I write about the intersection of traditional commerce and digital leverage, testing new systems where the code meets the gavel.
My perspective is built on more than three decades of active operations, beginning in 1992 at my grandfather’s estate auction (a formative moment that sparked my lifelong commitment to the industry). Today, as Partner and Chief Marketing & Technology Officer at Grafe Auction Company, I help run a national platform conducting nearly 290 commercial and industrial online auctions annually across all 48 states. This is high-volume, real-world commerce where digital theories are quickly validated or discarded by actual market transactions. Before my time at Grafe, I spent sixteen years as Vice President of Operations and Auctioneer at Schultz Auctioneers Landmark Realty.
Beyond daily business operations, I believe in upskilling the next generation of practitioners. I served as the 76th President of the National Auction Association (2024, 2025) and currently serve as Board Chair. I also serve as Lead Instructor for the Auction Marketing Management (AMM) program and develop the artificial intelligence curriculum for the Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI) at Indiana University. Previously, I served as the 60th President of the Minnesota State Auctioneers Association and was the founding President of the Minnesota State Auctioneer’s Foundation.
My contributions to the industry have been recognized with the Pat Massart Leadership Award, the National Auction Association President’s Award of Distinction, and the Golden Gavel Award from the Minnesota State Auctioneers Association.
I live in Grand Meadow, Minnesota, with my wife Billie Jo and our daughter Anna Claire.
What I Write About
Leadership in small, high-trust organizations relies on self-sustaining systems rather than individual heroics. I explore how clear operational principles outperform predictions and how resilient structures are built on shared transparency.
The space between understanding a concept and executing it is where most leadership failures occur. I write about closing this execution gap, moving from theoretical knowledge to daily, disciplined habits.
Technology is leverage, not a replacement for human judgment. I explore how artificial intelligence can be practically integrated into traditional businesses to automate administration while preserving the expertise that matters.
Vulnerability and authenticity are often dismissed as soft skills, but in high-stakes environments, they are concrete competitive advantages. I study how honesty builds trust faster than any polished corporate messaging.
Useful ideas rarely stay in one lane. I trace patterns across history, literature, and everyday operations, looking for the underlying frameworks that explain how people behave and how markets function.
The most honest form of education happens when you are still figuring it out yourself. I believe that proximity is a credential, and the person one step ahead in the fog often teaches better than the expert in a helicopter.
Every piece of writing on this site begins as a handwritten thought card, a brief, index-card-sized observation jotted down after conversations, books, or days spent on the road. Some of these remain as raw thought cards. Others grow and merge into essays when unexpected connections emerge. When several cards begin to circle the same theme, I compile them into concepts, which serve as living, evolving overviews tracing how an idea develops across different sources and over time.