Reprise | Brigadier General John Michel, The Avalon Institute

Up in Your Business with Kerry McCoy

Ep 271 | Aired 11/19/2021 It was pure happenstance that I met today’s Up in Your Business guest. Earlier this year, during my interview with Perry Smith (the new owner of the Minute Man Hamburger franchise) I met his business partner: USAF retired, Brigadier General John Michel. I found him interesting, so I invited him back for a one on one conversation that you will hear today. What makes Michel interesting is his brainchild, the Gratitude Café, that he started while serving in Kabul, Afghanistan, and how this makeshift coffee shop lifted the GI’s spirits and built a high-morale community. John found this experience to be so successful, rewarding and enlightening that, once retired from service, he decided to pay forward his learned leadership knowledge by founding The Avalon Institute. Their mission statement says it all: The Avalon Institute was founded on the principle of Roundtable Leadership™ where individuals learn to effectively collaborate in order to tackle complex challenges together. We tap into the full potential of an organization’s collective intelligence, find sustainable solutions, and affect positive change. Because of John’s success and unconventional work style, he has been featured in a wide variety of articles and journals including Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, National Geographic, Joint Forces Quarterly, Huffington Post, Switch and Shift, and Innovation Excellence. Listen to hear this interesting man’s military story and get insight (and a free lesson) into how the Avalon Institute is building tomorrow’s leaders.