Don's Thoughts

Latest News from DLP Capital

Health, Wellness, and Longevity Event

Last week, our highly-anticipated Health, Wellness, and Longevity Event finally kicked off in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and I hope those who attended had just as much fun as I did! It was a great opportunity to learn more about living a healthy and balanced life, while getting incredible insights into work that’s being done in the longevity and medical fields. Attendees were able to participate in various presentations and workshops that covered a range of topics, from staying mentally healthy to maintaining a healthy diet. Thank you to everyone who participated, especially our incredibly knowledgeable and dedicated speakers:

• Peter Fioretti
• Dr. Vincent Giampapa
• Dr. James Mault
• Mark Sisson
• Dr. Robert Hariri
• David Stech
• Patrick O’Donnell
• Gary Brecka
• Nick Buettner
• Thomas L. Tzikas, M.D.
• Lloyd Reeb
• Charlie Garcia
• Jim Sheils
• Alex Blyth
• Amanda Holmes

Westwood at Winter Haven

Driven for Greatness

Driven 4 Greatness (D4G) is a DLP firm-wide meeting we’ve conducted for over a decade, and it all started as a book club. I was reading a book called "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership," by John Maxwell, and loved it so much that I invited teammates to read it with me. This led to biweekly meetings to review another book together, and another. To date, we’ve reviewed more than 150 books, some of which we’ve read multiple times. D4G has remained a voluntary group at DLP Capital and, as we’ve grown, meeting membership has expanded to more than 50% of our team members. With 200 people now in attendance, we have conversations that are more engaging and diverse in their opinions than ever. Two DLP members volunteer to lead us through separate presentations and discussions on the chosen book, with the group meeting a half-hour before the usual workday begins.

This month, we read “Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott. This book takes a deep dive into taking part in meaningful conversations not only with others, but yourself as well.

Key takeaways from Scott's book:

• Having fierce conversations also means perfecting the act of listening rather than constantly thinking about the next thing you’re going to say.
• Encourage team members to express how they really feel rather than ignoring obvious discourse.
• Understand how your emotional wake affects others. This is the aftermath of what you’re said during a conversation and can have an impact on the person or people you were conversing with.

“Fierce Conversations” is a great read for:

• • Those in leadership positions who manage teams, regardless of size.
  • First-time managers.
  • Team members who work in an office setting who encounter challenges with addressing issues in the workplace.

Each month at DLP, we highlight one of our 10 core values.

Our core values are what define us as an organization. They are the beliefs and principles that guide our actions and decisions and shape our culture. They are the foundation of who we are and what we do. This month, we focus on Servant Leadership:

At DLP, we’ve always been dedicated to leadership and believe in serving others above all other priorities. We want to exemplify that our goal of leadership is to serve, and we lead to serve our fellow team members, clients, and communities.

Traditional leaders see leadership as a rank to obtain; use power and control to drive performance; measure success through output; speak; and believe it is all about them.

Servant leaders see leadership as an opportunity to serve others; share power and control to drive engagement; measure success through growth and development; listen; and understand it is not all about them.

I encourage you to self evaluate to see which side of the coin you land on. Are you a traditional leader or a servant leader?