A friend forwarded an article that made a great point, and seemed ideal for an “Integrity Moment.” As I began to write, I had a nagging feeling that this story couldn’t possibly be true. My research revealed the story to be an urban legend that had been passed around as truth for over 20 years. Its fictionalized account would have ...
An entrepreneur, I’ll call Susan, who lived in Florida, called me for counsel. Later that day, Debbie, an accountant, called to discuss our free FIRE assessment. She was also from the same town in Florida. I prayed for both, but for Debbie I felt led to pray that God would bring customers and other Christians into her life. Two callers ...
When I have a project that needs done, I have wrestled with the tendency to think about how I’m going to do it. An effective leader, however, considers who’s best to do that job, and then releases it and empowers them. God created the animals, birds, and fish and could have managed them perfectly. Yet, Psalm 8:4-6 teaches, “What is ...
A friend shared that he once faced a difficult situation that he and a client were trying to resolve. Since the client was a deacon in his church, he recommended that they pray. He was shocked when his client informed him that it was Monday, not Sunday, and prayer was inappropriate at work. Many business leaders live such compartmentalized lives ...
As I spent two days in the same hotel I noticed the difference in the two hotel clerks with whom I interacted. The first young lady was bubbly, happy and very friendly. It seemed like she enjoyed her job. Her positive attitude served her well. The second clerk was a different story. Although he performed everything I requested, he did ...
Matt’s dad grew up in a volatile environment where he learned to expect hardships, failures, and disappointments. When he became a father of his own, he taught Matt to expect failure and shortcomings as a way of protecting Matt from disappointment in life. As a result, Matt claims he often struggled with the fear of success and being too cautious, ...
Many organizations are so driven to accomplish their mission that sometimes they race past major milestones or victories without pausing to celebrate. Celebrations are an important part of the journey. It can rejuvenate staff, recognize star performers, and solidify a team. In the book of Nehemiah, the Israelites had worked very hard to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and building ...
The movie, “Temple Grandin” depicts a brilliant woman trapped in a mind afflicted with autism. In spite of her challenges she discovers that she connects with cattle better than people. She’s now renown for designing cattle handling facilities. In the movie, she presents a concept to a cattle slaughterhouse that’s costly and completely out of the box. Because of her ...
While doing research on “Servant Leadership,” I stumbled across a quote credited to a seminary professor named, J. Carla Northcutt. She stated, “The goal of many leaders is to get people to think more highly of the leader. The goal of a great leader is to help people to think more highly of themselves.” The Apostle Paul understood this principle. ...
Constant reorganizations were one of the biggest drawbacks of working for large organizations. Every year, about September, the budget process would begin. Rumors about the expected casualties would start. This process would extend for months before the actual staff reductions, paralyzing most employees for much of that time. The reorganization process usually brought many closed door meetings, deception, and outright ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
