Last week we hosted our second annual MIBE Summit. Our goal for this event is to create a space each year for heart leaders to come together to be inspired, share wisdom with one another, and set intentions for how they will lead moving forward. We want attendees to spend time reflecting on the culture they currently have within their organizations and what they want to change. We want to provide an opportunity for attendees to build and strengthen relationships with peers from across the country that they can rely on after they return to their respective companies. Being an effective leader is not easy. It takes time to craft a vision for where you want to go and the skill to communicate why that should matter to others. It takes courage to try new things that aren’t guaranteed success. It takes a deep understanding of emotional intelligence and a strong ability to practice empathy. And most importantly to be an effective leader, it takes a willingness to keep learning and growing. At MIBE, we believe that all of these things can be worked on, and setting aside time to be intentional about how you lead can transform the impact you have on the people around you.

For those of you who couldn’t make it this year, I wanted to share a few highlights and lessons learned from our 2024 Summit.

If you haven’t already seen the video of my daughter, Adelynn, introducing me to kick off the conference, you can watch it in the video above. She inspired the audience with her courage and reminded us that leadership doesn’t always have to be complicated.

Brianna Borin and Jeremy Edmonds from Snooze gave us a formula to consider when it comes to culture and inspired us to think about creating memorable moments for our customers, our team members, and one another.

Charles Fred showed the data for why culture matters when building a successful company and emphasized that not all revenue is profitable revenue.

Kami Welch, Christin Powers, and Diana Ralston shared three viewpoints on how companies can impact their community. And they implored us to think about a business’s role in helping to create community well-being.

Adrian Miller educated us on the history of Soul food and talked about what it means to set a “Welcome Table” at our companies.

Mark Miller wowed the audience with his humility and we learned from him the three rules that determine the health, vitality, and sustainability of an organization’s culture.

And Tommy Spaulding brought us to tears with his inspirational stories about true heart leaders.

Most of all, I was blown away this year by the amazing people who attended and the positive energy that filled the room. Hearing leaders share their struggles, their wins and their opportunities with one another put everyone at ease and was a great reminder that we aren’t alone on our journeys as leaders. Thank you to those of you who were with us on year two of our MIBE Summit. We can’t wait to see ALL of you next year!