Idea Sharing Archive

Welcome to the Business of Shared Leadership blog! This weekly installment features thought-provoking posts and discussions about inspired leadership topics, authored by Kevin Hancock.

#22 Post Quote Bubble
Dispersed Power in Government
“The problem in this world is to avoid a concentration of power—we must have a dispersion of power.” —Milton Friedman My last post was about the singular mission of…
Post #21 Quote Bubble
The Singular Mission of School
Sometimes we get lost in complexity. The US Department of Education has a $68 billion annual budget from which it measures, sorts, records, studies, advocates for, and tracks public…
Election Day
I shared this message with all of our Hancock Lumber employees, and I wanted to share it with you as well. Thank you! Hello everyone! Tuesday, of course, is…
Maine Health talk
Spreading Shared Leadership Ideas Beyond Hancock Lumber
In October I had the opportunity to speak to and work with three amazing Maine organizations! At the beginning of the month I gave the keynote talk to over…
Hanna Soroka
Hanna Soroka
The following excerpts are from my book, The Seventh Power, detailing my visit with Hanna Soroka in 2017. The odds that Hanna Soroka would survive the winter of 1932…
Mykola
Mykola
In my last post I shared part of my interview with Mykola Onyshchanko, a survivor of the Holodomor of 1932 and 1933, during which millions of Ukrainian peasants were…
Ukrainian Statue
Fields of Memory
This bronze statue, titled Bitter Memory of Childhood, stands in the center of the walkway at the Holodomor Victims Memorial in Kiev, Ukraine, embodying the message that overreaching has…
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The Medicine Cabinet
Recently I got a new medicine cabinet above my sink in our bathroom at home. Its predecessor had been there for twenty years, so this was a big change…
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Twice as Amazing
“I can imagine no greater heroism than motherhood.” —Lance Conrad By most estimates, humans have been on Earth for 200,000 years, and approximately 110 billion humans have lived during…
The Seventh Power at Work
The following is an excerpt from my book, The Seventh Power: One CEO’s Journey into the Business of Shared Leadership. For centuries, societies across the globe have been systematically…
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“Why Executives Around the Country Turn to a Maine Lumberyard for Lessons in Leadership” – Inc. Magazine Feature
Recently featured in Inc. Magazine , check out this article featuring Kevin Hancock, Hancock Lumber, and Nando’s North America titled,  “Why Executives Around the Country Turn to a Maine Lumberyard…
Making Work, Work
The data is in from Gallup’s 2024 Global Workplace Survey, and once again, it’s not good. Only 33 percent of American workers describe their work experience as deeply meaningful…
Kayla McLean
Amplifying Kayla’s Voice
I would like to share this essay by Kayla McLean.  Kayla is a high school student here in Maine preparing for college and this is her college admissions essay….
Casco Days
Every summer, on the last weekend of July, the Casco village green in my hometown in Maine comes alive. It’s Casco Days, and hundreds of volunteers are bustling around…
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The Shared Leadership Kings of the NBA
On June 17, 2024, I watched the Boston Celtics win their record-setting eighteenth NBA title at the TD Garden before a euphoric, sold-out crowd. As a lifetime basketball player,…
inc magazine logo
“Why Executives Around the Country Turn to a Maine Lumberyard for Lessons in Leadership” – Inc. Magazine Feature
Recently featured in Inc. Magazine , check out this article featuring Kevin Hancock, Hancock Lumber, and Nando’s North America titled,  “Why Executives Around the Country Turn to a Maine Lumberyard for Lessons in Leadership” by Nicole…
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Party Foul
“Democracy is a process, not a static condition. It is becoming, rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle.”…
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Kevin Hancock Signs on with the Washington Speakers Bureau
The Business of Shared Leadership and Hancock Lumber are excited to announce that Kevin Hancock has joined the Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB) network as a keynote speaker, bringing topics…
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Tell Yourself a Better Story
I have a friend who is a remarkable hypnotherapist in Portland, Maine. Her name is Maggie Clement, and I have been a grateful client of hers for many years,…
#9 We Do Hard Things
We Do Hard Things
I have a Peloton bike in my basement. To date, I have taken 884 rides. My favorite instructor is Emma Lovewell, and my goal, each ride, is to finish…