Category: Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership

Before Undo. Before AI. We Just Had Redo.

Written on February 23, 2026. Posted in Business Leadership, Career, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Personal Thoughts.

How undo took the permanence out and put the pressure on Forty years ago I was a bleached-headed skater kid in Northern California, which at the time felt like the center of something even if no one would have admitted that out loud, because...

Authentic Growth, Hands in The Soil, Marketing Truth, Personal story, Thought Leadership

Honestly, Losing Momentum Sucks… But That’s Not the End of Your Story

Written on February 17, 2026. Posted in Career, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Personal Thoughts.

When life derails your carefully laid plans it’s not always about descending into total chaos or facing outright failure – often, it’s an opportunity for something much deeper to emerge. Most of us build our careers around...

Authentic Growth, Career Stories, Hands in The Soil, Personal story

The Human Cost of “Correct” Answers

Written on February 16, 2026. Posted in Brand Marketing, Career, Future Marketing, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Personal Thoughts.

Early in my career, I became obsessed with unlocking the secrets of our industry’s pioneers — not because I wanted the tactics or the shortcuts or the tidy frameworks you can laminate and sell back to management teams that secretly hopes...

Career Stories, Hands in The Soil, Marketing Truth, Thought Leadership

A Scoreboard Doesn’t Care About Goals, Intentions, or Chaos

Written on February 11, 2026. Posted in Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Operational Leadership, Personal Thoughts.

A scoreboard does not care about your goals. It does not adjust itself for your intentions. It is unmoved by the chaos of the moment. It simply reflects what is true. That is easy to accept in theory. It is harder to accept when you are in...

Old White Men Can’t Jump… But They Sure Can Smash It at the Kitchen Line?

Written on February 4, 2026. Posted in Brand Marketing, Business Leadership, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Lifestyle Business.

I started playing pickleball during cancer recovery. Docs and friends called it “low-impact”—perfect for seniors in care facilities, they said. Come on, how hard could it be? I grew up skateboarding, skiing, snowboarding, and—like every other 80s...

Brand Stategy, Hands in The Soil, Marketing Leadership, Marketing Truth, Personal story

Leadership Superpowers That Turn Into HR Super-Problems

Written on February 3, 2026. Posted in Business Leadership, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Operational Leadership.

“Two Cliques. One Table. No Easy Answers.” By Andrew Bloo(HITSLeadership™)& Reanette Etzler(The Strategic HR Coach) Leadership and HR often sit on opposite sides of the same tension. Leadership is wired for momentum: speed,...

Authentic Growth, Hands in The Soil, HR Leadership, Thought Leadership

Social Loafing and the “CYA” Tax: How to Reclaim Your Team’s Momentum

Written on January 30, 2026. Posted in Business Leadership, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership.

Why the real work is building a culture that doesn’t need the meeting Most conversations about meetings focus on time management. How many meetings are too many?Which invites should you decline?How do you protect your calendar? Those are...

Career Stories, Thought Leadership

The One Thing I Wish I’d Told Small Business Owners About Marketing a Year Ago

Written on January 28, 2026. Posted in Brand Marketing, Business Leadership, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Personal Thoughts.

About a year ago, I shared a post from a former coworker and good friend, Michal Linehan that asked a deceptively simple question: Can a small business still do its own marketing? At the time, my answer was immediate and confident: of...

The Most Dangerous Leadership Trap I Ever Fell Into

Written on January 26, 2026. Posted in Business Leadership, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Personal Thoughts.

From one leader who’s been there to another Hey, I want to be really honest with you. I’ve struggled. I’ve failed spectacularly at times. And looking back, a lot of those failures came from the same place: pride and...

Authentic Growth, Career Stories, Hands in The Soil, Marketing Leadership, Personal story, Thought Leadership

Why Cancer Was Good for My Career

Written on January 23, 2026. Posted in Business Leadership, Hands In The Soil Marketing Leadership, Personal Thoughts.

(But Not My Financial Statement) Most people don’t separate career success from financial success. We treat them as if they’re locked together – emotionally synced – where one validates the other. Earn more, you must be winning....