Today my wife, Rita, and I attended a luncheon honoring three women who have changed the heart of Kansas City. The luncheon was actually called "Women Who've Changed the Heart of the City," and it is an annual luncheon that serves as a benefit for City Union Mission, an organization that addresses homelessness in the Kansas City area. The three women honored were Jane Chu, who currently serves as the president and CEO of the new Kaufmann Center for the Performing Arts; Laura R. Hockaday, who in a 38-year career with The Kansas City Star expanded the role of the society page of the Star to include, well, all of society including those from diverse cultural backgrounds; and Dr. Sharon Lee, the founder and director of Southwest Boulevard Family Health Care Services of Greater Kansas City. These are three amazing and gifted women!

Homelessness is a word that is very disturbing to many people and all kinds of assumptions enter into one's head about homelessness and what causes it. City Union Mission raises all of its funding without any government assistance. They have a men's shelter, a camp for underprivileged boys and girls, and most recently have added programs and services to uplift homeless women and children. What daunting, yet fulfilling, work! 

In listening to Dan Doty, the executive director of City Union Mission, speak about homelessness, I would like to help dispel some of the myths about homelessness. The condition of homelessness, in and of itself, is a risk factor for an emotional disorder. It is a psychological trauma for individuals where sudden social isolation and learned helplessness (thinking there is nothing one can do to make effective change) dominate the landscape. There is also a motivational problem for those who find themselves homeless, and sometimes homeless individuals conclude that they are not capable of making improvements in their own lives.

The staff at City Union Mission has another take on it. They assume that people are doing the best that they can but that they do want to improve their lives. Very often people may not have caused all of their problems – but they do have to begin to solve them anyway. City Union Mission is a change agent, meaning they balance support with challenge. People need to do better, try harder, and be more motivated to change. The loss of a job, serious mental illness, prison discharge, and escaping domestic violence are major contributing factors to homelessness.

Of course, alcohol and/or drug addiction can contribute as well, but it is a misnomer to attribute homelessness exclusively to alcohol or drug addiction. At the luncheon, a young lady with two children spoke in front of over 700 people about her journey in and out of homelessness – and she had no alcohol or drug problem. She needed support and guidance and that is what she found at City Union Mission.

The co-chairs of the luncheon were Dayton and Marianne Moore (Go Royals!) and they both bring great passion and zeal to being part of the solution. What great civic leaders they are to co-chair this event. If someone is looking for a charitable organization that puts its heart on the line everyday, 24/7, then City Union Mission is an organization you should support. What can be more compassionate than an organization that looks out for some of the most vulnerable people in the Kansas City community? When people are given hope, they respond. God's Blessings to City Union Mission!

Lamar Hunt Jr. attended the FC Dallas home soccer match against the New England Revolution at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Thursday April 5.  He participated in the FC Dallas traditional pre-game "scarfing ceremony" by placing an FC Dallas scarf on the larger-than-life-size statue of his father, the late Lamar Hunt, that is located on the north concourse of the stadium.  FC Dallas won the match (1-0) in thrilling fashion with a late-game goal by Ugo Ihemelu.  Lamar proclaimed that "it was a glorious evening at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, and a very exciting victory for FC Dallas!"  For more about FC Dallas Soccer, visit FCDallas.com.  

There are many vital challenges that still test great companies today including forging seamless multi-national teams, motivating inspired performance, and remaining "change ready" and strategically adaptable. Many of the behaviors modern companies value today include the ability to innovate, remaining flexible and adapting constantly, setting ambitious goals, thinking globally, moving quickly, and taking risks. Now these ideas sound textbook ready but, believe it or not, many of them find their origin in the "Society of Jesus" or the Jesuits – the largest religious order in the Catholic Church launched over 450 years ago by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Some of the aspects of Jesuit-style leadership carry the uncomfortable and even kooky ring common to provocative new ideas. But that is just it – they are not new ideas. For example, St. Ignatius of Loyola and his colleagues were convinced that people perform their best in a supportive, encouraging, and positively charged environment.  Therefore he exhorted his "managers" to create environments filled with "greater love than fear." The thought or idea of a loving work environment may take some time to sink in. The Jesuit principles make a company better because they make individuals better, are rooted in the notion that we are all leaders, and that our whole lives are filled with leadership opportunities.

Leadership is not reserved for a few "pooh-bahs" sitting atop the corporate pyramid. Nor do leadership opportunities arise only at work. A person can be a leader in everything he or she does at work – or in daily life. This means that we can teach others and learn from them as well. If you think about it, leadership is something you can do in the ordinary course of your day.

Now you may be thinking that St. Ignatius was a Catholic priest in a males-only organization and that these are not beliefs you hold in any way. The Jesuits did not become leaders simply by adhering to particular religious beliefs but more so by the way they lived and worked. Their belief was that you should work as if success depends on your own efforts – but trust as if it all depended on God. This was stated more bluntly by St. Ignatius' successor, Diego Lainez, when he said, "While it is true that God could speak by the mouth of an ass, this would be considered a miracle. This would certainly be the case in a man who lacks common sense but hopes to be a success by merely praying for it."

Lamar became a grandfather for the third time on Monday night, March 12, so he is taking a break from blog writing to spend some time with his new granddaughter and her family.  Lamar and Rita are thrilled to welcome little Claire Arkell to the world!  She weighed in at a healthy 6 pounds, 1 ounce and was 19 inches long.  Claire's mom and dad, Sarah and James Arkell, and her big brother and sister, are most excited to welcome a healthy little Claire to the family.