Crisis – Revealer of Character

The Bible talks a lot about money. Money in itself is not evil, but the Bible states that the love of money gives root to all sorts of evil. As business leaders, we often focus on profit or success – and there is nothing wrong with that! However, as leaders, we also have the responsibility to protect the vulnerable. Our value as leaders is not so much for ourselves as it is to help others. Many leaders start out well, talking about loving people and using money . . . but often get dyslexic along the road to ‘success’ and end up loving money and using people! Oswald Chambers was quoted as saying “Not every man can carry a full cup. Sudden elevation frequently leads to pride and a fall. The most exacting test of all to survive is prosperity.”
Did you ever consider prosperity a test? Why do you think Chambers would call it the most exacting test of all? Joseph and Solomon were the first two names that came to my mind when I read his quote.

My personal belief is that lack of character may be the root issue Chambers is considering. You either have character and values or you don’t. However, all is not lost – you can build character! Businessdictionary.com defines character as: the sum total of a person’s behavioral traits, history, reputation in community, and values. Character and values only make sense in the context of a relationship. Values are shared beliefs/ideals within a culture. Stop and think about it for a minute. Ask yourself: ‘What do I value? What does God value?’

The 10 Commandments all deal with relationships – with God, with family, with others. Are we going to be a person of character or a person of conquest? Those with character define their conquest while those with a conquest mindset allow the conquest to define or change their character. Character produces life, while conquest leads to death. Values define your direction, while character is the implementation that allows you to get to your destination. Character is like the orange peel, which protects the values, which is the fruit.

God’s glory is weighty and it is character that provides the strength to carry God’s glory. Character is proven, or revealed, in the midst of adversity. The ‘muscles’ of character have to be trained PRIOR to the crisis, because when the crisis comes, it squeezes out what is already inside of you. How do you make a fine wine? You start out with ripe grapes, then you crush them to get the juice out of the fruit. If the grapes are still green (lacking character), or over-ripe (immoral values), you get very bad tasting wine.

Character will take the responsibility to right a wrong, if possible, even though it may be costly. Character produces HOPE. He who gives the most HOPE, leads! The Bible talks about us as being like broken bread and poured out wine. The next time you are ‘squeezed’ in a crisis, will you whine, or, will your character produce a fine wine?

The Error of Positive Thinking

…”Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

God’s people should be the most positive, joyful people on earth. This joy should be a by-product of a healthy, intimate relationship with Jesus. In today’s business climate, we are barraged with every possible means of becoming more productive workplace believers. Positive thinking and self-help philosophy are promoted as tools for workplace believers to fulfill their potential and overcome the mountains in their lives. God calls each of us to be visionary leaders, but we must be careful that vision is born out of His Spirit, not the latest self-help program. These ideas lead us away from dependence on God to a self-based psychology designed to give us more power, prosperity, and significance.

The result is heresy. Our faith in God becomes faith in faith. It is born out of hard work and diligence rather than obedience to God’s Spirit. The problem lies in that these philosophies sound good, and can even be supported by Bible verses. Beware of anything that puts the burden of performance on you rather than God. There are times in our lives when God doesn’t want us to climb every mountain. Sometimes He wants us to go around. Knowing the difference is the key to being a man or woman led by the Spirit.

God has called us to affect the workplace through His Spirit, not by our might. Have you tapped into the real power source of the soul? Ask the Lord to reveal and empower you through His Spirit today. Then you will know what real positive thinking is.

The Error of Positive Thinking
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Saturday, September 17 2011

Leadership Qualites – Three Only

My son handed me a sheet of application form this week. He wanted to get into the leadership program at school so that he can have an opportunity to help at school and get trained in leadership at the same time. There are a few questionnaires he had to fill out in the form. Among the questions, there are three blank lines that ask the applicant to list the things a leader should have.

Most of us can list a dozen of leadership qualities and many books have talked about a lot. But there are only three blank lines here. I asked myself if there are only three things I need to do as a leader, what would that be. What are the three things that God wants from a leader?

I had a hard time filling out that three blank lines with my son but we managed to work out the three items.

1) Respect and care for others. This is the first item my son listed. To him, the most important thing is to help somebody. In Matthew 20:28, it says, “Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Isn’t it beautiful to hear my son wants to be a servant leader?

2) Committed to do our best. I wrote this one for my son. A leader should take actions. I usually don’t care what people say they will do, I’ll know when they do it and sometimes can even tell how hard they try. By the same token, others can see my actions and know if I have tried hard too. Our actions speak louder than our words. In Proverbs 10:4, it says “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”

3) Be responsible to our own actions. A leader should be responsible, take ownership not only the rewards but also the not-so-good consequences. This is not easy and sometimes painful. This is also why it’s hard to confess that we are sinner. But it is what shapes a person’s character. Admit that we were wrong and we are not perfect and we need help, especially help from the Saviour.

These are three qualities that go into the three lines on my son’s application. What would you put on your three blank lines on leadership?

THE SMELL of DILIGENCE

“Be prepared, it is pretty stinky in there!” This was the warning my wife received as she, 20 children and 5 other adults filed through the locker room door of the Westside Warriors – the Junior A Hockey Club in our town. My son’s grade 1 class was on a field trip. The players and coach of the Warriors allowed them into their sacred space to look around, meet some players and ask whatever the 6-year-old minds wanted to know about real, live hockey players.

What did they want to know? In a horrified voice, one of the girls asked, “What is that awful smell?” My son Ben was quick to answer, “That’s the smell of hard work!”

Ben was right. Consider this quote by Thomas Edison: “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is wearing overalls and disguised as hard work.”

Hard work is rarely pretty. It can be smelly. In our culture that seeks instant results, the overalls of hard work are hardly fashionable. However, God has much to say about work in the Bible and the manner in which we conduct our work. Often we judge our business success by number of clients, amount of incoming revenue, hours we work or other ‘spreadsheetable’ factors. I’d like to encourage you today to check how you are doing in this regard:

DILIGENCE

What is your level of diligence to your work?

Diligence is steadfast application of our skills and is a critical virtue for hard work. Hard work is sometimes physically hard, but when using the term, we often mean hard work to be work that you are fully committed to doing. You are all-in, 100% dedicated. Your heart, your mind-focus and your effort are going in the same direction.

Our work is pleasing to God when we are diligent to do those things we are tasked with doing. Our work is pleasing to God when we diligently work at the things we say that we are going to do.

Here are some verses that speak to this:

Proverbs 10:4 – “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

Proverbs 12:24 – “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.”

Diligence God’s way is best summed up in this Ecclesiastes verse 9:10 – “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…”

The opposite of diligence is laziness. Laziness is a non-commitment to work. It is behavior that brings about destruction.

Proverbs 13:4 – “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.”

Proverbs 19:15 – “Laziness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle man will suffer hunger.”

Proverbs 21:25 – “The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, for his hands refuse to work.”

Now just to clarify – By explaining the virtue of hard work, God doesn’t mean that ALL we are supposed to do is spend time at the office or at home thinking about our ‘business’ work. (Workaholics, take note!) Work hard while you are working, and then go home to the work at hand there. The work you do at home – being a godly parent, caring for your home, loving your family, building into your friendships – is to be done with the same diligence as the work you do which brings an income.

You can’t have godly diligence at the office and laziness in your work at home. You can’t be committed to working for the Lord in one area, but slack in another. Jesus Himself said “No man can serve two masters.” If you feel out of balance in this area, I would ask you to consider if you are truly being ‘diligent’ at work – or perhaps work has become somewhat of an idol to you?

WHEN you work, work with all your heart. Work should never take our focus off of God and treating those around us with the love of God.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” – Colossians 3:23.

Christian Business Ministries Canada | #104 – 360 King Street West | Oshawa | ON | L1J 2J9 | Canada

Equipping Others

Equipping Others

There are many names for leadership training: modeling, mentoring, discipling, teaching, equipping, etc. The apostle Paul, in my opinion, was one of the greatest leaders in the bible. The reason I say that is because my definition of a great leader places a high value on how the organization performs AFTER the leader is gone.

Paul was run out of town shortly after he started the church in Thessalonica! He wrote the letters we call 1 and 2 Thessalonians almost immediately after leaving town, in order to equip those young believers in the basics of Christian life.

In 1 Thessalonians 1:5-8, Paul provides a “crash course” in equipping and developing leaders through a mentoring relationship. See if you can pick out these key points from those verses:

1. Training involves not only words, but also demonstration.
2. Training transforms others when done with conviction.
3. Training is remembered when the life of the trainer supports the message.
4. Training is incarnated when the follower imitates the teacher.
5. Training is relevant when done in the midst of problems.
6. Training is complete when the trainee becomes a trainer.
7. Training has been reproduced when the original trainer has no need to say more.

These points are taken from the notes in “The Maxwell Leadership Bible”.

Don’t brush this off and say it doesn’t apply to you because you are not a leader. EVERYONE influences somebody. If you are a parent, you better believe your children are watching you! God gave us skills and talents not so much for our benefit, but for the benefit of those around us. We need to try to work ourselves out of a job by training and equipping others.

Questions to ponder:

1. How do you think your new start-up company would fare, if you were forced to leave town 6 months after the operation began? How about your family?
2. Are you using all 7 steps Paul illustrates, when training (influencing) someone?
3. Do your actions match your words? Would your spouse/child/friend answer the same way as you?
4. What one thing can you do this week to make you a more effective “equipper” of others?

A Lighted Pathway

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  Psalm 119:105

Have you ever camped in the woods on a dark night?  if so, you probably remmer what its’s like to walk away from your campfire into the night.  In only a few steps, darkness can seem to swallow you.  Turning and walking back toward the fire is much more reassuring than groping around in the dark.  And having a flashlight for the pathway is even better.

Today’s Scripture compares God’s Word to a campfire or flashlight on a dark night.  Human words pituring a special future have a similar potential.  They can draw a person toward the warmth of genuine concern and fulfilled potential.  And instead of leaving that person to walk into a dark unknown, they can illuminate a pathway lined with hope and purpose.

When we picture a special future for our children, a spouse, friends or an employee, we provide them with a clear light to help illuminate their path in life.

Written by Gary Smalley and John Trent, Ph.D – Giving The Blessing, Daily Thoughts on The Joy of Giving

Uncooperative Cast Members – Talking Leadership

This article by Dan Gaynor provides solid practical application of Biblical principles (without the chapter and verse) that you can use in discussion with your team at work and business colleagues.  I recommend Dan Gaynor as a practitioner who through his life and training provides tangible, relevant application of Christian Biblical values to business leadership.  Enjoy the article, blog about it, discuss the questions and share what you learn.   posted by David Abday

UNCOOPERATIVE CAST MEMBERS by Dan Gaynor

OUR DAUGHTER HAYLEY CAME HOME WITH A STORY THAT ILLUSTRATED AN IMPORTANT LEADERSHIP principle the other day. You see Hayley was directing a group of fellow students in a drama class exercise to stage a short play. Frustrated, she stormed through the door, and describing an unenthusiastic and uncooperative cast member, Hayley said, “I can’t force this person to learn lines, or move on stage, if this were a real play, this person would be gone.” Hayley will have one of the qualities of an effective leader one day if she takes the same understanding to the workplace. Great team building leaders are often set apart from the multitude of ineffective ones because they are willing to act, when others are not.

Hayley’s short production is really a good illustration of one of the most important realities of leadership, no leader can force anyone to do something he or she doesn’t want to do. Oh sure, you can force basic compliance at times, but it doesn’t lead to winning performances. The leader’s job is to determine who can and cannot stay – their attitude provides a big part of the answer.

Every workplace leader, who hopes to build a winning team must see himself as a director – and casting is a key part of the director’s work. You’ve only got two choices: you can work with the people you have or change the cast. All great team building leadership requires a little of both. Good leaders start with everyone on a level playing field – everybody gets a chance to earn their place. Those who demonstrate some enthusiasm, effort and talent deserve encouragement. They are rewarded and coached toward their potential. Make sure good performers know you appreciate them. Deal with poor performers differently; when they make it clear that they do not want to “learn their lines, or move on stage” they have to go. The leaders who won’t make the call and remove these cast members handicap the team for everyone else who is trying, and they frustrate the strong performers.

The process by which leaders remove poor and uncooperative team members has to be fair, it starts with making expectations clear. People can’t perform well if they don’t know what success looks like – what you want. Then, when someone is not performing, good leaders point it out and provide clear direction about what needs to change and why. But an actor who cannot take direction has no place in the cast. He or she has made a choice. When someone willfully decides to disregard a directive to improve, the leader does not condemn him by removing him, he is self-condemned – he has made the choice. The leader is simply following through with the most appropriate outcome.

Hayley’s frustration emanates from the realization that she must work with people who are choosing to be uncooperative. If you lead other leaders, do not put them in this position. It’s discouraging to be asked to deliver performance when you can’t make the necessary changes to build a winning team.

As a leader you’re responsible for the team’s performance and every successful contributing team member is counting on you for it. Team members who ignore correction do so at their own peril. Sometimes people have to lose a job to learn a lesson. Avoiding performance issues hurts the team and hardens the bad habits for the offender.

Discussion questions:

1. How willing or reluctant are you to remove people who are uncooperative?
2. Are there any cast members on your team who are not pulling their weight today?
3. Do the members of your team know clearly what you expect of them?

For other Leadership articles by Dan Gaynor go to: www.gaynorconsulting.com

Leading With Wisdom

Most CEOs and other top executives of large organizations have access to a wide range of business advisors and teachers. Many of these consultants arrive with the latest business ideas and fads. Fads come and go, however, being replaced by other novel and often short-lived strategies. Left in their wake are confusion and questionable business practices that are not rooted in time-tested wisdom. Wes Cantrell, former CEO over a $14 billion corporation that manufactured copying machines sold worldwide, had many opportunities to utilize some of these new and innovative ideas. But he chose to take a very different path. Speaking at a recent gathering of business and professional people, Cantrell made a statement some of his listeners might have found surprising – that his management style and principles he followed were based on and rooted in the Ten Commandments. Rather than following business practices that seemingly change with the wind, he was able to guide his organization consistently by using commands that have survived thousands of years and countless challenges. As Psalm 119:98-99 teaches, “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers for I meditate on your statutes.”

The Ten Commandments are presented in two places in the Bible’s Old Testament – Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The first three commandments deal with mankind’s relationship with God; the remaining seven offer principles that can be applied to any business setting. For instance, the fourth commandment directs us to observe a Sabbath day. Practically speaking, it reminds us if we work day and night, not pausing for rest and refreshment, we will break down mentally and physically.

Hardly any of us would find fault with many of the Ten Commandments. The most controversial, of course, are those requiring worship and obedience to God alone. For atheists and agnostics, that is a great stumbling block. But in the Scriptures, God explains a practical motivation for obeying His rules: “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers” (Deuteronomy 8:1).

What if a consultant like those cited above were to arrive at your office and declare with great conviction, “If you follow what I tell you, your business will grow and prosper, and you will experience more success than you ever could imagine.” Would you not at least pause to consider his recommendations and see how they could fit with your company’s mission and culture?

The problem, of course, is obvious. Next week, next month or next year someone else will come along and make similar boasts, claiming his or her proposal amounts to the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel. Yes, fads and gimmicks come and go – in the business world as well as other realms of society. Unlike those, however, the Ten Commandments have been around for thousands of years and remain rock solid as a consistent, reliable guide for conduct, both personal and professional.

Leading an organization requires wisdom. If you want to create a strong advantage over your competition, you would be wise to consider Wes Cantrell’s advice to study and apply God’s Word, the Bible, to your business as well as your personal life. And the Ten Commandments would be a good place to start.

Copyright 2011, Integrity Resource Center, Inc. Adapted with permission from “Integrity Moments with Rick Boxx,” a commentary on issues of integrity in the workplace from a Christian perspective. To learn more about Integrity Resource Center or to sign up for Rick’s daily Integrity Moments, visit www.integrityresource.org.

Reflection/Discussion Questions

1. How many of the Ten Commandments can you recall from memory? If you have a Bible handy, look them up and see which – if any – do not seem familiar.

2. What is your reaction to the concept of establishing management and organizational principles according to the Ten Commandments? Explain your answer.

3. Some experts have asserted that a person does not have to be religious – or even spiritual – to find practical value in the Ten Commandments. Consider each one again and try rephrasing it in a way that relates to a business setting. For instance, the fifth commandment which states, “Honor your father and your mother…”, could be restated as “Maintain proper respect for authority.” How might you paraphrase the other commandments to fit your organization’s mission and culture?

4. What do you think would be the impact at your workplace if everyone agreed to use the Ten Commandments as the foundation for how they conduct business? Why do you think people might oppose such a stand? How do you feel about that personally?

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about this subject, consider the following passages:

Deuteronomy 6:1-9; Matthew 22:36-40; John 13:34-35; 1 John 2:7-8, 3:11-24

Leadership Requires Maturity

By Bruce Witt, Leadership Works founder and business coach

One of the saddest things in life is when a leader grows old yet never fully grows up.

1 Cor 13:11-12; “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

People may have a position or role of leadership, but if they don’t act with maturity, they will not be effective. One can possess skills and talent, but it does little good if not combined with a growing sense of maturity. We have probably known and have experienced this in others and maybe ourselves.

Maturity takes a commitment and often involves pain and sacrifice. The three overall stages of the maturing process are child, adult, servant leader and each are marked by a key characteristic: child – chaos; adult – order; servant leader – maturity.

A “childish” leader is self-focused, lacks consistency, is a whirl of activity, and is forever seeking fun. They chase accolades and pursue trophies (car, wife, house, job, money). Their emotions become engaged, then, their reasoning and perspective goes out the window.

To move beyond this, one needs to take responsibility and make choices that bring order in their personal lives, family, and business. The focus moves from self to stability and working with others.

Leaders must not stop here, but desire to be the servant to which God calls them. This requires investing in others, having an eternal view of people and situations, and knowing the Lord intimately. The maturing process takes time, wisdom and power. The result will be an eternal legacy.

“Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values.” Joshua Loth Liebman

Inspiring Leaders For L.I.F.E. At Its Optimal!

Christian Business Ministry of Canada (CBMC) and Global Legacy Strategies are proud to present Canadian entrepreneur, author and performance coach Dave Loney, in a 3-part workshop series designed exclusively for the modern leader.

More than ever, it is critical to create a renewed vision that will give you the momentum to finish STRONG in 2009! Through Dave’s proprietary L.I.F.E. Model (Legacy, Integrity, Freedom, and Expertise), he will bring strategy to your vision and align your passion with purpose.

What can you expect from this series?

Workshop 1: Setting Goals in Tension

Learn how to get unstuck from a “fixed and inflexible” approach to accomplishing goals. You will create an approach that maximizes your potential for positive change.

Workshop 2: Navigating the Narrow Margin

Create a compelling Vision and articulate your Current State with simple clarity so that your path is clear and unobstructed.

Workshop 3: From Vision to Action

Develop an ongoing, systematic, yet flexible plan to help you focus on what truly matters. You will create actions that get you from “A To B” with the greatest efficiency.

Join us for this ONE TIME exclusive offer that is normally valued at $795 per person.

RSVP by September 14, 2009 by clicking Here or call Jessica at 1-888-459-CBMC ext 26.

Dates: September 17, October 1 and October 15, 2009

Time: 7:00-9:00 PM

Location: Patlon Industries – 8130 Fifth Line Halton Hills, ON L7G 0B6

Cost: $40 each session or $100 for all three sessions.

Bio of Dave Loney

Dave Loney is a performance coach, strategic planning facilitator and entrepreneur. He believes that issues involved in individual success are linked to decisions, attitudes, behaviors and consequences that cross the boundary between work and personal life. Dave’s talent is to discern, coach, and empower individuals to create a powerful life Vision, with the additional necessary tension of being brutally honest about their current reality so that action steps are not only achievable but useful in moving the individual rapidly and concretely towards their goals. With professional experience in the corporate training industry, personal life lessons, and training in various measurement tools, Dave is equipped to help leaders focus on what’s important in their professional and personal lives.

A few of Dave’s accomplishments include:

• Founder, Past President and CEO, Eagle’s Flight, Creative Training Excellence Inc.
• 1996 Ontario Finalist for Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• Published Author of “Sweating From Your Eyes: Emotional Fitness for Men”
• Certified Birkman Consultant