Every community is waiting for someone to go first.
The question is — what if that someone is you?
Leadership isn't something you're born with. It's something you grow. On September 1 — my 49th birthday — I'm releasing the Mango Tree Framework: a practical leadership system I built from more than a decade of building businesses, leading a town, and transforming communities. Join the waitlist to lock in the $49 Birthday Bundle.
Join the movement — it's free to start
Roots
Your purpose — the problem you can't ignore
Trunk
Your character — what holds everything up
Branches
Your leadership — how you reach others
Fruit
Your impact — the leaders you grow
"The problem you were frustrated by is the purpose you were born to fulfill."
Meet Derrick Wood
I wasn't trying to become
a leadership expert.
I was trying to solve a problem.
I didn't run for office because I wanted a title. I ran because food truck laws in Dumfries, Virginia were broken — and nobody was fixing them. That frustration became a campaign. That campaign became more than eight years of elected leadership. And that leadership became a framework that has helped me secure millions in community investment, build cross-party relationships, and transform a town that people once overlooked.
Before I was a mayor, I was a Marine. Before I was a Marine, I was an entrepreneur. I've spent my entire adult life doing the one thing most people are afraid to do: showing up first, before the path was clear, before anyone asked me to.
Now, on the eve of my 49th birthday, I'm turning the playbook over — not as theory, not as inspiration, but as a tested framework for every reluctant leader who has ever thought: "I'm not really the person for this."
What You'll Walk Away With
A mango tree doesn't grow fruit so you can admire it.
It grows fruit so you can plant the seed.
That's what this is.
The Birthday Bundle is the vehicle. The destination is a version of you that knows your purpose, leads with conviction, and grows leaders around you.
Find the purpose that's been chasing you
The problem you can't stop thinking about isn't a distraction — it's a map. You'll learn to read it.
Lead when nobody else will
Reluctant leaders change the world — not because they had to, but because they couldn't stop themselves.
Build influence without titles
Real leadership isn't given. It's grown. You'll build the kind of trust that makes the ask almost unnecessary.
Earn trust across differences
Every $7M win started with a relationship built for no reason. You'll learn to reach before you need to.
Create lasting impact in your community
The greatest fruit you produce is not an achievement — it's another leader. You'll learn to grow them.
Lead with a framework, not just instinct
Roots. Trunk. Branches. Fruit. A proven system built over a decade of governing real communities.
The Vehicle
The Mango Tree Birthday Bundle
7 books. One framework. A decade of lessons — $49, dropping September 1.
"The problem you were frustrated by is the purpose you were born to fulfill."— Derrick Wood
Is This for You?
This is for the leader who's been
waiting for someone else to go first.
You see a problem in your community and can't stop thinking about it — but you're not sure you're "the one" to fix it.
You've been told you're a leader your whole life, but the title and the identity don't match yet.
You're a nonprofit leader, elected official, entrepreneur, or veteran who needs a framework, not just motivation.
You're ready to stop living in the memory of what leadership looked like and start living in the imagination of what it could become.
You want to build deep roots before you chase fruit — and you know the difference.
You believe your community deserves the leader you're still afraid to become — and you're tired of being afraid.
"The world doesn't need more followers waiting for permission.
It needs leaders willing to grow deep roots so they can bear lasting fruit."
Join the Movement
Roots before fruit.
This is where you start.
Reserve your spot on the waitlist. Receive the free 49 Leadership Quotes guide instantly. Lock in early-bird access to the $49 Birthday Bundle — and the exclusive Fireside Chat bonus.