Taking Time

Weekly Thought – March 28, 2017

Fred approached every element of his life from a philosophical and theological position. He constructed a system of thought which served as the underpinning. His study of time is a good example.

Taking Time

As Donald Bloesch puts it, “Busyness is the new holiness.” Lack of time is a status symbol, and to me, that is backwards. If you really are somebody, you are in control of your time.

Personally, I think optimizing opportunities and talents is in a sense bringing redemption to everything around me – that is the valid reason to use time well.

These are my philosophical cornerstones:

1) I am a created being and therefore responsible to the Creator for my life.

2) Time is simply life’s clock. Time is a tool – a means in life – never an end. Time is not something to be pursued for its own sake, but for what can be done with it.

3) Since my life is measured by time, I have a responsibility to control it. Most of us don’t let other people spend our money; likewise, we should limit their power to spend our money.

4) I have been given the same amount of time each day as everybody else. The great achievers of the world don’t have any more hours than I do. It is simply untrue to say, “I don’t have enough time.” What is not the same for everybody is energy. Unless I recognize my level of energy and realize that it comes in ebbs and surges, I won’t use my time well. I won’t accomplish all that I could.

5) I also believe that anything I cannot accomplish in the time I have is apparently not my God-given responsibility to achieve. God is not going to hold me accountable for what I cannot do because of genuine lack of time.

6) When I know the ultimate purpose of my life, I can know whether I’m using my time properly. If I do not know that ultimate purpose, I have no way of judging my efficiency. Only God and I can know for sure whether I’m wasting or using.

I decided a long time ago that my ultimate goal in life was to stretch other people. I wanted them to live better, fuller, bigger, more noble than if they hadn’t met me. This is my redeeming call.

This week think about: 1) What is my purpose? 2) How do I assess the use of my time? 3) Where is God using me to stretch others?

Words of Wisdom: “Personally, I think optimizing opportunities and talents is in a sense bringing redemption to everything around me – that is the valid reason to use time well.”

Wisdom from the Word: “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore.” (1 Kings 4:29 NET Bible)

Hide and Seek

Brenda’s Blog – March 28, 2017

“How much is under your bed?”

In my childhood and teen years I loved to read. I cherished my library card and used it readily.

Only one problem: I had great difficulty returning the books. And when I knew they were overdue, I would hide them under my bed until my Mom demanded they surface and return to their rightful owner – the public library.

This became a metaphor as I grew older. Some people talk about sticking their head in the sand. Not me, I stick it “under the bed.” I put unresolved issues, undone chores, and unattended to duties in a safe, dark place from which they cannot arise and haunt me.

But they eventually do. Like the kind library police who came to the door with a list of books and a demand for their return. In those days they didn’t have those “freebie forgiveness days” when all fines were erased. No, my avoidance technique meant I paid the fines out of babysitting money and puny allowance allotments.

What are the things that are secreted away just because they are either too difficult to handle, too troublesome to manage, or just too overwhelming to attack? Every once in a while I actually face up to them and give them an airing in the light of day. When I do they are usually dealt with in such a short time I wonder (time and time again) why I pushed them away and didn’t just get them done.

In life coaching there is a great term for these items – “tolerations.” We put something on a to-do list, then move it to an even longer one… and so forth until it becomes a perpetual undone. If something is on the to-do list for a day – great. If it is still there after a week it has become a toleration – something we put up with but don’t deal with. They weigh us down as surely as if we were adding layers of weights to our clothing. Tolerations are only removed when they become intolerable.

Let’s climb under the bed and clear out that tattered to do list which grew into moldy tolerations.

Want To, Not Just Have To

Weekly Thought – March 21, 2017

Fred was trusted. His ability to listen accompanied by his discernment created an atmosphere of safety. While in dialysis he developed friendships with the nurses and technicians. One young woman reached her twelve month sober mark and prepared for her ceremony at AA. “Would you be the speaker for me?” Fred traveled in his wheelchair to her meeting and delivered a powerful, personal address.

Want To, Not Just Have To

A man I know – a very successful professional – paid fifty thousand dollars, cash on the barrel head, to go to an alcoholism clinic. One of the most discerning things I’ve ever heard came from a staff psychiatrist at the facility: “For a long time people couldn’t understand how a man could be an alcoholic, sober up, stay sober for ten years, and then go back to drinking. People would say, ‘Surely he knew all the problems he had as a drunk, why would he go back?’”

The doctor went on to say: “We studied it and found out. People who give up alcohol, but only remain abstainers can be drawn back to drinking at any time. Those who go from abstinence to the joy of sobriety seldom return to drinking. But until they make that transition, they are vulnerable.”

There is a theological truth here. If all I have in life is work and more work trying to make myself good, then I may cave in the spiritual war at any time. If I understand the sovereignty of God and the power of grace, my life will be changed forever. Like the Apostle Paul, a grace filled life sees the struggles as challenges but ones filled with the presence of God, and not dependent on my own efforts or goodness. Once Paul tasted of grace nothing could woo him back to “the law” again. He moved to the joy of grace.

Many executives and other leaders battle in the same way. They struggle and suffer with their efforts to overcome disabling habits. They fight, win a bit, fight again, and continue this pattern. The Myth of Sisyphus tells the story of an ill-fated young man whose life work is to push a large rock up a hill, only to have it roll back on him just as he reaches the peak. Over and over he repeats this effort, never to get the rock up and over the hill.

Leaders need to identify their constructive strengths and their destructive weaknesses. Once defined, they should focus on the strengths and bolster the weaknesses. Once we create an environment and a lifestyle that allows this, we can run the race with joy, not just with gritted jaws.

This week think about: 1) Where have I moved from abstaining to joy? 2) What is the rock I need to abandon? 3) Who can help me identify my strengths and weaknesses?

Words of Wisdom: “If I understand the sovereignty of God and the power of grace, my life will be changed forever.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8: 10 (b) NET Bible)

Low Tire Pressure

Brenda’s Blog – March 14, 2017

“Low tire pressure – attend at once.”

I turned on the ignition, heading out for a busy day. The warning system certainly got my attention. Avoiding the message was not an option. Actually, it might have been in years past, but a modicum of maturity has actually developed in my “old age.”

So, I considered my options, enlisted the aid of my brother-in-law, and made it to Discount Tire.

Why is this blog worthy? Because it makes me think about life’s flat tires and emergencies. And more importantly – how to deal with them.
What are the first two considerations? Time and money. “How am I going to reorder my day to allow for this inconvenience?” “How much money is this going to cost?”
Too often in life I have allowed money to delay action – and of course, require an ultimate fix and even more money. Why do I think waiting will alleviate the necessity of action?

And equally important is the decision to take time for the fix. Rough patches and flat tires in life are never on the to-do list, are they? They are never convenient, or a welcome surprise. But they are always opportunities to learn about our reaction times. An essential element in the maturing process is the ability to react wisely and well. These “pop quizzes” come at inopportune moments letting us see where we are on the maturity chart.

When was your last flat tire? When did you get a sudden change in your plans? How did you process it? What did it tell you about your growth?

Discount Tire has customer service posters on their store walls. They are true to their word – they repaired, rotated, and sent me on my way with no charge – and a friendly smile. What another good lesson in ways to treat others as they face their potholes and flat tires. We should be the compressors who “air them up,” with lack of drama and abundance of good will.

Flat tires come, but they don’t need to flatten us. They are “teachable moments.”

Time Protection

Weekly Thought – March 14, 2017

Fred understood protecting his time. He said, “Just as I don’t let other people spend my money, I don’t let others spend my time.” He was extremely generous with his time, even when his physical condition deteriorated to the point of incapacitation. But he also knew how to avoid time wasters and people with no clear purpose for meeting with him.

Time Protection

Most people spend time like they do money. They spend until suddenly they run short; then they try to find ways to compensate.

The best approach, of course, is a disciplined lifestyle that prevents time (or any other resource like energy, money, opportunities) from slipping away in the first place. Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Most time management books teach: Adopt a philosophy, implement it, and then maintain it as a way of life.

But in my experience, most people are not that disciplined. What they need is an emergency checklist to gain a few hours in the week – something to ease the frantic pace and get through the crunch. A number of alternatives exist: specific down periods during the week for catching up on administrative work; organized, scheduled retreats to plan future activities; an active, up-to-date calendar. One of the areas of focus most needed and most disregarded is the “eye on the goal.” Saying “is this expenditure of time advancing my mission, my plan?”

Occasionally an exhausted executive or ministry leader comes to me and I say, “You are under the gun, aren’t you? How much time would it take for you to catch up?”
More often than not the answer is, “If I just had five more hours a week!” If he or she is already working 50 hours a week that means a 10% increase to loosen up the load.

Here is a way to pick up five hours from any week you choose. It provides immediate and effective relief for those who are swamped. BUT IT IS FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY. As in dieting or spending money, the long-range answer is a better lifestyle that doesn’t require temporary bail-outs. So, mine is a battle plan, not a war strategy. You shouldn’t continue this emergency plan for longer than four to six weeks.

For example, if the leader is a pastor he can walk into the pulpit and say, “Folks, you’re not going to see as much of me for the next month. I’ve gotten behind in some very important things I need to do. What I have been doing is important and needful, but a catching up is required. I want your understanding the next four weeks while I get some of our pressing needs in good working order.”

Everyone in leadership can do this – and must as an emergency plan. People (from board members to staff) will understand a brief on-the-job refocus. But they will feel dismayed and annoyed if they find you excusing goof-off time and declaring it an emergency – it has to be legitimate.

This week think carefully about: 1) How am I handling the time/task pressures right now? 2) Do I have social media fasts to reduce the distractions? 3) What is my emergency plan for capturing some extra time?

Words of Wisdom: “Most people spend time like they do money. They spend until suddenly they run short; then they try to find ways to compensate.”

Wisdom from the Word: “And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NET Bible)

Effective Leadership

Weekly Thought – March 7, 2017

Fred encouraged maturity. He believed in the goal of growing to the end. This is why he was a life-long learner and lived with a burning desire to “finish well.” Foundational to maturity is character. He consulted with many organizations, both corporate and ministry. Character is the first element he studied.

Effective Leadership

Leadership, as we know, is both something you are and something you do. But effective leadership starts with character. When leaders fail, more often it is a result of a character flaw than the lack of competence, training, or even opportunity.

In the case of Christian organizations, the aim of the leader is to conform more and more to the image of Christ. And, it is their responsibility to build up the congregation, training them in righteousness with a goal of maturity. It is a process. It is critical to understand this. There is no “getting there” and settling down to rest. Leaders who last don’t stop growing; they continue stretching themselves. And in the same manner corporate officers refuse to let down. They strive to get better, stronger, and more adept.

Those who understand this process have intangible personal qualities. Some find these hard to define, but I think we can look at it as a growth process.
Growth must be seen as a whole. I wonder sometimes what we would look like if our mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects were as visible as our physical bodies. I expect each of us would have deformities representing our lack of development. When we are seriously out of balance we would be misshapen, distorted, even grotesque. An example of this idea would be the person who develops their mind to the exclusion of social skills or emotional health.

My good friend Zig Ziglar looks at our lives as a wheel. He teaches others to measure where each section of their life is by marking it on the wheel. Then when the dots are connected the seminar participant can see how rocky the ride would be if areas of their lives are much stronger (or weaker) than others.

Maturity is balanced growth. It’s obviously difficult to keep the inside and outside in total symmetry – or Zig’s wheel rolling smoothly, but it is a worthwhile endeavor. I look at life through the prism of discipline, so I suggest a balanced growth pattern contains plans for the disciplines of: freedom, emotions, things, recognition, accomplishment, experiences, ideas, and relationships.

This week think about: 1) What is my personal definition of mature growth? 2) How symmetrical are my internal and external appearances? 3) What is my biggest challenge to maturity?

Words of Wisdom: “Leadership, as we know, is both something we are and something we do.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking. Instead, be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” (1 Corinthians 14:20 NET Bible)

Understanding Leadership versus Management

Weekly Thought – February 28, 2017

Fred said he never felt the time pressures so often discussed in leadership articles. He attributed this to the art of delegation. However, before he could delegate he had to understand what his unique abilities were and what “only he could do.” These thoughts from Fred were written in the mid-80s but are strikingly current and relevant.

Understanding Leadership versus Management

Leadership and management are two different skill sets. Many good leaders are not good administrators. And in the same way, good managers are not always effective leaders. The rule of thumb is: Lead people and manage work.

As President, Jimmy Carter was a better executive than leader. He read up to three hundred pages of reports before breakfast, it is said. He was one of our best-informed Presidents, but he had great difficulty getting others to follow him.

Ronald Reagan’s strength has been leadership, not management. The press criticizes him because he often doesn’t fully answer technical questions. He doesn’t focus on the memorization of that information. He devotes his energies to leading through setting the vision for the country, getting others to join behind in the vision, and achieving a sense of well-being about the direction he outlines. People who mock him call him “The Great Communicator.” This is intended to suggest that capable talkers are not thinkers. They also allude to his film career as a negative quality. They do not realize the power of clear communication in strong leadership. Reagan simply delegates the administration.

Even if a leader is not strong in administration, he must recognize its absolute value. It is a foolish person who closes his mind to “the details.” Those who understand the contribution of a well-run organization know how to delegate, appreciate, develop, and then leave it alone.

Over supervision (or being a control freak) is the great sin of leaders committed against managers. The leader’s task is to say, “Here’s where we are, and there is where we ought to go.” The administrator’s job is to successfully get the organization from point A to B. Books written about well-run companies recognize the contribution of teams comprised of leaders with complementary gifts, exercised by strong people. I have always said the pairing of number 1 and number 2 positions is a critical decision.

As A.T. Cushman, the CEO of Sears, put it, “The art of administration is constant checking.” He’s so right. It’s detail work. Management takes a different, but important set of skills. To nurture both leadership and management is to put into place a winning combination.

This week think about: 1) What are my strongest gifts? 2) How am I developing my strengths and bolstering my weaknesses? 3) Where have I experienced the greatest use of my talents?

Words of Wisdom: “Lead people and manage work.”

Wisdom from the Word: “You should explain God’s laws and teachings to the people. Warn them not to break the laws. Tell them the right way to live and what they should do. But you should also choose some of the people to be judges and leaders.” (Exodus 18: 20, 21 NET Bible)

Shorthand Communications

Brenda’s Blog – February 28, 2017

“The Trump children handled themselves well and spoke in complete sentences.”

The commentator’s remark was meant to laud, not taunt. But it struck me as funny. Grown adults who spoke in subjects and predicates hardly seem like news, but today they are.

In 2008, my son Jeff told me about Twitter and the 140 character format. “Oh, Jeff, how in the world can you adequately communicate like that?” One of the signs I was a card-carrying member of “old school.”

Acronyms are not a current phenomenon. Quite the opposite.

Phrases originally designed for military communication now meld into popular usage. For example, MIA (Missing in Action), AWOL (Absent without Leave). To teenagers in the 50s a letter with SWAK written on the back flap, made hearts skip a beat. We thought it was a secret language but SWAK (Sealed with a Kiss) was a well-used war-time code message.

The Weather Channel has a complete lexicon of acronyms. Bad weather is measured in TOR-CON (Tornado Condition Index) or even PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situations). Those are two which could easily blend into common vernacular describing work situations and personal relationships!

Most of the twitter language is lost on me. I still tell people, “That really made me smile” instead of typing LOL! I live in fear of sending a message to my friends and family which translates into something totally vile, so I use up way more characters playing it safe.

When I was promoted to a home office position my parents were quite proud. The day before I moved my Mom and I took one of my older mentors to lunch – a man with great experience and rather jaded about the effectiveness of home office people. He was a successful insurance sales agent. In all seriousness he said to my godly Mom, “Well, what do you think about your daughter’s becoming a HOSOB?” She smiled sweetly and said, “We are so grateful for this opportunity.” Later that night at the country club, my family and I ran into another professional colleague. My Mom beamed and said, “Brenda is going to be a HOSOB. Isn’t that great?” The man looked stunned at this saintly woman speak these words. The only hint I will give you is that HO stands for Home Office. You can fill in the blanks.

Shorthand has its place. But let’s not lose the beauty of a well-constructed complete sentence. Let’s maintain the energy of a conversation which stimulates thought. Let’s keep on talking.

Leadership Tweaks

Weekly Thought – February 21, 2017

Fred thought all the time. He learned from observation, conversation, and interaction. “Associations, travel, and reading” were three of the essential elements in his development program. He consistently put himself in situations which would stimulate his thinking.

This week a Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute team will be on the LeTourneau University campus in Longview, TX “stretching and blessing the next generation of leaders… to the glory of God.” Please pray for each person to be both learners and sharers of life experiences.

Leadership Tweaks

Two subtleties are understood by effective leaders.

1) Decisions are not commitments. The first is short-term, the second is long-term.

People decide short-term to work for a specific emphasis; long-term commitment is aimed at the ultimate purpose. Both are necessary. People committed only to the long-term vision and not to specific tasks will not accomplish much. The short-term commitment produces the activity.

Wise leaders know that when they get a decision, even a group decision, they have not gotten commitment. One of the worst mistakes a leader can make is getting a group to decide something they will not commit to. In the emotional moment of decision, you can assume they’re committed, but without full buy-in, things will fall apart.

2) Recognize the “driving wheels.” There’s a difference between people who provide the momentum in a group and those who just go along for the ride. Wise leaders know if they get the drivers committed, they will bring the others. Without the commitment of the driving wheels, the organization moves at an unsteady pace.

The best way to persuade them is not with emotion, but with comprehension. I first heard this from Jack Turpin, founder of Hallmark Electronics. In a speech on sustained excellence he remarked he had no lasting respect for short-term excellence. “Anybody who can achieve that level of performance should strive to sustain it.” It isn’t easy, but it is worthwhile… and productive.

He went on to say that the only way people will perform at this level over the long-term is through complete comprehension of what they are doing. A decision based on emotional fervor won’t last; a fully understood commitment will.

This means leaders must be honest about the vision, the effort necessary, and reasons for expending it. To motivate the “driving wheel” ask the question, “Do you agree this is something worth doing? If so, let’s commit to it together.”

This week think about: 1) How clear am I on the commitments in my life? 2) What are the long-term visions for my work, my family, my community? 3) Who can I help strengthen their sustained excellence?

Words of Wisdom: “A decision based on emotional fervor won’t last; a fully understood commitment will.”

Wisdom from the Word: “But I am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives, and have a strong commitment to justice.” (Micah 3:8(a) NET Bible)

Brenda A. Smith shares a TV Interview about LeTourneau-BWFLI event

Click here to view the TV Interview with Brenda A. Smith about LeTourneau University and BWFLI.

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