With Grandparent’s Day on Sunday, I want to honor my last living grandparent, ninety year old Dorothy Gerber. Not only is Grandma Dorothy an amazing woman, she also is officially the biggest and most devoted fan of my blog.

She devotedly commented on my first ever stab at blogging. It was entitled “Defining and Living Core Beliefs” from January 30, 2013. Using her original free Juno email handle from the early 1990s, she found her way to my site and then posted this: “Good job Tim. I am proud of you and Gibson.”

A few weeks ago I was heading to a morning meeting with a client. My home is just off an old federal highway that connects me to their small town about thirty-five miles away. It runs through several “lake villages” and some pretty scenery.

There is also an interstate running east/west between us. It’s about five miles south to access the interstate and then another five miles north again to get to their plant. I have always taken the interstate because I know at just under 80 miles per hour I will more than make up the extra distance. It has to be faster and I don’t leave time in my schedule for “pretty”.

You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses. Where did such profound words come from? Well, cartoon hero Ziggy, of course!

One of our core values at Gibson is Optimism Reigns. We can’t deliver the very best client experience if we’re acting, communicating, or even thinking in a negative, defeated manner. We know that attitude and outlook have a direct impact on the results of our employee-owned company.

Many companies realize their most important asset is their brand. A brand influences the perceptions of clients, potential clients, partners, staff, the media and, of course, the general public. So managing and maintaining that image can be considered one of the most important elements of a business process.

Recently I sat down with our new operations executive, Jerry Scott. He is working closely with our Commercial Risk Management team after many years on the “buyer” side of the equation. His background includes years of senior level work in operations, human resources, and leadership development.

As he began to debrief on his experiences and observations since coming on board, our discussion turned to Gibson’s leadership legacy including my personal leadership style and strategy. He talked about something called “Level 5 Leadership” – I vaguely remembered reading about it in Jim Collins’ book Good to Great a number of years ago.

“It’s summer, summer, summertime, time to sit back and unwind,” read the lyrics from Will Smith’s appropriately titled anthem “Summertime”. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love music. You’ll find a pretty eclectic mix on my iPod. I especially like music from the 80s and 90s and this one from 1991 always reminds me of my first full summer after getting my driver’s license.

It got me thinking about other songs and some key lyrics that so aptly tell a story, feeling or emotion. I thought I’d take Mr. Smith’s advice on this blog – it is summertime after all - to sit back and unwind. I’ve listed a few of my favorites below and what they mean to me. I’m betting you know many of them, but maybe not all.

Do me a favor and share your favorites also!

Teaming can be powerful when done right. Diverse strengths can be leveraged. Clients can be served better. And if all goes well one plus one can actually equal three.

We began to reorganize our producers into teams several years ago. In fact, we were recently featured in Rough Notes magazine specifically for our team selling model. We went as far as formally merging their books of business and even their compensation. The teams are responsible for attracting and developing additional production talent. By most accounts internally, this has gone really well. The blend of generational talent has unlocked a lot of potential and helped fuel strong growth for our organization.

Are today’s executives doing a good job at balancing their work and their personal lives?

Recently I connected with Bruce Gobdel and Tony Hutti to gain their perspective. After long and successful careers in management and public accounting, they are involved in mentoring leaders as part of the executive roundtable groups they facilitate.

It was the summer of 1999 and I was mulling over several fantastic job opportunities, thanks in large part to an assist from a great friend and mentor of mine, Jim Spuller. Jim had been in national sales leader roles throughout much of his career. With his help, I had enjoyed a very accelerated interviewing process and was zeroing in on one opportunity in Atlanta and another in Phoenix.

Maintaining Your Network

Having good mentors and a strong network can make or break you. But have you ever taken the time to consider whether or not you are a good mentee?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been disappointed on a number of occasions when someone I’m trying to help never follows up to let me know how things turned out. Or, they asked for my assistance, and I willingly gave it, only to find they never took advantage of what I did for them.