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...
by David Brown | Jun 17, 2025 | Insight, Journal, Leadership, Personal Growth |
Everyone talks about “command presence.” But what does it actually look like in the real world—outside of a classroom or crisis? You don’t need to ride a motorcycle to understand this. The road just happens to be where I learned one of my most valuable lessons in...
by David Brown | Jun 10, 2025 | Insight, Journal, Personal Growth, Thoughts |
We talk a lot about burnout. We don’t talk enough about what we still have. You’re in the middle of something meaningful. But I’ve seen enough people walk away from the job—some by choice, others not—and almost all of them wish they’d appreciated it sooner. Not the...
