Leadership Lunch Club

03/20/2026

Traverse City wouldn’t be Traverse City without cherries — and since 1966, Benjamin Twiggs - The Original Cherry Store has helped turn that heritage into something delicious. 🍒 From family-made recipes to Michigan-grown flavor, their products reflect the heart of our region.

We’re thankful to have Benjamin Twiggs as our Sweets Sponsor, providing a treat for every Leadership Lunch Club attendee and helping create moments of connection at each event. Thank you for supporting local leaders and our community in such a memorable way.

👉 Discover their legendary products: https://benjamintwiggs.com/

03/19/2026

When your team is facing uncertainty, how do you keep them grounded and focused?

As a leader, one of your most important roles is keeping your team aligned to what matters most—even in the middle of stress, change, and competing priorities. It’s easy to start reacting instead of responding, and that’s when alignment begins to slip.

Strong leaders do something different. They keep their teams anchored to mission—while still adjusting strategy as needed. Mission provides clarity when priorities compete, guidance when decisions must be made quickly, and purpose when morale is tested.

No one understands that better than leaders who have been trained to operate in high-pressure, uncertain environments.

At our next Leadership Lunch Club event, you’ll hear from veteran business leaders on how they use mission as a stabilizing force—and how you can apply those same principles in your own organization.

Learn more and join us.
👉 Register now:

Learn how veteran CEOs lead under pressure, build resilient teams, and stay mission-focused—drawing from military and business experience.

03/17/2026

Behind every strong workplace is strong support—and that’s exactly what Vensure Employer Solutions delivers. By supplying a full range of HR solutions, including payroll, compliance, and much more, they help businesses stay focused on what matters most: their people.

We’re thankful to Vensure for continuing as our book sponsor and for supporting thoughtful leadership and learning at every Leadership Lunch Club event. Your partnership makes a lasting impact.

Learn more: www.vensure.com

No matter what size your business is, VensureHR offers comprehensive HR and technology services such as payroll, employee benefits, compliance, and recruiting.

03/16/2026

Trust Isn’t Built During a Crisis — It’s Revealed

When things go wrong, leaders don’t suddenly build trust — they discover whether it already exists.

Under pressure, trust determines how teams communicate, how quickly they move, and whether people stay aligned or fragment. It shows up in small moments: clarity of direction, confidence in decisions, and willingness to take responsibility.

Veteran leaders know trust must be built intentionally — long before stakes are high. It’s reinforced through consistency, transparency, and shared accountability.

At our next event, we’ll explore how leaders cultivate trust before they need it — and how that trust becomes a stabilizing force when uncertainty hits.

Learn more at our upcoming Leadership Lunch Club event.
👉 Register now:

Learn how veteran CEOs lead under pressure, build resilient teams, and stay mission-focused—drawing from military and business experience.

03/12/2026

Want to stand out and put your business front and center with over 100 leaders and professionals in our community at our next event on April 16th?

You will receive a 30-second promotional video worth $1,000 that you can use in your organization as well an opportunity to show it at our next event if you become a high level Silver Sponsor! You'll also receive a reserved table of 8 for your team or valued customers along with several other perks.

Contact us to learn more: https://leadershiplunchclub.com/contact/

03/11/2026

👥 Great Leadership Isn’t a Solo Sport

If you want real ROI from leadership events, don’t just send one person—send a team.

When someone attends alone, they may return inspired, but they often have to translate the ideas, sell the vision, and push implementation uphill. When teams learn together, something different happens.

They build shared language.
They process ideas in real time.
They challenge and refine what will actually work.
They return aligned—not just informed.

Shared learning is also powerful team-building. Implementation becomes “we decided,” not “here’s what I learned.” That shift alone dramatically increases follow-through.

Learning experiences shouldn’t just spark ideas—they should accelerate ex*****on. Shared learning turns inspiration into action.

That’s why we encourage you to invite your team members and bring the conversation back to your organization.

Register your team for our next event: https://leadershiplunchclub.com/eventbrite-event/leadership-under-fire-lessons-from-veteran-ceos/

03/10/2026

Hear directly from leaders who trust Priority Health for their employee benefits. From cost savings to award-winning service, they're proud to help businesses thrive by delivering affordable, high-quality coverage:

This is "Priority Health Employer Testimonials" by Priority Health on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

03/09/2026

What High-Pressure Leadership Teaches Us About Everyday Decisions

Most leaders won’t face combat — but many face pressure every day.

Adjusting strategy mid-course. Maintaining morale under stressful circumstances. Making high-stakes decisions while carefully managing risk.

Leaders who’ve operated in truly high-stakes environments understand something critical: pressure doesn’t create new habits — it reveals the ones already in place. That’s why preparation, clarity, and decision discipline matter long before a crisis appears.

Veteran leaders develop frameworks for thinking clearly under stress, prioritizing what matters most, and acting decisively without panic. These same principles apply directly to business and nonprofit leadership in uncertain times.

Learn more about these leadership lessons at our next Leadership Lunch Club event.
👉 Register now to join the conversation:

Learn how veteran CEOs lead under pressure, build resilient teams, and stay mission-focused—drawing from military and business experience.

03/07/2026

📚 Exciting news for leadership readers!

Conquering Crisis: Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them — our featured book for the upcoming Leadership Under Fire event — is currently on special at Horizon Books - Traverse City!

Horizon has 11 copies available for just $8.98, plus 5 signed copies for $26 (retail price). It’s a powerful leadership read on preparing for high-pressure moments before they arrive.

Stop by Horizon and grab your copy before they’re gone! 📖

03/04/2026

Reaching one of the largest TV markets east of the Mississippi, UpNorthLive delivers timely news, weather, sports, and community stories to 23 counties across northern Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula. Their broad reach and trusted reporting play a vital role in keeping our region informed and engaged.

Thank you to UpNorthLive for being our media sponsor and helping amplify meaningful leadership conversations across northern Michigan.

👉 https://upnorthlive.com/

WPBN offers news, sports, weather and items of local interest in Traverse City, Michigan and nearby towns, including Frankfort, Beulah, Interlochen, Kingsley, Garfield Township, Glen Arbor, Suttons Bay, Kalkaska, Kingsley and Manton, Michigan.

02/27/2026

For each event, we select a featured book that aligns with the message. For our April event, we've chosen, "Conquering Crisis: Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them".

In leadership, the worst time to prepare for a crisis is during one.

A New York Times bestseller and named one of Amazon’s Top 25 Books of the Year, Conquering Crisis by Admiral William H. McRaven outlines ten essential lessons leaders should master before high‑pressure moments arrive. The book emphasizes preparation, clear thinking, and steady leadership as the foundation for navigating uncertainty with confidence.

Blending insights from military service, business leadership, and real‑world challenges, it shows how resilience, integrity, and adaptability help leaders stay mission‑focused—and even turn adversity into opportunity.

It’s a practical, no‑nonsense guide for leaders who want to show up calm, decisive, and prepared when it matters most—and a perfect companion to our Leadership Under Fire event. Available through our official bookseller, Horizon, and at the Traverse City District Library.

Review this book and others in our bookstore: https://leadershiplunchclub.com/bookstore/

02/26/2026

What does leadership really look like when the pressure is on and the stakes are real?

At our next Leadership Lunch Club event, Leadership Under Fire: Lessons from Veteran CEOs, you’ll hear directly from local veteran-owned business leaders who’ve led teams in moments where clarity, trust, and decisive action weren’t optional—they were mission-critical.

This is not theory. It’s real-world leadership forged under pressure and applied to business, teams, and life today.

If you’re leading through uncertainty, change, or high-stakes decisions, this is a conversation you’ll want to be in the room for.

📅 April 16, 2026
⌚ 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
📍 Traverse City Country Club
🎟 Tickets are on sale now (limited seating)

👉 Register here

Learn how veteran CEOs lead under pressure, build resilient teams, and stay mission-focused—drawing from military and business experience.