The Sensational Leader: A Story of Growth: Providing a Simple Path to Becoming a Leader Worth Following

By Duane Cummings

At some point in each of our lives, we will most certainly find ourselves in a leadership position. You may not be given a title, but you will be responsible for the well-being of others. The Sensational Leader serves as a must-have manual to prepare you to perform well in those moments and be a leader worth following when called upon.

This is the story of Thomas Frickle, an accomplished salesman, whose life takes an abrupt turn, thrusting him into a leadership role. Thomas rises to the occasion thanks to the help of mentors who teach him priceless lessons. It is entertaining and easy to follow. With lessons on topics such as awareness, communication, fearlessness, and cultural mastery, this story will provide you with a step-by-step blueprint for how to become an effective leader in any situation.

Whether you are striving to be a better leader in your family, or dream of becoming the greatest CEO in history, the wisdom in these pages will help you achieve the success you desire and deserve. Each chapter reveals a new lesson, building on the previous one and utilizing real world examples that you can begin applying immediately. This is a timeless story filled with valuable knowledge that will serve you well, regardless of where you are on your leadership journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781982228804

Duane Cummings

Duane Cummings lives life with a single purpose, “To Serve Others.” He is the former CEO of Leadercast, a Co-Founder of The Speakers Guild of America, and the current CEO of The Sensational Group. Duane is a trusted advisor, coach, and mentor to leaders around the world regarding professional and personal development. In addition, he is a highly sought speaker who regularly addresses audiences on a range of topics that include leadership, communication, sales, and finding your purpose. Duane learned the importance of teamwork and honed his leadership skills early in life, by serving in the U.S. Army and then by winning championships as a professional soccer player and coach. In recognition of his achievements, Duane was inducted into the St. Gregory's University Hall of Fame. After retiring from athletics, he successfully transferred to the business world where he held several sales management positions, before stepping out to build and then sell The Duke & Dutchess Company...his start-up wholesale clothing company, which he scaled and sold. Over the last fifteen years, Duane has become partners in, or owner of several companies in a variety of industries, and has been involved in numerous unique projects such as: The COO and an equity partner during the preparation and sale of Erick Flowback Services, LLC (Oil & Gas Service Providers) facilitating a "facelift" for the entire athletic department at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya...and most recently worked with community leaders in South Texas to develop a "Life Academy." In addition, Duane spends a great deal of time mentoring and also serves the needs of several non profit organizations. Duane and his wife Kim have two sons, Christopher and Matthew and have celebrated the arrival of their second grandchild (Riley Elizabeth) born to Matthew and Erin Cummings.

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Copyright © 2019 Duane Cummings.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-2881-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-2882-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-2880-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019905920

Balboa Press rev. date:     06/24/2019

Leadership Legend Duane Cummings has done it again! Prepare yourself to learn the lessons of leadership that only someone who has personally experienced it all can share. If you - or someone you care about - wants to become a top leader, an effective leader, and more than anything, a servant leader that brings immense value to everyone whose lives they touch, then read and study the wisdom in this book. Your life, your leadership, and the lives of those you lead will never be the same!

-Bob Burg, best selling coauthor of The Go-Giver

and The Go-Giver Influencer

Reading this book makes me feel like I am watching a movie play out realtime. The format of parables and the intricate details in each story makes them memorable and actionable with tremendous life and business lessons. In a word -— Sensational!

- Sangram Vajre, co-founder and Chief Evangelist of Terminus

and host of FlipMyFunnel podcast,

rated top 25 in the business category.

This book is filled with fantastic lessons and is a great tool for anyone of any age striving to improve their personal or business lives. Very well written which makes it an enjoyable read. My advice is to simply start reading, be a sponge and absorb all you can and then begin practicing what you learn. Do that, and people will not only want to follow you, you’ll change the world for better in the process.

- Zena Dater

Vice President, Market Source

The Sensational Leader is an excellent resource for insights into improving leadership skills though real life situations. As an educator and mentor to sports and entertainment executives, I will certainly use these insights and recommend it with vigor. There’s no doubt, this leadership book will stand the test of time!

-John Allgood

Assistant Professor and Academic Director

Executive Masters Science in Sports Business

Temple University School of Sport, Tourism,

and Hospitality Management

Duane’s gift of storytelling coupled with the lessons shared throughout this book, make this a thoroughly enjoyable must read book on leadership. Regardless of your leadership position within a company or community, we are all leaders first of ourselves, then others. This book provides insights as well as practical strategies for us all to be compassionate and effective leaders.

-Nancy Matthews

Author, The One Philosophy

Co-Founder, Women’s Prosperity Network

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all of the amazing leaders referenced in the following pages. I am forever grateful for their example and commitment.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1:   The Birth of a Leader

Chapter 2:   Leaders Step Forward

Chapter 3:   Fearless, Not Foolish

Chapter 4:   Flipping It on Its Head

Chapter 5:   Becoming a Master

Chapter 6:   Leadership Is Child’s Play

Chapter 7:   Leaders Must Be Empathetic

Chapter 8:   I Can See for Miles and Miles

Chapter 9:   Learning to Play Together

Chapter 10:   We All Serve Somebody

Chapter 11:   What Did You Say?

Chapter 12:   Memorable Moments Matter Most

Chapter 13:   Who’s Behind the Wheel?

Chapter 14:   Adventure Awaits

CHAPTER 1

Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth.

—Mike Tyson

The Birth of a Leader

Thomas Frickle and Sandy Hill sat comfortably in the enormous ballroom, enjoying their dessert, along with five hundred other guests at the 9th Annual Sensational Awards Gala. This wasn’t the first time they had attended the event. Four years earlier, they had sat at the exact same table after that evening’s official festivities had come to an end. On that night, which seemed a lifetime ago to Thomas, he began working to mend the freshly broken relationship between himself and Sandy. Up until a couple of weeks earlier, he had been preparing to marry her. And then, in the matter of a few moments, his whole world was turned upside down on what everyone now refers to as splash day. That day, he started out by losing his job and then later his fiancée—all because he got caught lying at work and wasn’t up front with her about the situation.

As the other guest’s continued chatting and eating their desserts, Thomas began daydreaming about that fateful day, replaying how initially embarrassed and then later hopeless he felt. He remembered vividly lying on his bathroom floor, crying.

Sandy could tell by the wrinkles developing on Thomas’s forehead that he was pondering the past, so she interrupted, You’ve come a long way and I know it’s been difficult. I’m really proud of you.

He smiled and reached for her hand. Thank you, but in truth, I should never have put myself in the situation.

Sandy just sat, continuing to wear a loving look.

Thomas shook his head. "Wow, how selfish of me. I mean, I should never have put you in that situation."

Thank you. I knew what you meant.

He looked deeply into her eyes and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the opportunity to be sitting with her again.

Sandy leaned closer to Thomas and didn’t blink. She knew this time around, Thomas was a different person. The last four years she had cautiously but optimistically watched him from a distance as he matured in every aspect of his life. He had truly changed as far as she and everyone else close to them could tell. As she had continued down the path of her teaching career, Brad had given Thomas every opportunity to succeed and had tried to help keep him from making any further big mistakes in his life.

Sandy held his hand even tighter. Remember sitting here until the early morning hours? I still can’t believe I came that night.

Thomas cupped their hands. I’m so glad you accepted Brad’s invitation that night, and though we didn’t truly get back together until last month, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be sitting here now if you hadn’t.

Sandy looked at Brad, who was speaking to a guest not far away from their table. He noticed, and they smiled at each other. Thomas saw the exchange and Brad winked at them both.

Thomas whispered in her ear, It’s like he was sent to look after us.

It was Brad who, four years and two weeks earlier, had had a chance encounter with Thomas. Sandy had just broken off her engagement with Thomas at a restaurant. That night it was raining hard when Thomas left, dejected, and began walking home because his company car was taken when he was fired earlier in the day. Then came that fateful moment when Brad was driving past and accidently splashed Thomas, soaking him to the bone. Brad did immediately pull over and offered a reluctant and distraught Thomas a ride home. During the drive Thomas shared the whole story of losing his job because of lying, which caused the breakup with Sandy. Brad extended a helping hand and fortunately Thomas accepted. That splash day led to Thomas receiving an invitation from Brad to begin training as a salesman with The Sensational Group. Now, after four years of hard work, Thomas had risen to the position of VP of Sales, and with the recent retirement of several senior leaders in the company, had become Brad’s right-hand man.

During his initial company training, Thomas met with mentors who taught him many personal and professional lessons. He took advantage of the knowledge and also focused on making improvements to his personal life. He became physically fit, his relationships grew strong and healthy, and he made several sound financial decisions. Thomas had spent countless hours reflecting since his life came crashing down. He had come to terms with the fact that it was probably best that he and Sandy didn’t get married back then. Deep down in his heart he knew that the way he’d been living and the person he was would have caused their relationship to inevitably blow up anyway. He looked back and forth between Sandy and Brad and thought, How lucky am I to have her back in my life, and him as a friend.

As the founder of The Sensational Group, Brad was not only the person responsible for the evening’s festivities, but also the man credited with turning Thomas’s life around four years earlier. Yes, he brought in over a dozen other people to help Thomas get on track, but it was his giving heart that was the catalyst for the turnaround.

Brad glanced back at Thomas and remembered him sitting there four years earlier when he was attempting to win back Sandy. He was so pleased to see the 31-year-old Thomas seated there now, knowing he rose up in his profession and became a man of integrity. Brad stood a little longer, gazing with a sense of pride at the couple.

Sandy noticed Brad’s look of contentment and gave him a nod of thanks. She glanced over to a smiling Thomas and thought, It just goes to show—People have the ability to bounce back from just about anything.

As Thomas and Sandy sat through the evening, they openly shared the details of their roller-coaster relationship with another young couple at the table. It was obvious the couple seemed to be having challenges by the looks and short responses they were giving each other, so Thomas took the opportunity to share how Sandy had broken off the wedding engagement years earlier, in hopes of making a difference in their lives.

We were sitting right here during the 2014 Sensational Awards when Kenneth Ray Belcher was given the award, and I was doing everything in my power to win this lady back. He leaned over and hugged Sandy.

The young man spoke up. So, relationships aren’t always like the fairy tales.

Sandy quickly answered, Sure they are. Fairy tales have good and bad parts—the most important part is that they end up with someone living happily ever after.

Thomas beamed with pride at her answer and the couple looked inspired.

The young woman quietly added, So there is hope?

Sandy said, There should always be hope, otherwise what’s it all for?

Thomas continued sharing the short version of his story and openly explained that he had spent the last few years getting out of debt, becoming a better person, and maturing in every aspect of his life. Thomas looked back and forth between the couple and Sandy. Even though I tried to win her back, we both went on to date other people and it was just recently that we renewed our relationship.

Sandy nodded, and the couple smiled.

The young woman added, Well, you two certainly look like a match made in heaven.

Sandy and Thomas thanked the couple for the kind words.

Brad took the stage and began his master of ceremonies duties for the evening. He went through a list of housekeeping items, which included letting everyone know that the proceeds from the ticket sales, silent auction, and donations are always donated to charity. This year’s recipient was an organization dear to Brad’s and his wife’s heart—eduKenya. Brad stepped to the side of the platform, the room went dark, and a video played for a couple of minutes giving an overview of the organization.

Brad stepped forward again. Please help me welcome the founder of eduKenya, Adam Gould.

An energetic, muscular guy in his thirties bounded up to Brad and shook his hand before stepping to the podium. Adam humbly shared the story of how his team of amazing people had created an orphanage as well as a school in the Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Mathare is listed as the third-worst slum on the planet. The average wage for residents is a couple of dollars a week, and they live with no power in mostly makeshift shanty huts. The homes have dirt floors and a piece of cloth or plastic usually serves as a door. Adam showed an array of powerful pictures on the screens behind him as he spoke and closed his talk by explaining that the donated proceeds were going to be used to purchase an apartment building. EduKenya would then rent the rooms and use those profits to run the organization. He wrapped up and received a very appreciative round of applause.

The next guest to grace the stage was a young man named Deadrick Leonard. He spoke from the heart and shared his triumphant story of growing up as a foster child in the toughest area of Atlanta and how he rose out of his circumstances to be the first in his family to graduate from high school and attend college. Of course, Brad would never publicly take credit for assisting, but Deadrick thanked him for his inspiration and involvement as he ended his time onstage.

A group of servers continued to carefully clear the dishes from the tables and refill glasses, while the wait staff brought out the entrées.

As the crowd continued dining, Brad brought Dr. Shirley Raines to the stage. She also inspired everyone by sharing her life story, which began with her picking cotton in western Tennessee and ended with her becoming the first female president of The University of Memphis. She spoke candidly, without disrespect to the men in the audience, about women in the workplace. Dr. Raines encouraged them to dream and to believe they can do anything. She finished by giving everyone in attendance a copy of her latest book, An Uncommon Journey: Leadership Lessons from a Preschool Teacher Who Became a University President. She motioned to the back of the room, where there was a table stacked with books. The audience gave her a thunderous round of applause as Brad took the stage again.

Let’s give another huge thank-you to Dr. Raines for that extremely generous gift.

Dr. Raines waved as she exited the stage and the crowd continued clapping. Brad nodded to the engineer in the back of the room and the house lights dimmed, leaving a single light on him at center stage.

As is the case most every year here at The Sensational Awards Gala, most of you in this room will probably never have heard of our award winner, though I bet after tonight you’ll want to get to know him better. That’s because, like all the winners who’ve come before him, he doesn’t live for the limelight or the fame. He spends his days focusing on serving others without worry of reward or recognition. But tonight, he’ll most deservedly receiving both. Would you please help me welcome and congratulate this year’s Sensational Award winner, Mr. Steve Akinboro.

The room stood and gave a long round of applause as Steve made his way to the stage. He was a tall, handsome man, impeccably dressed in a three-piece suit. Brad handed him the trophy, which was sparkling in the light, and he held it in the crook of his arm like a baby. The two men waited as a couple of photographers moved closer to capture the moment. Brad patted him on the back before stepping aside to let Steve have center stage alone. Steve set the award on the podium, straightened his tie and collar, and then cleared his throat as he was seemingly on the verge of being overcome by emotion.

It is with the utmost appreciation and humility that I accept this award. For most of you in the room who don’t know me, I have a favorite answer when people ask how I’m doing.

He flashed an incredible smile. Would you like to know what it is?

The crowd hollered excitedly, Yes!

I always reply with SUPER FANTASTIC! And tonight, if you were to ask me how I was doing, I’d actually answer by saying that I am DOUBLE SUPER FANTASTIC.

Steve was comfortable speaking onstage. He had done a great deal of public speaking after the release of a book he wrote titled Fifty Promises. He strolled with strength from one end of the stage to the other to ensure that he connected with everyone in the room.

Thomas sat up in his seat with excitement as he remembered noticing that Steve, during the beginning of dinner service, had been filling other people’s water glasses at the table where he was seated. Funny that he didn’t think anything of it at the time. He thought, That is the kind of humble leader we need more of in the world.

Steve shared that as a child living in Lagos, Nigeria, he was forced to spend each day selling dishes in the street to earn the right to come home and eat dinner. He wasn’t saying it out of pity, but rather to provide context. Steve later found a job flipping hamburgers and put the money he earned toward a college degree. Armed with an education and dogged determination, Steve spent the next two decades climbing to the top of the McDonald’s corporate ladder, serving in executive and leadership positions around the world. After a one-day retirement, he spent the next five years as a top executive at Domino’s, before leaving to start his own consulting business. He would later reunite with the past CEO of McDonald’s, Mr. Donald Thompson, who would ask him to become the CEO of Pizza Revolution. And then the story, as it so often does, came full circle as Steve became the owner of a number of McDonald’s franchises in Atlanta.

The audience sat riveted throughout his talk and he closed with a final statement: I wish you all a Super Fantastic life.

After a very raucous and extended round of applause peppered with flashes from several photographers, Brad stepped back onto the stage, clapping as he walked toward Steve, who humbly shook his hand and departed.

Brad stepped to the podium to close out what had been another amazing event. As images of the speakers, past award winners, and Steve Akinboro scrolled across the screen behind him, Brad began to speak. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for joining us here tonight to celebrate another amazing year and pay tribute to the very Sensational Steve Akinboro. I hope you leave as inspired as I am.

The audience provided a loud round of applause, which allowed Brad to pause and take a sip of water. As the room quieted again, it was noticeable that he was struggling to swallow. Brad reached in his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and tried to apologize but nothing came out. His face quickly became red and strained as his struggle became apparent to everyone in the room. The smiles immediately turned to looks of concern. Brad held his chest, and everyone sensed something incredibly serious was happening.

Thomas immediately leaped to his feet and began moving toward the stage.

For a second Brad found his voice and spoke weakly, I’d like to thank— He grimaced, closed his eyes, and murmured, Oh, no just before he collapsed behind the podium.

The room filled with shrieks and gasps. Several other people joined Thomas and rushed to Brad’s aid.

The stage manager came from behind the curtain and dialed 911 as several other people in the crowd called as well. A young man came running with a defibrillator the hotel had staged in the room.

He leaped onto the stage. I’m a registered nurse. He shouted to the crowd as he began working on Brad, Anyone else have medical training?

Two other people joined him on the stage and offered assistance. They continued administering CPR as hotel staff started arriving to help manage the situation.

Fortunately, they were only a couple of blocks away from the hospital. Within minutes, EMTs had arrived, taken over Brad’s treatment, and were wheeling him out of the conference center. Brad’s wife, Kimberly, ran to keep up. The team loaded Brad into the back of an ambulance and feverishly continued working on him. Kimberly was standing barefoot behind the ambulance, in shock. With tears streaming down her face, she was holding one shoe with a broken heel and her husband’s handkerchief. As she stood there feeling helpless, Sandy rushed up and handed her purse to her. As the techs jockeyed to work on Brad, Thomas pushed Kimberly up into the back of the vehicle.

Thomas yelled, This is his wife.

Kimberly stood in the corner, out of the way.

Just as they were about to close the doors, Thomas asked one of the attendants, Grady, right?

The man replied, Yes.

As the door shut the vehicles engine roared and the siren began to scream. For a brief second as they began pulling away, Thomas saw Kimberly through the back window. She was looking down helplessly as the EMTs continued working to save her husband’s life.

The siren quickly grew faint in the distance as people were pouring out through the doors with looks of utter disbelief. The Event Coordinator approached Thomas and asked, Where’d they take him?

Thomas replied, To Grady. I’m going to head there now. Thomas saw Steve Akinboro in the distance standing in disbelief and pointed to him. Would you mind checking on him?

The Event Coordinator looked at Steve and attempted to say calmly, I’ll take care of him and everything else. Just call me and keep me updated.

Will do. Thank you for—

The Event Coordinator interrupted, Just get going.

Thomas and Sandy hurried over and handed his ticket to the valet. While they were nervously waiting for the car to arrive, they remained speechless and just stared in disbelief until the valet brought the car up. They got in and headed toward the hospital.

Thomas and Sandy were the first to reach the waiting room. Slowly, others began to arrive as they all waited to hear how Brad was doing.

Finally, a doctor came out to address the group. Mrs. Williams is still in with her husband and she asked me to thank everyone. As for Mr. Williams, he is currently stable, but he did suffer a major heart attack. We’ve scheduled the surgery for first thing in the morning. I know you all may have additional questions. Is Thomas Frickle here?

Thomas raised his hand and stood up but continued holding Sandy’s hand. Right here.

Mrs. Williams mentioned that you might be the right person to help with the communication, if you wouldn’t mind.

Thomas agreed, Of course.

The doctor continued, Sometimes people set up a specific phone number, or even a hotline for people to call and get updates.

Sandy added, We can also set up a Facebook page.

The doctor nodded in agreement and tuned back to Thomas, saying, Would you mind coming with me? He looked around. Are there any immediate family members present?

No one responded, so he motioned for Thomas to follow him.

Thomas reluctantly let go of Sandy’s hand and followed the doctor. They walked through some double doors and halfway down the hall before the doctor stopped and turned to Thomas.

Mrs. Williams said you are like family and I could share information about her husband’s condition with you.

Thomas took a deep breath. Please do.

The doctor continued, Mr. Williams suffered from blockage of the left anterior descending artery, which most people have heard referred to as the widowmaker.

Thomas took a slight step back.

The doctor continued, They call it that because 98 percent of the time it’s fatal and usually happens to men. In Brad’s case, he was very fortunate that he was attended to immediately at the hotel and then arrived here quickly so we could conduct the stent procedure. Unfortunately, as part of the protocol, we’ve had to put him into an induced coma. If all goes well, we will bring him out after about 18 hours and hopefully the heart won’t have suffered too much damage.

Thomas stammered, So, what’s going to happen? Will he be okay?

We’ll just have to wait and see. He’s already overcome the first hurdle—only about eight percent of people who go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive.

Thomas raised his eyebrows. Eight percent.

The doctor continued, As far as what we did after he arrived, I inserted a catheter in his right femoral artery and injected dye. We then took X-ray images of his heart to determine where the blockage was. Brad actually had two: one in the middle of the artery and another at the beginning. I then maneuvered a guide wire the size of a thick hair through the two clots and inflated a balloon, busting up the biggest blockage. We administered drugs to help dissolve the clots as well, and after the blood started flowing deployed a couple of stents, which are tiny wire mesh tubes to keep the artery open.

Thomas was focused on comprehending and remembering what the doctor shared.

Timing is everything. From the moment he collapsed to the time we were able to get the blood fully flowing to his heart again was less than 40 minutes which is good, but what happens in the next eight hours will be critical.

Thomas took a deep breath. I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done to help Brad and for explaining everything to me. I’m sure people will ask, and I’ll do my best to explain.

The doctor put his arm on Thomas’s shoulder and led him down the hall. They arrived at Brad’s room and Thomas entered quietly as the doctor went on toward the nurse’s station. The only sound in the room was the ventilator and rhythmic beeps from the heart monitor. He stood by the door trying not to be intrusive as he saw Kimberly leaning over her husband, whispering lovingly into his ear while