in the people in our local banks. And for the first time in the history of the survey, consumers say how bankers treat us, is more important than the terms of our loans or the returns on our portfolio. In summary, the personal leadership of local bankers is what matters most today.

We define personal leadership as: the mood and tone you create that compels people to work together and give their best…or not.

The ultimate expression of our personal leadership is to radiate goodness.

I’m proud to say The Private Client Reserve leaders were willing to let me drag them through the details of their personal leadership.  We came down out of the clouds and dug into “how we show up” in specific personal leadership moments. And we coached one another on blending our faith, family, finances, fitness, friends, fun and future — as a path to radiating goodness.  That’s important because the data shows personal leadership is literally a competitive advantage in business today.

The highlight of the conference was cocktails on the sideline of the world famous Mile High Stadium — the home of the two-time world champion Denver Broncos.  Retired quarterback Brian Griese was our host: he inspired us with his humble personal presence and his bold commitment to serving underprivileged children in the Denver area.

Good leaders make a habit of coming down out of the clouds every once in a while to examine our own personal leadership.  And we work on blending our faith, family, finances, fitness, friends, fun and future as a strategy to receive trust.

Share with us: what are you doing to come down out of the clouds and work on your personal leadership?

Bloomington, Minnesota is my home. Every morning, I begin the day with meditation and prayer facing east through the living room picture window. It’s a joy to peer through the charming Hard Red Maple tree to take in Mother Nature’s sunrise. But in April, she can really yank my chain.

When I talk Minnesota weather with my California friends, they lecture: “you choose to live there.” Yes, we live here for many good reasons.  But honestly, the weather is ridiculous. Mother Nature toys with our emotions for sport.  Especially in Springtime.  Especially THIS Springtime.

Websters dictionary defines “whiplash” as an abrupt snapping motion or change of direction. That definitely describes the mood of anyone who has endured the past ten days here. A week ago Thursday, I flew home from a speaking and coaching engagement in Austin, Texas, (84 degrees) and I was greeted by a 62 degree temperature drop. Not only was the temp 20 degrees below Minnesota normal, it was also snowing. I’m talkin’ Norman Rockwell blizzard snow. In April! The next morning, my neighbor had to help me snow plow my driveway so I could drive to the Good Leadership Breakfast. By contrast, last year I had already played 11 rounds of golf by April 19.

We endured another 4 inches of snow the following Monday…and then we had “an abrupt snapping motion and change of direction.” Within 72 hours the temperature hit 70 degrees and the golf course opened.  Sure, it was exciting…but Mother Nature’s whimsical whiplash is both exhilarating and exhausting.

I believe leaders create the weather. Not the Mother Nature kind of weather, but the climate by which we operate. Living in Minnesota is good training for how to remain emotionally stable and consistent in leadership. This past week has been an abrupt change of emotions for me in my leadership, very similar to the weather whiplash.  It’s not always easy to maintain a consistently positive climate for people to work together, give their best and grow. Sometimes, abrupt changes with staffing, customers, competition or strategy can cause emotional whiplash. Regardless of where you live, leadership is a lot like April in Minnesota.

Good leaders make a habit of staying in tune with the climate they create with their leadership. And they do their best to stay calm, strong and confident in all types of weather.

So how do YOU handle Mother Nature’s whiplash?

My grandfather, Willis Kenneth Hunter, lived as a cornerstone in a small rural town. He ran the local newspaper. The people in Lake View, Iowa, read his weekly columns for more than 30 years celebrating the highs (weddings, births, carnivals)…and explaining the lows (fires, burglaries and unexpected deaths.)  Before he passed, I asked him to think back on all those columns and share with me what he learned.  “Some days are better than others,” he replied with simple wisdom.

That would describe the events of the past couple of weeks.  My heart is still aching from the Boston Marathon bombing.  And I’m profoundly confused: just the day before, I was shouting for joy when Adam Scott holed a 12-foot putt to win the Masters. In both situations, I heard a broadcaster utter the “Oh my goodness!” phrase.  In tragedy and joy, journalists in both situations said, over the airwaves: “Oh my goodness!” Amazing.

In our firm, we are building significant momentum around this mission: spreading goodness in leadership and business. Every week we are touching more people – helping leaders see, feel and multiply goodness. We focus the learning on four weighty concepts: excellence, generosity, fairness and positivity. Followers tell us that’s what goodness looks and feels like – in leadership.

But what does “Oh my goodness!” mean in the context of the Boston Marathon bombing and the joy of winning the Masters?  If you listen carefully to the world around us, you will begin to hear people use the “Oh my goodness!” phrase freely and often: for highs and lows, good times and bad.

Please share your insight: what do you think “Oh my goodness!” means in both the positive and negative context?

Good leaders make a habit of searching for clarity around the things in life they endure.  And they seek the advice of people they respect and admire to help them learn and grow.

Please share your insight, I really need your help.

PS. Last Wednesday a friend sent me this link to a powerfully touching Time Magazine story about the goodness in the Boston Marathon tragedy.  If you like it, share it.  Seize the day!

The word “rêve” means dream in French. Cirque du Soleil brought the Rêve concept to life in full living color on stage with daring acrobatics and balancing acts. That accurately describes my friends Kristin Pardue and Brad Von Bank – a husband and wife team who are raising a family and running a business together.  They own a daringly fresh strategy, technology and change management firm – with an academy to help inner city kids dream with purpose. Fittingly, their business is called Rêve Consulting.

Brad and Kristin are the first husband and wife speakers at the Good Leadership Breakfast — this Friday, April 19.  Will you join us?

By now, readers of this personal leadership blog know I don’t believe in the concept of “Work/Life Balance.”  Rather, I coach, speak and write about the concept of “blending” as a source of goodness. By that I mean blending together our personal and professional lives and blending the Seven Fs: faith, family, finances, fitness, friends, fun and future.

Brad and Kristin didn’t always know this was their path. Kristin was the first to venture into small business, using her vast corporate experience to build a consulting firm to help organizations embrace both the “head and the heart” as they navigated through change. “She was having so much fun,” Brad said, ” I asked her if I could quit my corporate job and join her!” Today, they are beyond the survival stage of entrepreneurial risk and they are living the dream. Rêve.

In many ways, Brad and Kristin could be the poster image of blending the Seven Fs 24/7.  They live together. They own and operate the business together, with offices side by side. They raise children together and their company cars have license plates that say: Reve 1 and Reve 2. They express their faith and their commitment to future through their work.  Their children, Connor and Tyler, can’t really remember life before Rêve.  The boys passionately claim the mission, strategies and tactics as their own – and one of the boys is already negotiating a professional role in the business…ten years from now!

When Delane and I visited the colorful Rêve offices last week, we were impressed by the sophisticated branding and the freshly written exercise schedule on the white board.  Every  hour, on the half hour, the whole firm takes a two-minute exercise break. “My arms are sore from the work we did yesterday on our shoulders!” Kristin said. Hmm…fitness at work!  Rêve, Rêve.

But the Seven Fs clean sweep is completed with their wildly successful Rêve Academy.

“Brad has always had a passion for north Minneapolis,” Kristin explained. “We started Rêve Academy as an out-of-school program to help kids from north Minneapolis build a bright future for themselves by understanding business and the internet.” Brad explains. “Our purpose is to help them dream with direction.” The non-profit academy is bursting at the seams, funded primarily by their consulting business and grants. Rêve, Rêve, Rêve.

Good leaders make a habit of focusing on living their dreams.  And they embrace the undeniable forces of positive momentum that call the Seven Fs into action.

Please consider my invitation to join us for the Good Leadership Breakfast this Friday, April 19, to hear Brad and Kristin share their story about living the dream.

Then share with us: what would you do, if you knew you could not fail?

The pursuit of the American dream has a nomenclature.  Mostly business speak. And perhaps the most misunderstood part of the vocabulary is the word strategy. At the very least, it’s popular fodder for Dilbert.

This weekend I was in Nashville, Tennessee, for the national Show Choir competition.  My daughter Anna was one of 800+ show choir kids competing.  Each choir had its own strategy: her choir is committed to Rock N Roll…that’s why Anna sang the Stevie Nicks solo “Go Your Own Way” standing center stage at the Grand Ole Opry. That was cool!

But us Glee wannabees were second fiddle in Nashville to the US Chess Super Junior SUPERNATIONALS. Neither the Show Choir kids, or we parents, had any idea we were dancing into the largest kids chess tournament in the history of the free world. We took second priority to 5800 kids playing 2900 simultaneous matches in three convention ballrooms. The brainpower was sizzling, and everyone was so happy!  The Opryland Hotel looked and felt like a hybrid of the United Nations and the Mall of America at Christmas. It was a great display about what’s good in kids today. That was really cool. (Did you see it in the national media?)

Chess is a foreign language to the Batz family.  But this event made chess look sexy!  Even during the breaks we saw recreational chess everywhere.  Sitting. Standing. In restaurants and hallways. In the outlet mall, next to the pool and on the grass field outside the hotel.  Kids chess gone wild.

The good leadership moment came as I overheard an Asian father/coach explain to a group of 8 year olds why having a strategy was so important to winning chess matches.  His lesson: You must know your strengths and commit to playing that strength no matter how tempted you are stray.  And then you can be at peace even when you lose. Brilliantly poetic: the most misunderstood business concept made simple. To third graders, in the home of Minnie Pearl: go figure.

I know a few senior executives who would grow significantly from that 8-year-old chess lesson in the hallway at the Opryland Hotel.

So, even if you aren’t a chess player and you’re long past 8 years old, what can we learn from this lesson?  Just ponder these two questions: Are you committed to your strengths, no matter how tempted you are to stray?  And, will you be at peace even when you lose?

Good leaders make a habit to look and listen to the world around us through a fresh set of senses.  We remember simple lessons to help us stay committed to our strengths, and be at peace – even when we lose.

Let’s start a ‘strategy’ discussion: what do you think about this lesson from the chess teacher?

Yesterday was April Fool’s day, the international holiday for practical jokes. Here’s a funny one: it was also my first day back at work as a 50-year old. Is Father Time messin’ with me?

With the cartoon bubble of my new AARP card floating above my head…I spent last week in Gulf Shores, Alabama, celebrating my 50th birthday.  Friends and family provided the support and peer pressure for me to party like a college kid again.  My temporary Carpe Diem tattoo and painted toenails (pink) remind me we had a really good time. And why not? Every good leader needs to cut loose on vacation to rejuvenate mind, body and spirit.

So for one week, we lived the Spring Break cliche — Frisbee, football and volleyball on the beach. We staged an indulgent Seven Fs celebration, including a killer sand castle (affectionately known as our Newcastle). We binged on jambalaya, gumbo and fifteen pounds of crayfish. We marveled over the Blue Angels aerobatics at the Naval Air Base in Pensacola. And we lit fireworks over the beach.

Of course the college kids taught us embarrassing drinking games. Not that we actually did any drinking… All I know is today I’m yearning for a vacation to recover from my vacation.  Being 50, the recovery period ain’t what is used to be.

But, alas, I’m so lucky I love my work.  Partying on the beach is great…yet my body is reminding me I couldn’t do that every week. The hypnotic roll of the ocean made my mind wander back to the office. Thursday morning I checked email to collect birthday wishes and Shazaam!  A client sent me a birthday greeting and awarded us a new project! Now that’s a birthday present that makes me feel young.

Looking ahead, my real work now is to improve my fitness (to get rid of the vacation tire around my belly) deepen my faith (to embrace the craziness life is throwing our way) and sharpen my future (to build an evergreen business model so I won’t ever have to think about retiring.)  Who needs to retire? I have role models setting the example of how 70 is the new 50. What do you think Father Time thinks about that?

Good leaders make a it habit to pause, savor and celebrate significant milestones in their personal and professional lives. And they use their young energy to create a compelling plan for the future.

Let’s get the conversation started: what is your next milestone, and how do you plan to celebrate?

March madness has overwhelmed my home.  No, not the NCAA basketball tournament…it’s the crazy weather this year.  As I get older, I get more intense about asking…When will the snow go away!?

Last week, as I trudged through a new blanket of snow, an epic beam of sunshine escaped from our mailbox.    Did Steven Spielberg choreograph my morning?  Standing there, in my brown winter Crocks, pajamas and parka…I reached past the coupon booklets, utility bills and Victoria Secret free panty ads to find the golden ticket to life after 50:

Yes, I got my AARP card.

Surreal.  I’m not even 50 until March 28.

I was engulfed in an unexpected reaction, grinning from ear to ear. I found myself enjoying the warmth of seeing my name: PAUL BATZ, computer-imprinted on an iconic piece of mail. See for yourself!

Why did I smile?  I don’t know!!!  Maybe it’s because roughly 150 years ago, the life expectancy of men in Minnesota barely exceeded 50.  Back then, the AARP card would have showed up around age 31. (But it didn’t exist yet.)  So, by history’s standards, getting my AARP card makes me a medical marvel.

This week I’m in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Spring Break with family and friends.  My 21-year old daughter Katie texted me saying: “It’s fun to have a 50-year old dad who can still party like he’s 21.” She’s delusional, but I’ll give it the ‘ol college try.

We’re preparing for a beach bash on Thursday, March 28, 2013 to celebrate my big 5-Oh.  It’s the middle mile marker on my 100-year journey. I’m working on my faith, fitness and finances so I can keep hope alive of becoming a Centenarian – like my Grandmother Hunter who lived to 103.  That’s why the weather was bright and sunny in my mailbox.  Half way there.

Good leaders make a habit of embracing the joy, wisdom and perspective that comes with growing older.  And they deliberately celebrate the milestones of a good life.

Please comment and give me a good razzing about my AARP card.  I dare you…

We’re all living in the same movie, whether we know it or not. It’s because we’re all addicted to progress – striving to get to the ‘next level’ in both our personal and professional lives.

Last week Jorge Mario Bergoglio (of Argentina) became the 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. History considers him to be a ‘young pope’ because he’s only 76 years old.  Retirement?…not for Jorge (now Francis).

I’m turning 50 years old this month…this guy makes me feel young!

Last week we moved my mother, Nancy Jean Batz (of Iowa) into a swanky new apartment in St. Paul, Minnesota.  Just like Pope Francis, she’s 76 years old. Her two bedroom apartment isn’t The Vatican, but she’s still full of excitement for living in “the Cities” near her grandchildren.  She knows what the next level can look like: her mother, Arlene Hunter (also of Iowa) lived to be 103. At age 90, after recovering from triple bypass heart surgery, she set her mind to learn and memorize all 27 Chopin Etudes on the piano.  It helped that she studied and taught piano for more than 70 years. Reaching the ‘next level’ as a musician kept her alive and feisty. I wonder how many Popes could play Chopin in their 90s?

If nothing else, my grandmother proved what Pope Francis and psychologists know: no matter how old you are, if you have high aspirations and a good outlook for the next level, you are only as old as you feel. (That helps me prepare for 50).

I think the quest for the next level is a good thing. I’ve dedicated my career to helping leaders get to the next level, in both their personal and professional lives. But remember, we’re all living in the same movie.  There are plot twists – ugly facts of life that get in the way.  My colleague’s mother-in-law had a heart attack. A client just lost her mother after a brutal concert of surgeries.  My neighbor’s grand daughter was born 5 months premature, smaller than a Diet Coke can. It’s hard to stay positive when the movie turns ugly.

That’s why we need to live by the Seven Fs: blending our faith with family, finances, fitness, friends, fun and future. At age 76, Pope Francis represents persistence, hope and the power of staying positive. The path to becoming the Pope is certainly full of plot twists.  Who in their right mind would actually think they could one day be THE POPE? Now that’s quite a movie.

Good leaders make a habit of sharpening their aspirations and striving for the next level. And we cultivate relationships with wise role models to help us see what’s possible in our leadership.

Please share your thoughts about role models in your life who radiate goodness after the magical age of 76!