In today’s episode, Rick and Sam are joined by Dr. Kent M. Keith, author of many books and creator of the Paradoxical Commandments, to discuss Kent’s thoughts and experiences from a life dedicated to servant leadership. Kent starts where it all began, in 1968 when he wrote the Paradoxical Commandments and explores what it looks like to humbly practice these maxims in real life. The conversation shifts to the workplace as Rick, Sam, and Kent discuss what motivates employees and people in general to achieve their best. They also consider the Universal Moral Code and the foundation the code sets for personal and professional ethics. We close the conversation with Kent sharing his conviction in the effectiveness of servant leadership and the hope that more leaders act with respect and care for others, regardless of the “servant leadership” label.

Dr. Kent M. Keith is a dynamic speaker and writer whose mission is to help people find personal meaning in a crazy world. He has been featured on the front page of The New York Times and in People magazine, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Family Circle. He has appeared on dozens of TV shows and more than 100 radio programs in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, and Australia. Over the years, Dr. Keith has given more than 1,000 presentations, conference papers, and seminars on a wide variety of topics in the United States and eleven countries in Europe and Asia. His current presentations and seminars are focused on servant leadership, the Paradoxical Commandments, finding personal meaning at home and at work, and the positive impact of morality in the workplace.

Dr. Keith was born in New York and raised in Nebraska, California, Virginia, and Rhode Island before arriving in Hawaii in 1962. He earned a B.A. in Government from Harvard University, an M.A. in Philosophy and Politics from Oxford University, a Certificate in Japanese from Waseda University in Tokyo, a J.D. from the University of Hawaii, and an Ed. D. from the University of Southern California. He is a Rhodes Scholar.

Dr. Keith practiced law for two years as an Associate in the commercial litigation section of Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright. He served for seven years in the State of Hawaii Department of Planning and Economic Development, rising through the ranks to become the Director of the department and a member of the Governor's cabinet. From 2007 to 2012 he served as Chief Executive Officer of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership in the United States, and from 2012 to 2015 he served as CEO of the Greenleaf Centre for Servant Leadership-Asia based in Singapore. He served from 2015 to 2020 as President of Pacific Rim Christian University in Honolulu. He is now President of his family company, Carlson Keith Corporation.

Sam Scinta is President and Founder of IM Education, a non-profit, and Lecturer in Political Science at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Viterbo University.

Rick Kyte is Endowed Professor and Director of the DB Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University.

Music compliments of Bobby Bridger- “Rendezvous” from "A Ballad of the West"