GREAT LEADERS do four things, consistently:
1. they DISCOVER.
From the greatest minds in business, we discover the guiding principles and learn the fundamental rules that have built the most respected companies and strengthened the most successful leaders in America.
America’s Business Library gives business leaders access to timeless principles distilled from the most influential books ever written.
The Rules for building strong companies have not changed in decades. Master these Rules and strengthen your foundation.
2. they PRACTICE.
The knowledge we acquire has little value until it actually changes how (and why) we lead our businesses; how we lead ourselves and others and how we serve our communities.
yourWeeklyEdge is a self-guided, one-year course that is a true entrepreneurial challenge to complete, not because the Rules are complex, but because they demand discipline.
Th cirriculum is strategically designed to slow you down; keep you focused on the fundamentals and give your organization a competitive edge.
3. they CONTRIBUTE.
Every business leader writes their own story; of risks, rewards, hard-earned lessons, turning points and the impact it’s had on their lives and the lives of those they lead. Each of those stories is worth sharing.
After all, if we’re not teaching, we’re not really leading.
Through 10k Leaders Study Groups and Add Your Insight, executives share their experiences, expanding the collective wisdom available to those who follow our path. Your insight might be the turning point someone else is waiting for.
4. they PRESERVE.
The Executives Institute enables us to leave our profession stronger than we found it; to help entrepreneurs overcome real-world obstacles; and to help hardworking people keep moving forward.
Together, we steward America’s entrpreneurial wisdom.
Through Donor Support and a The Executives Institute Endowment, we invest in America’s builders; the risk-takers, innovators and job creators —for this generation and the next.
our Core Values; our enduring commitment:
At The Executives Institute, we believe leadership is more than a title, a position, or a collection of skills, it is a lifelong discipline. The greatest leaders never stop learning, never stop refining their judgment, never stop investing in others, and never stop thinking about the legacy they will leave behind. These are more than our core values; they are a way of thinking about leadership itself. They define how we approach business, how we serve one another, and how we fulfill our mission of preserving and advancing America’s entrepreneurial wisdom. Every program, every conversation, and every contribution to the Institute is guided by these four enduring commitments: Discover. Practice. Contribute. Preserve.
Discover
Every great leader is also a student.
We believe wisdom is earned over generations, not invented overnight. Discover means seeking out the timeless principles, proven strategies, and hard-earned lessons that have shaped successful businesses throughout history. We study the ideas that have stood the test of time, not because the past has all the answers, but because it provides the strongest foundation for solving today’s challenges.
Practice
Knowledge changes nothing until it changes how you lead.
Reading a great idea is easy. Living it is far more difficult. Practice means intentionally applying timeless business principles in the daily realities of leadership —making decisions, serving customers, building teams, and overcoming setbacks. Progress is measured not by what we know, but by what we consistently do.
Contribute
Every leader has something worth passing on.
No book contains every lesson. Some of the most valuable insights come from experience, the failures that reshaped us, the decisions that tested us, and the moments that changed the course of our businesses. Contribute means sharing those lessons generously so others can learn faster, avoid unnecessary mistakes, and build upon the experience of those who came before them.
Preserve
The greatest legacy of leadership is what remains after we’re gone.
Business wisdom is too valuable to disappear with retirements, career changes, or the passing of a generation. Preserve means protecting the principles, stories, and practical knowledge that define American entrepreneurship and ensuring they remain freely available for those who follow. Through thoughtful stewardship, generous support, and a commitment to future generations, we help build a resource that will continue strengthening leaders long after our own careers have ended.
~ a note from our Founder
Strip away the industry, the decade, the technology, and the personalities, and you’ll find something remarkable. America’s greatest business leaders walked many of the same roads. They read many of the same books. They wrestled with many of the same decisions. They made many of the same mistakes. And over time, they arrived at many of the same enduring principles. With your help, at The Executives Institute, we’re going to organize those principles and preserve the stories, for generations of entrepreneurs who choose to follow our path.
I’ll be 59 this summer, and I’ve spent many of my 40 years in business, working directly with owners, operators and business executives. Through the years I’ve been recommended the same books 100 times, heard the same advice be given in different context, repeatedly, noticed most of us making the same mistakes, then, having similar turning points or moments of clarity. I’ve also been privileged to hear some incredible success stories. We all have our story, and those stories deserve to live on, long past the entrepreneurs and founders who lived them.
This year, 2026, we’re building it, (our intent is that it will never actually be finished) and we’re inviting executives across the U.S. to help shape the cirriculum by sharing the lessons they’ve learned. My hope is that years from now, someone starting a business will have one place to study not just the great business books, but the wisdom of the people who actually built companies.
If this resonates with you, I hope you’ll join us in building something that lasts. One day, someone you’ll never meet will face a business challenge you’ve already overcome. Your experience could become the advice that changes their future.
Thank you. Kurt McSparron | Connect with me on LinkedIn or email
“As business leaders continue to add their insights and challenge these ideas, this list becomes more valuable —not because it’s finished, but because it never will be.”
Our first full operating year begins Monday, January 4, 2027.
The Vision
- 📚 100 Fundamental Rules
- 📖 1000 Timeless Business Books
- 💬 10,000 Executive Insights
- 🧭 Engaged Business Leaders across all 50 States