Ally’s life should have ended on Labor Day, 2013.

By all reasonable measurements she was dead already, a bag of bones and infected skin that had been found lying and dying a few hours earlier in a supermarket parking lot in Yonkers, New York.

But fate or luck or whatever energy force you personally believe in stepped forward and she was picked up by a passing truck driver who gave her to a rescue group who raced her to an emergency vet. His diagnosis was simple. “This is going be a long road. We should put her to sleep.”

The end of Summer came on Monday. November 11th. I felt the warmth slip away as I held her head in my lap, her body suddenly lighter as the sprit that powered this irresistible life force flowed out of our lives. She was ready to go. And we encouraged her to go. And I am broken without her. My blonde bombshell.

Unlocking creativity is about celebrating uncertainty and embracing risk. 

The reality is that most businesses aren't designed that way. Nor are most human beings. 

Which is where encouraging courage comes in.

One of the things that has struck me over 71 episodes of Fearless is the openness with which so many of the guests have answered my questions. 

I think this says a lot about how they lead and why they are so successful. Because, this kind of openness is rare.

It’s rare because leadership is an enigma. Counter-intuitive and contradictory.

This week on the Fearless Creative Leadership podcast, I talked to Paul Venables, the founder of Venables Bell + Partners. During our conversation, the topic of leadership values came up. Here’s some more thinking on that all-important aspect of modern, creative and fearless leadership.

Thinking more about Teamwork - our Fearless Creative Leadership podcast theme for this week

“Pure love. Wrapped in a fur coat.” January 2006 - July 6th, 2018.