Abacoa & Alton Neighbors - November 2026

N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 6 | A B A C O A & A LT O N N E I G H B O R S 9 its support for the local community. They also participate together in other local 5Ks, making running another way father and daughter connect with their community. His children's schools became another important part of that involvement. At his daughter’s middle school, Carter has taken a leadership role in the booster club, helping raise money for athletic programs and reaching out to local businesses for support. The arts are equally important to the Carter family. Another of his daughters is an accomplished elite dancer. His wife is an art historian and cultural enthusiast. Together, those connections have made supporting the local arts community another meaningful part of the family's life in Palm Beach County. For Carter, those efforts are not separate from his ideas about leadership. They are examples of the same principle: find ways to contribute to the communities that become part of your life. Music has provided another connection. Drumming was part of Carter's life long before he arrived in Florida, but it has also helped him build relationships here. When his daughters were in preschool, Carter ran drum circles for the children, echoing the same instinct that led him to organize that first drum circle at Columbia after September 11. Today he drums through the local School of Rock, supporting a Palm Beach Gardens business while continuing to play music with people in the community. Another band brings together people whose day jobs could hardly be more different—a local doctor, two engineers, and Carter—but who share a connection through music. For Carter, that is part of what community looks like. His involvement also extends into the local business community. Best Practice Institute is active with the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce and is serving as the People & Culture Sponsor of HarborFest this October. Carter's interest is not simply in having his company's name attached to a local event. He wants BPI to be part of the business community around it and, as the company grows, to find more of its people here. That local focus fits naturally with the work Carter has spent his career pursuing. Most Loved Workplace® grew from his research into the connection people have with the organizations where they work. The Love of Workplace Index® measures how connected employees feel to their workplace. It uses SPARK, a framework Carter developed through his research, to understand whether people work well together, feel hopeful about the future, share the company’s values, treat each other with respect, and accomplish meaningful goals together. But for Carter, those ideas are not limited to the workplace. “Leadership is about building relationships grounded in mutual respect,” Carter said. “It’s an ongoing conversation about what we can accomplish together, how we support each other, and how we follow through.” That phrase—better together—appears in many parts of Carter's life. “Leadership starts with asking how we make each other’s lives better,” he added. “That matters at work, at home and in the community.” One of the most significant influences on Carter's leadership has been Marshall Goldsmith, whom he describes as a mentor for 25 years. “He's had a big impact on how I think and how I lead, in hard times and good,” Carter said. “I've taken that philosophy to everything I do and whomever I'm with.” Yet some of Carter's most important lessons have come closer to home. Carter and his wife begin each morning by praying together, a private routine that reflects the importance he places on family and on beginning the day grounded in something larger than work.