If you’ve been reading my blogs or newsletters for a while, you probably know I’m a huge Kansas City Chief’s fan. One thing I love to do is to bring to light leadership lessons from this amazing team!

One person I’d like to highlight this week is defensive back Jaylen Watson. His story is so inspirational, and his knack last year for game-changing plays was instrumental in the Chiefs run to the Super Bowl.

Here’s an example of that. In the first game in the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Chargers, he intercepted the ball near the Chargers end zone and ran it back for a 99-yeard touchdown. That’s pretty amazing in itself, one of the longest “Pick 6s” in Chiefs history and the longest go-ahead fourth-quarter Pick 6 by a rookie in NFL history.

Here are some leadership tips from his life that I believe we can embrace to become more effective leaders:

1. Never Give Up and Never Give in

When the cards are stacked against you, rearrange the cards! Jaylen did that after he flunked out of USC. He realized the necessity to turn things around. So, when he landed at Washington State, he worked hard and got straight A’s while beginning to make a name for himself on the football field.

Leadership Tip: stay determined to achieve your goals, no matter what obstacles or challenges stand in your way.

2. When Your Name is Called, Be Ready

Jaylen wasn't even supposed to be playing in this game. Trent McDuffie, a fellow rookie, was injured in the season opener. Jaylen was the next man up. In his own words, he said, "I've just been working my butt off, and if the time came where someone went down, I was going to be ready and prepared, and that's what happened.”

Leadership Tip: stay proactive in your day-to-day professional life. Sharpen your saw through learning opportunities. Make the most of mentoring relationships. Stay on top of your obligations, and don't forget to pass your wisdom on to others.

3. Anticipate Great Things to Happen

In a post-game interview, Jaylen said he woke up knowing he would get a Pick-6. Since he was a rookie and a seventh-round NFL draft pick (the bottom-of-the-barrel talent, in NFL speak), he knew the tests would come early from the Chargers quarterback. And when it happened, he was ready.

Leadership Tip: envision your success, knowing you'll succeed in whatever comes your way. Be confident that great opportunities are on the horizon.

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As business leaders, we would all do well to embrace these qualities: through never giving up, preparing ourselves to serve well, and envisioning our success, we will become better equipped to lead with excellence.

Speaking of leading with excellence, Michael Cantu and I discuss how to do this in our best-selling book, No-Nonsense Digital Transformation. We cover quite a few topics on leading well: transforming culture and mindset, effective project planning, and building productive teams, to name a few. This book would still be an excellent read, even if you're not interested in digital transformation!

If you want to learn more, click the button below!

In today's fast-paced and often chaotic world, finding serenity can feel like an elusive goal. The constant barrage of information, the demands of modern life, and the ever-increasing pace of technology can leave us feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from our inner sense of calm.

But finding serenity is not a distant dream; it's a state of being that we can cultivate and nurture,

So, here are some techniques that help me tremendously. I'm sharing them with you, hoping they can also help you.

1. Practice the 5-Senses Grounding Technique

When I’m too excited about something or am stressed out, and my brain is going 90 mph, practicing these grounding techniques helps me. I’ll find a quiet space to focus intently on these five steps, moving slowly from one to the next.
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1. Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you
2. Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you.
3. Acknowledge THREE things you hear.
4. Acknowledge TWO things you can smell.
5. Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste.

You’ll hopefully feel calmer and more present in your circumstances when you finish.

2. Share Your Life with Friends

If you’re anything like me, I work from home with no one but my dogs to keep me company during the day. The isolation can sometimes get to me.

Since I am an external processor, I make it a point to reach out and share my life with friends to have in-depth, authentic conversations. Doing so helps me to stay more centered. And even in times of excitement, sharing your recent experiences with friends can be fun. That can even uplift them!

3. Practice Journaling

I’ve been journaling since my late 20s, and it has been my lifeline. If you have a myriad of emotions you’re experiencing, working through those with pen and paper can be therapeutic. It’s certainly been that way for me.

And there’s proof of how powerful journaling can be. Studies show that journaling can reduce the adverse effects of stress, decrease the symptoms of chronic health conditions, improve clarity, and help with problem-solving.

If you’re unsure how to start, there’s no set formula. Just start! You don’t have to think about what you’re going to say. Just let the words flow.


I hope these tips will help you reduce your stress levels. If you have a chance to try them out, I’d love to hear how they worked for you!

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Speaking of stress, are you facing challenges in your organization that seem unsolvable?

That’s where I love to come in! As a business transformation expert, I enjoy helping organizations solve their most pressing problems.

If you’re interested in learning more, I’d love to hop on a quick phone or Zoom call to help point you in the right direction.

Click the button below to get started!

Excitement is building here in my hometown of Kansas City for the start of the NFL season. As an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan, I'm beyond excited! With a rebuilt defense, new additions to the offense, and a more competitive AFC West, it’s going to be an exciting season.


To help fuel the excitement, I’d like to share a back story of a key individual that the Chiefs would have never won the 2020 Super Bowl without him.

And it’s not Patrick Mahomes!

That man is Brett Veach, the General Manager for the Chiefs. He is an excellent case study of effective leadership.

So, here are four leadership principles we can all live by that Andy Reid, Chiefs Head Coach, used to describe Veach:

1. Let’s Explore

Brett has a fantastic track record for putting in the work to find good players. He knows what he wants, searches to find the players that meet his criteria and he goes after them.

Lessons learned: Dig deep to understand everything you need to know about your situation or problem. By doing in-depth research before you make important decisions, you’ll lay a good foundation for your next steps.

2. Let’s Not Be Afraid to Go There

Veach is "fearless," according to Andy Reid. He's not afraid to make wrong decisions. For example, Brett was instrumental in discovering and insisting that Chiefs select Patrick Mahomes in the draft. So, if it weren't for Brett, Patrick most likely wouldn't be a Chief! Many other teams thought he was too much of a gamble to pursue.

Lessons Learned: Once you’ve done your homework and your pathway forward is more straightforward, be bold in your decision-making. Go after your goals with a single-mindedness to achieve success.

3. Let’s Not Say It Can’t Be Done

“Impossible” is not a word in Veach’s vocabulary. 

Many industry experts said it would never be possible to keep the Super Bowl-winning team together. But Veach set his mind on the goal and has worked relentlessly towards keeping the 2019 team together. 

Lessons Learned: Refuse to believe something can’t happen. Just make up your mind to get ‘er done and tenaciously work towards that.

And this leads to the last point:

4. Let’s Find a Way To Get It Done

Veach proved all the naysayers wrong by bringing back all but two of the team’s starters before the start of the season.
He accomplished this through a foundation of trust built with his players, which paid off during contract negotiations with star players Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones.

Lessons Learned: Work towards building trusted relationships with your team. When they see your willingness to go the extra mile for them, they’ll be more willing to do the same for you. This base of trust will help you more quickly iron out conflicting objectives with them so that the whole organization will be more empowered to reach its goals.

Likewise, business leaders can build strong business teams. Michael Cantu and I talk about this extensively in our newly released paperback, No-Nonsense Digital Transformation. The e-book debuted on Amazon as the #1 New Release in IT, #2 Best Seller in IT, and #3 in AI and Semantics.

If you’re interested in learning more about the book, click the button below!​

With the 4th of July holiday happening this week, I thought I'd give myself a break and share with you one of the most popular blogs I've written. I hope you enjoy it!

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Have you ever had those moments that were so embarrassing that you wanted to crawl in a hole and hide?

One such instance happened many years ago when I was offered a paying gig as a wedding singer. I had previously sung at several friends’ weddings for free, so I jumped on the chance to get paid for it.

Little did I know this would be a BIG lesson in perseverance!

Murphy’s Law was at play from the very beginning. I came down with bronchitis two days before the wedding rehearsal. Then once I got there, I discovered I had left my music for one of the songs at home, which was a two-hour drive away.

So, the pianist and I decided we’d practice that one song on the the wedding day, which certainly is not ideal!

The day of the wedding came, and I was able to sing, but I still wasn't in the greatest shape. Unfortunately, my unpreparedness and not feeling well got the best of me.

Let me explain….

During the wedding, I, unfortunately, forgot to change keys during one section of the song and I kept singing that same key throughout the rest of the song.

Ugh! Needless to say, it sounded horrible! But I kept forging ahead, acting as if nothing were wrong at all, but inside I was mortified. Eventually, the pianist caught up with me and thankfully I nailed the next song.

Then the funniest thing happened during the reception. The groom said to me, “you sounded great, Kathy, but the pianist sure screwed up!”

I almost burst out laughing, but instead, I thanked him and didn’t say a word about what actually happened. However, the bride refused to talk to me. And then she refused to pay me!

Although this experience wasn’t fun at the time, I can laugh now. Also, I learned several lessons on how to persevere during difficult situations, especially when you’re in the spotlight.

Let's dive into what those are!

1. Fake It Until You Make It

When I made that mistake, I consciously decided to stay committed to my direction, knowing that doing anything else would only make it worse. I pretended I knew exactly what I was doing, even if it was wrong.

Life Lesson: We all make bad decisions, but sometimes the best course of action is to stick to your guns, IF the fall-out would be worse if you suddenly change course. This may be especially true if you’re in a new role and need to inspire those around you to follow your direction. Be confident in whatever choice you make.

2. Have a “Don’t Give Up Attitude”

I committed to singing at this wedding, and I wasn't going to let anything stop me from doing that. I also didn't let the mistake I made limit me from nailing the next song.

Life Lesson: Make a firm decision that when you say you’re going to do something, you do it, even if the going is tough.

3. Be Tenacious at Getting the Results You Want

My perseverance in bugging the bride to pay me paid of. I got a check in the mail six months later. Even more important, the lessons I learned in perseverance with this gig were worth all the time, effort, and even embarrassment I experienced.

Life Lesson: Tenaciously pursue your goals. Then take stock of what you learned, knowing that you can overcome certain challenges can help build a deeper ability to persevere under fire in the future. This builds even greater tenacity.


Speaking of challenges, are you in the midst of some that you’re not sure how to overcome? Could you use an outside perspective on how to tackle them?

If that's the case, I’d love to have a conversation with you! If it’s not something I can solve, I have a whole network of alliance partners that I’d love to connect you with.

Sound good? Then click the button below to schedule a chat.

By: Kathy Kent Toney, CEO & Founder of Kent Business Solutions

I remember when I was a new employee starting in the corporate world. I was a newbie in so many ways! I didn't know the political landscape of what to do and not to do, and I didn’t see the value in establishing relationships with my colleagues. So, I’d do my job, eat lunch at my desk, and didn’t go for happy hours with my co-workers. I missed out on a lot at the beginning of my career!

Now I understand the value of how important it is to build meaningful relationships with co-workers. Doing so creates a foundation for winning teams. According to a Gallup poll, organizations with good employee engagement have 41% fewer quality defects, 37% less absenteeism, and a 21% increase in productivity.

So, what are some key things you can do to improve your relationships with your colleagues and those you lead? Here are some practical tips:

1. Be Intentional About Developing Relationships

Investing in meaningful relationships can be game-changing for you and those you connect with. Develop an inner circle of trusted peers with whom you can freely share what's going on with your employees or, if appropriate, even your personal life. Make time in your calendar to meet with your team, peers, and others with whom you can mutually benefit each other.

2. Regularly Express Appreciation and Encouragement

Give kudos to employees who go above and beyond what you expect from them. Send them thank-you notes and let others on the team know about their excellent performance.

Also, keep an eye out for those employees who show potential but haven't stepped into that potential yet. Let them know you see that potential in them and call it forth. You may find your next star employee by doing so!

3. Be More Accepting of Your Team Members and Colleagues

Leaders and managers who accept their employees for who they are can reap so many benefits. When employees feel accepted, they feel freer to be themselves. When that happens, the synergy of acceptance among team members can improve teamwork and productivity. 

Also, practice accepting your employees, peers, and colleagues, even if they irritate you. It's possible that your source of irritation could be something you don't like about yourself that you see in them. A great practice is to embrace those similar quirks you have, which can help you be more accepting of others.


Did you like this blog? If so, check back during the coming weeks. I plan to share 7 Essential Skills for Leaders to Embrace. This blog on Relationship Building is the first of seven. I'll also cover topics such as Resilence, Conflict Management, and Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone. So stay tuned!

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Speaking of building great relationships, would you like some ideas on how to engage your remote work teams more effectively?

Then download my FREE list of ideas on how to do just that. You'll find some tips and suggestions for fun activities to ensure your remote workers feel connected.

Click the button below to get started!