by David Brown | Jun 16, 2026 | HumanFirst, Insight, Journal |
My kid was working on a craft project at the kitchen table the other night. He was struggling with how much glue to use and where to put it. Naturally, seeing his frustration grow and fearing the mess that would likely ensue, I took over. I had the glue placed, the...
by David Brown | Jun 2, 2026 | Blog, Insight, Journal, Leadership, Non-Profit, Productivity, Thoughts |
The text came in at 6:40 on a Tuesday. A deputy one hundred miles away wanted to know if there was still a seat on the June trip, and the answer lived in exactly one place. My own head. Not a shared calendar. Not a second person who could have handled it in ten...
by David Brown | Apr 21, 2026 | Blog, Insight, Journal, Leadership |
In 1991, a journalist named John Byrne gave a phenomenon a name: CEO-Disease. This phenomenon is exactly why it feels lonely at the top. It describes the information vacuum that forms around a leader when subordinates learn, through experience or observation, that...
by David Brown | Jan 6, 2026 | Insight, Journal, Leadership |
Recently, I stood in front of a room full of newly graduated law enforcement officers to speak about standards—what they are, why they matter, and how they quietly define the profession long before policy manuals ever do. These were men and women at the beginning of...
by David Brown | Sep 16, 2025 | HumanFirst, Insight, Journal |
Every week, I send a message to my teams letting them know I’ll be offline for about two hours. During that time, I turn my phone off, lace up my skates, and play in a weekly hockey league. To some, it may sound silly. But for me, it’s sacred time. Time without the...
by David Brown | Sep 9, 2025 | Insight, Journal, Leadership, Thoughts |
“It’s not whether you win or lose—it’s how you play the game.”We all heard it growing up. On dusty ballfields, in echoing gymnasiums, and during locker room pep talks, that phrase shaped our earliest ideas of success. Effort mattered more than outcome. Grit mattered...
