Entrepreneur's Table

What does your success scorecard measure? Income, sales, reach, marketing effectiveness, and completed goals are important—but they do not tell the whole story. In this video, we talk through a broader success scorecard that also considers: • Courage • Service • Perseverance • Contribution • Growth • Preparation • Integrity These qualities can be difficult to quantify, but they often explain how visible results are produced—and why future results may still be developing beneath the surface. As you watch, give yourself a score from 1 to 5 in each area. Don’t stop with the number. Ask: 1. What evidence supports my score? 2. What does this reveal about my progress? 3. What have I learned? 4. What is my next faithful step? When you finish, identify: • One measurable win • One less-visible win • One area needing attention • One faithful next step The score is not the conclusion. It is the beginning of a useful conversation. Don’t measure only the medal. Measure what it took to make the atte...

  Leadership is not merely about making a plan and sticking to it. Sometimes remaining faithful to the purpose requires departing from the strategy. In this edition of Leaning Leadership Ladder, I reflect on risk, failure, responsibility, and what I call “purposeful foolishness”—those moments when a leader must make a bold and possibly unpopular decision because it appears to be the right thing to do. Courageous leadership is not careless. It listens to counsel, examines the evidence, weighs the consequences of acting and not acting, and accepts responsibility for whatever follows. When have you had to depart from a plan in order to preserve a principle? #Leadership #CourageousLeadership #DecisionMaking #EthicalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #LeaningLeadershipLadder https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/purposeful-foolishness-tom-sims-clfmc  

 Photo by Ruth Bourke on Unsplash Centralize the Promise, Decentralize the Expression What Big Boy can teach us about products, people, branding, and growth A recent video about the rise and decline of Big Boy presents the company’s history through four things it did exceptionally well—and one structural decision that eventually weakened everything it had built. It is an entertaining piece of restaurant history, but it is also a useful business case study. The lesson is not simply that centralization is good and decentralization is bad. The more important question is this: As a business grows, what must remain under central control, and what should be adapted locally? 1. Build a product people can recognize and remember Big Boy began with a distinctive product: the double-decker hamburger. Its importance was not merely that it was bigger. It looked substantial, felt special, and delivered a memorable experience without destroying the restaurant’s profit margin. That is an...

The Kobayashi Maru and You: What Do You Do When There Is No Winning Move? Have you ever faced a situation where every option seemed wrong? Star Trek fans know the Kobayashi Maru as the famous "no-win scenario" at Starfleet Academy. Captain James T. Kirk became legendary by refusing to accept the premise of the test. But what if the real lesson isn't about cheating the simulation? In this reflection, I explore determination versus stubbornness, humility versus pride, and the wisdom to know when to stand firm, when to yield, and when to rethink the problem altogether. Inspired by a conversation with my wife, this episode asks whether some of life's greatest victories come not from winning arguments—but from becoming wiser people. Read the complete article (including bonus reflections): https://tomsims.substack.com/p/the-kobayashi-maru-and-you Connect with me: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomsims Website: https://pastortom.blog Bible Chats: https://biblechatonline.com If ...

 

  Are you ready to find your next stage? I’ve created a free Speaking Opportunity Field Guide and companion tracker for speakers, trainers, coaches, authors, ministry leaders, and other people with something valuable to share. It includes calls for presenters, speaker platforms, local and community venues, corporate training possibilities, media opportunities, bureau resources, and practical ways to build a repeatable speaking pipeline. Request your free copy here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeALQ9vA_Y0oajTbZQmxcKKtd91Klf2Vi9Nyj79V4x0MhXqkQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor You may also choose to receive occasional speaking opportunities, practical tips, and new resources from Workshops to Go. Your next stage may be closer than you think. #SpeakingOpportunities #PublicSpeaking #CallForSpeakers #SpeakerTips #WorkshopsToGo

  Every morning has become a project plan. Coffee. Banana. B12. Calendar. Shoes. Keys. One thing before the next. That got me thinking: senior adults may be some of the best executive planners around. We plan because we have to—and leaders can learn from that. LinkedIn leadership reflection: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-senior-adults-can-teach-leaders-execution-tom-sims-m6exc Medium companion article: https://medium.com/@tomsims/the-executive-planning-skills-we-learn-just-to-get-out-the-door-c24930eb7f06?sk=0c9415ed1da11d3a102c92eaf00dd81a #Leadership #Execution #Planning #SeniorWisdom #LeaningLeadershipLadder #OrganizationalLeadership #Purpose

  Sometimes progress comes with a limp. I may have a hitch in my get-along, a hiccup in my giddy-up, or a glitch in my stitch — but I’m still moving. Not every step is perfect. Not every day looks like progress. But if we take one more step forward than backward, we can look back and say, “I made a little progress.” Read the reflection here: https://medium.com/@tomsims/a-hitch-in-my-get-along-c85b8d9f62f8?sk=c6f7bba47dafb19311913c8d3ced31f4 Today’s Workshop Wednesday from Workshops to Go: From SMART Goals to START Goals SMART goals are useful, but sometimes we keep refining the plan instead of beginning the work. A START Goal asks: S — Specific first step T — Time to begin A — Action you can take now R — Reason it matters T — Track the next result The most expensive failure may be the one that never starts. Watch the related video: Read the companion article: https://medium.com/@tomsims/the-most-expensive-failure-is-the-one-that-never-starts-a3f1334487f3?sk=64a5f3256a...

  As a coach, mentor, pastor, and lifelong encourager of people with ideas, I have prepared these videos to help you think more clearly, act more intentionally, and move forward as an entrepreneur, leader, creator, or person in transition. Some are practical. Some are reflective. Some are brief nudges toward action. All of them are offered with the same purpose: to help you discover what is already in your hands, clarify what is next, and take the next faithful step. Entrepreneurship is not only about starting a business. It is about stewardship, courage, communication, service, resilience, and the willingness to learn while doing. These videos are part of that ongoing conversation. Use them as prompts for reflection, tools for planning, encouragement for difficult days, and reminders that you do not have to figure everything out alone. A growing collection of short reflections, coaching insights, leadership lessons, Bible Chat episodes, and practical encouragement from Tom Sims — ...

  Do It Poorly. Rehearse It Mentally. Correct It Wisely. Most of us do not get meaningful things right the first time. We may understand the concept, but understanding is not the same as embodied skill. There is head memory, and then there is muscle memory. In this long-form teaching video, I reflect on Zig Ziglar’s famous idea that “anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well,” and connect it with mental rehearsal, corrected practice, leadership growth, writing, communication, and personal development. The three practices: Start before you are good. Rehearse before and between attempts. Correct as you practice. Practice does not automatically make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Corrected practice makes better. The learning loop: Begin. Rehearse. Act. Notice. Correct. Repeat. Read the Medium discovery piece: https://medium.com/@tomsims/do-it-poo... Read the full Substack post with subscriber tools: https://tomsims.substack.com/p/do-it-... ...

Prime Day is not just a retail story. It is a leadership lesson. The headlines say spending is expected to rise as shoppers hunt for deals. Consider this for Amazon, Walmart, Target, small sellers, advertisers, logistics firms, content creators, and anyone who pays attention to consumer behavior. Prime Day 2026 is also being watched as an indicator of consumer strain, with shoppers leaning toward essentials, household goods, back-to-school items, and delayed purchases rather than pure impulse spending. The strategic question is this: How do we capitalize on trends, predictions, and short-term opportunities without losing our way? Every organization, ministry, small business, nonprofit, and solopreneur faces this. A trend appears. A seasonal window opens. A topic becomes hot. A platform rewards certain behavior. A sale, holiday, cultural moment, or news cycle creates urgency. So, should we pivot? Maybe. However, remember that not every opportunity is an assignment. Some opportunities ar...