Finding Our Common Ground

Before last year, I had never traveled outside the Americas. That changed entirely when I packed my bags for seven new countries across Europe and Asia. Beyond the breathtaking monuments and the essential fridge magnets, I set out to uncover the heartbeat of our global teams. What I learned completely reshaped my perspective on how we build our future together.

While we all have beautifully different ways of experiencing the same world, every region brought a distinct, powerful cultural strength to our shared team:

• Munich, Germany: A deep culture of meticulous quality, brilliant design, and methodical problem-solving.

• Milton Keynes, UK: A brilliant, sharp, and witty energy fueled by natural go-getters.

• Lille, France: An effortless, stylish grace and genuine care that elevates every interaction.

• Barcelona, Spain: A passionate, artistic spirit and fierce determination that brings vibrant creativity to the table.

• Milan, Italy: An enduring wisdom rooted in rich historical depth, defined by true beauty and class.

• Sydney, Australia: A fun, cool, and fiercely resilient spirit, complete with an incredible accent.

• Singapore: An electrifying pace defined by fast, agile execution that steps right over challenges others get stuck on.

During our Surge transformation workshops, we partnered with our best and brightest leaders to scale our strategies across EMEA and Asia Pacific. By unifying our global capabilities and standardizing how we work, we didn't just free up time for our associates to focus on value creation—we laid the groundwork for a more agile, deeply connected global future.

Despite the thousands of miles between us, I found we have so much in common—it's what unifies us at Ingram. Across every border, we share a fierce passion for growth, approaching challenges with the grit to fight to win while always stopping to help each other succeed; we continuously set the bar high, driven by an incredible talent pool dedicated to creating authentic value for our partners.

At our global headquarters, whether I’m working with my local team or running into executives in the elevator, I carry our expanded team with me. This unforgettable journey wasn’t just about driving business growth—it was about building lifelong relationships and proving what happens when diverse perspectives align behind one vision. I am immensely grateful for the experience and, without a doubt, a stronger leader for it.

Rika

We adopted Rika, our German Shepherd puppy, in December 2017.  We had been talking about a dog for a while and my husband Jason finally said he was open to it.  I jumped on it, and we had her within a couple weeks.  She was 6 weeks old and we got her from a family in Anaheim.  Her parents were full GSD's that were young, and this was their first litter.

Looking back, I see that we didn't research the right things.  Neither of us had owned dogs as adults.  We didn't know enough about what to expect raising a puppy, and specifically a GSD puppy.  We found that it was harder than our 2 year old!  At first we were surprised how often she needed to go to the bathroom!  Then how much she would bite everything.  She was a nervous dog and constantly barked loudly.  When we took her on walks, she pulled strongly the duration of the walk and barked like crazy at dogs that passed by.  We worked through these behaviors the best we could. She is strong willed and a strong girl.  We tried training classes to learn how to become the Alpha, yet we had difficulty with getting her to follow our lead.  When we wanted to take a weekend vacation, we took her to a pet hotel to test it out.  They were not able to keep her with the other dogs and said that they may need to call us to come home early from our trip.  We ended up just cancelling it.

We struggled managing her and our other obligations.  As we are busy with our kids, work, etc., we weren't taking her for walks and exercising her as much as she wants and needs.  We came to a point where we realized it would be better for all of us to re-home her.  I was open to approaching the subject, but knew I'd have to find her a place where I knew she was loved and wouldn't have to be re-homed again.

I put a posting in a local mom's facebook group on Friday night just to see what results I might get.  I described how sweet she is, our challenges with her, and that I'd really love to find someone who is great with dogs, ideally German Shepherds specifically.  Literally within 1 minute, a woman posted that her parent's would be perfect and that she'd have them contact me.  Within a few minutes, her mom sent me a message.  We went back and forth with questions.  Her and her husband sounded like the perfect family for Rika.

The next day morning and her husband were at the park down the street watching their granddaugheter playing in a soccer match.  Luke and I brought Rika over to meet them.  Rika was barking loudly at a dog as we walked over.  The woman I had been speaking with walked over and said hello.  We walked to a bench where her husband was.

Her husband is called the "German Sheppard Whisperer" by his daughter and within 5 minutes, I felt the same way.  He walked me through a few steps to get Rika comfortable.  I handed him the leash and he took her for a walk just a bit away from us.  By the time he came back, Rika was behaving as if he was her long-time friend.  She was rolling around at his feet, kissing him, and submitting to him.  He knew exactly how to control her in a way that relaxed her.  It was so wonderful to see her happy with someone else.

We spent about an hour talking about her, their background/home life, and letting them get a feel for her.  His brother is a GSD breeder.  They have owned 5 GSD's before.  They have always adopted them from shelters and know how to train out behavioral challenges.  They have one GSD now and are looking for a companion for her.  They have two backyards - one is a grove of trees they can run around in.

They confirmed that they wanted her.  I knew that they would be a great family and loving home for her.  They agreed to send me pictures and would even let me know when they were nearby so I can come see her again.  She stayed with them while I went home and got her things and her paperwork.  I returned and helped load them in his truck, we exchanged contact information, and then gave her a kiss and told her that I love her.

I came home and sent them a few emails - pictures of her as a baby, pictures of her parents and their story, and a timeline of her life events.  I was curious to hear how she did when she got to their home, especially with their other dog.

That evening they sent me a couple of pictures of her.  One where she was standing in the dog bed looking at the other dog on the floor, and then another where the two dogs were outside standing side-by-side.  She said they had territorial moments for the first hour but seem to be getting along.  She told me to rest easy and that she will be loved and well taken care of.  My heart was so happy and grateful.

The next morning, they sent a video of the husband throwing the ball to both dogs in their yard with the grove of trees.  Rika looked at the other dog in admiration and was so so so happy to be playing ball.  She enjoyed the extra challenge of beating someone to the target.  I'm glad she has a companion to play with, a family that will love her daily, and plenty of space to run.  I could tell she is really happy and in the perfect home for her.  I'm so thankful that this ended as it did.  I hope to be able to see her here and there and see her grow.  <3

Finding Your Unique Ability

While reading the book Traction, I was deeply intrigued by the idea of having "the right people in the right seats".  I wondered how you can ensure you're making these decisions based on data rather than ego.   Traction recommends the book Unique Ability.  I decided to give it a try to test the process and learn how objective it was.

The book provides three methods to find your Unique Ability:

1. Survey people you know (send an email to get a written reply to a single question)
2. Take the Kolbe A Assessment (determine your Mode of Operation or how you do things)
3. Take the StrengthsFinder Assessment (measure your natural talents)

I went through all of the above and had some very interesting results.  As I step back and look at the patterns overall, I find it that all methods came out with a simliar response.  There was a key pattern that emerged across all three.  

What's really interesting is that before I started all of this, I jotted down my thoughts on my Unique Ability.  The first few things I wrote were spot on.  So I already knew my answer before going through any of these exercises.  However, going through these practices was a lot of fun and, in the end, helped me to know my Unique Ability with clear precision.  

It was a really fun journey and I highly recommend for you to give it a try!  Hearing feedback from others was most enjoyable and helpful.  I selected 5 of each type of person to give me a well-rounded view: family, coworkers, and friends.  Both assessments gave me good information.  If I had to recommend just one of the tests, I'd suggest StrengthsFinder.  It's a great tool that makes finding this information scalable and dependable.

My Unique Ability Results

Survey Results:  15 people replied with three main themes in the responses; in order

1. Ability to organize a lot of data into a unified, simple plan - and drive progress.
2. Determination to learn, deeply understand, apply, and teach.
3. Compassionate, positive energy.

Kolbe A Results:  My standard mode of operation, how I do things (8-6-3-3); in order

1. Strategize - Gather all the info to understand cause, determine practical approach, and prioritize
2. Maintain - Look for ways to fit the project into the existing system
3. Stabilize - Advocate for what needs to stay the same
4. Envision - Visualize how it could work, ideal solutions

StrengthsFinder 2.0 Results: My Natural Talent (easiest to develop into strengths); in order 

1. Achiever - Work hard, productive
2. Learner - Love process of learning, continuously improve
3. Focus - Prioritize, act, stay on track
4. Connectedness - See links between things
5. Relator - Enjoy close relationships

Reference: 

• Traction by Gino Wickman
• Unique Ability by Catherine Noumra and Julia Waller, based on the concept created by Dan Sullivan.