I once worked for a small family-owned restaurant. The pay was minimal, the conditions weren’t all that glamorous, and the hours were less than ideal. But I loved the place because it had a story. The founder, an Italian immigrant, had a dream to bring recipes from the old country into the brave new world of America. His son eventually took over the joint, now he was grooming his son to run it. Most of the employees attached to the establishment were family, either as bookkeepers, cooks, or servers. And with the family, there seemed to be drama every day. Marriage issues were worked out next to the prep station (knives readily available, but never used thank goodness!) Children did their homework at one of the tables near the rear of the restaurant. Family photos adorned the walls. Although I was an outsider, I was invited into that narrative. People

How to Deal with Leadership Stress “Gosh, right now my jokes are funny and I’m the best looking guy in the world, but I know as soon as I lose, all that will change.” This quote came from a man who was recently granted the position of head football coach for a major NCAA football team. If you’ve been in leadership for any length of time, you either grinned or shook your head in agreement. You know leadership is demanding. Leadership is demanding and oftentimes stressful. As a result, leaders burn out. Their behavior becomes less predictable. They begin making more mistakes. Some are actions unbecoming for a leader. Some mistakes are due to a lack of action. They stop taking care of their own person – mind, body, and soul. After a while, they find themselves in a really bad place. Bad habits, irritation, confusion, and truckloads of stress.

“Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” Philippians 1:4 As we grow older, some of us gain wisdom and humility. Others become bitter and reactive. The fork in the road determining whether we become bitter or better has much to do with how we process the troubles in life and the relationships that did not work out as we might have hoped. In this article, I hope to strengthen your team-building outlook by considering how to apply the Scripture above in the context of building like-minded teams: Seek to Understand Yesterday, I met with a potential new team member. Most of our time together was invested in learning about his history, his values, and his life situation. This is important because those things often determine if working together will be a good fit. In fact, they are just as important as one’s

Customer service is an everyday experience. We rate service with words like Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor. There are three kinds of people who take these ratings seriously: the business owner (because their lives and reputation depend on it), the customer (because it’s their time and money and perhaps their own customer they represent), and the kind of person you want on your team (because not everybody can provide excellent customer service). I admit it; I’m a person that notices. I pay attention to service and I take it personally. Fortunately, not all are like me, some are a little more laid back. If every customer expected the kind of service I do, at least 25% of businesses would shut their doors. Why? Because that’s about how many places I have never patronized again due to poor service. The first thing a business owner or concerned employee should know about

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power – Abraham Lincoln Let’s face it. It’s easy to get angry, cynical, guarded, and stingy in a crooked world. If you don’t believe in evil, you can stop reading right now. But if you like to think in a positive, grateful, and proactive way, yet recognize the condition of the world is not quite up to par, continue reading. Like you, my positive belief in people can be shattered in a moment and if I’m not careful, it will plant itself in my heart and take up residence. How do we keep a level head in a world filled with so-called friends who do not tell the truth and people who strap bombs on their person for the sake of some god who can’t seem to do his own fighting? Wow, that

  Proverbs 28:5 says, “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand everything.” The “Key” seems clear. Seek the Lord… but does this apply to business? You would think it strange for a pastor not to pray before presenting a message to the congregation. Is your business less important than the sermon? No. That’s because your business is the sermon. Please, please stop using the phrase “business is business” as if it lives in its own capsule separated from the rest of God’s design. The truth is this: your business decisions glorify your truest values. How you make decisions expose what you believe, not what you know. People, including business leaders, act on what they believe, not on what they know. A person can “know” the wisdom found in Scripture but if it’s not practiced, it can’t be learned in the “believing” sense. Once we

“I believe leadership itself is largely learned.” – Coach John Wooden John Wooden, the UCLA basketball coach who became an icon of American sports while guiding the Bruins to an unprecedented 10 national championships in the 1960s and ’70s and remained in the spotlight during retirement with his “Pyramid of Success” motivational program, has died. He was 99. (LA Times, June 5, 2010, by Bill Dwyre & David Wharton). Leadership is Learned I agree completely with the coach – leadership is mostly learned. That’s why I’m always amazed when people label others as if they were frozen in time like a photograph. It is the summit of leadership stupidity. It’s easier to make a judgment about a person than it is to evaluate and then work with them, inspiring them to grow, learn, and change. We take pictures of our children because we want to capture the moment. We know

The #1 Leadership Mistake: Quick Decisions! Combining one of the following words: Haste, Swift, Impulse, Rash, Quick…with the word “Decision” often leads to disaster. Worse yet they represent weakness in character. According to my friend Phil Eastman, the seven elements of character are: wisdom, temperance, justice, courage, faith, hope and love. Proverbs 20:18 “Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.” esv Example #1 I once heard a man in a role of significant responsibility and trust say to me, “Jim, we are going to act swiftly and decisively.” It sounded like courage but as I watched the results, one mistake rolled into another creating a large snowballing disaster where many people where hurt. Looking back, he was not well enough informed with the facts and exasperated the situation by acting too quickly. Example #2 One day I was late for an appointment. I pushed the garage door

Proverbs 11:25: “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and the one who waters will himself be watered.” Relationships are one of the best things life has to offer. Relationships are one of the most difficult experiences in life. Both statements are true. Profit is as natural as fruit on the tree. If you plant a fruit-bearing tree, water it, and do the maintenance, you will see a profit. If you work with others in the planting, watering, and maintaining, you will have both relationship and profit. Both are good and from God. The point is that relationship and profit walk hand-in-hand. Even though you have been burned, remember, that one cannot survive without the other. 7 principles I’ve learned to respect through years of hard knocks: 1. Hiring is a most difficult process And should be treated with the utmost respect because “hoping someone works out” is not a strategy.

I just finished reading a well-written article about how mighty organizations fall. It surprised me how organizational failures parallel our personal lives. It got me thinking and it inspired me to reflect upon the leadership shortcomings of my past. While my family and friends might run to my aid and list all of my accomplishments, let’s save those for the memorial service! It is much healthier for a leader to think about learning and growing for the sake of others. Some of these mistakes I committed in my twenties, others in my thirties, and unfortunately, a couple in my forties. Let’s pray my fifties (NOW in my sixties) are quiet in the sense of leadership mistakes! HERE’S MY TOP TEN FAILURES IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER: 1. Not Understanding the Other Side of My Strengths. I have come to learn that fixing weaknesses (I’m not talking about character) is a waste

Let’s face it. Some of us are sick of hearing about the “L” word. But when we stop long enough to ponder it, we all know how important leadership is in our homes, our workplaces, and our communities.  Without it, we flounder. I recently enjoyed a lunch with two of Denver’s finest men, Thom Scheffel and Lloyd Lewan.  We discussed food, life, and leadership.  During the fellowship, Lloyd gave me a copy of one of his books To Be A LEADER – leadership beyond management.   I finished it in just a few days and though I have read many good books on leadership, this one will be among my favorites. One section of his book makes a clear distinction between leadership and management by emphasizing three responsibilities of leadership.  While Lloyd lifts up the importance of management, he also pulls no punches about clearly defining the high call to lead.  In

As a teenager, I enjoyed shifting gears in my 1965 Mustang. I can still feel the thrill of the engine roaring and the speedometer increasing as I shifted from one gear to the next! That surge gave me a bit of a rush. However, in order to experience it, I had to shift to higher gears. Interestingly, it is the same way in our life as leaders. If we want to continue to experience new levels of effectiveness, we must shift to higher gears. What brought success in an earlier phase only creates a different set of circumstances that require new skills. When I was younger, I worked hard and had a lot of passion. I did a lot of things and held opinions on almost everything. Over time, I’ve learned from seasoned leaders that what helped me to succeed yesterday is often what blocks my future progress. To put

Some folks just aren’t satisfied with a job. They want more! They want work that is satisfying and rewarding. As an employer, you want faithful people; a worker you can count on. You want employees who get up in the morning excited about their job. You envision them showing up a few minutes before start time, ready and willing to engage. The reality of the employer-employee relationship is more positive than it is negative. God made people with the desire to be productive. Many folks want to work and desire to do a good job. But they get bored or they feel undervalued so they under-perform and eventually go elsewhere in search for the right fit. Many employers are good people. They want to create a positive environment and pay people well but the unmotivated and self-entitled employee has burned them. So now they’re guarded with their emotions, information, and

Take care of yourself so you have something to offer. Leaders who have experienced burn out have learned this the hard way. Taking care of self so we can offer our best self starts with self-awareness. Anthony Robbins suggests six human needs according to a recent blog: Certainty: assurance you can avoid pain and gain pleasure Uncertainty/Variety: the need for the unknown, change, new stimuli Significance: feeling unique, important, special or needed Connection/Love: a strong feeling of closeness or union with someone or something Growth: an expansion of capacity, capability or understanding Contribution: a sense of service and focus on helping, giving to and supporting others These proposed needs can certainly be debated but from simple observation each seems to have some merit. I enjoy almost everyone’s contribution to learning and discovery but my life’s work is not completely satisfied until the “why” question is wrestled down and forced to

Values & Culture I got my first opportunity for a “real” job when I was fifteen years of age. Jensen’s Groceries in Blue Jay California was hiring young people for a variety of positions. Jensen’s was what today we call “old school” and its values were expressed quite clearly even during the interview and especially through the supervisors. Our hair was to be groomed short and neat. Our white shirt pressed while wearing a tie – always. Even our walking pace had to be at least a step or two faster than the average walker. Immediately halting our activity to assist a customer was a must. No tolerance for anything else. Promptness, organization, and cleanliness in our person, work, and station was the norm. Rarely did I notice a fellow employee work outside of these lines (values). If I did, it didn’t last long either because he or she course