Cornerstone Leadership Institute Debuts

Training and research are the capstones of the Cornerstone Leadership Institute (CLI). Whether you are an entrepreneur or executive seeking to improve your personal leadership quotient through our individual coaching program or a manager looking for leadership development of your team, the CLI has the leadership program for you. Non-profits can equally benefit from our training programs. Due to their modular format, these leadership programs can be tailored to meet the needs and budget of each individual client or organization.

Leadership Training. The CLI offers leadership training for groups as well as on the individual coaching level. The topics include the leadership basics of vision casting, critical thinking, strategy development, team dynamics, work-life balance, and effective communication. Other more focused programs explore leading innovation, developing talent and empowering people, inspiring collaboration, mastering the distinction between management and leadership, and leveraging an improved leadership quotient for better decision making. Local, regional, national, and global economic development are overarching conduits through which much of this leadership training flows.

Leadership Research. The CLI is engaged on the cutting edge of academic research through the extant effort of the staff. Each of our senior fellows and research fellows are pursuing their respective research interest both in praxis and theoretical research. Follow the links after each staff member bio to learn more about their specific research interests.

Gerhart Completes Initial Term of PhD Program

After being accepted and enrolling in the PhD in Organizational Leadership program at Regent University in August 2017, Ken Gerhart has successfully completed the first semester and is now navigating the voluminous pre-reading required for the Spring semester beginning in mid January 2018.  The Regent PhD program has a rather unique feature in that 15 of the required 60 hours of coursework can be designated as a concentration.  Gerhart has chosen the Ecclesial concentration, which is akin to a theology program of study without the languages. While theology is an area of focus, it will be accomplished under the umbrella of organizational leadership.

Gerhart's particular research interest is developing an overarching theology of leadership that uncovers the imbrications of the timeless truths of Christian scripture and academic understanding of contemporary leadership theory under which a comprehensive taxonomy can be codified. As such, developing a proto-taxonomy is the first step in an iterative process that will evolve over the course
of this research.

Such a proto-taxonomy - depicted in Figure 1, sets forth a dynamic leadership model with the following emerging constructs: Ontology of Leadership; Shepherd Leadership: Moses, David & Jesus; Counter-Social Leadership: Descending into Greatness; Pauline Leadership: Development, Maintenance & Succession; Sanctification & Transformational Leadership; Spiritual Intelligence: A Hermeneutical Context; Christological Leadership: Kenotic to Pleromatic; and, Trinitarian Leadership: Team Dynamics of the Godhead.  When aligned, each of these constructs will undergird the overall theory of a theology of leadership.

Gërhart Publishes Academic Papers

Ken Gërhart, Founder & Managing Partner of Cornerstone Financial Management Consultants, L.P. has just returned from Las Vegas, NV where he presented one of three academic papers recently published by he and his co-author, Dr. Warren Matthews, Professor of Economics at Belhaven, University.  The following is the list of published papers: 

“Study Abroad: Classroom for the 21st Century”, presented at the Annual Conference on Management and Social Science, organized by the Higher Education Forum of Taiwan, Honolulu, Hawaii, August 9-11, 2016.

“A Meta Study of the Educational Value of Study Abroad Programs”, presented at the 37th International Business Research Conference, www.wbiworldconpro.com<http://www.wbiworldconpro.com>, ISBN: 978-1-925488-14-2, Las Vegas, Nevada, August 1-2, 2016.

“Preparing Students and Firms for Shrinking Markets Through Travel Learning”, presented at the Annual Business Research Conference, sponsored by the Australian Social Sciences and Business Research Institute of Australia, ISBN: 978-1-925488-12-8, Paris, France, July 29, 2016.

With the able assistance of Professor Matthews, Mr. Gërhart has submitted a forth paper to an academic conference in Paris, France in December 2016 comparing, contrasting and critically evaluating the judgmental forecasting techniques of the Delphi Method and Scenario Writing.  In addition, Mr. Gërhart has a dozen or more papers in the queue for publication, which he hopes to have published before he matriculates to the PhD program in June 2017.

Cornerstone Says Goodbye to an Old Friend

It is with mixed emotions that Cornerstone Financial announces the departure of Michael Cox as a Senior Partner. Michael has decided to focus his considerable energy and entrepreneurial skills developing his own portfolio, which includes commercial real estate brokerage, construction and importing cabinets from the Orient. We wish Michael all the best in his expanding business interests.

Capital for Rural Development

The Business & Industry (B&I) loan program of the USDA provides bank-funded government guaranteed loans from $1 - $25 million for qualified businesses.  A business must be located in a rural area with a population of less than 50,000 people to be eligible for this program.  These loans are fully amortized over a term of up to 30 years, depending on the useful life of the asset being financed. The interest rate is typically WSJ prime + 2% with a floor of 6% in the current market conditions.  The funds can be used for any standard business purpose including real estate, construction, equipment, inventory or working capital as well as the associated soft cost of the project such as appraisals, environmental studies, feasibility studies, legal fees, etc.  Collateral and personal guarantees are required.  Start-up ventures with a 20% equity base comprise a significant portion of our portfolio in this program as well as going concerns expanding in rural markets.

Cornerstone Financial, a full service consulting and investment banking firm established in 1990, is now celebrating 25 years of service to our clients.  We are widely recognized as industry experts in the B&I program and have an unparalleled track record of achievement in this market niche. Our comprehensive feasibility studies are a foundational element of our success.   We invite you to browse our website to learn more about the USDA B&I loan program and our exceptionally effective feasibility studies.  If you are a business seeking financing for a rural project or a banker, attorney, CPA, commercial realtor or other professional sourcing funding for your client, contact us today to see how we can put our two and a half decades of experience to work for you to get your project funded.

Cornerstone Adds Another Senior Partner

Cornerstone Financial is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Cox as their newest Senior Partner. Michael is a graduate of Texas Tech University and brings over 30 years of business and investment management experience to the firm. Michael's tireless energy and creative problem solving skills will ad yet another dimension of depth to the already seasoned Cornerstone team.  In addition to having been a registered stockbroker and founder of a Broker/Dealer, Michael holds a Texas Commercial Real Estate license, which will now allow Cornerstone to operate in that space.  Michael resides in Katy, Texas and will work projects primarily in the Gulf Coast region of Texas.

The Reason for the Season

The Cornerstone family of companies is so blessed this Christmas Season.  A few of these blessings, among many others are listed below:

•Our flagship consulting and investment banking business is expanding with new programs, new staff, and new clients;

•The Cornerstone Collection, our inspirational e-commerce store, is active with new orders;

•Our construction company is bidding projects more aggressively across the state;

•The racquetball company got a shot in the arm with an agreement in principle to represent Ektelon, the premier brand of racquetball equipment, as an exclusive distributor;

•Our Pro Bono file seems to be as full as ever, and;

•The Broken Tree Ranch is undergoing a makeover of sorts with cross fencing, upgraded gates and a secondary developmental herd of registered Black Angus cattle being started this week.

After a somber season in the aftermath of my recent tractor accident and a 32-day stint with bronchitis and pneumonia, our family is now healthy and everyone seems happy. My beautiful and talented wife is working a full time job, carrying a full college load at night with academic honors, singing at church regularly and supporting everything spinning in my orbit.  Our oldest four are pursuing their careers and/or building families while our youngest two are pushing through college with graduation in their grasps.  Since we seem to be addicted to tuition - my sights are now set on seminary. We are indeed blessed!  Life is good in Cornerstone Nation.

But none of these temporal blessings compare with the ultimate blessing of the Reason for the season.  The Christmas story is about a baby who came to earth to become like man so that we could become like God.  We use the term, "God in the Bod," in painting a poignant word picture for our teenagers in explaining this miraculous event.  And we illustrate the concept for our children by sharing that our sin nature creates a gulf between God and Man.  Jesus came to earth to become our bridge to God. 

If you have been thinking more about The Reason for the Season this year and would like to know how to cross that bridge to God, please call us at 512.568.2420 for more details. We'd be happy to share this ultimate blessing with you and yours.

If you are already a committed Christ-follower and would like to read an inspirational story about one man's journey to the cross, follow this link to read about Jimmy's Journey to Jesus.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

May The Reason for the Season wrap you in His loving arms and hold you close this Christmas season and in the years to come until His inevitable, glorious and triumphant return. Shalom!