David Lively

What do you do? I'm Emma's dad! She is fourteen and there is nothing more important that I work on each day. However when I'm at work in the sense most people think of; I see ideas and turn them into opportunity for our company and for our customers. I'm interested in the current phenomenon happening throughout American business, that I call Generational Transfer. Because of healthcare and technology for the first time in human history, four generations of people are working together. This generational diversity creates excitement and tension and opportunity that can literally make or break a family business. A friend of ours helps me explain the concept this way, inheritance is financial, legacy is example, but heritage is eternal.

Why do you do it? Because every father should remember that someday his kid will follow his example instead of his advice. Also, because I enjoy the idea of business and how the lives of many are affected by the companies they work for or spend time around. I believe the generation of young people who are coming of age now are truly world changers and I want to encourage them to chase their dreams wherever they lead. Working 30 years at a job you don't love and then retiring is never the way God intended things to work.

What are you wearing? Jeans a t-shirt and Nike running shoes. It is pretty standard regardless of the setting.

What inspires you? My dad who has lived many productive years with a critical disease and I have never once heard him complain about his "lot in life." People who overcome great odds to accomplish their goals. I think we Americans assume people around the world have the same leg up that we do. My experience tells this is simply not the case.

How are you going to change the world? By continuing to focus our business life on the things that matter. Pouring our time into our daughter, and the lives of the people we work with everyday. By pursuing the idea that we are created for service, not for self-centeredness, and that my ability and willingness to serve will be a measure of my maturity.