Entries by

50. Raise The Anchor

July 28, 2020 in /by

  When I was in college we played a drinking game called Anchorman.  Maybe you played it once or twice too.  The concept is that there is a team of four people who are tasked with drinking a full mug of beer.  Each member would drink some portion of the mug and the anchorman was responsible for chugging the balance.  It’s designed as a team drinking event.  The object is for the team to finish their beer first.  Yet, in many games I watched, the first three people would take only a sip or two and leave a massive amount […]

49. Youthful Inspiration

July 14, 2020 in /by

  The format of this podcast will be different from the previous fifty we’ve previously produced.  This podcast will feature one story and one inspiring young man.  I think that when you are done listening you will understand how appreciative I am that this story came to my doorstep and how grateful I am to be able to provide a modicum of help and exposure. Welcome to Swimming in the Flood; a podcast where we develop the resilient leader’s mindset by navigating difficult currents in business.  My name is Trent Theroux. On July 22, 2019, North Carolina state Highway Patrol […]

48. Hustle Down The Line

July 8, 2020 in /by

Let me ask you a question.  Imagine two individuals.  They have the exact same education, training, work experience and backgrounds.  Yet, one of them is far more successful than the other.  Why do you suspect?  Sure, we could make a statistical model to control for numerous variables or we could go with what I suspect –  I suspect that one has more ambition than the other.  One wants it more.  The more successful person has that drive that is widely talked about and measured.    But, the real question I want to ask you is how is that ambition instilled into […]

46. Interpret The Right Data

June 23, 2020 in /by

On the first night of each graduate school class, I would pose the same problem to my students. I would go to the board, draw a bright circle on the middle and tell them that this was a piece of data. I would ask them if they could analyze the data? Most were confused by such a vague question in the first ten minutes of class and wouldn’t even put their heads up. I would then draw a second dot somewhere else on the board and ask if they could connect the two and give me an analysis. Many now […]

45. Show Don’t Tell

June 16, 2020 in /by

Silence is golden. There comes a time when silence is betrayal. The dichotomy between these two axioms is glaring. Let me give speech not to my thoughts in this period of civil discourse and unrest. I am white privilege. I don’t apologize. That is how I was raised and who I am. I am also left-handed and pigeon-toed. I don’t apologize for those either. But, I will confess that my left-handedness and my pigeon- toedness have caused me more issues in my life than being white. But that does not make me tone deaf to the injustices felt by people […]

44. Celebrate Success

June 10, 2020 in /by

I was playing golf on Sunday. The stakes were high and the competitors were menacing. I reached the long par four 13th in regulation and was settling in for my birdie putt. My nerves were steady. The putt was about 25’ with a strong slope down and to the right. I picked my line, practiced my pace and set in to stoke the putt. That’s when the horns started blowing. Hundreds of horns. Unfortunately for me, the horns started just before I putted the ball. My legs jumped at the cacophony of horns and I pushed the ball more than […]

43. Rise Like A Phoenix

June 3, 2020 in /by

I am writing this podcast while watching the countdown for the SpaceX Crew Dragon historic launch.  It will be the first commercial manned flight into space.  It will also be the first American manned launch since 2011.  The astronauts just announced that they are a “go” for launch.  I can’t lie.  I am stoked about this.  I’ve always had a fascination with the science and mathematics behind space travel.  What makes this flight unique is that it is the first launch of a new vehicle in thirty years.  And, this flight is the gateway for Developing Resilient Leaders to book […]

41. Create A Meaningful Scoreboard

May 21, 2020 in /by

Always eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or bed – no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters in your skull. The passage came from George Orwell’s 1984, but it very easily could have been about working from home. There are varying estimates of the number of workers who are now working remotely. A study by MIT in April showed the number approaching 50%. Half of the workforce has carved out office space in their homes to serve their employer’s needs. They rearranged their […]

40. Reward The Deserving

May 14, 2020 in /by

 The Kentucky Derby was supposed to run last week. That’s normally one of my favorite days of the year. I invite friends over to watch the race, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and sip on mint juleps. It’s probably the only time in the year I get to use the word muddle. I muddle the mint in the bottom of the glass before I pour the mint julep. We sip, we laugh and we comment on the outrageous hats worn by the ladies. After that, the race. The fastest two minutes in sports is a pure adrenaline rush. Party goers screaming […]

39. Take Only What You Need

May 7, 2020 in /by

I was shopping in my local supermarket last week.  My mouth and nose covered with a surgical mask and I was snaking through the aisles in the new one-way traffic pattern.  There was a run on Brussel sprouts.  It’s nice to see during a pandemic that parents are feeding their kids healthy foods.  The line at the deli counter could not have been more genteel, each offering others the opportunity to be served in front of them.  The fishmonger smiled through his mask when he told me that he had a great cut of salmon.  The store had only a […]