Why Successful Leaders Don’t Shake Their Heads
Leadership isn’t about judging in the moment; it’s about aligning effort, focus, and outcomes. Author: Desmond Clark – Former 12 YR NFL Veteran | President/CEO of Bear Down Logistics | International Motivational Speaker and Team Leadership Development Specialist Every player misses a catch, and every leader faces setbacks. Football is a game of execution, precision, […]
Diversity’s Goal Is Oneness
In the last few days, I’ve been contemplating what we have come to call “diversity.” In wealth management, one would hold a portfolio: stocks, bonds, real estate, etc., with the assumption that no one knows the future. Diversifying your assets across many different inputs serves as a catchall, a backstop, so you aren’t reliant on […]
How To Build Championship-Level Corporate Teams
In the world of business, building a championship-level corporate team is akin to assembling a top-tier sports team. It requires more than just individual talent; it necessitates a blend of cohesion, culture, and clarity that is established with trust, diversity, alignment, accountability, and a dynamic feedback loop. Drawing parallels from my experience helping to lead […]
Where Do I Fit Fn
If I had to give one person credit for my success in football—and then for everything after football—it would be my mother. But not for the reasons that are obvious: she fed me, loved me, and cared for me (all of that is true), but beyond that, she kept me in check. I had a […]
Character and Work Ethic
I lost a contract worth more than $1M by breaking my arm in training camp, going into my fourth season in the NFL. I was cut. I signed with Miami, but their rookie TE performed well while I rehabbed, and I didn’t grasp the offense well enough to contribute effectively when I was healthy. After […]
Greatness is a Process
Fear of failure shows itself in a lack of discipline of vision. The purpose of a goal post is widely misunderstood. I’ve had several: to be an NFL athlete, to be a regular, to be a Pro Bowler. After the NFL, to start a business, to earn a certain amount of revenue, to hire… Studies […]
Declare It Then Own It
With a communications degree from Wake Forest University, I’ve studied language a lot in the past and focused on it more recently. I’ve learned a funny little thing about it: If you speak something, you identify with that definition. Meaning, you might like the Jets, or the Chicago Bears, and say you’re a football fan; but something in the […]
If We Own The Ingredients, We Own the Sauce
My grandfather had a career in IT—he must have been a pioneer in the black community. He didn’t have the nicest home, but he lived far better than most of the people I grew up with. My grandfather taught me how to speak more properly, how to think by having me read the signs to find […]
How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything
As I’ve been doing more speaking after the Covid years it’s been harder to find father/son time with my youngest—who is almost eleven. I eventually decided that we could work out together: 6 am is very early for him. His former living situation (he was not full-time with me until recently) was much more relaxed. The first week […]