The Journey Behind Lead the Journey
Navigating Complexity
Chaos seems to find me. And honestly, I love figuring out how to organize it. I'm a numbers and analysis person at heart, but I'm also deeply passionate about understanding people — their stories, their potential, and the unique talents they bring to a team.
A Diverse Leadership Landscape
My leadership journey has been anything but linear. From military instruction to environmental consulting, from manufacturing to leading a $1B distribution business and guiding a software startup, I've learned that success is rarely about rigid structures.
The Leadership Sweet Spot
The golden thread through my experiences is a simple yet powerful insight: great leadership lives in the balance between structure and human potential. It's about creating just enough framework to help talented people thrive — without constraining their creativity or sense of ownership.
What I'm Building Now
In early 2025 I taught myself to code — starting on Thanksgiving weekend — and built Lumber Runner Trading from scratch: a production AI-integrated supply chain platform running real commercial transactions. Every component self-taught, self-built, and deployed.
That experience changed how I think about what's possible. AI doesn't replace the operator's instinct for finding the real problem — it amplifies it. The same diagnostic thinking I've applied to broken businesses for 30 years turns out to be exactly what's needed to deploy AI that actually works in the real world.
Lead the Journey is built on that same principle. The assessment is powered by Claude, but the questions were shaped by decades of watching what actually breaks — and what actually fixes it.
Beyond the Business World
When my professional world needs a reset, you'll find me in nature. Camping with my crew — my wife, our children, our foster babies, and our wonderfully goofy doodles — reminds me that the most important leadership happens in life's simple, authentic moments. Every journey is unique. Every story matters.