Good Sunday Morning!

1. Question – Is your schedule, or ‘to do list’ your master?

2. Thought – ‘When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching many things.’ (Mark 6:34)

​Wise leaders will always have a schedule, a plan to use time most productively, but the wisest leader will never make it his master.

Important but unplanned moments periodically occur that should not be lost, even though they disrupt a planned schedule. One of the tensions of leadership is finding the proper balance between adhering to a well-planned schedule and being flexible enough not to lose those spontaneous opportunities that cross our paths. That is not easy. I have seen both extremes.

Some leaders seem to careen from one unplanned event to another, their schedules meaning nothing. I know of one corporation chairman whose company has been severely damaged because of his failure to keep any sort of schedule, resulting in broken relationships, severed alliances, and lost business opportunities. At the other extreme, I have seen leaders who rarely deviated from a planned schedule, resulting in many missed opportunities. Both extremes are examples of ineffective leadership.

How do we find balance? Jesus had a plan, one which He moved inexorably to accomplish. But as He did so, He utilized those special, unplanned occasions to contribute to the successful conclusion of His original plan.

As in the above passage, compassion was typically Jesus’ motivation for deviating from His schedule. Compassion may not seem useful for today’s leaders in intense business situations, but consider this: a concern for the welfare of people rarely leads us to an unprofitable or unproductive use of our time. Wise compassion, the kind that moved Jesus, does not cause a leader to become so weak that he damages the enterprise or hurts those around him. Rather, it is a clear- headed emotion that enables us to strive to accomplish the most good for the most people. Sometimes this is achieved by closely adhering to a schedule. Sometimes it is achieved by being flexible and taking compassionate detours that help to accomplish your overall goal.

When thinking about your schedule, remember how Jesus approached His. (The Leadership Lessons of Jesus by Bob Briner & Ray Pritchard)

As I typed this, this question came to my mind: What is your overall goal in life? “Sometimes it is achieved by being flexible and taking compassionate detours that help to accomplish your overall goal.”

Mark

Good Saturday Morning Learner Leaders!

1. Question – “You know, why do you get up every day?”

2. Thought – “When you have a cause, it should never be about trying to measure the so-called impact of what you are doing,” he said. “It should never be about counting the number of families touched by your ministry, calculating the number of meals served at the homeless shelter, or whatever the case may be. Because once you start doing that, then you’re right back to the whole thing being about you, focusing on what you are accomplishing, and it’s not about you. It’s about connecting to others, being other-centered.

I asked Joe to give me a scope of exactly what he meant – in definition of masculinity – by the term cause. What qualifies?

“I guess it’s a reason or a purpose to live,” Joe said. “You know, why do you get up every day? I don’t know whether it justifies your life, but it certainly gives meaning to your life. And it ought to define your day-to-day existence.”

“So how do you go about finding a cause, the right cause? I asked. “In your case, it all started with a very difficult life-changing event, Billy’s illness and death. Maybe I had a similar experience with my sister and the obvious path toward working on organ donation. But aside from a personal experience like that, how do you find a cause? Do you just seek out a cause? Is it something that finds you? Is it a calling?

Joe did not have any simple answers to those questions. He said that the first step – “part of the challenge of our culture” – is somehow breaking through and reaching beyond the compare-and-compete paradigm that leads to so much me-me-me thinking.

“How do you find a cause in a world where the value system gives you very little reason to even have a cause except when it’s doing something for your own individualistic reasons and purposes?” Joe said. “Very difficult thing to do. I mean, look at the messages were constantly getting. Look at all the media and marketing messages. We get all sorts of stuff about the whole mentality of always wanting bigger, better, more – the power of possessions – but that’s only for ourselves. Where do we ever get media or marketing about wanting to do something for someone else, about having a cause beyond our own selfish needs, wants and desires?” Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx)

Mark

Good Friday Morning Leaders!

1. Question – If you are not reading about how to become a better, husband, wife, father, mother, CEO, leader, boss, manager, commander, chief, captain, or whatever, just what are you doing? Are you sharing your wisdom or listening to those you care about?

2. Thought – In my life it’s safe to say that I have never learned a single thing when I was talking. My willingness to close my mouth and open my ears, on the other hand, has granted me free admission to a great education, “Let the wise listen,” King Solomon said, “and add to their learning.”

The advice to shut up and listen contradicts the human desire to be noticed or known, but not every good thing is easy. To never close my mouth, employ silence, genuinely hear another person, absorb new information, to believe that every moment requires my input is shortsighted and ultimately sad.

Otherwise life is like … well, it’s like standing on a balcony overlooking a breathtaking panorama and using the entire time to stare into the mirror. (The Little Red Book Of Wisdom by Mark DeMoss)

Have a great last weekend in June! Don’t text and drive. Drink water. And are you giving too much advice?

Do you know what happens when you read? You are not talking!!!!!

Mark Remick