John C. Maxwell’s Legacy Continues as Successor, Mark Cole, Rebrands the Company

In case you missed our announcement earlier this month, we’re so excited to share that we are changing the name of the John Maxwell Company. Going forward, we are Maxwell Leadership: one unified brand with one unified voice, offering you the opportunity to lead powerful, positive change in yourself, others and the world through values-based leadership. We are leading with one message instead of one messenger, and we are so excited to share this moment in our growth with you!

In this video, John and Mark discuss more about this change and what it means for you and the future of Maxwell Leadership.

“We believe everyone is valuable and that everyone deserves to be led well. Now, and into the future. This isn’t changing. It’s who we are. What’s changing is our ability to create organizational capacity to reach and serve more leaders through Maxwell Leadership.”

Video Transcript (Abbreviated)

Mark: We’re here to share with you that we are changing the name of the John Maxwell Company and to explain why. But it’s bigger than a name change and rebrand.  It’s about building a future on the foundation John has set for us, and all we serve.

John: This is something we’ve been talking about for a long time. The opportunities for us to teach value-based leadership principles to companies, countries, organizations, and individuals continues to grow, way beyond what I could have ever imagined.

Mark: As these opportunities continue to grow and expand, we began asking the question, “How do we steward these opportunities not just this year, but 5, 10, 25 years from now?”  It eventually led us to this question: “How do we create an organization that shifts from Founder to Foundation, building on the legacy of John but not being solely dependent on John?”

John: As you all know, it’s never been about me. It’s been about the leaders we serve, now and in the future. The challenge for any founder is to make sure the organization thrives after they are gone.  In fact, that might be the ultimate leadership test for any leader. What happens to the organization after you’re gone? My deep desire is for this organization to continue to add value to leaders well after my time here.

Mark: You can’t have success without a successor. Now, I need to make it clear. John’s not going anywhere!! He is more active and engaged in what we’re doing than ever before. And yet, what we are doing is simply making an organizational change that will strengthen the organization for years to come allowing us to add value and serve more and more people.

All that said, I’m happy to announce we are changing our name from the John Maxwell Company to Maxwell Leadership.  As we began this process, we asked the question, “What is John most known for, and what do we want to be known for?”  And while John is known for so many positive attributes, the feedback was clear.  John is most known for his speaking, teaching and writing on leadership. In fact, our publisher told us that John has written more on leadership than anyone in the world.

John: As I thought about the name change and rebrand, I wanted to make sure we remained true to our approach to values-based leadership.  One of the many reasons I’m so excited about this change is because of something that isn’t changing: We believe everyone is valuable, and that everyone deserves to be led well. Now, and into the future. This isn’t changing.  It’s who we are. What’s changing is our ability to create organizational capacity to reach and serve more leaders through Maxwell Leadership.

Mark: Practically speaking, what does it look like to build an organization that is shifting from Founder to Foundation? In order to expand our capabilities, we have to expand our thought leadership. We’ve selected some pretty incredible thought leaders who will do for you what John’s been doing for me for more than 35 years – inspiring and teaching what it means to lead well. John, you’ve also been a guide to me and so many of us – a guide to how to communicate well, lead well, equip others well, have an attitude that inspires, and relationships that lead to transformation: C.L.E.A.R. leadership and growth. And now we have five guides who will help us along that journey of personal and professional growth. We’ve expanded. We’re bigger because you have made us bigger.

John: Well, we’re bigger because we want to be better. For our 40,000 John Maxwell Team Certified Coaches, I just want you to know how grateful I am for each of you.  We are changing the name to Maxwell Leadership Certified Coaches, which we believe will help you continue to serve the leaders and organizations in your community for years to come. You’ve heard us talk about changing your world the last couple of years and you are certainly doing that as a Certified Coach. 

John: As we close, I just want to reiterate what Mark said. I’m not going anywhere.  I’m more committed to serving leaders around the world and adding as much value to them and their organizations as I possibly can.  But I’m also excited about this change and what it means not just now, but for the future of those we serve. 

Mark: And I would like to add an invitation.  If you are not a part of our Maxwell Leadership community through our weekly podcast, emails or Minute with Maxwell, you can simply click below and join us.  We have big plans and would love for you to be a part of it.  We believe everyone is valuable, and everyone deserves to be led well. That’s the future of Maxwell Leadership, and we invite you to join us.

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