The Journey Of Life

The journey of life fascinates me. The twists and turns. The longing to make a difference in the world. The pursuit to discover one's core talents and driving passions. And of course the struggle to follow a life dream with all of its risks and obstacles.  

Pearce, Me, Janet and Jordan

Celebrating New Years 2008 in Venice

 

Though many of us yearn to live a life of adventure and influence, I find that few of us are willing to push the pause button on life, take the time to ask the hard questions about ourselves, and once breakthrough perspective is realized---to take that leap of faith to pursue the newly discovered truth.
 
I'm on this journey myself.  I love what I do for work. If life is a dart board, then I’m operating in the bulls-eye of my vocational life.  But I would never have fathomed I would end up doing what I'm doing decades ago.

From Vet Medicine To Ministry

I was born in Denver, Colorado, the youngest of three. My mom and dad, Ed and Barbara Richardson, celebrated their 50th Anniversary last year. They have taught me love, faith, and discipline. My dad is an example of  one-long journey in the same direction:  faithful to his wife, faithful to his life calling, and faithful to God.  My mom has the most tender heart and spirit of grace of anyone I know.  Tog

Me and My Family Growing Up: I’m the little one in front with my Dad

 

ether, their legacy lives on in their three kids and seven grandchildren--as well as the countless number of spiritual sons and daughters they have adopted. My older brother Curt is CEO of Otterbox, LLC, in Fort Collins. He and his wife Nancy have two sons. My sister Annie married one of my best friends from college, Mark Danielson, and together they own and run Danielson Designs.  They have three kids.

We moved to rural Southern Colorado when I was ten.  I willingly became a ranch kid, adopting the barnyard as my domain.  James Herriot was a book mentor to me--stirring my desire to become a large animal veterinarian through his writings. My passion for basketball grew alongside my dream of vet medicine and led me to Colorado College where I played ball and majored in biology and pre-vet medicine.  

I married my bride of twenty-three years, Janet, one week after graduating from C.C.  Janet thought she was marrying a vet-to-be.  A major life-turn prompted us to decline entrance to vet school and pursue ministry as a full-time vocation. 

People ask me how I went from vet medicine to ministry.  I know, it seems radical. And it was at the time.  My dad has been a pastor for almost 50 years now, and I respect him as a follower of Jesus Christ, as a leader and just as a man.  But what really turned me to ministry was that deep, compelling spiritual pull to pursue a path very different than the one I had been traveling.

We landed at Denver Seminary where I earned my Masters of Divinity.  Our daughter, Jordan, and son, Pearce, were added to our family after I graduated in 1989. 

A Decade At Promise Keepers

Through my relational network in Denver while at Denver Seminary, I joined the emerging ministry of Promise Keepers (PK) in 1991, the fifth employee hired.  Janet and I thought our time at PK would last six months.  It lasted ten years. Much of what I learned at Promise Keepers during the '90's laid the foundation for what I do today. 

Promise Keepers 1.4 million man gathering in D.C. in 1997

 

Our staff grew from 5 to over 500 from 1993 to 1995.  I was named Vice President of Creative Services in 1993.  My division swelled to a staff of 80. We had a 9 million dollar budget in a 110 million dollar non-profit organization.  Our team produced event programs for stadium events through the U.S. At its peak, we gathered over a million men in 1997 in 22 stadiums and another 1.4 million men at the historic “Stand In The Gap” event on the National Mall in Washington D.C.  For a guy who isn’t inclined to go to large gatherings, it was ironic that I was a key leader assigned to create the big-event experience.  I did it because I loved our mission and message, the impact I saw in helping men become men of integrity and because I loved working with the people around me. 

During these years, I learned to facilitate meetings and processes. Two Vice Presidents expanded to 12.  I learned to maneuver through the maze of complexity of the organization and move projects from ideas to deliverables (things like books, multi-media tools, newsletters, websites, media and public relations releases, speaker and musician acquisition and relations, television and radio programs, magazines, music records, etc.). We were a tough-skinned group, and it became a leadership form-of-art on how to get things done in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.

Personally, I learned how to manage people at PK (and how not to manage them!), how to work with 11 other strong-willed Vice Presidents, how to serve a strong visionary leader in Bill McCartney (whom I love and respect to this day), and how to get things down through creative and strategic processes. 

Meeting Tom Paterson

While at PK, I was exposed to several consultants brought in to try to help us manage a movement that was growing way beyond our collective ability to effectively manage it: 

With Tom in 2008

 

Bobb Biehl from Florida; Steve Graves and Tom Addington from Fayetteville, Arkansas; Pat McMillan from Atlanta, Georgia; and Tom Paterson from Palm Springs, CA.  Each of them was a strategic facilitator in their own right, and each very effective.  I studied what they did and how they did it, and the processes and tools they used, and was inspired to soak up all I could.

In 1994, the PK board sent each of the Vice Presidents to Palm Springs, one at a time, to experience something called the LifePlan process with Tom Paterson.  Honestly, at that time, I didn't want to take two days out of my life to meet with a guy that I didn't know that well. On the other hand, I was not convinced that I was the right guy for my new assignment at PK and was willing to step down if that was the conclusion.  The two-day experience, however, changed my life and validated what I was doing at PK, helped me balance work and family, and laid a foundation for me to maneuver through future crossroads. 

Becoming A LifePlan Facilitator

In 1995, I enrolled in Tom Paterson's class to learn “The Art of Facilitating LifePlans.”  Over the past 13 years, I've facilitated nearly 250 LifePlans.  I have yet to discover a more thorough, wholistic (meaning that the process encompasses one's personal, family, spiritual, vocational and community life domains), and integrated process. 

I'm convinced, now more than ever, that each of us has a unique God-created purpose in life and that everyone has the potential at any time in their journey to discover it, live it, and make a profound difference in their sphere of influence. I'm also discovering that most people feel trapped and paralyzed by a variety of fears that prohibit them from taking the necessary risks to live the life they were meant to live.  I currently facilitate an average of fifteen LifePlans a year and figure I'll be doing so for the rest of my life.

Encountering The Paterson Process

In 2004, I visited Tom Paterson in Grants Pass, Oregon.  He was 80 years old at the time and unable to fly because of congestive heart failure.  Walking with a cane, he led me into his Gandolf-like office (sheepskins, pictures of him with ex-presidents, CEO’s, and leaders of China).  He had set out on the table a number of notebooks that represented over 90 bins of his archived writings and work in the arena of strategic planning.  He introduced me to the “Paterson Process” that day, a strategic-operating planning process that he designed and used for nearly 40 years in consulting, much of it done with Peter Drucker.  Those who knew the tandem called Peter “the business theorist” and Tom “the process practician.”  Peter told Tom that he thought Tom was the most effective consultant of his day—a master in the art of facilitating strategic-operating processes with leadership teams.

As Tom talked me through the archives of the “Paterson Process,” I felt like I had just discovered a treasure chest that I longed to learn. To top it off, Tom asked me if I would partner with him to resurrect training classes from his homes in Arizona and Oregon. He wanted to become more intentional about passing on his life-work legacy to other individuals gifted with facilitation skills.  I didn’t have to think about the offer. I accepted it that day. Not only was I committed to help Tom leave his legacy, I was eager to learn the “Paterson Process” as a practitioner myself.

My Zone: Facilitator and Trainer

For the past four years, I’ve been facilitating the “Paterson Process” for established businesses, entrepreneurial start-ups, and non-profit organizations.  I’ve witnessed the power of Tom’s multifaceted process helping executive teams self-discover strategic breakthrough, create a plan which they own as their own (and not some consultant’s plan for them), and make reality out of their vision. 

I’ve seen the process work in the oil industry, hi-tech industry, software development industry, gift-manufacturing industry, and in a variety of non-profit people-helping outlets like churches, missionary organizations, men’s ministry organizations, leadership development organizations, and universities.  As my skill as a facilitator has matured, I’m convinced Tom’s process is so powerful

The 2nd Annual Plan Review at OtterBox

 

and life-changing that I would love to see it used in local and national governments and school districts—all of whom could greatly benefit from a solid plan. 

In addition to my commitment to continue to grow as a facilitator of he “Paterson Process,” I’m the lead trainer for The Thomas G. Paterson Center.  We train individuals interested in learning how to facilitate the process as internal and external facilitators. 

To sum it up, I’m a facilitator of the “LifePlan Process” and the “Paterson Process.”  It takes the same skill set, in my opinion, to do both. I’m just one-on-one in the “LifePlan” setting and working with teams in the “Paterson Process” settings.  And then I train people who want to learn to facilitate either one. 

If you have actually read up to this point, I’m impressed.  I finally wrote it all out because some of my clients have wanted to know how I started to do what I do.  Now you know. 

Enjoy this website. If you are interested in the LifePlan process, check out the LifePlan links.  If you are interested in the Paterson Process or Strat-Op experience (as it has now been coined), then go to the Business Planning tab.  If any of it resonates with you and the timing seems right for either process, then give me a ring. I would love to talk and see if there’s a good fit and right next step.  Either way, may your journey lead you to truth, love and a discovery of the life you were meant to live.