Last updated: November 9, 2026
This policy explains what we collect when you visit sjwleadership.com, why we collect it, and what you can do about it.
The short version
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers.
- We run no advertising and we do not track you across other websites.
- Analytics run without cookies unless you choose Accept on the banner.
- If you join the newsletter, we keep your name and email until you unsubscribe.
Who we are
SJW Leadership publishes The Success Journey Wheel by Joseph E. Whitaker Jr. and provides leadership training. This website is https://sjwleadership.com. For anything in this policy, write to contact@sjwleadership.com.
What we collect
When you join the newsletter
We collect your first name, last name and email address. Recorded alongside the submission: the page you submitted from, the referring page, your IP address and your browser user agent. Your subscription is stored in the website database by our email plugin, MailPoet, together with the date you signed up, the IP address you signed up from, and whether you confirmed. We send a confirmation email first and only start emailing you once you click it.
We use this only to send updates about the book, the programs and related news. Every email carries an unsubscribe link, and you can also write to contact@sjwleadership.com to be removed.
Our emails record whether they are opened and which links are clicked, so we can see what readers find useful. If you follow a link from one of our emails to this site, MailPoet may set a cookie named mailpoet_page_view to note that visit.
When you request the free chapter
The form on our free chapter page collects your first name, last name and email address. Requesting the free chapter also subscribes you to the newsletter, as the form states, and everything above applies. Once you confirm, we email you the download link. We also note that you requested the sample, so we do not send it twice. Unsubscribing stops all emails.
When you use the contact form
We receive whatever you write in it, along with the same technical details listed above. We use it to answer you and nothing else.
When you comment on a post
We collect the name, email address and comment you submit, plus your IP address and browser user agent, which help identify spam. Comments and their metadata may be kept indefinitely so that follow-up comments can be recognised automatically.
If you have a Gravatar account, an anonymised string created from your email address (a hash) may be sent to Gravatar so your avatar can be displayed. Gravatar’s privacy policy is at automattic.com/privacy.
When you simply read the site
We collect analytics, described in the next section. Separately, our web host keeps standard server logs — IP address, request, timestamp, user agent — for security and troubleshooting.
Analytics and cookies
We use PostHog (PostHog, Inc., United States) to count visits and see which pages people read. Analytics run on every visit, but how they run depends on your choice:
- Before you choose, or if you decline — PostHog runs in memory only. No cookies, nothing stored in your browser, and no identifier that outlives the page. We can see that a visit happened and which pages it touched. We cannot connect it to your next visit.
- If you accept — PostHog stores an identifier in your browser (a cookie and a local storage entry beginning
ph_) so that repeat visits are recognised as the same person. Nothing beyond that changes.
What PostHog receives either way: pages viewed, clicks, the referring site, an approximate location derived from your IP address, and browser and device type. We do not use it for advertising and we have not enabled session recording. PostHog’s own privacy policy is at posthog.com/privacy.
How your choice is stored
Your answer to the banner is saved in your browser’s local storage under sjw_cookie_consent. It is not a cookie, it is never sent to us, and it exists only so the banner stops asking. Clearing your browser data clears it.
Changing your mind
You can reopen the cookie settings at any time. Declining after having accepted also removes the PostHog identifier from your browser.
Other cookies
WordPress sets a cookie only if you leave a comment, so your name and email can be filled in next time, or if you log in as an author. Our form plugin may set a _wpfuuid cookie to tell one form submission from another. Our newsletter plugin, MailPoet, may set a mailpoet_page_view cookie when you arrive from a link in one of our emails. We set no advertising or social media cookies. The only third-party cookies possible are YouTube’s, and only if you play the video described below.
Embedded video
Our Book page includes a video hosted on YouTube, a Google service. We embed it in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). When that page loads, your browser fetches the video player from YouTube, which shares your IP address, browser details and the page address with them; YouTube does not set cookies at that point. If you press play, YouTube may set cookies or store data on your device and record your viewing, under Google’s Privacy Policy. If you would rather not, don’t play the video — you can watch it on YouTube directly instead.
Who we share your data with
- Bluehost — our web host. The site and its database live on their servers in the United States.
- PostHog, Inc. — analytics, as described above.
- YouTube (Google LLC) — hosts the video on our Book page, as described above. Data only reaches them from your browser when you view that page or play the video.
- MailPoet (Automattic Inc.) — our newsletter plugin. Subscriptions are stored in our website database, and newsletters, confirmation emails and the free chapter email are delivered through the MailPoet Sending Service.
- Email delivery — form notifications and our replies to you are sent through our host’s mail service.
That is the whole list. We do not sell or rent personal information. We would disclose data if the law required it of us.
How long we keep it
- Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe or ask to be removed.
- Form submissions: kept only in our email inbox, and deleted on request.
- Comments: indefinitely, unless you ask us to remove them.
- Analytics: retained in our PostHog account under its standard retention settings, and deleted on request.
- Server logs: for as long as our host retains them.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to tell you what we hold about you, correct it, delete it, send you a copy of it, or stop emailing you. Write to contact@sjwleadership.com and we will respond within 30 days. There is no charge, and we will not treat you differently for asking.
If you are in the UK or the EU: our lawful basis is your consent for analytics and for the newsletter, and legitimate interest for security logging and for replying to messages you send us. You may withdraw consent at any time, and you may complain to your national data protection authority.
If you are in California: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are used in the CCPA, and we have not done so in the preceding twelve months.
Children
This site is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us information, write to contact@sjwleadership.com and we will delete it.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS. No website can promise perfect security, and we will not pretend otherwise.
Changes to this policy
We update this page when the site changes, and the date at the top changes with it.
Contact
Questions about this policy, or a request about your data: contact@sjwleadership.com