Our family farm has mostly disappeared. The land still flows, but the homestead signs are almost gone. When I went to our family farm last year, I snapped this picture. These grain bins are the last reminders that a family worked this land. One of the odd things about them is they were present before [...]
About Jon Mertz
My work life is split in two parts. Part 1: After graduating from Augustana College with a degree in Government & International Affairs, I was involved in politics and served in several positions in Washington, DC. It began with a role as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator James Abdnor and encompassed various political appointments in the U.S. Department of Commerce, Small Business Administration, and The White House. Part 2: With the objective of leaving government, I attended The University of Texas at Austin and received my MBA. I then worked for several companies including Deloitte, IBM, and BMC Software. Today, as vice president of marketing, I lead brand, product management, customer engagement, and business development initiatives for growing health care software company.
Hope Depends on Connection
Hope is one of those funny words. On the surface, it sounds good. Up with hope, right? Meanwhile, there is a downside in that people can hope for bad things to happen to others. This is not a good thing, but our world is imperfect. Beyond all this, hope often seems hollow. Hoping for something [...]
How to Toughen Up – 4 Steps
How do you toughen up yourself? Simple answer: Get out there and do something! If you have read anything about me, you know that I grew up on a family farm. A farmer’s life teaches you many things, and one of them is that no one is going to do the work for you. This [...]
What Does Peace Mean to You?
In this moment, I close my eyes and think about peace. My mind weaves together different thoughts that drop out: Peace is a home where there is laughter, cuddling, and quiet moments of just feeling good about all that is around. Peace is getting lost in the lyrics of song. Peace is teenagers who do [...]
Why Having Thick Skin Is Essential
“Get thicker skin!” “She/he must have thicker skin.” We hear these statements, and what rings through our mind is “toughen up.” There is truth in this thought. We do need to have thick skin in our life. Many things come at us – Making ends meet Surviving annual reviews Being told you are not good [...]
Spite or Solve: A Choice
Arguments happen every day. Heated conversations take place all the time. Disagreements come into light between honorable people. Life is contentious at times. What do we do? Do we fight to the bitter end? Do we use unflattering names? Do we stall or filibuster until we get our way? Do we let problems fester until [...]
Get a Pair: Buy Khakis or Live Boldly
I drive by this billboard almost every day. Get a Pair. The first time I drove past it, my marketing brain went to work, and my thought was “what a bad ad.” If I liked the khakis, I did not know the brand nor could I read where I could buy a pair. My conclusion [...]
Connect Now: Real Community
Every community has good things and bad. Some people may dominate. Some voices may be lost or, worse, unheard. Everything may look imperfect. Some things may look too perfect. It is no different in social media communities. Two years ago, Twitter saved my life. This sounds dramatic, I know, yet there is a kernel of [...]
2011: Top 10 Most Read Posts
Yesterday, I highlighted my least read posts that were written in 2011, so it is only fair to highlight the most read ones, too! Each of the posts outlined below were written in 2011 and received the highest traffic, according to Google Analytics. Here is the list of the most read posts of 2011: What [...]
2011: My Top 10 Least Read Posts
As we look back, we evaluate things that went wrong as well as the things that went right. Writing is no different, so I went back and looked at what my top 10 least read posts were. Here they are for all to ignore… again! 1. The Meaning of the Middle Series: A Wrap – [...]
About the Writer
Welcome! I’m Jon, and these are my thoughts on life, leading, and meaning. Our choices define us, so let's make the best ones possible. Join the conversation.9 New, New Leadership Principles
