Author: johnmarkwatson

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Zebra Does Joyous Leadership

On May 2nd, Mark spoke to the global supply team of Zebra Technologies. Tammy Froese, Chief Supply Chain officer, invited Mark to Carlsbad, California at Zebra’s global summit to share his wisdom of Joyous Leadership as it pertains to the recent supply chain crisis.

The team enjoyed several laughs and discovered that while difficult, they too could lead with joy. Sometimes our greatest challenges yield the greatest joys!

Thanks to Zebra and the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort for being such great hosts!

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Barcoding Joyous Leadership

Barcoding, Inc. kicked off their annual planning meeting January 10th with Mark teaching them how to be joyous leaders. Many thanks to President/CEO Shane Snyder for having such a wonderful vision of growth and joy for his team.

Thanks Barcoding and the city of Baltimore for being such a wonderful host to Mark and Stacie.

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Blackburn College: Speaking on Joyous Leadership

In the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to speak on Joyous Leadership at Blackburn College. The first occasion was the Cross County team and staff with my friend and coach, Al Sturgeon. They were celebrating the end of the season with a party and a walk down memory lane. It was my job to entertain but yet motivate the team for even greater things as they go through life.

The second occasion, a couple of weeks later, was to speak at a Leadership Conference hosted by Blackburn and SLIAC (St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). This was a great conference that had speakers and interactive sessions to learn about leadership and leadership styles.

I always love my time with the students and faculty at Blackburn. It is a college, in my opinion, that is a jewel of the mid-west. Their model is everything is student led. Their motto is Learn, Work, Earn. You can graduate with little to no debt. What I like most about Blackburn is they are growing and producing leaders!

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New Meds – New Treatment

There is a new treatment approved for Amy patients that has the same efficacy as my current treatment. As you recall, I have done a chemotherapy treatment every 21 days since June 1, 2015. That works out to about 17 times per year. The new treatment is an injection in the arm, stomach, or hips that I would receive one time every three months or only four times a year!

It is currently pending with my insurance company but the thought of going from 17 to 4 times a year is life-changing. I am so excited about the freedom it gives me to live closer to a normal life. It is still not a cure but we are getting closer.

Let’s pray insurance approves and I can afford the remaining amount. If not, well 17 is better than nothing. . .

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Illinois Women In Leadership – Sept. 22, 2022

On September 22, 2022 I was honored to share Joyous Leadership with the Illinois Women in Leadership. They had a record attendance of 380 plus members attend for their annual conference. The part I love the most is the Q&A session after I speak. I have learned and continue to learn from these strong women in Illinois. Thanks for allowing me to join in!

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Amy Attack!

I had a little unplanned downtime at the end of July. I spent five days visiting my friends at St. John’s Hospital after the amyloidosis decided to attack my stomach and then my heart. I had already received a cardioversion a week prior and thought I had everything under control until early one morning I woke up with extreme abdominal pain and vomiting.

After several hours in the ER, I was admitted to my room for overnight observation. All seemed okay until the next morning when I started round two with the vomiting. As the day before, the pain and vomiting subsided by nightfall and all was well. The next morning, I was anxious to be released and was cleaning up when my heart went out of rhythm as it did the week before. Just so you know, you get a lot of unwanted attention when that happens. After a few meds, the heart seemed to slip back in rhythm, and all was good once again.

I was prepping for discharge when my heart doctor decided to keep me and put me on a new medication that required hospitalization. Long story short, the new meds seem to be working and I’m out doing what I do best – trying to work. Hopefully the stamina will return soon.