MCKENZIE STALNAKER SHANNON LARWA
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Young Guns
Skip Lineberg and the surrounding area.
Aside from his most significant achievement— raising two children with his wife— Lineberg is most proud of the group of community leaders he was a part of that helped raise $ 15 million to build the CAMC Cancer Center located in Kanawha City, WV.
“ That was a lengthy and very strategic plan with a multi-faceted marketing campaign that was carried out well by many contributors over those five years,” Lineberg says.“ I’ ll never to stop learning and growing.”
The purpose of the podcast is to allow listeners to dive into the main things the special guests have gained from their life experiences and what advice or wisdom they wish to share. Lineberg says everything published aims to help listeners make their lives a little bit easier.
“ It’ s uncanny how, sometimes, the wisdom nugget revealed by the guest will be exactly what I need to hear in that moment,” he says.“ One example would be Episode 23 featuring the wisdom of Dr. Rob Carter, an author
CLASS OF 2002
In 2002, Skip Lineberg was featured as one of West Virginia Executive’ s Young Guns. At the time, Lineberg was highly involved in several West Virginia nonprofit organizations. This dedication has not wavered as the years have passed.
Lineberg describes his career as a remarkable journey marked by exploration, adaptation and growth. He dedicated many years to entrepreneurship and small business leadership, collaborating with exceptional partners and colleagues. In 2010, Lineberg began to transition into leadership roles across three diverse sectors: law, telecommunications and health care. Over the span of 23 years, he continued his work in West Virginia, providing for his family, raising two children and making meaningful contributions to the creative community in Charleston
“ Don’ t go it alone. Instead, surround yourself with good, wise, smart people whom you can trust and who will give you candid feedback. Seek input on your ideas and test your assumptions.”
forget the emotions of attending the groundbreaking ceremony— the one to place the final steel beam and, ultimately, the grand opening celebration. Today, any time I am driving by that beautiful building and one of my kids is with me, I always point to it and say,‘ This will be part of my legacy long after I am gone.’”
A more recent venture of Lineberg’ s is his advice and wisdom-centered podcast,“ The Main Thing Podcast.” Lineberg was first introduced to podcasting while working for Frontier Communications, where he helped publish 65 episodes over three years. At the conclusion of that venture, Lineberg decided he wanted to continue podcasting on his own. This subsequently led to the creation of“ The Main Thing Podcast” which allows him to reflect on his passion for wisdom, learning and growth.
“ Over the course of my lifetime, I have always had an appetite for acquiring wisdom from folks older, wiser and more experienced than me,” he says.“‘ The Main Thing Podcast’ is a continuation of that passion and my quest for wisdom. Simply put, I never want and neuroscientist, whose message landed on me during a time when I was working to overcome a tendency toward people-pleasing. Dr. Carter said,‘ Don’ t allow yourself to be a football of others’ opinions.’ It gave me such a strong boost of encouragement.”
Lineberg isn’ t just a mentor to others; he is also a mentee who has always been willing to learn something new. Throughout his career, Lineberg has had many mentors, one being Dr. Jack Byrd of West Virginia University’ s College of Engineering, whom Lineberg still looks to for guidance.
As Lineberg reflects on his career, he offers some advice to aspiring entrepreneurs in West Virginia.
“ Don’ t go it alone,” he says.“ Instead, surround yourself with good, wise, smart people whom you can trust and who will give you candid feedback. Seek input on your ideas’ and test your assumptions. Finally, if you enter any business partnerships, be sure you know those people very deeply and thoroughly. Treat that relationship as intentionally and as seriously as you would a marriage.” •
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