AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

John L. Mariotti is the President, CEO, and Founder of The Enterprise Group, a coalition of time-shared executive advisors™ established in 1994. He has served as a director on several corporate boards, including Chairman of World Kitchen and board positions at Henkel Consumer Adhesives, Doskocil/Petmate, Levick Strategic Communications, Union Tools, and HomeCare Industries.

Before founding The Enterprise Group, Mariotti was President of the Rubbermaid Office Products Group (1992–1994), overseeing nine multinational divisions across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Previously, as President of Huffy Bicycles (1982–1992), he led the company to global leadership as the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world, pioneering industry practices in global sourcing, total quality management, lean production, and mass customization.

John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bradley University and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin. Early in his career he worked in electronics research and development at Automatic Electric Laboratories, followed by significant roles at L.R. Nelson Corporation, guiding its growth and acquisitions over twelve years.

Mariotti is an accomplished author with ten published books, including award-winning business titles such as The Shape Shifters — Continuous Change for Competitive Advantage, recognized among the “Top Ten Resources for Leaders,” and The Complexity Crisis, selected as one of the “Best Business Books” by Soundview Executive Summaries.

His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Business Week, IndustryWeek, and Executive Excellence. He has been a columnist for IndustryWeek, the American Management Association, Fortune Small Business, and American Express Open Forum. His expertise has been featured on CNBC’s Today’s Business and Power Lunch and MSNBC’s Your Business, and he hosted his own radio program, The Life of Business and the Business of Life.

Since 2001 he has published the weekly newsletter THE ENTERPRISE, now available publicly via his blog “Telling It Like It Is!” He also hosted the invitation-only executive gathering known as The Reunion Conference™ for sixteen years. John continues to inspire audiences through keynote speaking, consulting engagements, and published insights, emphasizing practical wisdom for business leaders around the world.

Daniel Harry is the author of The Jesus Ring, Shadows, and Ramblings of an Old Poot. He lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, with his wife, Cathy. Known for his sharp wit and knack for storytelling, Daniel has penned numerous humorous short stories and has two new novels on the way.

Born in San Angelo and raised in the rugged oilfields of Odessa, West Texas, Daniel brings a lifetime of real-world grit to his writing. For over forty years he has led his own companies and written technical documents focused on oil and gas, chemical processing, power generation, and specialty gas plant construction, as well as industrial inspection and testing.

A proud U.S. Navy veteran, Daniel is an active supporter of several veterans’ programs. When he’s not writing, you’ll likely find him fishing, prospecting, or tinkering with inventions he jokingly admits “probably won’t ever sell — but sure are fun to build.”

The inspiration for my poetry is God. I believe that God has showered me with countless blessings, one of the most profound being a unique perspective on life. Many of us journey through life witnessing events we cannot fully comprehend, myself included. I once struggled to make sense of why certain things happened to me.

But then there came a moment of revelation — a deep understanding of life that God granted me. I began to see the reasons behind my past, the meaning of the present, and the promise of the future. We often hear stories of miraculous survival: a person hit by a car who walks away, or someone who plummets from the sky without a functioning parachute, yet somehow lives. People tend to call these instances “luck,” but I believe luck plays no part. Such individuals are spared by the grace of God. I, too, have a story to share.

On November 3, 1984, I was walking along the side of the road when a car struck me from behind. The impact left me with seven fractures in my left leg, four fractures in my pelvis, and a traumatic brain injury. I spent three weeks in a coma, four weeks attached to life support, seven months in the hospital, and two and a half years in rehabilitation. Slowly I emerged from that coma and began a long road to recovery. While I lost my sense of smell due to brain damage, I regained enough strength to live a normal life — not through luck, but because I was saved by God’s divine hand.

This experience reshaped my entire existence, granting me a newfound appreciation for life and igniting a powerful desire to build a closer relationship with God. Both my recovery and my spiritual journey have deeply influenced the poems I write, each one a reflection of my gratitude, faith, and love for the Almighty.

I hope these poems resonate with you and bring a touch of divine inspiration into your life. May God bless you abundantly.

Juli-Ann Gasper grew up in a family with a passion for exploration, spending her childhood summers on immersive camping trips to national parks. These annual three- to four-week excursions sparked her curiosity for geology, flora, fauna, and local cultures, as the family camped under the stars, cooked over campfires, and hiked through forests and canyons. Those formative experiences laid the foundation for a lifelong love of adventure and learning.

Her 32-year career at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, showcased her dedication to education. Juli-Ann was always ahead of the curve, adopting emerging technologies to engage students in new and exciting ways. She was the first professor at the university to create a web page for her classes, and received wide-eyed amazement from students when she inserted a YouTube video into a PowerPoint lecture. Beyond the classroom, her teaching experience included four semesters in the Dominican Republic and a research trip to Costa Rica, where she studied women’s cooperative businesses.

Now in her second career as a fabric artist, Juli-Ann continues to draw inspiration from nature and her travels. She developed a unique technique called layered cutaway, in which up to ten pieces of fabric are stitched together layer by layer, creating stunning three-dimensional art. Her subjects often reflect the landscapes, animals, and plants encountered on her journeys, including the Arctic north that inspired this book. Over the past two decades she has sold more than 200 pieces of art.

Retirement hasn’t slowed Juli-Ann’s thirst for adventure. She and her husband regularly embark on travel expeditions, often with their adult children. A cherished tradition is to bring home an alphabet book from each destination for the family who takes care of their home while they travel. When no such book was available during their Arctic journey, Juli-Ann decided to write one herself.