Everybody eats

Everybody Eats: Building a Culture Where No One Gets Left Behind

As a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan, the past few seasons have been both exhilarating, exciting, and disappointing to watch. The phrase, “always a bridesmaid and never a bride,” comes to mind. That said, I can’t think of a more authentic representation of life than the Bills organization.

Their storied history has been filled with good times and bad times, elation and heartbreak, wins and losses, spectacular moments, and days where things just didn’t go their way.

Through all of it, there have been three components that should exist in every individual’s life: a scoreboard, a never-ending process of chasing excellence, and tremendous resilience. Life ALWAYS has a scoreboard...

One of the slogans the Bills organization embraced in the 2024 season was “everybody eats”. Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady coined the term to build a climate and culture (yes…they’re two different things) of mutual trust, selfless devotion to the collective effort, and mastery of individual roles.

The American Excellence Initiative just hosted the inaugural Front Line Strong (FLS) Wellness and Resilience Summit last week at TPC Summerlin in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. The energy in the room exceeded my expectations.

FLS was a testament to what happens when we embrace the philosophy that "Everybody Eats." This powerful concept, rooted in the understanding that our collective strength comes from ensuring no one gets left behind, became the heartbeat of two transformative days that brought together law enforcement officers, clinical psychologists, and wellness advocates from across the nation.

In the high-stakes world of front-line professionals, the phrase "Everybody Eats" goes far beyond sharing resources. It represents a fundamental shift from survival mode to thriving mode. A recognition that when we lift each other up, we all rise higher.  Remember, “a rising tide lifts all ships”.

For two days, we were able to create an environment where vulnerability wasn't a weakness, seeking help wasn’t failure, and taking care of our own wasn’t just a saying. It's not. It is actually a sacred duty and our obligation to ourselves, our loved ones, and our bigger purpose in life.

Chaos theory tells us that life is made up of independent chaotic systems. Although these systems don’t control each other, they certainly impact each other, and they’re very sensitive to inputs.

We also know that life is generally outcome-based. There’s danger in this because even though a person may do “all the right things”, a negative outcome is still possible. Conversely, a person can do all the wrong things and still receive a positive outcome.

Thus, our “scoreboard” isn’t always representative of our process. But the score is the score. As a result, it is imperative to run the right process in mass to get as close to your desired result as possible. Hence, the Law of Large Numbers.

These aren't abstract concepts; they're the daily realities that every person faces. In the world of guardians and warriors, it’s exacerbated by the weight of responsibility, the constant exposure to trauma, and the cultural pressures that often discourage seeking help.

The concept "Everybody Eats" is significant: instead of each person carrying these burdens alone, we acknowledged them collectively. When everybody eats, nobody goes hungry in silence. Someone, though, has to have the strength to have the conversation.

The statistics surrounding Law Enforcement suicide are staggering, and the silence around mental health challenges in the ranks has been deadly. Suicide in our veteran community is far beyond being a crisis; it’s an epidemic.

When mental health, wellness, and resilience are addressed from an "Everybody Eats" mindset, we transform bystanders into active participants in each other's resilience and success. This needs to occur at both the individual and organizational levels.

Individual growth and organizational health are inseparable. When organizations invest in personal development for all ranks, they're practicing "Everybody Eats" at the institutional level. When a person takes agency over their own personal development, they set the standard on an individual level for the rest of the organization.

In essence, it becomes the climate change that is needed for a cultural shift. Real culture shift, the kind of strategic culture shift that recognizes every person's potential contribution and invests in their capacity to deliver it.

The diverse representation at Front Line Strong, from patrol officers to chiefs, from active duty to retired, from law enforcement to corporate security to clinical professionals, from street cops to corrections, demonstrated what happens when we expand our definition of "our people". Cross-pollination of perspectives and experiences is "Everybody Eats" in action. Wisdom, support, and solutions can come from anywhere.

At an institutional macro-level, here are four practices that can be implemented that WILL have immediate returns for your organization:

Daily Practice: Look for opportunities to share resources, knowledge, and support with colleagues at all levels. Have the conversation. Be a model of what leadership, wellness, and resilience should look like, regardless of your current assignment or role.

Intentionality: Ensure that wellness initiatives, training opportunities, and support systems reach everyone. There are many who will never directly ask for help due to the perceived stigma within our community. Make it clear that it’s ok to not be ok and build organizational trust in your process. Additionally, celebrate those who are already modeling wellness, resilience, and personal development.  

Courageous Leadership: Model vulnerability, seek help when needed, and create safe spaces for others to do the same. Truth and honesty build trust, and trust is the foundation of any relationship, particularly one that involves power dynamics and risk.

System Building: Advocate for policies and practices that support the whole person, not just the agency. This is an investment in human capital, which seems sadly absent in many military or paramilitary organizations. Make the best possible outcome undeniable. Table-top for the worst possible outcomes to avoid causing secondary and tertiary traumatic events by how a crisis was handled.

The Front Line Strong Summit proved that when we create spaces where everybody eats: where every rank, every role, and every person has access to the tools, support, and opportunities they need to thrive, the outcome is predictable. Relationships form, barriers break down, and real change becomes possible.

The inaugural Front Line Strong Wellness and Resilience Summit succeeded because it was built on a simple premise: everybody deserves to thrive, everybody has something to contribute, and everybody benefits when we take care of each other.

In a profession where we're trained to run toward danger for others, "Everybody Eats" reminds us that we must also run toward each other in times of need. Survival is the lowest of bars.

The event is over, but the mission is omnipresent. When everybody eats, everybody wins. Stay the course…practice wellness and personal development, affect the climate, change the culture. If I can be of assistance in providing solutions to any problems you’re wrestling with, reach out and schedule a discovery call so that we can have a conversation.

I’ll wrap this one up with one of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s most prolific quotes:

 “Be good, do good, God bless, and go Bills!”

Words to live by

Everybody eats, including the Nellis AFB Honor Guard, at FLS 2025

The American Excellence Initiative continues to elevate leadership, bolster wellness, and foster resilience through speaking, training, and coaching services designed specifically for front-line personnel. For more information about upcoming events and services, visit www.theaei.net.