People, Process, Progress: Leadership from Critical Care to the Boardroom

This Foundation Friday builds on the concept of the space between reaction and response and brings it into real life.Through a simple but relatable moment at home, Kevin walks through how quickly reaction can take over and how a brief pause can completely change the outcome.He connects this to leadership, meetings, and high-pressure situations where tone, control, and clarity matter most.You’ll learn how to recognize that space, how to use it, and a simple breathing tool to help you stay composed when it counts.This is about building the reps to respond with intention, at home, at work, and everywhere in between.

Stop reacting and start responding. In the premiere of the rebranded Own. Move. Anchor., Kevin Pannell explores the life-changing power of "The Space Between"—the split-second where you reclaim control, even when circumstances feel overwhelming.Drawing on the profound survival insights of psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, this episode breaks down why we default to "automatic" reactions and how that cycle shapes our leadership, relationships, and results. You don’t rise to your plan when pressure builds; you fall back to the systems you’ve built.In this episode, you’ll learn:The Frankl Framework: Why "The Space Between" is a survival tool, not just a philosophy.Reaction vs. Response: How to identify the "fast" triggers in your day—from high-stakes meetings to traffic—that cause you to drift.Training for Mental Control: Why physical stress (BJJ, hard workouts) is essential for teaching your mind to "stay" when things get difficult.The Micro-Ownership Practice: A simple, one-breath habit to pause and choose a better response today.Own your mind. Move your body. Anchor your spirit. Resources:Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Most teams plan to 100% capacity and call it efficiency. In reality, that’s where things start to break.In this episode, I walk through a better way to think about capacity, not as a percentage on a heatmap, but as a balance between people, workload, and real-world unpredictability.You’ll hear how experienced and developing project managers handle workload differently, why not all work should be treated as a project, and how shifting repeatable work back to operational teams can free up meaningful capacity.I also break down the difference between planning for what you know, like PTO, training, and admin work, versus creating space for what you don’t know, like escalations and unexpected priorities that derail even the best plans.This isn’t about tools or systems. It’s about awareness, leadership, and better conversations.If you’re leading projects, programs, or teams, this episode will help you move from tracking utilization to actually improving performance.

Many projects struggle not because of poor execution, but because alignment was never built at the start. In this episode, Kevin Pannell shares practical leadership lessons on why the first 30 days of a project matter most.Drawing from experience in healthcare IT, emergency management, and cross-organizational initiatives, he explains how clear intent, open communication, and shared expectations set the tone for successful work. If you lead projects, teams, or initiatives, these early conversations can determine whether your work moves forward smoothly or spends months correcting avoidable problems.

A lot of young people feel like they are already late. Late to choose the right major, late to land the right job, late to make real money, late to figure life out. In this episode, I share the long arc of my own path, from joining the Navy at 19 to working IT support at 25, going back to college at 29, graduating at 32 with a newborn at home, serving in public health and emergency management through my late 30s, becoming an EMS Captain at 41, and eventually leading an enterprise IT PMO. Along the way, I also built strength in my 40s, earned my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt, and continued to grow in faith and discipline. This conversation is a reminder that your twenties are not a deadline; they are a runway. You are not behind, you are building.

In this episode of People, Process, Progress, From the GWOT to Giving Back: How Clay Surratt Builds Others Through Martial Arts, host Kevin Pannell sits down with Clay Surratt, the founder of Guerrilla ATX. Together, they explore the transition from military service to civilian life and how the "mission" doesn't end when the uniform comes off—it just changes shape.Clay opens up about his journey from joining the Army in the wake of 9/11 to finding a new calling in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). He shares how he uses martial arts as a restorative practice to build men up physically, mentally, and spiritually, creating a community where veterans and civilians alike can sharpen one another.Resources mentioned:Connect with Clay Surratt:Website: Guerrilla ATXInstagram: @conscious.claySupport the Mission:Curtis Bartlett Fitness: Learn MoreVeteran Bushido Brotherhood: Support Veterans

This week’s episode, When the Bagpipes Play: Owning the Moment, Moving through the Weight, Anchoring What Comes Next, is about the weight of losing brothers and sisters in public safety, the responsibility of planning line of duty death services, and how to move through grief in a healthier way.I break it down using a simple framework:Own where you are.Move through the weight together.Anchor what comes next with connection and support.This one is for those who have carried the flag, stood watch, or covered a shift so others could grieve.Godspeed y'all,Kevin

In this Faith in Action Friday episod, Own. Move. Anchor. Lessons from The Burg Box, I follow up on my recent conversation with Jennifer Prevette, founder of The Burg Box, and reflect on what Own. Move. Anchor. really means in everyday life. I share how owning your mind is about learning to handle stress and regulate emotions, how moving your body is simple but powerful medicine for mental and physical health, and how anchoring your spirit helps keep the weight of decisions and expectations from becoming overwhelming. Jennifer’s approach to business, family, mental health, movement, and faith is a practical example of how these ideas can show up together without extremes or hype, just steady practices that support clarity, consistency, and perspective.

In this episode of People, Process, Progress of the New River Valley, I sit down with Jennifer Prevette, founder of The Burg Box, a locally rooted gift box company built around community, craftsmanship, and care.Jennifer shares her journey from studying architecture at Virginia Tech to working in marketing, to becoming a full-time mom, and eventually building a business that connects people through thoughtfully curated boxes featuring local makers. We talk about faith, intention, and what it really looks like to build something meaningful and sustainable, one box at a time.Connect with Jennifer and The Burg Box:Start with the website to explore current boxes and local makers: https://www.theburgbox.com/Follow on Instagram for new releases and behind-the-scenes updates: https://www.instagram.com/the_burg_box/?hl=enConnect on Facebook for community updates and gifting ideas: https://www.facebook.com/theburgbox/More conversations highlighting the people, process, and progress shaping the New River Valley at https://peopleprocessprogress.com

This short bridge episode, Why DRiVE Still Matters in Leadership, revisits key leadership lessons from Drive by Daniel Pink. The focus is on why autonomy, mastery, and purpose continue to shape motivation, engagement, and performance in modern organizations, especially in complex and remote environments. This episode also connects recent reflections with an upcoming conversation with Jennifer Prevette, Founder and Owner of The Burg Box.Episode Highlights:Autonomy without trust leads to isolationMastery stalls when growth paths are unclearPurpose fades when communication declinesRemote work amplifies existing leadership gapsMotivation often declines before performance does