Jim Bechtold - Knowing you are Loved & Leading with Truth and Love

Are you a part of the 60% of people who feel unloved? What if I (and Jim) told you that you are loved? Interested in how to best lead people? Do you wonder how a regular person can make a big impact? All these questions and more will be answered in this episode!

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Jim Bechtold currently serves as Chief Innovation and Impact Officer of the CEO Forum. In this role, he is responsible for leading strategic initiatives through concept, qualification, and execution. 

Prior to the CEO Forum, Jim was co-Leader of the ANA’s #SeeHer movement. He led strategy for the movement and was the co-designer of the Gender Equality Measure (GEM™) tools developed to improve advertising and media ROI via the elimination of gender bias against women and girls. 

Jim has been a leader in the family entertainment industry for 10+ years. He co-founded Flashlight Entertainment to support Walmart and P&G’s family programming initiatives (which was initiated by the CEO Forum) from ’08-‘15. He co-produced many top movies including: The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Return to Nims Island, and Dear Dumb Diary. Jim was co-leader on multiple new ventures focusing on internet/OTT entertainment, TV series, and music concert(s).

Jim held executive positions at P&G (’84-‘07) where he was VP/GM of multiple organizations (responsible for North America Marketing, Strategy, and Planning –including Media and Research responsibilities) and P&L business units (Baby, Family and Senior Care in Asia). P&G sponsored Jim’s Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership (which also contained an in-depth focus on women and minorities).

Jim is co-Founder of Crossroads Church (Cincinnati, Ohio), one of the fastest growing and largest churches in the world (weekly attendance exceeding 35,000+). He was co-Leader of the nationally acclaimed STRIVE K-12 Educational Reform initiative (via the Knowledgeworks Foundation). These initiatives have raised over $500 million dollars. Jim recently joined the Board of World Vision (U.S.).

Jim’s PhD (Union Institute) is supported by degrees in Business (Miami University) and Decision Science (Miami University). He lives in Cincinnati with his wife (Vivienne Bechtold – an internationally recognized P&G marketer; Co-founder of Crossroads) and three adult bi-racial children.

Jim’s life Bible verse is: I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me – Phil 4:13

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Key Takeaways

• Know you are loved
• Make Family a priority over work
• Truth and Love are the two most important things a leader needs 
  • You show love by being interested in the person to the extent that you put them above yourself. 
  • If you are prepared to give truth, you must be prepared to give love at the same time
• No matter what "baggage" you have - you are qualified to be loved
  • Recognize the lies that you were told as a child that hold on to you and know these are not true and you are loved
• In every experience there is learning, are you taking the time to let that knowledge sink in?
• If you want to bring up leaders in your children - make them go on adventures, this allows them to be pushed out of their comfort zones and show them what they are capable of.
• Wisdom is knowing what you need to do, being a fool is not doing that thing

Links from Conversation

• www.seeher.com
• www.crossroads.net
• www.theceoforumgroup.com