August 11, 2010
Solomon starts to build the temple. He partners with Hiram in order to obtain the needed wood. Solomon showed great leadership qualities in the way he dealt with Hiram and his own men. He treated people fairly. He made sure his men did not become weary by alternating the crews. By doing so he made sure the families at home were happy as well. He even made sure that the job site surrounding the actual temple was respectful and quiet. "There was no noise of hammers, axes, or any other iron tools at the Temple." I Kings 5:12 - "The LORD gave Solomon wisdom as he had promised."
The LORD is faithful. That isn't the question. The question is this: Are we faithful? God continued to remind Solomon (I Kings 6:11) IF you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised.
I'm still processing thoughts from the Leadership Conference I attended last week. Jim Collins was a very interesting speaker. His presentation was about the "why" behind the failure of those in leadership, business, or even personal relationships. Here are my notes.
Listening to Jim Collins speak brought a lot of clarity to my mind. The stages of business or personal failure he presented made so much logical sense and explained so much in what we were witnessing with "the storm" situation in our life. Outrageous arrogance. Undisciplined pursuit of more. Denial of risk and peril. Grasping for salvation. DONE.
It's the harsh reality. A business or personal relationship may be able to make it back from Stage 1–3, by going back to the fork in the road and choosing a different path. But once the stages progress, it's almost impossible to recover because you are past the point of no return.
Jeff Manion was another speaker at the Leadership Conference. Here are my notes from his presentation on The Land Between.
Next Entry: I Kings 7:1 – 8:66
Solomon starts to build the temple. He partners with Hiram in order to obtain the needed wood. Solomon showed great leadership qualities in the way he dealt with Hiram and his own men. He treated people fairly. He made sure his men did not become weary by alternating the crews. By doing so he made sure the families at home were happy as well. He even made sure that the job site surrounding the actual temple was respectful and quiet. "There was no noise of hammers, axes, or any other iron tools at the Temple." I Kings 5:12 - "The LORD gave Solomon wisdom as he had promised."
The LORD is faithful. That isn't the question. The question is this: Are we faithful? God continued to remind Solomon (I Kings 6:11) IF you obey all my laws and commands, I will do for you what I promised.
I'm still processing thoughts from the Leadership Conference I attended last week. Jim Collins was a very interesting speaker. His presentation was about the "why" behind the failure of those in leadership, business, or even personal relationships. Here are my notes.
"Good" is the enemy of "great." How do the mighty fall? No one is immune! Any one (business, leader, personal) can fall. You can be sick on the inside and still look well on the outside. There are 5 stages of decline.
Stage 1 - Hubris (outrageous arrogance) born of success. It's not about you! Humility is what separates the great from the good. Opposite of what you would expect. Humility cannot be taught. Humility + will.
Stage 2 - Undisciplined pursuit of more. Breaking Patrick's (Lencioni) law and not filling the positions with "fantastic" and four C's people. Want more NOW!
Stage 3 - Denial of risk and peril. The denial is key. You can still look great which makes it easy to deny. This is not being an optimist. Never confuse faith and facts. Never give up. You can believe—even when you don't know the when.
Stage 4 - Grasping for salvation. The game is up, what you denied can no longer be denied. There is no silver bullet. Greatness is never a single event. Disciplined people. Disciplined thought. Disciplined action.Stage 5 - It's over. Capitulation to irrelevance or death.
How to survive?
Because there is a reason to endure! The desire for money will not do it. Driven by purpose beyond money and success. Core values that will not be compromised. Our core values are not open to compromise. The importance of AND! Preserving core + stimulate progress. It has to be both. Not "or" but AND. It's both. Never compromise the core but be willing to look for new ideas.
1) Do your diagnostics. Be honest.
2) Count your blessings (the good things and successes you did not cause). Literally. Write them down on a spread sheet.
3) What is your questions to statements ratio?
4) How many key seats do you have?
5) Where are you on the five stages of decline?
6) Next meeting—take an inventory of brutal facts.
7) Make a stop-doing list. It's not what we do but what we are disciplined NOT to do.
8) Define results—the clicks on a fly wheel.
9) Double your reach to young people. Core with out compromise.
10) BUHAG—make goals. Big, Ugly, Hairy, Audacious, Goals
If you set out to be useful—you cannot capitulate. Never, ever, ever, give up. Change tactics, but never the core. Never give up or accept failing. Keep the faith.
It's the harsh reality. A business or personal relationship may be able to make it back from Stage 1–3, by going back to the fork in the road and choosing a different path. But once the stages progress, it's almost impossible to recover because you are past the point of no return.
Jeff Manion was another speaker at the Leadership Conference. Here are my notes from his presentation on The Land Between.
The Land Between is fertile for:
Complaints – Numbers 11:4–6 - the Israelites complained that all they had was manna. Complaining not just about the situation, they were complaining against God. The desert is fertile for complaints.
Meltdowns – Numbers 11:11–15 - It's too heavy... I can't carry this anymore.
God's Provision – AMEN! Numbers 11:16–17 - God sends his spirit on 70 men to help Moses carry the load. Elijah – God provided bread that he could see and smell. Is God too weak to intervene?
God's Discipline – People died. God inflicted pain for redemptive purposes.
The Land Between is fertile ground for transformational growth. I need you to trust me!! The transformational growth does not happen automatically. It is the choice of the heart. Growth—or—Bitterness and death. Complaint resists eviction. Open your hands to release AND receive. Trust evicts complaint.
"People often quote a common Proverb in times of pain and tragedy: "Time heals all wounds." However, I do not find it to be necessarily true. Over time, some people heal while others become deeply embittered and acidic. The Land Between forces us one way or the other... The habits of the heart that we foster in this space—our responses and reactions—will determine whether the Land Between results in spiritual life or spiritual death." ~ Jeff ManionI'm so grateful I had the opportunity to attend the Leadership Conference. God used both Jim Collins and Jeff Manion to clarify so much. It helped me make sense out of things that just didn't make sense. The heart of the matter IS the heart of the matter.
Next Entry: I Kings 7:1 – 8:66
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