Leading Matters #31 Amanda Holmes CEO Chet Holmes International
Episode 30 of Leading Matters Features Amanda Holmes, the CEO of Chet Holmes International (CHI), the sales and marketing coaching and training business her father built. At the age of 24, after her father’s untimely death, Amanda was faced not only with her grief, but having sudden responsibility for her father’s life’s work. Acting first as chairman, she sought a qualified leader for the business. Ultimately she discovered that her father’s absence left a hole in the heart of CHI, a hole that she realized that she herself would have to fill.
It is the stuff that movies are made of. And Amanda Holmes is the sort of heroine that you would want your daughter to emulate.
What you will find most interesting about my interview with Amanda is how unabashedly candid she is about her spirituality. She studies with a new age Hindu Guru, Guruji Sri Sri Poonamji of Divine Bliss International, and she is quite clear about the fact that this spirituality has a significant influence over how she approaches business. How is this reflected in her leadership style? Mostly in a tireless effort to truly serve the customer.
Why does Amanda wearing her spirituality on her sleeve matter? Because in our age spirituality is just something that we don’t discuss. And more often than not the spiritual side of our lives is something that is discouraged from our professional and public life. This is probably more true for some spiritual preferences than others perhaps, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to argue with the fact that in our business culture today it is a rare instance when you gain insight into the matters of the soul from a business leader.
What is most ironic is that nearly every single self-help or professional development book ever written, contains within a clear philosophical and dare I say metaphysical perspective of some sort. THIS is what is so interesting about Amanda. She is on a journey. A pilgrimage of sorts. And she’s not afraid to share it with you. Is it off-putting? Is it pushy or alarming? Absolutely not. It is refreshing. Regardless of what you think about Amanda’s spirituality after you have learned about it more in our talk with her, you’ll know where she stands, why she stands there, and will inherently trust that her decision making is executed atop of a sound foundation of the values that she holds dear.
Those values are completely ordered to the idea of service.
It is a great episode. And you’re going to be energized to look at your company’s or your team’s mission, purpose and values with a new set of eyes.
