MAHONEY’S MOMENTS
Jim has written regular leadership-related blog posts, along with other several other leaders, for Ohio University’s Voinovich Academy. On this page, you can read his monthly blog posts, Mahoney’s Moments. These moments are aimed at a variety of topics and the content is designed for the moment and intended to cause you to reflect, perhaps consider an approach, or entertain a new idea in your life or work. Enjoy!
March 2026: A Look at Homeboy Industries
Have you ever had one of those experiences where even as it happened, you knew you were never going to be the same? Mine occurred last week when I visited Homeboy Industries in downtown Los Angeles. The experience became solidified when I heard the founder, Father Greg Boyle, speak about his experiences and offer some of his well-earned wisdom with this group that he founded in 1992.
His wisdom comes from nearly 40 years of leading the largest and most successful gang intervention and rehabilitation program on the planet. Homeboy Industries is the name given to his string of non-profit social enterprises designed to give worthy work to formerly incarcerated “homies and homegirls.” I had dinner last Sunday night in his Homegirl Cafe and heard partial stories of employees—told by themselves—who earlier in their lives had been drug addicts, gangbangers, and often homeless. Today, Homeboy Industries employs 100’s of people who in former lives had long given up on themselves.
I saw and listened firsthand to the culture that has been created by former gang members, nourished by Father G, and now sustained for over 30 years. Father G, in his talk to us, said Homeboy has two principles: (1) All people are unshakably good; and (2) They belong to one another. Their power and agency come from knowing who they are. As he describes it, “we don’t bestow power on people. We just tell them who they are.”
Does Homeboy support work for everyone? No. They must want it. It’s why 1000’s of former gang members travel through Homeboy for a chance at something better. Father G has a vault of stories and memories from which he speaks. As he shared several anecdotes, the ending of one stood out to me. A young man had turned his life around and Father G said, “I’m proud of you.” But the young man’s answer was even better when he replied, “I’m proud of myself .”
I’ve always believed that the best way out of poverty is a job. Seeing this social entrepreneurship network of industries and accompanying support has only reaffirmed that notion. Listening to “G” who stepped into the ground zero gang culture in Los Angeles in the 80’s and seeing his work in real time as it continues is transformative. As one of the workers in his cafe shared, “here we are seen, not watched.” A pretty worthy goal—to actually see people and get to know them. Offer compassion, kinship, and love.