What fills your bucket of Good Will?

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

“I never win anything!” shouted Jeannine Pfeifer, whose name was pulled out of the hat.  Under the pressure of the moment, her mind went blank.

A red plastic paint bucket serves as the table centerpiece at the Good Leadership Breakfast. In hardware stores across the globe it’s called the Handy Paint Pail — but we call it the “Bucket of Good Will.” Over the past two years, my friends have contributed more than $10,000 to charities by way of this magic bucket.  But Jeannine’s story is the best yet.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]

In May, when our speaker Sue Mulkern of OptumHealth announced the name “Jeannine Pfeifer”, the room erupted into applause.  Jeannine was overwhelmed with joy and was feeling the instant pressure to direct more than $1500 to a charity of her choice.  “I don’t have any idea about where I should send this money,” she said with apologies.

George Broostin reached out a hand and said: “That’s OK…do you mind if I make a suggestion?”  Jeannine listened carefully as George explained: “I work for Guild Incorporated, we provide community-based services for people with persistent and serious mental illness.” Jeannine replied: “Oh heavens, my mother suffers from extreme paranoid schizophrenia…I struggled in my childhood growing up as her primary caregiver.  Thank you so much for what you do…the money is yours!”

Sometimes good deeds go unnoticed, buried beneath common chaos.  And other times, great stories rise from ordinary people.  At the Good Leadership Breakfast we get together because we believe “when good leaders get together with good intentions, great things are possible”.  Jeannine and George believe.

Good leaders demonstrate generosity.  And they go out of their way to leverage their goodness in pursuit of the common good.

Please join me in celebrating the generosity of Mark Bergman, the inventor of the Handy Paint Pail…and drop me a note about one of your favorite stories of generosity.

We hope to see you at the Good Leadership Breakfast this fall, where we will have a stimulating conversation about “leading together.”[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]