The theme for the March 23-24 Nexstar Owners Spotlight in Atlanta was “Leadership Unleashed: Smashing your Personal Limits.”

A total of 247 attendees learned leadership skills that will help them inspire future leaders in their respective plumbing, heating and cooling companies. Day one began with Nexstar President and CEO Jack Tester, who talked about visualizing your company’s future and what matters when it comes to leadership.

His sentiments were echoed in Nextstar Network Training Manager Keith Mercurio’s discussion on the cornerstones of beliefs: physiology, focus and language. These cornerstones were touched upon by all the keynote speakers on both days.

Keynote speaker David Rendall, author of “The Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness,” taught attendees how to identify their strengths and weaknesses, the knowledge of which can make them stronger.

Motivational speaker Les Brown encouraged attendees to never let someone else’s opinion of them determine who they are going to be.

“Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else,” he said. “You have the ability to do more than you can ever imagine.”

World-champion adventure racer Robyn Benincasa applied the teamwork and skills needed to win an adventure race to building a great team in business.

“It is about T.E.A.M.W.O.R.K: total commitment, empathy and awareness, adversity management, mutual respect, ‘we’ thinking, ownership of the project, relinquishment of ego and kinetic leadership,” she said.

Rod Hairston, chairman and CEO of Envision U, encouraged members to step outside their comfort zone. “Go from certainty to uncertainty, stay emotional, stay connected and don’t let the unconscious mind take away the energy and drive achieved during this event,” he said.

Read here for more on this event.

This article was originally titled “Nexstar: Leadership and personal strength” in the May 2016 print edition of Plumbing & Mechanical.