The dawn of Christmas day

 

Over the years I have shared many pictures on this blog of sunrises on Christmas morning... and I continue that tradition today.  Pictured above is a beautiful sunrise here in the North Georgia mountains on an unseasonably warm Christmas morning ... a day full of family, love, memories and stories.  This year, more than many in the past, Christmas is also filled with a heavy heart at the recent passing of my sister Alice... I shared her obituary in the previous essay that I posted.

Regardless of ( or maybe in some way fueled by) this loss, I am once again struck by the possibilities and "new beginnings" that come with each and every dawn.  In a time where so may around the world, in our country, in our communities and maybe in our families are pessimistic on the state of  the world, and society as a whole, we need to be reminded and strengthened that with each dawn... with each sunrise... we have the ability (and possibly the responsibility) to work together to make this day ahead a bit better that the yesterdays behind us.

I wish all the readers a very happy holiday season, and a Merry Christmas; my hope is that we can see the sunrises ahead as an encouragement to the work that is needed to help our world, our countries, communities and families to find a path forward filled with a bit more light, hope, peace and justice for all!

In Memory of my sister, Alice Levisay

 

Alice Marie Levisay Obituary

Celebrating a Life of Compassion, Leadership, and Global Impact

With broken hearts, we share with you the passing of a beloved wife, mother, sister and aunt. On December 14, 2025 Alice Marie Levisay, 60, passed away in her home on Bainbridge Island, Washington due to cancer. She died peacefully, in the company of her devoted family. Born on July 14, 1965, in Berea, Ohio, Alice was the cherished daughter of Dale and Arline Levisay, by whom she is predeceased. She is survived by her husband of 33 years, Jan Willem Rosenboom, her daughter, Johanna (Hanna) Rosenboom, her son-in-law Dillon, and her loving brothers, Mark and Bill.

Raised in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, Alice excelled academically, graduating as Valedictorian from Franklin Regional High School. She continued her studies at Rice University, earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. She was then awarded the prestigious Watson Fellowship, which she used to study traditional healthcare delivery systems in India, China, Egypt and Kenya. This experience was professionally as well as personally formative; she first met Jan Willem during her stay in Nairobi.

Following this fellowship, Alice began her early career in Sierra Leone, West-Africa. She worked on Lassa Fever Research and AIDS education efforts with the CDC. She found her calling to improve health care in underserved communities around the world, and continued her education at Johns Hopkins University, where she pursued a master’s degree in public health. Now married, Alice and Jan Willem moved to Cambodia in the early 90’s where Alice worked with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in roles focusing on rebuilding and strengthening the nation's health systems. Two years following Hanna’s birth in 1998, Alice’s commitment to improving health systems led the family to Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she worked as the health specialist for HLSP Asia focusing on health sector reform and aid effectiveness. From Bangladesh Alice returned to Cambodia for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), where she would rise to the position of Country Representative. In 2010, Alice and family moved to the US, where Alice joined PATH in Seattle. A few years later she transitioned to working as an independent consultant so she could spend more time with Hanna and focus on her role as a community member. 

Alice loved her life on the island, volunteering for the salmon monitoring program, singing in various choirs and developing a community of friends. The family home welcomed guests from around the world, sharing the beauty of the Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest. Having to give up singing, first during COVID, and later when the cancer she had been living with (and trying to subdue) since 2020 reached her lungs, was a huge disappointment to her. In her final professional role, Alice served at the Gates Foundation, leading efforts with the Global Health Agencies and Funds (GHAF) strategy, joining a team she deeply enjoyed working with.

Alice’s remarkable journey touched communities across the globe—from Vanuatu, Lao PDR and Tonga, to India, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and Bainbridge Island, among many others. Her legacy is defined by her intelligence, strength of character, unwavering willpower, and infectious laugh. Though her life was cut short by illness, the impact she made and the memories she created will be treasured by all who had the privilege to know her. Alice’s absence will be deeply felt, but her spirit will live on in the lives she changed and the love she shared.

A celebration of Alice’s life will be held later in January (and will be accessible remotely).

Jan Willem and Hanna would like to thank the medical teams at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, and the nurses, social worker, nursing aids and others at Multicare Hospice, who cared for Alice with expertise, kindness and compassion.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to USA for UNFPA, providing care to women and girls in underserved communities, or Helpline House, providing food assistance and social services to those in need on Bainbridge Island.

The Rains of 2010: Leading Through Times of Crisis

 

Lessons in Leadership from an Unprecedented Challenge in Kern County

Fifteen years ago this week, Kern County, California—home to Bakersfield and the southern Central Valley—was hit by torrential downpours that redefined local history. In a single “long weekend,” the region received nearly a year’s worth of rain, shattering records that had stood for 135 years. Typically, Kern County averages around six inches of rain annually, with just one inch expected each December. But in December 2010, the skies unleashed over 5.8 inches—an astonishing 600% above the normal monthly average. What unfolded was more than a meteorological anomaly; it was a local crisis that soon became very personal for me.

In 2009, I joined Bolthouse Farms as Chief Customer Officer—a newcomer to the world of carrot farming and its expanding line of juices, smoothies, and healthy salad dressings. Our farming operation was massive, harvesting nearly three million pounds of carrots every day. The busiest stretch of the year ran from Halloween to Super Bowl, known in our circles as “N/D/J”—the crucial November, December, January window when holiday shoppers depended on fresh carrots. The industry itself was tightly consolidated, with just two major growers—both based in Bakersfield—supplying most of the market.

As the rains began, I found myself leading a sales meeting in a Chicago hotel, far from the unfolding disaster. News of the crisis reached us not through weather reports, but through frantic calls from customers desperate for their Christmas carrot shipments. Realizing the severity, I cut the meeting short and headed back to a waterlogged Bakersfield.

Throughout my 25-plus-year career—including nearly 18 years at The Coca-Cola Company—I had never faced a threat this existential. Entering the administrative building on Brundage Lane, I understood that I was now a C-level executive in the midst of a full-blown emergency. Our harvesting operations ground to a halt; the flooded fields were impassable for our massive carrot harvesters (pictured above.) With our “fresh harvest” model, carrots picked each morning shipped out that same day, leaving little warehouse inventory. After a couple days of relentless rain, the supply chain dried up—no carrots for us, our competitors, nor our customers.

The situation outside the plant underscored the gravity. Semi-trucks lined up behind our facility—more than 250 at one point, far exceeding the usual numbers—each waiting to collect carrot orders for retailers across North America. The drivers, anxious to get home for Christmas, grew increasingly frustrated. To ease tensions, our team fired up BBQ grills and served steaks, narrowly averting mutiny. Still, the warehouse doors stayed locked.

Eventually, the rain subsided. One evening, our head of agriculture, Derek, burst into the office, mud-caked but grinning—he’d located a field dry enough to begin harvesting. That moment remains vivid: despite ruined holiday orders and financial setbacks, we found a path forward. Yes the month's financials were destroyed, the quarter and the year a mess.... but we were back harvesting, planting and serving our customers... we were back in business!  By continuing to address the problem at hand, we survived to fight another day.

Reflecting on this ordeal fifteen years later, I recognize it as just one of several “existential close calls” during my tenure at Bolthouse Farms—the most dramatic being the onset of the Covid pandemic in March 2020.  While each of these "crisis moments" had their own unique qualities,  in every crisis, my team and I relied on three guiding principles:

·      Run to the Problem: Face challenges head on, rather than avoiding them.

·      Work the Problem at Hand: Focus on actionable solutions, not distractions.

·      Prepare Yourself to Work Your Way Out: Stay ready and strengthen yourself for the path forward.

These principles, though simple, proved vital in navigating times of disruption and crisis. The rains of 2010—and later, a global pandemic ( and other challenging dramatic moments)—were beyond our control. Yet, by staying focused and resilient, we found our way to “drier fields.” Crises will come, there is no way to avoid them, but when they do try hard to remember these lessons: run to the problem, work it, and prepare to work your way out. That’s how you weather the storms and emerge stronger.

postscript: I want to say a massive thank you to those readers who were part of that "wild ride," navigating the described above deluge 15 years ago.  Many of you have stayed not only in the Ag world, but in the "carrot game" and I deeply appreciate your commitment, focus, and perseverance through hard times in the past and your readiness to face the unknown challenges/crises ahead!

 

 

 

Slow is smooth… and smooth is fast!

It’s not often I reference a television character in my writing, but today I’ll make an exception for Phil Dunphy from “Modern Family.” In one hilarious scene, Phil rallies his family for a fire drill and uses the phrase “slow is smooth… and smooth is fast” to encourage a calm but swift exit from the house. That moment has stuck with me, and I’ve even repeated it to my own family in similar situations. 

Today, I want to explore how this idea can help leaders and teams focus not only on what they do (their deliverables and results) but also on how they do it (the processes that drive those outcomes).

Recently, as executive chair of a thriving private company’s board, I led a quarterly board meeting. The session was productive and hit all our critical objectives. Despite the meeting’s seemingly deliberate pace, we wrapped up 20 minutes and ahead of schedule. Once again, Phil’s motto echoed in my mind—“slow is smooth… and smooth is fast!” Embedded in this saying are two essential principles worth remembering.

Slow is smooth…

By establishing clear, methodical, and repeatable routines for your work, your organization, and your team, you set the stage for reliable performance. Such consistency minimizes errors, reduces unnecessary rework, and limits variability—especially important in today’s competitive, complex environments. As a leader, it’s crucial to create and uphold these disciplined processes and to demonstrate them through your own actions.

Smooth is fast…

It’s easy to envision how streamlined, well-honed business processes can lead to faster achievement of goals. As illustrated in our recent board meeting, executing a process smoothly and methodically enabled us to complete our work more efficiently, finishing over 10% earlier than expected.

My advice to readers is to review your core business processes, or start building them if needed, and continually refine them to be more systematic and repeatable. When your words and actions align in supporting these disciplined approaches, and when leaders model these behaviors personally, you’ll see better outcomes for your teams and organizations.

 

The story of the "Fairview Flyer"

 I started posting essays on this platform over 16 years ago... and from the beginning I wanted to share    lessons of leadership and life. stories, insights and experiences  (literally on the masthead of my blog) that might be insightful to the reader.  Here we are today with this essay being the 297th posted on the blog,  and with well over 225,000 page views to date I have been surprised and humbled by the breadth and impact of my "stories."  Today's essay is focused on a simple tomato, and the pure exhilaration that has emerged through this past gardening season!

For decades, I have been growing two varieties of heirloom tomatoes that have been passed to my by family and friends.  One I have written about that comes down from my grandmother that is a yellow tomato variety, on relatively short plants,  with very sweet somewhat small fruit that she grew for many years/decades, possibly from before I was born.  The second variety was passed along from my friend Dave Carfang's family, who were given this tomato ( "The Carfang Big Pinks) in the early 70's.  It grows on very long tomato vines, and produce large beautiful pink tomatoes, some as large (or larger) as 1 pound. Here is a picture of those two varieties from this past season.  I always knew that heirloom tomatoes were "open pollinators" meaning that they could possibly "cross pollinate" with other nearby tomatoes but over the years/decades I never had that "problem."

Well here we come to the spring of 2025, with tomato seedlings in the garden growing well and I notice an unusual phenomenon.  I had 14 seedlings in the garden that I raised from seeds from last year, seven of Mama's yellow tomatoes and what I THOUGHT were seven of the "Big Pinks."  Well to my amazement, one go the big pinks looks different from the others and ALL of them were from the seeds of one or two tomatoes from 2024.  Mama's tomatoes have serrated ( jagged) leaves and the "Big Pinks" have smooth leaves and lo and behold one of the "Big Pink" seedlings had serrated leaves.  I wrote about this dynamic back in May, you can see that essay here, https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2025/05/innovation-can-come-from-some.html

The reality hit me mid-summer as the plants reached maturity and started putting off fruit.  Mama's tomato plants grew to about 5ft or so and stopped.  The "Big Pinks" grew to about 8-9 ft and stopped but this new "heirloom hybrid" just kept on growing.  As it put on fruit, I realized that the tomatoes were different and unique... larger than Mama's, smaller than the "Big Pinks" and had a touch of yellow/orange on the shoulders.. pictures below!

Well to say the least I was excited and amazed, the plant kept on growing and it prolifically put on fruit. I pulled the tomato plant/vine out of the garden this week and it was over 13 ft long.

 I took one of the best tomatoes it produced this summer and let it "over-ripen" on the vine and used it as my source for seeds.  I am so eager to get to late January when I start my tomato seeds and see if they are fertile and if I can propagate this new variety... which I have named "The Fairview Flyer."  

My focus in the essays that I have posted across all these years has been on the idea of "finding your legacy," the concept that if we can act intentionally in our families, our communities, our companies and our country we can leave all of those environments in a better place than when we found them.  I never thought that this concept might include creating a "new" tomato variety that I can pass along to generations of gardeners that may follow me... maybe someday marveling at the "Fairview Flyer" years/decades after I have passed, wondering about its humble origins as they enjoy the delicious tomatoes, or bemused but the amazing length of the vines at the end of the season.  I promise to add a postscript to this essay early next year once the seedlings get going!!

“Foreign for you…Common for many”

 

 

It’s important to remember that regardless of age, tenure, or experience… you are never too old to learn new lessons.  I relate deeply to this “truism,” and this essay is centered on a piece of coaching, and some important learning that I experienced about a year ago.

In the fall of 2024, I had been asked to dive into a new role, and I was doing my due diligence investigating the opportunity to see if it was fit.  I talked to various constituencies, board members, founders, and senior executives of the company and the more I dug, the more uncomfortable I became.  Across my career of now over 40 years, I had worked for large public companies (e.g. The Coca-Cola Company) and a large private PE backed company, Bolthouse Farms.  I had never been involved with venture backed startups early in their growth cycle which was the situation that I was “investigating.”   As part of my investigation process, I went out to California to meet live with some of the team, and my concerns grew.  There seemed to be dissonance withing the board, and certainly some “noise” between certain board members and management.  I grew uncomfortable with the unsettled nature of the current dynamics, and my doubts grew on whether this opportunity for a good idea for “yours truly!”

In hindsight, I am thankful that my next move was NOT to bail, but to look for advice and coaching.  While I had personally NEVER worked closely with a VC backed company, I did have a contact, the brother of a close friend, who runs a very prominent venture capital company in the bay, and I reached out to him for some advice.  Knowing how busy he was (and is) I texted him asking for 5 min across the next day to so for a quick call.  He texted back almost immediately saying he had 10 min. at 6pm later that day and to call his cell then. Later that day I found a quiet spot with good cell coverage and gave him a call.

True to his word, he was running between meetings/commitments and had 10 minutes to talk.  Skipping the pleasantries, I dove into the situation and described the situation I was considering, and the “dysfunctional” dynamics that I was experiencing.  Very quickly Tony (name changed to protect the helpful!) said “Bill, stop-stop… just because something is foreign to you doesn’t mean it’s not common for many!!!”  That line ( ignore the double negative for now) literally stopped me in my tracks.  He said that my experience working in large public companies, or for a large private company backed by a single PE firm, was limited and that it was common/typical for VC backed startups to have these dynamics.  The “noise” among varied VCs on the board happened all the time in “Tony’s world.”  The dissonance between different VC board members and management was common, etc., etc.  

After being brought to a standstill, “Tony” suggested that if I could open my thinking, I could be very helpful to the company with its current dynamics and challenges… helping coalesce the board into a stronger, clearer voice for management… and that I could be productive coaching and helping the founders and other executives at the company grow and build skills as the company advanced.

To say the least, I took those 5 minutes of coaching and advice to heart.  Late last year I dove into the role, and it’s been an incredible ride… a great learning one for me personally and one where I am working hard to have the impact that “Tony” suggested I could have.  I wanted to share this story less about my current professional activities, but more about learning, growing and seeking advice/support/council late in one’s career.  It’s easy and all too common for folks with decades of experience to think that have “learned all there is to know,” and that they are the “teachers,” and all others are the “students.”  As my story shows, that one-way, myopic viewpoint is a limiting idea, and I am thankful for “Tony’s” nudge/advice… my professional life is richer and fuller because I listened to what he had to say!

 

Civility, Stability, and a Generosity of Spirit... Leadership traits to model today!

 

Modeling Positive Leadership in a Time of "Anti-Models": Reflections on Civility, Stability, and Generosity of Spirit

Learning from the Best—and the Worst—for Leadership That Matters

Throughout a long career, one may accumulate lessons from a remarkable array of leaders—some who illuminate the path forward by the force of their example, and others who serve, almost as powerfully, as anti-models whose flaws become cautionary tales. In this essay, I want to share decades of experience reflecting on the indelible marks left by both types. I do so not with the wistfulness of nostalgia, but with the urgency of a call to action—a call made especially acute by the troubling rise of “anti-models” in today’s turbulent political and workplace landscapes.

If leaders are, in part, creatures of imitation, then the imperative to model what is right, rather than what is toxic, becomes a matter not only of personal integrity but of societal survival. I want to suggest that leadership is always, at core, an act of modeling; the behaviors we choose are magnified in our organizations and ripple outward into the culture at large. The importance of this modeling has never been more apparent than now.

The Power of Models and Anti-Models

Opening with a spirit of gratitude, I need to acknowledge the positive influence of great leaders across my career, two of which I mentioned in a recent essay: Neville Isdell at The Coca Cola Company, and Bruce Paynter at Kimberly-Clark. These individuals, and many others like them, have left me with enduring blueprints for effective, humane leadership. Yet, in the same breath, I want to be candid about the negative examples that I have encountered across the decades: those who, through arrogance, incivility, hubris or instability, became “anti-models.” These individuals modeled exactly what not to do.

Rather than merely lamenting these negative influences, I view them as instructive. There is wisdom in learning what to avoid, and in deliberately choosing to “do the opposite” of the “jokers” whose leadership failures cast long shadows. This duality—the presence of both models and anti-models—enriches the legacy of lessons available to any leader willing to observe, reflect, and act.

The Rise of “Anti-Modeling” in Today’s Landscape

I want to pivot in this essay to a broader concern: the proliferation of “anti-models” in the modern public sphere, particularly in politics but increasingly within business. Today’s leadership rhetoric at the highest levels has grown more vitriolic, aggressive, and destabilizing. The danger is clear; as young business leaders witness and internalize these behaviors, they risk carrying them into their own spheres of influence with harmful consequences.

The tendency for leaders to “model” what they see is natural, but when what they see is corrosive, intolerant, and destabilizing, the effect is “deeply dangerous and concerning.” Thus, there is a pressing need to “call out” these trends, to say clearly that such behaviors are not worthy of emulation, and to offer positive alternatives.

Three Habits to Model Now: A Counterpoint to Anti-Modeling

Against this troubling backdrop, I want to share three fundamental leadership habits or traits that deserve urgent modeling. These are not presented as abstract virtues, but as actionable, practical antidotes to the poisonous influence of today's anti-models.

Civility: Returning to the Foundation of Respect

The first trait is civility—a quality that seems almost quaint or outdated in an era dominated by shouting matches and online flame wars. Civility, as the Britannica Dictionary reminds us, is “polite, reasonable, and respectful behavior.” This is not a superficial politeness that glosses over difference or suppresses dissent, but an abiding respect for the humanity and dignity of others.

I lament that the “golden rule”—to treat others as you wish to be treated—has fallen out of favor, dismissed as old-fashioned; yet I argue for its renewed relevance! In organizations and communities where people must live and work together, civility is not optional; it is foundational. I must underscore the dangers of name-calling, derogatory language, and vindictive personal attacks—patterns that have become pervasive and corrosive in today's political and business spheres..

Civility is more than the absence of rudeness; it is the active presence of empathy, listening, and the willingness to engage with difference without diminishing or demeaning. Leaders who model civility set a tone that enables collaboration, creativity, and trust. In so doing, they reinforce the most fundamental of all social principles, one desperately needed today.

Stability: The Anchor in Turbulent Times

Next, I want to highlight stability—a quality whose value becomes most apparent in times of crisis. Stability means being “not easily changed or likely to change,” “not easily moved,” and “emotionally or mentally healthy.” In an era marked by genuine emergencies and manufactured crises alike, stability is at a premium.

I need to draw a vivid contrast between autocratic leaders who generate instability for personal gain and the stabilizing influence of leaders who offer predictability and calm. The memory of leading Bolthouse Farms through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic brings this concept to life. At that moment of unprecedented uncertainty, the simple act of showing up—consistently, reliably, with a steady demeanor—became a powerful reassurance to the team. .  I remember specifically during the summer of 2020 leading Bolthouse Farms and being a consistent voice of daily and then weekly “Virtual Town Halls.”  In those early days we had implemented stringent “physical separation” rules, and my “workstation” was at one end of the plant, far from my historic office.  Thus, I worked out of a conference room next to a trusted work partner David’s office.  I remember so clearly getting numerous notes and emails from team members saying they were happy and reassured “seeing me” on zoom from that same conference room, with the little Bolthouse Farms sign taped to the wall behind me, day after day/week after week. In that time of real crisis and emergency, having me show up on zoom, at first daily then ultimately weekly, was a reassuring sign of “stability” and predictability in a time when nothing seemed stable or predictable.

Stability is not the same as inertia or resistance to change; rather, it is the anchor that allows organizations to weather storms. Leaders who embody stability create environments where people feel safe enough to take risks, confident enough to innovate, and calm enough to persevere. I want to encourage leaders to “find ways to be a calm, stable and predictable leader”—habits that will be recognized and appreciated by their organizations, especially in unsettled times.

Generosity of Spirit: Building Relationships Beyond the Zero-Sum Game

Finally, I want to turn to generosity of spirit—a quality that transcends transactional thinking. Generosity of spirit is “the quality of being kind, understanding, and not selfish,” and the willingness to give, not just of money, but of time, ideas, attention, and care.

Too many interactions today are governed by a “win/lose” logic rooted in a scarcity mindset.        I want to encourage Leaders to reject this paradigm. Instead, they should pursue “win/win” solutions, even though such outcomes require effort, imagination, and, above all, generosity.  Generosity of spirit means being open with your time, sharing ideas and lessons, nurturing curiosity, and listening deeply to others. It is a refusal to be petty or self-protective. Leaders who embody this quality create cultures of trust, collaboration, and growth. Their influence extends well beyond the bottom line; it shapes the moral and emotional climate of their organizations.

Leadership as Deliberate Modeling: A Call to Action

In closing I want and need to reinforce that now, more than ever, our companies, teams, communities and countries NEED models (not anti-models) to bring better leadership traits to life.” The three virtues outlined—civility, stability, and generosity of spirit—are not abstract ideals but urgent necessities.

Every leader, whether in a boardroom, a classroom, a family, or in political office is a model. Others are watching, learning, and imitating. The choice, then, is not whether to be a model, but what kind of model to be.

I want this essay to be a call to those with influence to reflect on the behaviors they transmit, to double down on the positive traits learned from the best leaders, and to be vigilant in recognizing—and rejecting—the toxic influences of anti-models. It is a reminder that the work of leadership is never finished, that each day brings fresh opportunities to embody and transmit values that will nourish organizations and communities for generations to come.

In modeling civility, stability, and generosity of spirit, leaders do not merely respond to the challenges of the day—they shape the world of tomorrow. The need has never been greater, and the time to take action is now.