As our plane was deboarding, people were leaving row by row in an orderly fashion until it came time for us. Suddenly four young men pushed me aside and forced their way off the plane. They didn’t apologize or give a reason, they pushed through ignoring everyone else’s needs. This prompted my wife, Kathy, to ask the flight attendant, and ...
Pondering President’s Day, as a reminder of great leaders and their past struggles, is a helpful way to inspire and shape the culture of a nation. Businesses have a similar opportunity! Hebrews 11 highlights several heroes of the faith like Abraham, Moses, and Noah. The author chronicles these heroes experiences and victories as an encouragement to us. Hebrews 12:1 goes ...
Graham Walker, former CEO of Fibrebond, refused to sell his company unless the buyers gave 15% of the proceeds to his employees. Due to Walker’s generosity, the average employee received over $440,000. Mr. Walker had no obligation to bless his employees in this way, yet he did. Writing about the rich, Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:18, “They are to ...
A bank I audited as a young man had a bank president named Ron. Ron had one of the most profitable and respected banks in our system. Ron cared deeply for his team members, and for his community. Ron watched over each teammate, protecting them from verbally abusive customers and loving and serving them in their times of need. He ...
From the way he talked, everyone in the office knew that Jonah was a Christian. He spoke about going to church, volunteering to serve meals, and what he learned from his daily Bible study. Even his name hinted at his beliefs! But he also turned people away by how he acted. He frequently missed his commitments, gossiped about colleagues, and ...
For many of us, one of the hardest parts of leadership is speaking truth to one another. As someone who likes to please people, this has been particularly difficult for me over the years. If you desire your employees to become the best versions of themselves, it will occasionally require that you speak hard truths to them about the ...
John Patterson is a little-known businessman who significantly raised the level of professionalism for sales professionals. In the 1880s, Patterson founded the National Cash Register business to sell high-quality cash registers. Patterson realized his product needed much more public awareness. So, he formed a team of sales professionals who were trained to dress professionally, overcome objections, and were provided sales ...
In the 90s I owned a consulting practice. I often stayed late on New Year’s Eve, because I wanted to tally up our final profit and loss numbers! It wasn’t to greedily examine my profits. Instead, it was to determine how much extra I could give to charity before the tax year ended. Joy would fill my heart as I ...
A recent Wall Street Journal article chronicled business leaders’ complaints that too many employees are focusing on their phones or their laptops during business meetings. Some leaders acknowledged that they were guilty of the same behavior. In today’s frenetic business world, being connected is considered a prerequisite to effective leadership. But when we are more connected to our devices than ...
Walking into the conference room, I could tell my colleague was troubled. I couldn’t see her tear-filled eyes because her chin was almost on her chest. But I could tell something was wrong. Following my usual response to heavy situations, I made a joke. When she looked up – expressionless – I knew I had badly misread the situation. When ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
