GROWTH WITH PURPOSE

,

Did you ever have growing pains as a kid? I did and they were very uncomfortable and painful. The bright side was that I knew that pain had a purpose, and it was a clear sign that I was growing. When purpose is identified in any activity our perspective changes.

Today we honor Martin Luther King Jr. He was not a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination, but he was a man with a purpose. He was quoted saying life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others? His purpose was clear and as result, he bettered our country and inspired growth around the world.

Let’s take your health for example, maintaining your weight requires a balancing act between exercise and discipline. It would be fantastic if you could establish a health standard for yourself and hit a maintenance button that required no work. Unfortunately, there is not an app for that.

Growing with purpose is different than pursuing growth. To acquire new business or new relationships for the sake of growth is shallow and an exercise in futility. Pursuing new business or relationships for the purpose of serving others is deep and long-lasting. As your Chief Encouragement Office, I want us all to grow this year, but I want us to pursue growth that is generational. Growth is good, Growth with purpose changes the world.

Get Growing,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

/by

CULTIVATE COLLABORATION

,

Collaboration is a skill that requires maturity, humility, and want to. On paper, it seems obvious that we should all be working together. So why don’t we?

Personally, I think we don’t collaborate because we don’t relate. How can one be asked to set aside differences and co-labor if we don’t know which differences to set aside? In order to build a relationship, one must spend time with the other person. This time doesn’t have to be intense or groundbreaking. When developing any new relationship, the quantity of time seems to be more important than quality. As the relationship matures, that paradigm will shift. We all have friends that we don’t see very often but once we are together it’s like we never left.

When we are in a relationship with others the goals get bigger and broader. The goals set in a collaborative environment can only be accomplished with the others around you. This is where the fun begins. This is also where we need to circle back to the relationships. Many relationships get lost in collaboration. The reason being, some will take advantage of those relationships and become entitled in their approach to collaboration. Nurturing the relationships throughout any collaborative process ensures that future success is ahead. Fail to acknowledge the importance of humility and you will be jettisoned back to selfdom.

What is done by you will be enjoyed by you. What is done with others will be enjoyed with others.  This simple sentiment is the key to collaboration. As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I encourage you to Dream Big! Dream so big that you will fall flat on your face without the help of those you share a relationship with.

Happy New Year,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

/by

WHAT ARE YOUR CORE VALUES?

,

Hi there! Thank you for taking the time to read this. In October, Monarch decided to refine our core values. Our previous list of values was very admirable and true. However, they felt a little like something I put together because I knew we needed a list of words to anchor our mission. I probably read a business article talking about the importance of mission statements and other business phrasings.

12 years later I approached refining these values differently. I asked a few staff members to spend some time with me coming up with a theme for 2021. Themes are good because they drive marketing, conversations and unite a group of people. Think of a themed conference or party. The theme gives you a broad-brush idea of what to expect when you get there.

As we began to discuss theme ideas, one staff member said let’s take a theme from our core values. As we read through the dry list of words it became obvious that we needed to make these values more personal. I asked the team gathered to tell me what they see every day at Monarch.  Core values are who you are not who you want to be. That being said, we identified the following:

ROOTED IN RELATIONSHIPS

CULTIVATING COLLABORATION

GROWTH WITH PURPOSE

As we cemented these values it dawned on me that one cannot Grow without Collaboration and one can’t Collaborate without Relationships. These values work in business and in life. If you are frustrated or feel stuck it’s most likely because you are not growing. The lack of growth is going to be tied to relationship issues or lack of depth in the roots.

As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I challenge everyone to take inventory of your relationships. If your relationships are healthy, expect a big year that will include exciting collaboration and healthy growth.

Merry Christmas,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

/by