About LeadFirst
LeadFirst exists to encourage people to win at work and life by aligning how they live and lead with what is true.
We are unapologetically Christian. We believe God is the Creator, that truth precedes opinion, and that integrity means living consistently with what we believe to be true.
Over four decades, we have built and led businesses, including Solomon Software (top-three U.S. market share, merged with Great Plains and sold to Microsoft) and SKG (co-founded and later sold to an equity investor).
We are grateful for the success — and even more for the people blessed through meaningful work. We also made many mistakes. By God’s grace, more good came from those businesses than we deserved.
Looking back, we are no longer convinced that selling businesses was always the best outcome. Today, we invest in building enduring, long-term businesses designed to bless people, families, and communities over generations.
At LeadFirst, we believe
- There is no greater earthly satisfaction than to dream and pursue dreams wholeheartedly.
- The process for deciding where you want to go and getting there is just as important as the processes for building or selling your product.
- A “self-leader” is someone who understands their purpose, has integrity to that purpose (responsible, accountable) and enables self-leadership in others.
- There are no quick fixes. Lasting excellence requires a sustained, disciplined investment of resources and willpower.
- Every individual and organization has a great deal of untapped potential that can be unleashed with teamwork.
- Plans are seldom right. Their value is in the shared understanding developed while building them.
- The question is NOT “What does it take to execute well?” The question is “Are you willing to do what it takes?” You cannot outperform others unless you do what they are not willing to do.
The Man Behind LeadFirst
Gary Harpst is a business leader, author, and investor with more than 40 years of experience building organizations shaped by purpose and discipline.
He is the author of Built to Beat Chaos and Six Disciplines for Excellence, and the founder of Six Disciplines.
Gary’s passion is helping leaders align work, life, and faith — leaving future generations rich in purpose rather than wealth alone.
