It's how we originally had met, and, this is an organization that's near and dear to both of us. And I know it's been impactful in our life, and I know it has been for you and Flip as well. But and then several years ago through Pat Combs, which I know you know Oh, man. He's like, Lisa, I'm working for the flipping group now, and, I really I wanna take you through our personalized assessment to assess, like, blind spots and constraints and things like that. And I wanna talk about that more, and I will tell you, you know, I'm a big believer in strength finders and this sort of thing. That was a different kind of assessment for me, and I learned some things about myself, Susan. One of the things that I'll just tell you, because I remember having a conversation with Flip. You know, it really came kind of down, and it boiled down to, like, I'm a really intuitive leader. I'm more intuitive. And Greg, my husband, that cofounded Technology Partners, and I know you and Flip, work together in the flipping group. So that's that's a whole another conversation. Maybe we'll touch on that. Yeah. But, Greg is an analytical leader, and he's in he wants to see the data, and he's always like, the data doesn't lie. And I really never quite understood that. But, you know, now that we've gone through thirty one years of business, I see how sometimes my intuition is not always correct. And you need both sides.

Yes. Absolutely.

Mhmm. You need both sides of the coins to make the best decisions. And I am so much more appreciative now of having the data to back up decisions and not just going for your gut because there have been many times I've gone for my gut, and it wasn't the right decision. So, yeah, it was just really, really eye opening for me. The other thing I wanna just tell our listeners, you are truly and I'm just I'm not just saying this, and we're gonna get into more of this. You are probably one of the most gracious, generous people I know too, Susan. Our girls recently Ally and Paige recently launched, onto their own little entrepreneurial journey and founded Kindred Spirits Designs. And you truly were one of the first people to lean in and just give all sorts of ideas where you could do this and you could do that. And, you know, we were just so grateful to you because you commissioned the girls to build or to design this beautiful bracelet for Aero Academy, which is a charter school that you and Flip were I think you've I think you've been part of four or five different charter schools and starting them, but, that was just such an encouragement to my girls. And so I just wanna publicly thank you again, for that, Susan. And just like I said, that's one of the things I admire about you and flip is just how you live your life.

Well, I'm just smiling thinking about your girls making the bracelets and being young entrepreneurs. And the kids at Aero Academy, we're thrilled to have them. It's a school where, I volunteer with another group of parents and just love on our community, and that was a fun way to get to do that.

Yes. For sure. Well, before we jump in, I mean, we've got so much to talk about, and I wanna try to get as much in as we can, Susan, because I just I just know that you're gonna help our listeners. But take me back to your childhood. What did ten year old Susan dream of becoming, and, how does your life today compared with that vision when you

were ten years old? Well, what's really amazing as a child, I loved, and I mean loved going to school. I loved the teachers and, you know, I was just enthralled with what they knew and what they were gonna share and with how they loved us truthfully. And so I never I had thought about being a teacher and I said that to some teachers in my life and and they were they were like, oh, you might not do that, you won't be able to support yourself, it's really really long hours and really really low pay, and so instead, I, studied computer science and accounting, which fascinating, interesting, useful stuff, but I can't say that it captured my heart fully And Right. What's so amazing without me trying, I now in the flipping group, we have a lot of different, brands that serve different vertical industries. One of the ones that, we have a very large presence in is public education. And so I found myself in a spot where every day I get to wake up and think how to improve life for educators, how to make them more impactful with the children they get to serve. And I'm like, that's pretty amazing. I didn't I didn't get to be a teacher, but I get to serve them all day long.

Isn't that amazing? Yes. Talk about you and I spoke before the, before the podcast started about connecting dots. Mhmm. And I said, sometimes you just go from one dot to the other and you have no idea what this picture is gonna look like, but, it is so painful.

Yeah. When you said that, it it made me think of, as a high school student, I was very fortunate to be giving given several scholarships. I had graduated from a really sweet small school. I didn't even know people went and visited schools or that you applied for scholarships. Fortunately, my school counselor did that for me. I didn't even know she was doing it. And I wound up getting several nice scholarships. And the way that I made my college decision, having visited zero colleges, was my cousin went to Texas a and m University, and he said, well, you should come there because that's where I am. And I said, okay. And and then he decided to not finish there, so I was there and not didn't know anyone on the planet. And decades later, I still live in College Station, Texas, and we love it, Lisa. There are, I don't know, over seventy thousand students at Texas a and m. So I'm in a town of over seventy thousand twenty year olds, and we love it because they're about to start life. They're excited about life. I didn't plan to stay there. I didn't even really give a lot of thought to how I wound up there in the first place. And the other thing I love about our community is we can touch the world from College Station. There are students from more than a hundred and ten countries that come to school there. And because it's not a really big town, those are my friends and neighbors everywhere I go. And so it's like you get to experience the world. And, anyway, we love it.

That's amazing. Well, I've met a lot of Aggies in my day. And, they're just always amazing people, you know? So I I'm gonna come visit you in person. Susan, I'm gonna make that up. I'm gonna put that on my bucket list.

Ready.

Yes. Absolutely. Well, I know that you grew up too as one of four girls. How did that shape you, Susan?

Well, you know, part part of my story is, I, through a series of circumstances, wound up in foster care. So, you know, no parent sets out for that to happen to their children, but there were just circumstances that led to that and, our family wound up being broken apart in different one of my sisters was in a different foster care home, but all of that talk about connecting the dots. I feel like it prepared my heart to, it's like I got a front row education to needs and heartaches and then connecting the dots again that as an adult, I one of the things I spend a lot of time in it on is our education companies and we're helping teachers connect with their kids and fill in the gap just like my teachers did. Yes. And it you know, so thankful to get to do it. And so thankful, I would have never signed up for that, but I'm thankful what I for what I learned on that journey.

Oh, well, I mean, goodness gracious, Susan. And we we had never sometimes life does throw us curve balls and and things, and we would never sign up for the adversity. Right? But the things that we learn

Mhmm.

Through the experience, if we're willing to, right, if we allow those things to to help shape us, they certainly do, and sometimes more. The valleys sometimes shape us more even than the summits, I think, you know, of life. That's right. But, yeah, I know that you're you lived with your aunt and uncle during high school, and I think they were a big part of your story too. Right?

Oh, yes. I, when I was in a foster home situation that wasn't very good, there were some that were good, but this one was was not. And I I just thought I haven't seen this aunt and uncle since I was eight. They didn't know where we were. And I I told my sister, let's call them. Remember how sweet they were and how much we loved their the little town they lived in in Texas. It's a little town called Hue Springs. I, I refer to it lovingly as Mayberry because the whole town just rooted for each other and knew each other and it's just this pretty picturesque little place and I got to live with them and, experience a loving family environment, and it it prepared me for a lot of things.

Oh, that's so awesome. Well, I I know, like you said, you you majored in computer science, accounting. I'm sure those things have come into bear with what Flip are doing today. And, again, I never connecting the dot. But you and Flip launched the Flipping Group back in nineteen ninety. What, what was that spark, Susan, that ignited the flipping group?

Well, at the time I was working in corporate America and, you know, learning a lot is wonderful education and the role I was in and, Flip was seeing patients all day. He's a psychotherapist by formal training and really good at it. I mean, he just loves people well and helps them get unstuck and very skilled at it. And I remember him saying to me, I am going to help change the headlines about our nation's youth, and I'm gonna write a curriculum to help kids live on purpose. And I was like when he said he was gonna change the headlines about our nation's youth, I was like, you are? You know, I knew he was great with kids, but it was hard to imagine the scale. You know, this is decades ago. And then the very next thing he said to me, and and this company cannot be built on me. You know, we called ourselves the flipping group back in the day because we you know, there wasn't a marketing department. You just went with something, but we have brands in different verticals that are better known under those brands. But, yeah, that's how that's how it started, and I was able to, again, connect the dots and use the experiences I was gaining in different places because all companies need computer science and accounting. Right? So Absolutely. And those things are wonderful. It's just not my greatest heartbeat. I noticed even when I was in school in computer science, the people who were amazing at it were the people who they wanted to do that on the weekend also because it was that fun for them.

Discretionary time. Yes. They're not about it.

I'm never gonna be as great as them at that because it's their passion. So my passion is helping people live fully what what they were made to do. And so it's great.

I love that. Well, tell us more about the flipping group. Tell our listeners about the flipping group. Tell us more about the mission and the vision and, you know, how how they can engage with you guys, and then I've got lots of other questions.

Well, thank you, Lisa. Yes. So our our main focus is bringing out the best in people. And so in corporate America, we work with mainly large, midsize, and large corporations in the people development space, helping with organizational development and team dynamics, individual coaching, helping an organization realize their potential when the team is all pulling in the same direction and We love it. We get to work with clients all over the world the team does and, very rewarding and, lots of great results. I mean core corporations need to they need to feel it, but they they need to see it talk about the data, right? They need to see a return on investment and it happens all the time because when we pull together, we're more we're more together. Right? So how do you get unstuck and, leverage that better? And then in schools, our biggest brand is known as Capturing Kids' Hearts, and it's all about helping schools build a culture and climate that teachers wanna be in every day, that kids wanna come to, that parents are eager to bring their kids into, and we help teachers. We've all had amazing teachers, right, that you're like, oh, I wish I was with them all day. How how do you take what they're doing that's so captivating to kids and teach more people who don't do that naturally to do that better. Mhmm. And how do you raise the expectations in kids where they wanna hold themselves to a higher standard as a team. Mhmm. And when when we do that, when you build emotional safety and trust in the classroom and the kids are agreeing to a higher standard and they wanna hold each other to the higher standard, amazing results happen. So, I love the work that we get to do in any vertical. Teamalytics also works in pro sports, collegiate sports with teams or individual athletes. They also work with in the government sector. So, you know, lots of, different types of organizations, but the biggest asset and biggest liability on every balance sheet are the people. Right? It you can have all the buildings in the world, all the inventory in the world, all the IP in the world, but if you don't have people pulling together for mission, it you know, you're never gonna have the return you you could have. An impact in dollars, whatever it is you're measuring.

Yes. Oh, for sure. Yes. For sure. Yeah. I was thinking as you were talking, Susan, I'm thinking the common denominator in all of this is people. Yes. That's the common denominator. So I love that you guys what you are doing. Well, I know that you have a super strong culture, Susan. You guys have been voted best workplaces, best companies to work for in Texas. You know, how have you intentionally designed that culture? And that's Mark Miller, you know, from the you probably know Mark. He was the vice president of high performance leadership for Chick fil A for forty years. Yeah. And he and he always says, you know, cultures, they they're they can happen by accident, but they should not happen by accident. They should happen by design. Right. And so I know you guys have been intentional. So what are some of the things that you guys have done to build the amazing culture you have?

So we we have a social contract within our organization where we have all agreed to standards of behavior. I'm gonna bring my best with joy. So we're gonna help each other be our best and we also provide space that when there's conflict We're committed to working it out. Not oh well now I can't trust that person. No, we're gonna dig in and and, restore that and build trust. And it's been so neat to see that when you really do that, relationships, if you're willing to be brave enough to do it and love somebody enough to say, hey, we're stuck. Can we really talk it through for real? It's amazing how much stronger you become when you're able to do that. And then when you have a whole army of people doing it, like, this sounds odd to say, but COVID in many ways was fun. I would never sign up for it again, but it was fun to pull together because the team had so much relational capacity that, we were able to pull together and we huddled our team every single day. One, just to help people deal with how life was changing right before our eyes and and in our business, you know, everything just came to a screeching halt. But we were able to innovate during that time and use that time to educate our team. We were able to keep the whole team, which was amazing, but a lot of that was because we pulled together and we would innovate so quickly, and and I know a lot of companies learn this. We're like, wow. We we actually had the ability to move faster than we were moving all along. Right? It's COVID just put that on steroids. Sure. So one of the things we also intentionally do is we revisit the culture. It's not like, well, once a year we talked about it. It's it's an ongoing thing. We we we make sure that we start meetings with good things because that just changes the atmosphere. You know, tell us something good and, you know, we spend a little bit of time celebrating before we dive right into problem solving. I love solving problems. So do my teammates, but we don't wanna miss the the joy in celebrating. Hey, look what look what we've been able to do, and then it just energizes you to to solve even better.

That's all good. That's practical. That's just a practical thing that we can that we can all implement. Right? Before we start a meeting. Let's talk about something good. You know, what good has happened this week. Let's celebrate that.

We also hold ourselves accountable. Our social contract isn't just words on a wall. We, you know, when we gather team in different sub teams, part of our structure is everyone is on some sort of huddle so that everybody's part of a sub team, because you can't get everyone in the nation together every day. Right? And but we make sure that we revisit, aspects of the social contract so that we can reflect on I can grade myself. How am I doing? You know, and it just it brings it to awareness that relationships matter, and when they're healthy and whole, you can do more. Yeah.

Yeah. That's so good. So good, Susan. Well, let me ask you this. Would you because we I already said, like, you know, the proprietary assessment that you guys do, you know, really does identify blind spots, constraints. You know, it's it's very scientific Yes. How you guys, you know, go about that. But what do you believe? And I know you work with a lot of leaders, Susan. What do you believe are some of those biggest bite blind spots that you see with leaders?

Well, I think one of the blind spots for leaders is it's hard for leaders to get authentic feedback, right? Because if you're the CEO, Lisa, they don't want to disappoint you or they don't want to expose their weak spot and and to get real feedback isn't easy and so encouraging leaders to find truth tellers in their lives that maybe it's some people at work, but maybe it's an executive coach maybe it's somebody on the outside, a peer group like you and I are both in the CEO forum, so taking time to actually stop and ask questions of others that that might not be as intimidated to give you feedback, because of the role relationship.

Sure. Yeah. No. That's a big one. That's a big one. Well, let me ask you this. When they identify and let's just take maybe you can just do an anecdotal, like one blind spot. What are some practical, tactical things, that a leader can do, Susan, to help move that blind spot in the right direction Mhmm. To get on the other side of the ledger, using our accounting, background that we both have.

Oh, that's funny. Well, I think you mentioned data. So Teamalytics, our our company that works, with corporations, pro sports, etcetera, they use a lot of data because in a corporate setting, that's that's there's an expectation. What does the data tell us? So people always say to you, Lisa, play to your strengths, play to your strengths, and I love strength finders. I like knowing and celebrating what people are good at, and it's great to know that. And the instrument we use does highlight that, and we affirm that in people, but it's designed to help you know it's not your strengths that are holding you back. It's the blind spot, or it's the thing that you kinda know it's there, but you don't know what to do about it. And so, our our instrument is designed to help people be aware of those the potential spot for growth that's gonna give you more breakthrough, something that's holding you back. Like, maybe you're overly confident. Maybe you're not confident enough, and it as a leader, it'll identify one or two key things that will give you breakthrough, and then we help that leader, develop a plan and it's of changing behavior. You know, like, what are the small things you can do that will start shifting? Sometimes it's a big thing, and then how and then following back up to give people that encouragement to do it. Right? It's hard to change. Yes. It is. We we know what we know, and it got us to where we are, but, what got you to this level isn't gonna get you to the next level. Right? So we're looking for breakthrough. Yeah. And once people experience breakthrough, they they want more of it. And

I'm gonna say they want more.

Yeah. Flip is like trying a new book. And one of the things he always says is no organization can rise above the constraints of its leadership. So if you and I both sit in a CEO position, we are a lid on the organization. Whatever my constraint is affects the team that that I want to serve and the clients I want to serve. And when someone helps me, because I I it's hard for me to self assess. When somebody helps me get breakthrough, even if I know what it is, if they help me to know what to do, if I knew what to do, I'd be doing it. Right? If they help me to know what tweaks to work on, then the next thing that that does when my breakthrough comes, the the next layer of staff next to me, all of a sudden there's constraints are highlighted. And so you wanna help them get more breakthrough as well. And it is just fun to watch teams do that because people want they wanna serve powerfully, whether you're a school teacher or in a boardroom of the biggest company on the planet. You wanna be impactful. You want your life to count. Right.

You know, Susan, as you're talking, I'm just thinking what you guys are doing and how you go about it, it's it truly is real transformation. It's transforming the individual. Mhmm. If they're willing. Right? It's hard work, but they have to be willing. You have to have a willing party. And but as individuals transform, the organization just naturally transforms too.

Yes. Absolutely.

That's just really beautiful. Well, I'm gonna ask you one more question, then we need to take a quick break. But we kinda talked about this. What is it like co leading the organization with Flip, and how have you guys made it work? Because I know that is a question I get all the time from people. They're like, how in the world do do you work with your spouse? How have you and Greg made it work? And and I always laughingly say, and it's the truth, Susan, I'm like, we've not always done it right. In fact, there are some years where where I just didn't know, you know, if we were gonna be able to make it. But, I mean, we we've learned some things over the the course of thirty one years of working with one another, and, I'd love to hear kind of your perspective on that with working with Flip.

Well, I think you talked about it earlier how, Greg is wired very differently from you, and then there's some complimentary wiring. Like, you're both, you know, wanna make a difference. So you have that

in common.

Same with Flip and I. We have very different wirings, and we have learned over time how to yet how to let that be a complement to one another. Like if we lean in and listen to the other, there's a better answer in there. The collective intelligence, there's just there's more to it. And so we've learned how to do that together. And for me, it's not for everyone, but my personal choice when I was in a a big corporate role, it pulled me in a different direction than him. And I I like me on his team, you know, us on a team together and I love our mission. It's like bringing out the best in people. Who wouldn't wanna be on that mission? Right? It's

Right. It's Compelling.

I love the teammates that we have and we've just learned over time to, work together. It helps in our organization that what we do is help raise performance in individuals and organizations. So we are our team are professionals that do this all over the world, and so we're able to leverage that. We have mentors in the company that help us and Right. We're all able to help each other because our our team talks a lot about our culture and how how much we love it. And I always remind them, yes, we experience this so that we're equipped to pour it out because a lot of people are in tough work situations, tougher than it has to be. Right? And when you've experienced something that's, truly a high performing team, you you want everyone to have it. And we're experiencing it so that we can, share it. And the same the same with Flip and I, we've learned, like, we were talking this morning about, we get a lot of phone calls from just people looking for advice. You know, just friends we've made along the way, and they've realized that our skill set complements each other. And so we can both be helpful in different ways to whatever challenge it is that they're facing.

Sure. Oh, that's so good. I had a really good point. Now I just forgot what I was gonna say, but I just but I'm just, you know, I just concur. I mean, really leaning into one another and in other each other's strength. Oh, I know what I was gonna say. I think here it is, Susan, as you're talking, I'm thinking, here's the here's the common denominator with you all. Your mission is the same. Yes. Your purpose is the same. Right? And you're both passionate about that purpose. So anything that comes up, I mean, still, you can go back to that common purpose in life. And that is to help help people and to see them live their best life. And, you know, that's as you were talking, I mean, that's the key right there. So if you've got different purposes, if you've got different missions, that's gonna be hard. That's gonna be hard. But, yeah, you definitely are on the same page there. Well, I've got so much more I wanna talk about, but we do need to take a quick break, and we'll be right back with Susan Flippen on the Something Extra podcast.

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Welcome back, everyone, to the Something Extra podcast with my dear friend, Susan Flippen. Susan, it's been so much fun. We've just talked about so many things, but I wanna get more, like, into family and legacy now. And I just I gotta understand more about this, and I want our listeners too. You and Flip collectively have raised twenty kids and twenty seven grandkids. How did this all evolve?

Well, I think it starts with Flip and I both, long before we knew each other, have had a heart for kids, you know, like a lot of people. And for me, the foster care experience going through that, I would I would think I would make a really good kid for somebody, you know, but I just didn't know how to connect to with. They didn't know me. Right? And in that time, I just always thought when I'm older, I'm gonna do something about it. And so I'm getting to do that through our work in public education. I'm getting to do it schools where I volunteer, and we've gotten to do it in our home. And then my husband is a psychotherapist and years ago started a a boys ranch. They're they're now a separate property for girls as well. We're just now volunteers. We don't I mean, donors, volunteers, that kind of thing. We're not intimately involved, but he had the same heart because when he was counseling, he had a significant counseling practice and, you know, would see executives and leaders in the community, but the courts would also send kids that were struggling, from all kinds of families. But they would send those kids to Flip because he just had a way to connect with them. And through that, he wound up starting, the Boys Ranch, and we've actually adopted two boys from there. So that's been a very, very sweet part of our life. But different kids came into our life in different ways, and we just both decided that one of the ways that God could use us in our life is to open our home. And you meet kids along the way who they just need somebody to step in and say that they matter and to see them, and we've just had the privilege of doing that through a series of different circumstances.

Twenty seven grandkids.

Well, when you when you have a lot of kids that are part of your family, and a lot of those kids have a lot of kids, so we, yes, they are they are fun and a big part of our lives.

Yeah. That's so cool. Well, let me ask you this. Is there a tradition or a ritual that you guys have established in your family, Susan, that's been really special or significant?

One of the things we do at Christmas time, we gather for about three days. If if we travel somewhere, maybe we'll make it longer, but sometimes it's just at our home. And, those who can come, come and it's it's you, you know, it's not hard for us to have a big group. So, we will just celebrate life together, have fun together, find ways to serve together, like that's a big a big thing in our life we're working with our grandkids on now is helping grandkids learn a work ethic, an ethic towards savings and also generosity. So one of the things that, that we do, we love to look for serving opportunities as a family, like one year at Christmas, we our present is our gathering together, so there aren't gifts under the tree, it's just our present is our time together, and we'll go do some fun activities together, But, like, one year we gave every, family a stipend in, like, a month leading up to Christmas, and then we told them at a particular part of flipping family Christmas, each family was going to share how they bless somebody else with that money, and it was amazing. It just is the stories that came from that. It was just beautiful and just to see the kids heart and excitement about getting to do that versus unwrap something else. Not that there's anything wrong with having presents. That's fun too. But Nice. And then one of the things Flip and I have done is we've formed a committee of the grandkids. It's, so all the cousins come together. The those who want to, and it's most of them. And we we encourage them to, get a job, and we pay them a stipend on what they earn because we're trying to encourage a work ethic. And then we match what they save, so we're trying to encourage stewardship. And it really has made them think. Like, they'll they'll they'll think, well, that money's gonna get matched at the end of the year. I'm not buying that hamburger. I mean, they really think it through because everything, in essence, is costing twice as much. And then, we also have, will match ten to one on giving because we're just trying even at a young age trying to we have thirteen year olds and upper in this, and then Mhmm. We we keep them on, like, a year after college, but, it's just neat to see them developing in all of those ways and wanting to develop more. And the the questions that they ask, it's it's really, special to see.

That is so cool. Well, I was gonna ask you, but really and truly, you just answered it for me, Susan. The legacy that you and Flip are hoping that your children and your grandchildren, the legacy that you're leaving for them, and that's exactly you just you answered it because that is the legacy. You know? Generosity, making sure that they're good stewards, having the good work ethic. So that is that is awesome. I just love it. Well, we've already talked about capturing kids' hearts, and the effectiveness of this kind of approach to the public education. But, you know, you had mentioned that Flip said he wanted to change the headlines of how youth are perceived. Think you know, if you could, like, break it down, like, if there's a listener out there and they said, well, I wanna help I wanna help be a part of that mission of changing the headlines. What are what can just the normal person you know, what what's one or two?

It's so good. Okay. One of the things that we try to encourage people to do is, you know, there are fifty million children in public school and our nation has talked about vouchers and, you know, different, choice options. The challenge is there isn't any, private school system that could move fast enough to have a place to accommodate fifty million children. I mean, I want all kids to have the best opportunity and to be in a loving school where they're held to a high standard and they're really learning. But I think one of the ways that citizens can help right here right now is there's a public school in every neighborhood. Maybe you've chosen to not put your child in that school because there are challenges in that school, but maybe there's something you can do for that school. I mean, minimally pray for them as you drive by the school or Mhmm. Maybe volunteer or, you know, I think teachers have, and school leaders have too much regulatory burden. There's a negative perception in the press, and they're not paid very well. The the teacher level, especially. So just, maybe instead of going along with the headlines, just know that people teachers are doing a really hard job, and I think a lot of parents know that. They see you've got twenty five kids coming into your classroom with all kinds of needs and all kinds of backgrounds, and we just need to love on the educators and encourage them. That's something everybody can do. Like, we could all like, if everybody in America today would go, I'm gonna encourage someone who's in education today, whether they're at a private or public school, that would shift the atmosphere. What if you did that every day?

It Yeah.

It's just they've been asked to do a really, really big job. They need encouragement.

Yeah. Oh, that's so good. Yes. It is a really it is a big job and, unfortunately, sometimes an underappreciated job. But, boy, they should be celebrated. They are heroes. Yes. You know? They truly are. Yes. This is one of the quotes that you're known for, Susan. Graciousness is never out of style. What does this look like in the everyday life of a CEO? Graciousness is never out of style.

I think, showing appreciation for teammates, family, customers, just showing people that you value them in the way that you speak to them in the way that you spend your time in the way that you prioritize them. I also think it means not holding grudges. Like, we all fall short. Right? And so the biggest gift any of us can give anyone is forgive people. It it doesn't mean you never talk about the thing that happened. Right. But to talk about it in a constructive loving way, not you hurt me and I want you to hurt back. You know, just showing grace and and encouraging people in that.

Yeah. We we see that a lot. I mean, anytime that there are people, I say, anytime there are human beings together, there is going to be conflict. There is going there are gonna be times when somebody hurt your feelings or they talk over you in a meeting or they undermine an idea that you have or whatnot. Right? And the opportunity to get hurt feelings and that, I mean, it's it's just invariably gonna happen. But, to your point, just realizing that we're all fallible. We're we're just human beings trying to do the best that we can and having that grace and having that forgiveness for each other. You know? It's just so important. Not always easy to do. I'm not saying it's an easy thing.

I had a friend once who told me that his goal is to have an unoffendable heart, and I thought, oh, I'm adopting that. I that is my goal. I fall short some days, but at least I can recognize it and not and think, hey. There's room for grace right now. It doesn't mean you don't deal with issues. You still deal with them, but it's the the heart and attitude and mindset with which you approach problem solving in relationships.

It's so good. So good. Well, let me ask you this because to do everything that you and Flip do and to affect and and help transform the people that you do, Susan, you guys are involved in a lot. You have your hands in a lot. How do you personally how do you personally stay energized and motivated? Because I I talk a lot about this. We all have limited time. Right? What is it? A hundred and sixty eight hours in the week? You know? But I'm like, we also have limited energy. So how do you personally stay energized and motivated to do what God's called you to do?

For me, it's, really being anchored in God's promises. His promises are true. He he said that love never fails. So I can get up every morning no matter what's going on. I don't choose to cancel. I choose to love. I choose to understand what how somebody could be in such a hurt posture that they would wanna cancel. You know, I wanna I wanna build bridges with people, encourage people. I wanna be encouraged. I wanna be challenged in love. I don't wanna be challenged just out of meanness. But, just knowing that God's promises are are true and when there is a difficult situation, let let's say I'm I'm helping with, a ministry that serves the poor like like I do in some countries. And some of these are dire situations where, you know, people aren't gonna get food if we don't raise enough support, to help. And I've just always know that we can solve it when we come together because I know God has promised that he cares about those people. So I know we can rely on that truth. And so that's that's how I go about it. I know there's I know there's a way to solve things, and I know that when people work in unity, that's another promise that when people work in unity, there's going to be blessing from that. And so pulling together and understanding where we're apart and bridging on the things that we can agree on. Like, I love knowing that our United States government in the past not so many years has the right and the left have unanimously passed four hundred and something pieces of legislation to fight trafficking. And I'm like, okay. That's who America is. We do have things we can stand on that are right and good, and we can agree we don't want people harmed in those ways, and I love it when there's unity like that. I long for there to be more places. That's one of the things that I just keep hoping there's healing in this land so that we can pull together and, everyone suffers when we're not united, but children especially suffer. It's confusing to

them. Right. Yeah. No. I totally agree with that, Susan. Well, are you working on something right now that you're really excited about? I mean, you mentioned Flip, but when's his book coming out? He's working on it right now? He's working on a new book.

We haven't, about, no organization can rise above the constraints of its leadership. That's obviously not gonna be the title because that's long. Right. I don't know, yet the release date. It's in twenty twenty six. We're also excited. Our work has taken us all over, which has just been a is a privilege. We love it, and our we've got an amazing team, spread out out everywhere and, but but Flip and I both graduated from Texas a and m, and recently, about a year ago, the university, came to us because they're wanting to start a leadership institute. The president and some of the deans were like, we shouldn't be graduating anyone who isn't really prepared. Like, how do you solve ethical dilemmas? They're gonna face you in life. There it's

Mhmm.

There's no avoiding it. Right? So how do you know what you stand for and how you're gonna deal with those challenges when they come? How do you lead well? You might get promoted because you're good at physics, but what about your teammates? Have you ever learned that part of life. Right? And so, they asked us if we would partner with them in developing a leadership institute at Texas a and m. So we're getting to work with that, with at the university, and it's fun because it's in our backyard. And I already mentioned, we love the twenty year olds that live there, seventy something thousand of them. And to know that they're gonna be even more equipped to go into the workplace and and into life, We're super excited about that.

That's awesome. That is gonna be wonderful. Well, tell me, tell me when that's up and running and how I can sign up, Susan.

Well, thank you. Yeah. It's, I know it'll be up and running in twenty six. I think, I think it's been officially announced now by the university, and they've hired a leader and that person starts July one. So it's starting to happen, and I just it's yeah. Very exciting. I I see see young people, they wanna live on purpose. Right? And this is an opportunity for them to discover even more of how to do that well.

Love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. Well, let me ask you this. This is called something extra. Will you believe, Susan, is this something extra that every leader needs?

To know, the truth that you stand on so that when there are hard times, you can go back and say, I know beyond know beyond knowing that I can stand on that, that it is right to forgive people. It is right to love big. It is right to, don't spend money you don't have. I mean, there are a lot of things that you know you can stand on. And then in the good times, it just lets you move exponentially. And in the hard times, it helps you get through those times.

Mhmm. That's good. That is so good. Know the truth that you stand on. Well, Susan, I am so grateful to you for making the time. I know how busy you are. We've already talked about how many things you have here good things you have your hands in, and, I'm just so honored that you're taking a little bit of time out of your day to spend with me on the something extra podcast. And I also know that this episode is going to tremendously help our listeners. So thank you so much for making the time.

Thank you, Lisa, for spreading hope and joy.

Thank you for listening to today's show. Something extra with Lisa Nichols is a Technology Partners production. Copyright Technology Partners Inc, two thousand and nineteen. For show notes or to reach Lisa, visit tpi dot co slash podcast. Don't forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen.