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Full-Throttle Leadership
Passion, Power, & Purpose on the Edge of America
Steven G. Foster CMP
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eBook - ePub
Full-Throttle Leadership
Passion, Power, & Purpose on the Edge of America
Steven G. Foster CMP
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About This Book
Steven Foster has one speed: Full-Throttle!
It's that commitment to going flat out that, in 2013, led him to embark on a thirty-four-day, thirty-four-state, 13, 000-mile solo motorcycle ride along the perimeter of the United States wearing a pair of combat boots to raise awareness and support for the Boot Campaign, a national veterans service organization where he serves as an ambassador and advisory board member.
In Full-Throttle Leadership: Passion, Power, & Purpose on the Edge of America, Steven Foster recounts the most memorable places from "Sea to Shining Sea, " but more importantly, the remarkable people who made his "Full-Throttle Leadership Ride" a life-changing experience.
Each mile riding alone through wicked thunderstorms, scorching heat, a mountain wildfire, and the constant deluge of assorted bugs, dirt, and grime--provides the backdrop for stories of the people he encountered in small towns and big cities across America who exemplified what is truly at the core of great leadership: service, sacrifice, and a commitment to helping others navigate the challenges of their own personal and professional "ride."
Their stories sustained him then and inspire him now as an advocate for giving back in the communities where we live, work, and meet; and it's that commitment that fuels his passion to inspire others to become "force multipliers for goodness."
You don't have to ride a motorcycle to become a full-throttle leader, but Steven's journey as a biker, entrepreneur, and Force Multiplier for Good provides a road map for anyone on how to run wide open to serve the people who saddle up with you every day to do the work you do, whatever it may be.
If ever there was a moment to throttle up and refuel your own leadership ride, that moment is now.
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Steven G. Foster, CMP is available for speaking engagements and book signings. To inquire about an appearance at your event, email to [email protected]
Social Media Links
www.linkedin.com/in/stevengfostercmp/
www.facebook.com/FosterandFathom
www.youtube.com/FosterFathom
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Chapter 1
Lone Survivor and Five âBoot Girlsâ from Texas
Full-Throttle Leadership Road Rules:
âThe secret to fueling a satisfying life is realizing our unique opportunities to align passion, power, and purpose in service to others. Some people believe that is a hopelessly idealistic outlook. Iâm not one of those peopleâ (SGF).
Writing a book wasnât part of the plan when I began considering a motorcycle ride around the perimeter of the United States; neither was becoming a public advocate for active-duty servicemen and women, veterans, and military families. I was simply doing me, adding another experience to my Biker Bucket List; which, after forty years of riding, was already pretty full.
Iâve traveled some interesting roads on a motorcycle over the years, riding across the country to amazing places. Iâve been one of thousands of bikers from all over the world in Sturgis for the annual âworldâs largestâ Motorcycle Rally and made the Four Corners run into the heart of the Navajo Nation with my riding buddy Bob Hicks where four statesâArizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Coloradoâintersect at one point on the map. One year, I rode to each of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) football stadiums during the off-season accompanied by veteran road warriors Glenn and Kim Christopher from the American Eagle HOG Chapter (Texas). We even managed to sneak our bikes into the team tunnels at several of them!
When you log more than 10,000 miles each year for more than a decade, you collect a lot of memories to go along with the T-shirts, rally pins, and rockers (those crescent-shaped patches on a bikerâs cut [vest] that say something about who you are, what you do, and how you do it out on the open road). Bikers have been sharing âviralâ road stories through those rockers long before social media even existed.
The granddaddy of all rides, and one not many have the time or saddle strength to undertake, is along the US perimeter. The inspiration for this adventure was a fifty-three-year-old grandmother named Hazel Kolb, who, in 1979, jumped on her Harley-Davidson Electra Glide and rode around the United Statesâa journey which she chronicled in a book about the experience, On the Perimeter. Known as the âMotorcyclinâ Grandma,â she was a lifelong ambassador for the sport of motorcycling, becoming the first woman to serve on the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) Board of Trustees and was inducted into the associationâs Hall of Fame in 1998.
So in 2009, I began planning my own US-perimeter ride; and smack in the middle of researching destinations, mapping routes, scheduling stops, and booking hotels, it hits me: this is big! Iâm about to go out on one of the great motorcycle adventures of all time. The entire Harley-Davidson community certainly will want to hear about it, and when itâs done, I can look back at all Iâve accomplished and then wait for a phone call from the AMA Hall of Fame with my very own induction notice. Oh yeah!
Sounds like most of the so-called leadership we experience today, doesnât it? All about me!
An organizational team culture focused and fueled by individual expressions of me, my, and I is a surefire guarantee of trouble in the road ahead. It always leads to the same dead-end destination: burnout, turnover, failure, and disconnect. No biker would ever consider spending time, talent, and treasure on a ride where just one person made all the decisions about where to go, how to get there, and what to do based solely on that individualâs need and exclusive benefit.
And yet we continue to accept this tired and flawed approach to leadership in almost every area of our lives that matters personally and professionally.
There is no leadership or development in an endeavor that doesnât inspire, engage, and make an impact beyond individual gain or some itemized set of organizational goals. On the road to team success, you must ask yourself some important questions before setting out together:
- Where are you going?
- Who is riding with you?
- How will you get there?
- What keeps you rolling?
- Why does it matter?
By early 2009, I was well into planning my perimeter ride, so I already knew the answers to the first three questions and had some ideas on the fourth. But the most important answer for any leader or team member to askâwhyâwas a bit vague. I knew it would be great fun and personally rewarding, no doubt. There would certainly be many photos ops at memorable sites to share on my social-media sites and some interesting stories on my return home, so it had all the makings of an extraordinary trip.
But then what?
If I was going to commit significant time, expense, and effort, the ride should be something more than just âone man on one motorcycleâ riding around the country with no purpose other than just to say he did it. What I needed was a reason to ride beyond just me. I didnât have one, so my excellent adventure on the edge of America kept being postponed year after year.
Then a book and a pair of combat boots changed everything.
The bookâLone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrellâwas recommended to me by a friend. Itâs a powerful story of service, sacrifice, courage, and heroism told by the only survivor of an extraordinary firefight in Afghanistan that led to the largest loss of life in US Navy SEAL history since World War II.1
In June 2005, a four-man SEAL team went deep behind enemy lines to conduct a reconnaissance mission to locate a high-ranking Taliban leader. The SEALs, Lt. Michael Murphy, Gunnerâs Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz, Sonar Technician 2nd Class Matthew Axelson, and Luttrell, a hospital corpsman 2nd class, were discovered by local tribesman who reported their location to Taliban insurgents.
Their mission compromised, outnumbered, and overwhelmed, the SEALs fought back against the enemy through the mountains of the Hindu Kush while waiting for rescue. An MH-47 Chinook helicopter with a Quick Reaction Force of Navy SEALs and army Night Stalkers raced to the rescue, but a rocket-propelled grenade struck the helicopter, killing all sixteen men aboard.
On the ground and nearly out of ammunition, the four SEALs continued to fight. Murphy, Axelson, and Dietz were eventually killed in action. Luttrell, severely wounded, evaded the enemy and was protected by Pashtun villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from pursuing Taliban fighters. One of the villagers walked to a marine outpost with a note from Luttrell, and US forces rescued him four days later.
Lone Survivor is an absolute must-read for any leader. Itâs not just an epic combat story (although it certainly is that) but also a powerful lesson in service, sacrifice, and commitment to team. It had an immediate impact on everyone who read it, including five women from Texas who immediately began looking for a way to actively support our troops beyond just flying a flag or putting a yellow ribbon sticker on a vehicle. But how and where to start?
Sherri Reuland, Leigh Ann Ranslem, Ginger Giles, Heather Sholl, and Mariae Bui were inspired to do something and came up with a remarkable idea thatâunknown to them at the timeâwould eventually provide a lasting opportunity for Americans to express their patriotism while providing meaningful support to active-duty servicemen and women, veterans, and military families. Their idea was based on an adage as old as time itself: âYouâll never understand or appreciate someone ...