July 11, 2007 – Santa Barbara.

Yesterday here was cloudy, cool and so very pleasant. It’s been thirty-five years since my last visit to this beautiful California bay city, surrounded by mountains. Then it was for a high school friend’s wedding, following our mutual college graduations June of ’72… he from UC SB and me from a, let us say “more structured place” (info on that school is found at www.usma.edu).

This week’s trip, though, was to assist The Leadership Group – currently serving CEO’s, COO’s, CFO’s and company owners in the Santa Barbara and Los Angeles area, though I doubt they limit their selection to people from only these areas. Two days were dedicated to two separate groups – one for senior managers, the other for company owners. Each day’s discussion began with the individuals checking in with each other regarding how their past month has unfolded re: personal and professional goals. Nice … accountability from the get-go. Then it was time for presentation – my offer. Topics presented were: Be Here Now, the Five Step Leadership Process, The Randori Principles (see Baum & Hassinger’s book by same name); and the fundamental concepts underpinning aikido, namely “aiki”, “kuzushi” and “shisei”. All of this was interactive and a lot of fun.

Participants were put into action pairs. They tugged and pushed on each other (quite literally), discussed meaningful issues about the challenges they now face, translated the exercises we did (all founded on aikido practices) into solutions – business and personal. It was very heartening to witness the willingness displayed by each person and the value they created for each other regarding issues that matter to them.

A big THANK YOU to Dan Waldman, CEO of Forester Communications (www.forester.net) . Dan and I were introduced to each other by Bob Dunham( www.enterpriseperform.com ) two years ago when I led a Samurai Game for Bob’s organization. Both have attended the Allied Ronin Leaders’ Retreat.

Should you or someone you know be interested in what The Leadership Group has to offer I highly suggest you contact Kim Johnson at 805-968-2344 or send email kim-j@mindspring.com . Even if you have to fly to Santa Barbara on a periodic basis to participate … from what I can see, it is well worth the effort, scheduling and financial costs to engage with such top-notch people.