The most helpful teaching metaphor I grabbed from Jim Collins’ newest book, Great by Choice, is the concept of “bullets before cannonballs.” Collins discovered that the most effective leaders and companies test new initiatives as “bullets” before over-investing, radically altering their strategy, or changing their offerings to customers. According to Collins, effective leaders explore incrementally…
The danger of “hiring the best”
The longer I lead, the more I realize how essential the right leaders are to the success of a team, ministry, or organization. While the right leaders will overcome insufficient systems and processes, great processes and systems can never overcome ineffective leaders. The right leaders are not necessarily the “best” leaders. The “best” leaders when…
Righteous Frustration
In their now classic work, The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner wrote, “More than anything else, leadership is about creating a new way of life. Leaders must accept the responsibility for making change happen.” Leadership and change are inexorably related. When God raises a leader for a task, He often burdens that leader with righteous…
Two Different Tips
Two different tips from supposed wealthy individuals were in the news recently as servers from the restaurants snapped photos of the bills and posted them online. One turned out to be a hoax, however. First, the true story. Peyton Manning enjoyed dinner at the famous Angus Barn restaurant in Raleigh. His bill was $739.58, which…
Easter Challenge to Pastors
As Easter weekend approaches, I thought I would share a few thoughts for church leaders around two key words: assimilation and transformation. Though one does not necessarily lead to the other, they are both important. Assimilation… As you encourage your church members to bring friends on Easter weekend, think as much about the Monday…