For those who were in the room — Miami
You stayed for the talk.
This is what came after.
There's something I couldn't fully say from the stage. Not because it wasn't ready. Because some things need space around them before they can land the way they deserve to.
Thank you for being there. That room mattered.
Meet Ermias.
Why this story
Everything I talked about today — the leadership that actually moves people, the cultures that survive hard things, the difference between influence and authority — none of it exists in the abstract. It lives in real people, in real moments, in relationships that cost something to hold onto.
Ermias is my son. His story is about identity, distance, and what it means to find your way back to the people who love you. It's also, in the way that honest stories always are, about all of us. About what we owe each other in organizations, in families, in rooms where we're asking people to trust us with hard things.
I share this with Ermias’ permission. It’s his story to tell, and he wanted you to have it.
“The most resilient cultures aren’t built on strategy. They’re built on people who know they won’t be abandoned when it gets hard.”
The rest of the story is in the book.
Chief Impact Officer is where the keynote goes deeper. It’s the framework behind everything we covered today, and the stories that didn’t fit on a stage. If what you heard resonated, this is where to take it next. It’s not a business book. It’s a leadership book that tells the truth.
Chief Impact Officer · 8080 Books / Simon & Schuster · Out Now
Want to go further?
I share things here that don’t make it into articles or keynotes. Stories, tools, the occasional honest take on what leadership actually looks like. If today meant something to you, I’d love to stay in touch.
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You showed up today ready to think about hard things. That’s not nothing. That’s actually kind of rare. I’m grateful we got to be in the room together.
Take care of the people around you. That’s the whole thing, really.
With gratitude, Julie