Angel Investors – It is Still Management, Management, Management

If you believe these are times for fast business growth, you are correct. The typical Inc. 5000 company has grown 468 percent over the past three years, as reported by Inc. Magazine. I’m seeing similar results through our clients’ businesses and a portfolio company. More...

~ Alan Goldsberry, Managing Partner of ZFactor Group, LLC

ZFactor Group is a "Executives-As-A-Service" professional services and private equity firm. We provide C-Suite on demand at a fraction of the cost of full time management. 

The Neuroscience of Leadership

New category added to the Servant Leadership Google+ Community. The Neuroscience of Leadership.

What we think, how we think, act and communicate makes a difference. While any authentic leader knows this to be true by their experiences, it is empowering to learn from research that developing one's emotional self-awareness is key to developing others. What do you do to be more emotionally self-aware?

Link to Neuroscience of Leadership: The Promise of Insights

ZMap tool to think through developing your attention and awareness.

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group

ZFactor blog explores and discusses a variety of techniques, tools and discoveries by successful people that will assist others to achieve greater personal and professional success. ZFactor is a proprietary coaching methodology based upon the premise that successful people think, act and communicate differently. The ZFactor methodology is proven to accelerate personal, professional and business growth.

Darn Glad 2013 Is Done!

I'm not a superstitious person, but 20(13) was a bit_ _ of a year. With family and friend's health issues and deaths, business challenges and my attempts to understand the motivations of my two sons (ages 20 and 23). 2013 was a year of many doors closing and several new opportunities.

I really am one who maintains a positive outlook on life and what's possible, no matter how challenging a situation or person might appear. It began with the blog "The Boomer Grind - No One Ever Told Me!" This blog is a simple life review of all the life challenges I and other boomers have had to navigate, endure and prevail.

Several of my 2013 blogs reveal my beliefs, attitudes and passions for life, family and business. Doing this review is good for the soul and reminder of who I will continue to strive to be in 2014 and beyond. 

Thanks for taking a little time with these blogs and I trust they provide you insight and inspiration. They do so for me.

• Entrepreneurial Leaders Do What Matters (I'm a longtime, serial entrepreneur).
• Purpose Driven Leadership - Servant Leadership (I launched a Google+ community on Servant Leadership, which has grown to some 260 followers).
• The World According To Our Children - Future Servant Leaders (This poem sums up my experience of my sons and expectations of why they will make the world a better place).
• Your Blog Can Predict Your Success Or Failure (I am one who believes in continuous learning - personal and professional development).
• America - Greatness In The Making (I have deep faith, hope and belief in the American people who I refer to as "The Faithful Majority" in one of my books - published in Kindle version and soon to be released in a print version.
• It Is Confirmed - Boomers Will Be Rolled Into Their Graves (I'm a boomer and love it and plan on living life to the fullest and leave a legacy of love and meaning that inspires future generations).
• Jimmy V - A Coaching Legacy Seeking Cancer Cures (I'm inspired by the lives and legacies of others).
• Authentic Legacy - Zig Zigler (One of the greats who has inspired me throughout my business career).
• I Will Greet This Day With Love In My Heart (Thank God I was reminded of this by one of my sons while he was struggling with understanding himself, his life purpose and what's next for him).
• Brain Research: Positive Attitude Improves Performance (Great to see that research is proving what the positive attitude community has always believed and their belief comes from Biblical teachings).
• A Lifetime of Servant Leadership and One Servant Leader's Legacy (Both of these blogs are my thoughts on the loss of my Mother-In-Law and a mentor).

Thanks for sharing some of your time with these blogs. May you have a tremendous and blessed 2014.

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

ZFactor blog explores and discusses a variety of techniques, tools and discoveries by successful people that will assist others to achieve greater personal and professional success. ZFactor is a proprietary coaching methodology based upon the premise that successful people think and act differently. The ZFactor methodology is proven to accelerate a person's ability to think and act differently.

One Servant Leader's Legacy - Many Will Follow

Upon learning of a friend's death, I will take pause to lift up in prayer the departed and surviving family members. Then, in the midst of my prayers, thoughts and emotions - memories emerge. I will take time to reflect and celebrate how this person's life has made a difference and the legacy their life will represent for generations to come.

In those moments, I ponder through a tsunami of thoughts and emotions that converge to create a state of mind which "overwhelms and satisfies my soul."* There are moments of sadness and grief that can overwhelm the senses for the loss of one's physical presence, yet in the same moment other thoughts transcend into a sense of satisfaction, awe and gratefulness for the blessings and life lessons learned which can be attributed to the recently departed.

Albert W. Seiter, Jr.

Al Seiter, husband to Lu Seiter, father, grandfather, great grandfather, friend, mentor to many and servant leader, recently passed away. Al and Lu are founding members of Bethany UMC in Austin, Texas. Countless lives have been impacted and will be for generations to come by Al and Lu's actions to establish a United Methodist Church in Northwest Austin 37 years ago.

Al and his band of brothers and sisters brought forth a place full of love, embraced by the Holy Spirit, to create a refuge from the daily grind of the world. For more than thirty-seven years individuals and families have found love, comfort and healing at Bethany. Cindy and I and our sons are one of those families.

Servant Leaders Grow Others

Al exemplifies the definition of servant leader by the numbers of people who have grown personally and spiritually, but Al's actions go a step further. Al and Lu attracted many other servant-minded followers and leaders. I blogged about one of those leaders, John Griffith, on Veterans Day 2012. John and Al were best friends and I am thankful for how they taught me what makes a successful church family retreat, so people experience God's love. It takes big hearts, many constantly moving hands and feet and lots of really good food. More importantly, over the years, I experienced these men living and leading this way in all aspects of their lives and activities.

Even before Bethany began worship services in a local school, a small group of individuals canvassed the neighborhoods to find out who were Methodists and would be interested in attending a new church. What is unique about this canvassing project is the information was collected on index cards and shared with other denominations, which led to the planting of five other churches in the growing Northwest Austin neighborhoods. To this day, Bethany's leadership continues to reach out to other church leaders in a sense of unity in the community. It's about the Kingdom, not individual denominations.

Bethany's foundation was infused with servant-mindedness, from the very beginning, and when the cornerstone of Christ was laid upon that foundation built by the founding members, a healthy and blessed spiritual community emerged. This community now continues to impact lives throughout the Austin community, Texas and the world.

Servant Leaders Band Together With Other Servant Leaders

While many churches will measure their impact based upon measuring the numbers of people who attend worship - it is in this sense of servant leadership that Bethany extends their metrics to include how those attending Bethany impact others in their homes, neighborhoods, workplace, schools, community and the world. The encouragement is to be servant-minded in all you do with all the people you can, in all the ways you can and in all the places you can. This way of living and serving is attributed to the legacy of John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement.

Al and Lu and their band of brothers and sisters exemplified Wesley's legacy. Many recall their initial reactions to finding Bethany as it felt like home. It is a place of love, worship, learning, serving and leading - all you would want to be in your home. And today, it is apparent based upon the level of activity, changed lives and spiritual transformations at Bethany - the same sense of servant leadership has been infused into the DNA of Bethany.

Thank you Al, Lu, all founding members and all who have followed in the steps of Al's servant-minded leadership. For many generations to come, lives will continue to find love, comfort and refuge at Bethany, but more importantly they will Experience God's Love, Know Jesus Christ, And Grow In His Image.** In the midst of this experience, people will be inspired to servant-minded leadership and make a difference in ways only dreamed and envisioned by Bethany's Founders.

In remembrance of Al for being a mentor to me and modeling the better way,

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

ZFactor blog explores and discusses a variety of techniques, tools and discoveries by successful people that will assist others to achieve greater personal and professional success. ZFactor is a proprietary coaching methodology based upon the premise that successful people think and act differently. The ZFactor methodology is proven to accelerate a person's ability to think and act differently.

* Lyrics from the song "One Thing Remains"

** Bethany's mission statement

Your Business Has Gold Dust Falling Through The Cracks!

At the end of the movie "Paint Your Wagon" a gold mining town collapses into the ground because of tunnels dug under the town by a group of miners. These gold miners discovered that over the years as all the gold miners came into town and used their newly found gold to pay for goods and services, gold dust had fallen through the cracks in the floor boards of all the buildings. It's a great entertaining movie with Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood. 

The image of gold dust falling through the cracks makes an interesting metaphor for considering how much gold dust (insert any missed opportunity) is falling through the cracks in your business?

As we enter into this Labor Day weekend, I find myself pondering the ever present labor/management or labor/owner communication/understanding gap and wonder how much gold dust is falling through the cracks. What might be the untapped potential that can be revealed and released with just a little clarity of communications and desire to understand one another, better?

And, then I wonder about the political leaders' who continually blame, ridicule and seek to divide labor against management and owners. Then there is the segment of media who seeks to create negative news and labels all management and owners based upon a few bad apples. Again, there is clearly a communication/understanding gap.

But, then I find comfort and assurance in knowing that the vast majority of managers, executives and owners truly care about the people they employ and desire to treat them fairly based upon the business financial situation and an array of conditions.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to employ hundreds of people and advise hundreds of owners, executives and managers who employ thousands. I find almost all (of course there are always the exception) managers, executives and owners continually wrestle and struggle with how to be fair with employee wages, benefits and working conditions and at the same time balance all the other demands and needs of the business. Often people overlook the fact that if the business is not successful, it cannot employ any people.

So, I'll take this time to lift up in a prayer all employees, managers, executives and owners that they be renewed with a hope for clarity in communications that creates deeper understanding. May this Labor Day weekend be a time of awakening to all the gold dust that has been falling through the cracks and may the untapped potential that resides within every organization be revealed and released. 

The world has many people who desire to go to work and make a better life for themselves and their families. What if the political leaders began to focus on the gold dust falling through the cracks instead of focusing on the gold they hope to put in their pockets?

Business Owners, Managers, Executives and Servant Leaders - keep on building, finding the people who want to build something with you and share the wealth with those who produce.

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

ZFactor blog explores and discusses a variety of techniques, tools and discoveries by successful people that will assist others to achieve greater personal and professional success. ZFactor is a proprietary coaching methodology based upon the premise that successful people think and act differently. The ZFactor methodology is proven to accelerate a person's ability to think and act differently.