Dennis J Conner

The most essential knowledge a leader needs Last week, Stellantis announced plans to invest $13 billion in the United States over the next four years. While not exactly a household name, many of the vehicle brands they manufacture and sell in t...

A cautionary tale behind a big announcement from @stellantis.bsky.social last week. A leader needs to know those they are leading. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership. dennisjconner.com/f/the-most-e...

Assessing the weaknesses that accompany our strengths One of the realities of being an old guy in ministry is that I get lots of phone calls for references. Often, these are official reference calls. Someone has listed my name on a résumé, and a member o...

Most of us love to hear others acknowledge our strengths. However, our strengths come with weaknesses we also need to recognize. True, trusted friends can help us see them. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Humility: a rare but essential quality of leadership While I had often heard his name and may have met him once or twice at various meetings, I never really knew Rev. Jack Byrd until I began serving as Pastor of Cashie Baptist Church in Windsor in 2001.

Knowing and serving alongside Rev. Jack Byrd was one of the many blessings of ministry I have known. He demonstrated an essential, but rare quality of leadership: humility. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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“Being a disciple of Jesus is not about following a set of rules, but following and living under the authority of Jesus.” Pastor Keith Whitfield

Caricatures of leadership While Cindy and I are on vacation, I hope this piece from the files is still helpful to you. This piece was originally published on April 20, 2023. Time references reflect that date. It has been edite...

A caricature, seen in editorial cartoons, exaggerates particular characteristics of the subject. Sadly, many leaders go to opposite extremes, becoming caricatures of leaders rather than true leaders. Read about it in my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Leadership on Fire! This piece was first published on October 13, 2022. Being back in Chicago for a few days earlier this week and fielding questions about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 has rekindled my memory of this p...

A few days in Chicago this week ignited memories of the Great Chicago Fire. The immediate response to the Fire offers some valuable insight for pastors and other leaders. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership

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Leaders must adjust - constantly. A couple of months ago, I wrote about the breakup of corporate conglomerate Kraft-Heinz. Unraveling that behemoth is still a work in progress. The story continues to make business news, in part becaus...

Yesterday's approach won't meet tomorrow's challenges. How are you leading your church, nonprofit, or professional practice to meet those challenges?

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Most leaders have had to clean up a mess they didn't make.
@crackerbarrell.bsky.social CEO Julie Felss Masino is doing it this week. It may be necessary. How we do it may help or hinder our leadership effectiveness. Check out my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership dennisjconner.com/f/cleaning-u...

Leading well in the role we have This piece was originally on July 20, 2023. Several conversations in recent weeks have reminded me of the value of the two leadership principles here. Perhaps refreshing your memory will be helpful to...

If you've ever had a leadership responsibility w/ someone pushing at your back, you know it's not only annoying but can be dangerous to the church, business, or volunteer organization you lead. Read about it in my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Dealing with a dire threat to our leadership. It all seemed innocent enough. A couple of 20-something entrepreneurs working in the music business were building a music recording studio in the heart of Manhattan, just a couple of blocks from Centr...

56 years ago this weekend, Woodstock became the defining event of the 1960s counterculture. The backstory to it all has something instructive for every leader. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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One-star leadership The NFL season is upon us. The Los Angeles Chargers took down the Detroit Lions in convincing fashion during the Hall of Fame Game a week ago. The remaining teams will take the field this week for the...

Regardless of whether we are fans of "America's Team," part of the larger legion of haters, or ambivalent about them and the NFL, the leadership of Jerry Jones, has something to teach us. Read about it in my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership

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Organ-ic leadership Many think of Chicago as being bitterly cold in the winter, and for good reason. It is. Yet, the city has also experienced many sweltering summers, with high temperatures intensified by high humidity.

Regardless of who your team is, if you're a baseball fan, Nancy Faust, @chicagowhitesoq.bsky.social organist for 40 yrs has had an impact on you. Part of that impact began 48 years ago this week. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.
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The verdict is in. Three years ago this week, I wrote about the very different leadership styles of Lori Lightfoot, then the Mayor of Chicago, and Damola Adamolekun, the CEO of P.F. Chang’s. I’ve linked that piece below...

The verdict is in. What is the best leadership approach? Transparency or secrecy? I posed that question 3 years ago. We finally have the answer. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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It seemed like a good idea at the time. The brief business headline a week ago caught my ear like the wrong note in a piano student’s first recital. Discordant. Inescapable. Evocative.

Ketchup and Mac & Cheese are going their separate ways. The story of the @kraftheinz.bsky.social merger and recently announced breakup is instructive to pastors and other leaders. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Community isn't optional In my earliest days of ministry, I was blessed to pastor a church in a rural community in Bertie County, NC. In many ways, it was a stark contrast to the state’s largest city, where I spent the first ...

Ministry leadership can be lonely & isolating. It doesn't have to be. And it shouldn't be. Community isn't optional. It's essential. Like anything else of value, it requires diligent effort. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Well done, Southern Porch! Great food. Rich, deep, steeped iced tea. Great spot to watch Canton move. And only the best mayonnaise money can buy: Dukes mayonnaise

The silent killer This piece was first published on January 17, 2019. It has been edited to correct grammar and spelling. Some of the links have also been updated.

Contentment is a good thing. Complacency, however, is a deadly thing. The story of the BlackBerry illustrates the difference. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Olds leadership Ransom Olds was like many of the other early American automotive pioneers. The grandson of European immigrants, born in the Midwest of the late 19th century, as the industrial age in our still-young n...

Oldsmobile's inglorious end was shaped by its tumultuous early days. Yet, its founder has something of value to teach all leaders today. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership

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Reduce the churn. Increase the fruit. After cutting my teeth in the freight business as a Line Haul Dispatcher at Thurston Motor Lines in Charlotte, I took a similar position at Standard Trucking Company, a quarter mile away, in March 198...

Whether we lead volunteers in a church or employees in a large company, turnover is costly. In this week's Thursday Thoughts on Leadership, I explore where to find answers to the cause of turnover.

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Leadership Ghosn wrong Automotive business news stories have devoted a lot of ink (or bytes) to Nissan in the last few months. In case you missed them, the Japanese auto maker will be closing seven of its current seventeen ...

Leadership Ghosn wrong: a cautionary tale about the dangers lurking around all leaders from the man who was once simultaneously the CEO of two global auto manufacturers.

Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Today is Meck Dec Day. 250 years ago today, a couple dozen Scots-Irish Presbyterians gathered in Charlotte to declare that the people of Mecklenburg County were free of British rule. And Captain James Jack delivered that news to NC representatives in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Avoid avoidance Last week, I wrote about some of the potential value of procrastination. As the old adage goes, there are two sides to every coin. Some of your responses affirmed my sense of need for a counterpoint.

Are you procrastinating or avoiding? There is a difference. This week, I share some markers of those differences and offer a few simple tips to avoid avoidance. Would love to hear your thoughts.

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Re-founding leadership, the sequel A little over a year ago, inspired by a podcast episode of Masters of Scale, I wrote about re-founders. The subject or concept has resonated with me ever since. So, a recent article about it by Anthon...

For those pastors replanting or revitalizing a church,
Anthony Soohoo of MoneyGram's article about the principles involved in re-founding a business are helpful insights. Read about them in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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A strong performance by starting P Burke, great play at the plate: 3 HRs, a back-breaking offensive performance in 8th, & great pitching by Clevinger to get the Sox out of a late game jam. Complete game. First #OpeningDay win since 2014. The 2025 White Sox look good!#brightsox

Play Ball! Today is the day I have eagerly awaited since last October. Or since last July, if I’m honest. It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball. Depending on when you’re reading, the White Sox are preparing...

On this @mlb.com Opening Day, I look back at the history of the Cactus League to glean leadership principles useful to all leaders. Read about it in my Thursday Thoughts on Leadership: dennisjconner.com/f/play-ball

It was a great time of worship with the saints of Pineview Baptist Church, a church #onmissiontogether with @ncbaptist in Goldsboro.

Futurliner leadership The image was so striking that the moment I first saw one has been seared in my memory for more than 45 years. The GM Futurliner was unlike anything I had ever seen. Ever since my gaze was fixed on th...

Charles Kettering has shaped the way we live each day. However, his most recognizable idea to real car enthusiasts also offers us some sound leadership principles. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership.

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Leadership tapas This week’s Thursday Thoughts on Leadership offers four brief insights. Think of them as leadership tapas.

Inspired by the small savory bites of Spanish culture, this week's Thursday Thoughts on Leadership offers four brief but substantial "bites" of leadership principles.
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Well-designed leadership Each year, the first week of March takes my mind back to Chicago. March 4 is Charter Day in Chicago. It marks the day in 1837 when the State of Illinois granted Chicago a charter of incorporation as a...

I first heard @romanmars.bsky.social Ted Talk about good (& bad) flag design, citing vexillologist Ted Kaye's 5 principles ~ 10 yrs ago. Those principles are helpful to all leaders, particularly pastors. Read about it in my latest Thursday Thoughts on Leadership

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Yes, it’s JUST Spring Training. However, winning is always better than losing. And after the painful 2024 the @chgo-whitesox.bsky.social had, I’m happy to see a W. And best of all.. the win comes at the expense of Cleveland. May it be that we best then often in the regular season.