294. How the Mighty Fall with Ford Taylor

In this powerful follow-up to our “Samson: Cut Your Own Hair” episode, Andy Mason sits down with leadership expert Ford Taylor to unpack the real-life consequences of unchecked pride, overwork, and isolation in leadership—and the path to redemption. Ford vulnerably shares how he went from leading a $300M company to personal and professional collapse… and what it took to rebuild. This episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating the messy intersection of faith, family, and business.

Read the blog: Heaveninbusiness.com/blog/how-the-mighty-fall-and-rise-again-if-you-let-god-in

🎯 Key Takeaways:

• The 5 stages of leadership and organizational decline from How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins

• How Ford ignored early warning signs… and paid the price

• The role of arrogance, insecurity, and needing validation

• Why Ford now teaches “bumper buddies” instead of accountability partners

• How consecration, confession, and humility brought restoration

• A leadership prayer you’ll want to bookmark and use daily

📚 Resources Mentioned:

How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins

Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud

Relactional Leadership by Ford Taylor: 

Heaveninbusiness.com/free-trial

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro & context from the Samson episode
03:00 – Ford’s background & business success
06:30 – Stage 1: Pride born of success
13:00 – Stage 2: The pursuit of more & hidden insecurity
18:00 – Stage 3: Denial of risk, ignoring red flags
22:00 – Stage 4: Crisis, culture breakdown, and secrets
27:00 – Stage 5: Collapse and opportunity for restoration
32:00 – How Ford cut his own hair and found redemption
36:00 – Baseball bat covenant & bumper buddies
38:00 – Leadership prayer & final encouragement

🙏 Prayer Highlight:
“Give me the courage to be humble and the humility to be courageous.”

🔗 Connect with Ford Taylor:

• Website: TransformLead.com

• Book: Relactional Leadership

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