Smart Business Magazine, December 2019

6 Smart Business Cleveland December 2019 FROM THE CEO FRED KOURY Be the best Take steps to maximize your gift to lead othersdrives every book we read every conversation we have and every action we take We must know our own strengths and weaknesses and take steps to fill in the gaps that could prevent us from meeting our objectives We need to understand the things we can control such as our attitude our focus and our discipline and make these traits a priority Conversely we need to accept the things that are out of our control such as the economy or a bad decision and keep moving forward We all have moments when life doesnt go our way Its part of being human If we simply regroup and focus each day on being a better leader than we were the day before good things are more likely happen Its not enough to say we didnt waste the talents weve been given We need to put those gifts to use and ensure that when its all over we can honestly say we gave it everything we had Its a universal lesson that can be traced back to The Parable of the Talents a biblical passage from the book of Matthew For to everyone who has will more be given and he will have an abundance states the passage from Matthew 25 29 But from the one who has not even what he has will be taken away Being a professional football player is all Brady ever wanted to be He brings a sense of purpose to every workout every meal and every action he takes Hes a perfect example of the difference between committing to an objective and just having good intentions If you make a New Years resolution to eat better and exercise more you have good intentions When you take the next step and decide that nothing is going to stop you from reaching these goals youve set thats the start of leading an intentional life As much as Brady is competing against other players and teams to win games his primary focus is to continuously be a better version of Tom Brady This principle can also be applied to business Its not enough to want to be a good business leader We must make it a goal that FRED KOURY President and CEO Smart Business Network Inc fkoury@ sbnonline com Tom Brady will likely go down as the greatest quarterback in NFL history While his athletic ability has certainly played a role in his accomplishments on the football field its his remarkable mental discipline that stands out enabling him to win a record breaking six Super Bowls Smart Business 835 Sharon Drive Suite 200 Cleveland OH 44145 O 8009884726 F 4402507001 Smart Business Magazine Events PUBLISHER Dustin S Klein VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES Katie Janoch Janet K Valore ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER David Brodowski VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Somer Karim TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR April Grasso CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jim Mericsko SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Wendy Armon PRODUCTION MANAGER Mary Kay Bukowski CONTENT DIRECTOR Sue Ostrowski SENIOR EDITORS Mark Scott Adam Burroughs Jayne Gest VICE PRESIDENT EVENT MANAGEMENT John Lotenero PROJECT MANAGER EVENTS Danielle Catteau BRAND MANAGERS EVENTS Molly Carpenter Lisa Dore Meredith Rankin EVENT COORDINATOR Kate Stucky Smart Business Magazine Events are a division of Smart Business Network Inc PRESIDENT CEO Fred Koury MANAGING PARTNER Lee Koury MANAGING PARTNER Michael Marzec CONTROLLER Kathy Deutsch EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Jill Brown ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Marilyn Homolak Smart Business Magazines AKRON CANTON CINCINNATI CLEVELAND COLUMBUS PHILADELPHIA PITTSBURGH