My friend, Chip Ingram, tells the story of meeting with a young lady while in college. She was beautiful, popular and had a 3.7 grade average. She seemed to have it all. But soon, Chip learned that this young lady was telling herself a completely different story. Chip’s friend tearfully shared that in her family, anything less than a 4.0 ...
Seth’s employer shared with Kathy and I one evening that Seth usually does good work, but occasionally becomes sloppy and does his job just enough to get by. This was not surprising to Kathy and I because we knew of Seth’s home life and his past history. Seth’s childhood and home life had set the stage for him to mentally ...
Jeff Bramstedt was falling behind his Navy Seal teammates. His platoon leader dropped back and commanded Jeff to follow him and to keep his eyes on the platoon leader’s pants. This platoon leader took off with Jeff mustering all the strength he could to keep up. Soon, they passed all of Jeff’s teammates and they were leading the pack! When ...
During a prayer retreat, I felt God encourage me to be open to something new. Shortly thereafter, a friend challenged me with a new idea. He said, “Rick, your book, “Unconventional Business” would be a better brand than Integrity Resource Center. Have you ever considered changing?” My immediate reaction was, “Absolutely not!” My friend then challenged me to pray about ...
Valentine’s Day is one of romance and love. Love is a word rarely heard in the workplace. In part, that may be due to the limitations of the word itself. In the Greek, they have at least five different words to distinguish the different types of love, but in English, we have just one. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor. ...
A recent article from Money and the Gospel states, “we must not forget that everything we are and have is part of the stewardship paradigm.”Most of the time when we consider stewardship, we think and talk about financial stewardship. Financial stewardship is only one part of the stewardship paradigm. Stewardship encompasses putting to use and multiplying everything we are and ...
Although I fully understand the value others can bring to a task, I don’t naturally think about involving others in projects. Jesus thought differently. He often worked through others. Jesus knew involving his disciples would get the job done and change their lives personally. Luke 10:1-2 says, “Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead ...
My first job after college was with a large CPA firm. After my first performance review and raise, I decided I deserved a reward. So, I bought a new Chevrolet Monte Carlo, borrowing every dime the bank would lend. The net result was my monthly car payment far exceeded my monthly pay increase. I parlayed prosperity into poverty. Corporate America seems to ...
Martin Luther King Jr. was an unconventional leader. While many, like Malcolm X, promoted revenge and violence, Dr. King voiced a different message. Dr. King once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Although it took patience and perseverance, Dr. King’s unconventional approach made a difference. ...
One of Harvard Business Review’s management tips was about setting healthy standards of work for your team. Harvard highlighted three tips on how leaders can help their team have healthy boundaries. First, as the leader, set a good example. Remember the impact sending late night emails to staff or never taking a lunch break can have. Second, plan extra time ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
