Brad Lomenick

This is Brad’s official bio:

Over the last 10 years, Brad has built a reputation as a key networker and convener of leaders in a variety of settings. He was involved in the growth of the nationally acclaimed Life@Work magazine, and currently serves as a VP of Giant Impact, a leadership development organization founded by John C. Maxwell, where he leads a number of initiatives including Catalyst, a movement of next generation leaders. Brad also spent several years as a Senior Partner in Cornerstone Group, a boutique consulting firm that helps organizations through strategic planning and executive leadership advising, and before that rode horses in Colorado for a few years.  Brad currently lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

To me Brad is a quiet and great leader.  For all of you that have been to a Catalyst event in the past few years, you know how awesome they are. And Brad is the man making it all happen.  With Brad though, you don’t see him lobbying for stage time (even though he could), you don’t see him drawing attention to himself (even though it would be deserved), and you don’t see him taking credit for the success (he shares it with his team).  My time with Brad is always enjoyable because he really lives out his leadership.  He’s made himself available to me and he always shoots straight with me.  He gets to hang out with the top leaders in the country, yet will talk start up strategy with 20 somethings trying to change the world!  That is awesome.  Also, he has to work with people like Lanny and Tripp and still has his sanity which shows his huge mental  resolve!  Thanks Brad!

Get the chance to go backstage and learn directly from Brad.

Apply today :www.backstageleadership.org

Brad’s Site: www.bradlomenick.com.

Chuck Colson

His official bio (by the way, this is very condensed and humble, the complete one is a few pages long)

Chuck Colson is a popular and widely known author, speaker, and radio commentator.  A former presidential aide to Richard Nixon and founder of the international ministry Prison Fellowship, he has written several books, including Born Again, Loving God, How Now Shall We Live? The Good Life and The Faith Given Once, for All—that have shaped Christian thinking on a variety of subjects.  His radio broadcast BreakPoint airs daily to two million listeners.  In 1993, Colson was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion; the one million dollar prize—along with all speaking fees and book royalties—are donated to Prison Fellowship.  In 2008, President Bush conferred on him the second highest civilian award of the U.S. government, the Presidential Citizen Medal for his humanitarian work with Prison Fellowship.  He is a graduate of Brown University and George Washington Law School, receiving his juris doctor with honors.  He served in the United States Marine Corps, attaining the rank of Captain.  He and his wife Patty have three children and five grandchildren.

To me Chuck has had a greater impact on my thinking and learning than anyone else.  A bold statement no?  I agree.  And I stand by it.  Chuck’s story is beyond amazing.  There are few people that can say they’ve done it as long as Chuck has and done it well. He’s in his 70s now and still goes into prisons.  He lives servant leadership.  He donates all his speaking fees and book royalties to minister to prisoners.  Add to that he has one of the most amazing brains on the planet and you’ve got someone that can teach us all a lot.  His book How Now Shall We Live? changed my life in many ways.  For the first time I saw how big the gospel was and what my duty was there after.  It impacted me so much that I did a 13 month training with him called the Centurion program to learn more. In a few short conversations with him I knew I owed a lot to him.  Listening to him do Q&A is an awesome experience.  You will not want to miss this opportunity.  Chuck is a brilliant, humble leader works harder than most people half his age.  It is an honor and privilege to have him as one of our speakers.

You do not want to miss the chance to ask Chuck questions. He will blow your mind!

Sign up today at www.backstageleadership.org

Mike Foster

This is Mike’s official bio:

Mike Foster is the Senior Creative Principal at PlainJoe Studios, a design firm specializing in strategic branding, interactive media, and environmental design. He leads a large team of creatives at the studio and works with a vast array of clients in both the for profit and non-profit arenas. The firm is a highly regarded creative think tank and has won numerous awards for their work with Infiniti and Nissan.

In addition to his work at Plain Joe, Mike provides leadership for Ethur which is a non-profit organization developing initiatives that promote social and cultural change. In 2002, Mike founded XXXchurch and lead the creative and marketing vision for the ministry until 2006. His work has appeared on CNN, FOX NEWS, The Daily Show, and in the New York Times. He is the co-author of Deadly Viper Character Assassins, which is being re-released in September, 2009.  He currently lives in Southern California with his wife Jennifer and his two children, Jackson and Taylor.

To me Mike is a friend and mentor who after just a few minutes of being around him, you know that he really loves people.  He is honest and rarely holds much back.   I’ve seen Mike speak at numerous events and watched him interact with the crowds.  He always takes the time to be with people.  For a guy that sold his Infinity to drive a decade old Camry so he could give more money to those in need, he’s got a lot to offer.  If you have not read his book Deadly Viper Character Assassins, go get it today.

Get the chance to go backstage and learn directly from Mike.

Apply today :www.backstageleadership.org

Mike’s Site:http://www.deadlyviper.org/

Backstage Leadership is the culmination of a few years worth of learning, growing, idea-ating, dreaming and stretching.  The basis is pretty simple.  I’ve take larger strides in development, leadership, ideas, in ministry, with my marriage, (the list could go on and on) by talking with those who have been down the road I’m trying to take.  These conversations were more important than books I read and conferences I attended. They helped me deal with specifically what I was going through.  Don’t get me wrong, I learn by reading and by listening to talks at conferences.  The problem with that format is it is stemming from the foundation of the speaker/author.  There is nothing wrong with that, it just is not as helpful to me.

Here’s an example I use frequently.  If you were at Catalyst last year than you remember Dave Ramsey knocking it out of the park with his talk on building trust in his organization.  The talk was awesome.  The principles were sound.  The problem is this…I don’t have 300 employees and 8 direct reports.  I have a handful of volunteers and half of those are family!  I’m not on step 50 Dave, I’m on step 5.  I’m trying to lay the foundation so that when I have 300 employees, there will be trust.  Help me get there!  This is where Backstage Leadership comes in.  Now, you can ask the questions you want answered.

This is going to be more than a conference.  This is a journey that you’ll experience with 125 other hungry leaders that want so desperately to grow and be used to do great things.  If you are ready to go to the next level, then visit www.backstageleadership.org and apply today.

Sign Up Today!

1. Living with no humidity is better.

2. Uncertainty is why we need leaders.  This was such an awesome talk by Andy Stanley.  He says that a leader is not required to be certain about everything.  As we’ve seen over the past year in the economy, no one knows for certain what the best next step should be.  In uncertain times though, the leader should always fall back on the original vision-that one thing that God called you to do.  The leader has to be clear.  People will follow a leader who is clear about the vision even if the circumstances are uncertain.  Powerful!

3.  Andy also said something that blew me away.  He said he prays every single day for God to give him wisdom and direction for his life.  Now, maybe I’m not as spiritual as you, but here is a guy who is doing amazing things for God and is being used to influence tens of thousands of people and he still prays that God would show him what to do!  That was sobering and humbling.

4. Guy Kawasaki got permission to say “crappy” and “suck” before his talk.  His talk was neither.  Great thought from Guy, if you create something great, you will gain lovers and haters.  That’s just reality.

5.  Jud Whilhite spoke on the true image of ourselves.  When you look in the mirror do you see you the way God does or the way your memory does?  A stong case from Scripture reveals that God sees us differently that we often see ourselves.  How many people are not doing great things because they see themselves in the wrong light?

6. The biggest question that was burning through my heart was this: “Would I rather be used by God or to be known?”

So, it will take me a few weeks to process all the information that was learned over the past week.  Go ahead and add a few more weeks to write about it.  Let me give you an overview and prepare you for more details later.

1. We released the speakers for this year’s Backstage Leadership class.  Early bird sign ups run through May.  In this  you’ll learn from people like Chuck Colson, Mark Batterson, Brad Lomenick, Carlos Whittaker, Gabe Lyons, Dan Cathy, Mike Foster and more.  Apply today as spots are limited to 125 participants.
2. My brother and I flew out to California to attend Catalyst West Coast.  My best friend growing up was one of the emcees.  He was hilarious. I’ll post a few of his videos soon. Ben and his team did an amazing job with the event. Thanks to Dan Cathy, everyone ate Chick-fil-A for free…both days!  We heard from Andy Stanley, Guy Kawasaki, Catherine Rohr, Ravi Zacharias, Nick Vujicic, Erwin McManus, Craing Groeschel, Francis Chan, and my pastor Perry Noble.
3. At Catlayst I met Bethany Hoang from International Justice Mission.  I was able to share with her about Free Chains and I hope there will be an opportunity for us to partner with them and learn from them.  She’s also speaking for the Centurions this fall!
4. After Catalyst, I went to Austin, TX for the Q conference.  Gabe and his team did an amazing job.  This is not  your typical event.  I met some awesome new friends and was able to meet many more.  I picked up a pair of TOMS shoes (and in the process gave a pair to a child in need).

I have tons of notes to review and flesh out.  In the mean time, check out some of the links above and be sure to check out Backstage Leadership.