Something Good Today

Weekly Thought – June 25, 2024

Fred and Mary Alice were married 67 years on June 25th 2004. He was in rehab and unable to celebrate with her. The family gathered in the facility’s dining room and shared a full to-go dinner from Lawry’s, their favorite place to share anniversaries. The Smith family’s byword was “Be A Blessing.” They, indeed, modeled that for all who knew them.

Something Good Today

Let me tell you one of my favorite stories.

Several years ago I had a major operation at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Mary Alice felt sorry for the doctors and hospital staff because she knew what an executive I was… translated: “how things should be run.” She knew I would quiz the doctors about their qualifications (with respect and charm) as thoroughly as possible. For example, I found out the surgeon was returning from vacation. I asked him to make me his second surgery of the day. I wanted him to get his hand back in the swing of things before he met me. He actually complied.

Then my wife knew I would put my management eye on the hospital, asking why they did what they did and arranged things as they did, hoping to offer some improvement. As I sat in the waiting room I was called to the desk. “Please put all your valuables into this lock box.” I did and then realized my ego was actually the most valuable thing I had. Right then I decided to put it in the box, as well. I would be totally submissive and cooperative. I found the joy of community rather than the responsibility of being a management consultant. I put aside the pressure of establishing the pecking order and focused on the similarities in people, not the differences.

Late one night (or probably early one morning) one of the nurses came in and said, “Mr. Smith, I am coming to ask something of you I have never asked of another patient in my life.” I nodded agreement and she continued. “We have a young woman who is dying. She doesn’t have one flower in her room. You have nineteen arrangements and I was wondering if you would give one to her? She is all alone.”

I pointed to a magnificent arrangement made up of exotic flowers flown in from Hawaii sent to me by the Elliott Sunday School Class of Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas. In the center stood aj beautiful bird of paradise. I suggested that she take that one.

About thirty minutes later the nurse came back in choked with emotion and started walking around the room. She came to the foot of my bed, squeezed my big toe, and walked out without a word. I knew she was saying, “Tonight we did something good.” I will always remember that feeling.

Sometimes when I am not sleeping at night, I wish the Lord would squeeze my toe and say, “We did good today.” Being a blessing should be our heart’s desire. After all, isn’t it said about Jesus that He “went about doing good?”

This week carefully consider: 1) When have I had my “toe squeezed?”2) How can I go about doing good? 3) Who models a life that blesses others for me?

Words of Wisdom: “I realized my ego was actually my most valued possession.”

Wisdom from the Word: “He went around doing good.” (Acts 10:38(b) NET Bible)

Someone to Look Up To

Weekly Thought – June 18, 2024

Fred wrote about heroes and their value in his 1983 book You and Your Network. He firmly believed in the influencing effect of heroes on us. His thinking on heroes causes us to probe our own history.

Someone to Look Up To

We cannot live fully without heroes for they are the starts to guide us upward. Not only do they personify what we can be, but they also urge us on. Heroes flesh out our ideals, and embody our highest values. Socrates said, “Talk, young man, that I might know you.” I would add, “Talk of your heroes that I might know not only who you are, but who you will become.”

A discerning investor had lunch with the young, recently named CEO of a corporation in which he held a large bloc of stock. He asked about the executive’s heroes. The new CEO named a ruthless military general and a well-known arrogant businessman. From then on, the conversation cooled and ended much sooner than expected. As the man told me of this encounter he remarked,” What a shame to turn over an organization to such immaturity.” Because of his impression of the CEO he sold his large holdings in the corporation. It proved to be a wise decision as the leadership took the corporation in a disastrous direction.

Dr. J.C. Cain of the Mayo Clinic. We talked about the difficulty in choosing new students. All had excellent grades, fine discipline, high motivation, and outstanding work habits. In searching for questions to use as he interviewed to discern he used “Tell me of your heroes.” Dr. Cain found this to be an essential cluse to their value structure.

Those who have no heroes have not yet identified their highest ideals. Greatness demands an appreciation of correct values as seen in others. As a person changes his heroes, he changes the direction of his. The saddest person of all is the one who egotistically become their own heroes, which is disastrously like trying to become one’s own god.

I am convinced that the one who occupies the hero category cannot be contemporaneous. We can admire, respect, and use men and women as models, but until they have run the race and their lives have assessed, I don’t see them as qualified for the true hero space. Finishing well is a current buzzword. I believe there is credibility in looking at the entire run. Dr. Donald Campbell, President of Dallas Theological Seminary in teaching on the kings of Israel pointed out one “lived too long” making his latter years shameful.

I often counsel young men to live their lives in such a way that they don’t “make a junkyard of their old age.” Live as heroes-in-training.

This week think about: 1) Who do I consider a hero? 2) When I was 10 who did I want to be? 3) How could I use the question about heroes this week to open up a conversation?

Words of Wisdom: “Don’t make a junkyard out of your old age.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Encourage younger men likewise to be self-controlled,[a] showing yourself to be an example of good works in every way. In your teaching show integrity, dignity.” (Titus 2: 6,7 NET Bible)

Relaxing for Health

Weekly Thought – June 11, 2024

Fred and Mary Alice lived close to the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas. He used to joke that he loved exercise. In fact, so much that on Saturday mornings he would stop by his favorite donut shop then drive over to the Cooper Center. As he drank his coffee and munched on his donut he would watch the runners circle around the track!

Relaxing for Health

Physical and emotional health is aided by relaxation. It helps the healing that comes from within when the motor is allowed to idle. The test of beneficial relaxation is that it gives more energy than it requires. We should come away from recreation re-created, not destroyed. How many times do you hear “I need a vacation to recover from my vacation?” That is not relaxation.

In this high energy environment we often let our peers set the standard for our relaxation. To be fun it must almost be hysterical. The idea of “extreme” physical exertion leads to burn-out.

Controlled recreation is not relaxing. I’ve seen the control types who say “alright, for the next five minutes we will relax” at a sales meeting. Or, heard children ask Type A fathers, “Are we having fun, yet, Daddy?”

One of the keys to my personal relaxation was understanding the sovereignty of God. When I found out He’s going to be able to continue running the world after I die I relaxed. When I fully realized God loves me, but doesn’t need me I found total relaxation. I could let go.

What most of us need to do is simply give ourselves permission to relax without guilt. A friend who travels internationally has found a short nap is a way to successfully recover from jet lag. He has incorporated it into his personal “standard operating procedure.” He found many couldn’t accept this for it created “work ethic guilt.” In my twenties when I was in charge of a factory and had my office in the building I took off my coat, climbed up on my conference table and took a nap. The President (and my mentor) was energetically wired could never understand this. We agreed to disagree because the results were there.

I am convinced the seventh day of rest wasn’t just for spiritual rejuvenation, but physical and emotional recovery. Thomas Kelley, the Quaker theologian and philosopher, wrote of finding the “quiet center” of life which cannot be disturbed by anything in life. Resting one day a week is a helpful tool and definitely finding genuine, authentic relaxation is a way to the quiet center.

This week carefully consider: 1) How do I use leisure time for true re-creation? 2) When do I feel the pressure of production which compromises my health? 3) When I think about Sabbath what comes to mind?

Words of Wisdom: “Physical and emotional health is aided by relaxation.”

Wisdom from the Word: “For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.” (Hebrews 4:10 NET Bible)

Principles from a Dramatic Rescue

Weekly Thought -June 4, 2024

Fred once said his “distillation process” was in born. He could take bountiful information and bring it down to helpful, transferable principles. He said as he worked through he would come to a point where he saw the “one liner” as clearly as if it were written on the wall. Principle-based thinking became a leadership trend long after Fred began operating this way.

Principles from a Dramatic Rescue

In 1987 the dramatic rescue of Jessica McClure held out constant attention. Since then we have had numerous news episodes, but this one began the “saga of spellbinders.” Do you remember the little girl who fell into the well? Her Mother’s heart condition kept her from watching. She told the rescuers, “Tell me when she comes up.” I scribbled down some principles I observed.

1) Our greatest joy can come our deepest sorrows. The length of the time she was in the well only exaggerated the relief and joy when she came up alive. The tension and the anxiety are represented in other areas of life, as well. For example, recovery from a life-threatening illness, return of a lost child, or the release of POWs.

2) Our handicaps can become opportunities. The man born without a collarbone was able to squeeze into the well where a fully formed man was blocked. All his life the volunteer suffered with his disability but then it became a strength. At times like these we think of Queen Esther and her Uncle’s words: “Perhaps you were born for such a time as this.” Our handicaps may be the ground of our greatest contributions.

3) How easily we forget our blessings. While Jessica was down in the well many around made deals with God in exchange for her safe return. It was His favor that restored her, not the “trades” made. And quickly after the emergency the source of the blessing was soon forgotten. It was no longer news!

4) Physical extrication is dramatic and exciting, but what about spiritual rescues? Would we work so diligently to save a soul fallen into the world’s well? The drama of seeing rescue teams, neighbors, and media work to bring her to the surface was electric. We all fought for her life. Would we fight as hard to free a soul from the depths of hell as we did to free Jessica from the well?

Think about this week?1) How often do I pass through my day without thinking about the principles of the experiences? 2) What would it take for me to stop and seriously think about the meaning of my family life, career, friendships, community?3) Who am I praying for a rescue from the depths of hell?

Words of Wisdom: “Data to information to knowledge to wisdom – that is the process.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Guide me into your truth and teach me. For you are the God who delivers me; on you I rely all day long.” (Psalm 25:5 NET Bible)

Keeping Things Healthy

Weekly Thought – May 28, 2024

Fred thought about all aspects of health. He enjoyed the friendship of medical professionals and engaged them in the philosophy of medicine. He carefully analyzed the meaning of full health (physical, financial, relational, spiritual) and monitored the elements each year (Note: These notes from Fred were dictated in the 80s. His consideration of this topic was early in the popular conversation.)

Keeping Things Healthy

I have eclectic reading interests although I stay within the categories of philosophy, psychology, and theology. This allows me to study much about both the nature of God and the nature of man. Our son, Fred once asked me, “Dad, if you had one more talk to give what would be your topic?” Without hesitating I answered, “The nature of God and the nature of man.”

I have been very much interested in how stress immobilizes our defense mechanisms. I feel the Bible oftentimes gives us the solution to the problem without stating the problem at all. It assumes we accept the Word as authority and that obedience will be beneficial.

Shame does not coexist with emotional health. I am thinking a lot about the relation between shame and guilt. As I see shame, it’s an evaluation of condition. Self-loathing is not equivalent to guilt which is a reaction to an act based on a personal value system. Some have no guilt after an act that would create enormous guilt in someone else. An article I read said that the only physical evidence of shame is a “turning away of the face.” Remember how Adam answered God after he had sinned, “I hid myself for I was ashamed.” I am going to continue thinking about the two concepts: shame and guilt.

Revenge is not part of the emotional repertoire of healthy people. Headlines about sports figures, business competitors – even ministry leaders communicate the destruction of revenge. Psychologically, revenge is known to be one of the most damaging emotions. Dr. Hans Selye, the noted Nobel Prize winning scientist, lists revenge as the #1 emotion to avoid. This just makes good sense. If you have a “hate list” – tear it up! I was having lunch with the President of a corporation going through some difficult competition. “I’m going to get those suckers!” I reminded him good, clean competition is perfectly acceptable for Christian businesses. But revenge is beyond acceptable boundaries. Filling our lives with vengeance destroys our peace, our health, and even our ability to operate with clarity.

Emotional health is part of the bedrock for good living. Establishing anchors for a life well lived is critical.

This week think about: 1) How effectively do I audit my emotional health? 2) What triggers my unhealthy emotions?3) Where are my strengths for a balanced life?

Words of Wisdom: “Revenge is not part of the emotional repertoire of healthy people.”

Wisdom from the Word: “A bright look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the body.” (Proverbs 15:30 NET Bible)

Committed to Service

Weekly Thought – May 21, 2024

Fred carried a pocket tape recorder with him. He always had scraps of paper (envelopes were a favorite) for catching thoughts and quotes. Margie spent nearly twenty years transcribing. Her typing speed was dizzying! One of the binders held one-liners, poems, humorous lines, miscellaneous quotes, and one labeled “Stories.”

Committed to Service

I was speaking in Kingston, New York, and my host planned to meet me at LaGuardia, driving me to the town. It was a cold February day, with snow and ice on the road. When he arrived, he had a young man with him doing the driving. He was not part of the “executive training program,” so I engaged him in conversation to hear his story. He was a local delivery truck driver who worked for a local firm.

He had insisted on driving because he thought my host was “getting up in years” and wouldn’t be comfortable or confident to drive in the bad weather. Along the way he made a stop saying he thought two gentlemen of our age would appreciate a cup of coffee and a restroom. I think I had just turned forty!

After the meeting I discovered someone took my overcoat. The young man thought an older man with a bad memory had taken it by mistake, so he drove to his house, rescued my overcoat, and returned it to the hotel. As he left, he wrote down his home phone number telling me I could call anytime for any reason. Earlier in the evening he heard me mention I was experiencing gallstone pain, so he included the phone number for the local hospital. As he left for home that night he asked if he could join the group for breakfast the next morning. He said he just liked to listen to the conversation.

He joined us and a few minutes before we finished. he left the table. He returned with an envelope in his hand. He passed it to me saying, “It is Valentine’s Day and you’ll be traveling. I was afraid you might forget to get your wife a card.” It was one of those extremely frilly, over-the-top romantic valentines which I would hardly have picked out for Mary Alice, but I was extremely proud to give it to her and tell her the story.

This was a young man totally committed to service. The menial tasks were done with a noble spirit.

This week carefully think about: 1) How aware am I of those who are committed to service? 2) What helps me be alert of stories around me? 3) Who deserves recognition for an outstanding attitude?

Words of Wisdom: “The menial tasks were done with a noble spirit.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.” (Romans 12:11 NET Bible)

Effective Organizations

Weekly Thought – May 14, 2024

Fred believed that two men early in his career verified his gifts of discernment and intuition. One was Ray Stedman, pastor of Peninsula Bible Church, and the other was Baxter Ball, Vice President of Mobil Oil. Combined with his ability to analyze and evaluate, he made great contributions to leadership thought.

Effective Organizations

Highly effective executives develop effective organizations. Of course, there is great variety in corporate cultures, but in my experience, there are two types of leaders: one with a focus on things and the other who operates focusing on people. The “things” style is strong on technique. There is a great need to know all the details of the operations. This style tends toward micro-management. To be successful the organization must remain small enough so that ongoing supervision is possible.

Let’s think about “people-focused” leadership. I have three points for you to consider:

1) Be sure you have the right people. Someone told me, “One of the biggest sins of management is not firing enough people.” The foot-draggers, the free-loaders, and the obstructionists should be put out. Incidentally, if you are ever in trouble, these are the first one to turn against you. It takes a tough-minded leader to get and keep the right people. It takes real courage.

2) Reserve for yourself the things that only you can do and delegate the rest. What are the things in your business that only you can do? It will vary. Some of you are creative; others are administrative. However, in every business there are things which only the top executive can uniquely do. If you are the kind who says, “I am the only one around here who can do anything…” you, my friend, are my number one candidate for a heart attack!

3) Develop your people. A study by a large corporation found that 85% of truly helpful development came on the job, not in extra development programs. Most of the answers for leadership development comes right from the job, not expensive and time -consuming programs. Probably most of you were primarily developed by someone who was willing to delegate to you.

Theodore Roosevelt said: “The art of good management is the ability to pick good people and the humility to leave them alone.” What an excellent choice of words. Strong leaders build people who can operate wisely and well without constant supervision. The leader who “needs to be needed is professionally needy and has some serious executive flaws.

Pick good people, delegate well, and grow the them. You will enjoy the fruits of an effective organization.

This week think about: 1) How would I assess my leadership style? 2) Who has been instrumental in my own personal development? 3) What is my unique contribution to the organization?

Words of Wisdom: “It takes a tough-minded leader to get and keep the right people.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Teach me proper discernment and understanding. For I consider your commands to be reliable.” (Psalm 119:66 NET Bible)

Decisive Actions

Weekly Thought – May 7, 2024

Fred spent much of his later years either in dialysis three times a week, or intense hospitalizations. His friends faithfully visited. After long stays one expressed his frustration in not knowing what to say when he was with Fred. “Bring him a problem,” was son Fred’s wise counsel. Sure enough, they started coming with decisions to be made, situations to discuss, and issues of concern. Three of the four “come to say goodbye to Fred” stays ended up with recovery and a return home.

Decisive Actions

Decisiveness is a quality of effective executives, but at the same time it is one of the rarest traits in most. Everyone likes to believe they are decisive – and are quick to declare it to others. However, most wait until they are forced into a decision or until the decision is made for them.

I have been accumulating clever ways people avoid decisions. And there is no dearth! You can see them every day. For example, there is the fellow who sits in a decision meeting, waits to see which way the wind is blowing, then makes a big deal about his decisive action. The worst offender is the executive who talks five minutes on both sides of the question, then emphatically announces, “That’s what I think.” Oh, no, there is one worse – he is the fellow who sits next to him, and says, “I agree with Joe.”
Actually, decisiveness is a matter of the will. I think I can illustrate it with a true story. I was on the West Coast consulting with Mobil for a few days. Being anxious to get home I caught the 11:30 American flight back to Chicago and on to Cincinnati. When I got to the check in a large crowd was waiting to load. Wanting to be graciously sociable, I got on first… to be helpful and get out of their way, of course. Eventually every seat on the plane was taken except one – the one next to me.

Just before the door closed a man at least 6’3” with big, broad shoulders and a flat stomach came running on the plane, sitting down next to me. He shouldn’t have done that. How unkind to make me uncomfortable all the way to Chicago as I sat there with my 225 pounds of solid blubber? I recognized him as Charlton Heston and began the conversation:

“Mr. Heston, you are in wonderful shape.” He said, “I have to be in my business.” I replied, “I wish I could be, too, but I have to work.” “Well,” he said, “I have to work, but I can stay in this kind of shape on 17 minutes a day.” He had no right to say that. That was totally unsociable. I have 17 minutes a day. He should have talked about half a day at the studio (which would totally count me out).

For 30 minutes I sat and stewed in my own fat, but whenever I am wrong I try to avoid admitting it through ingenuity.

“But Mr. Heston, I travel a lot.” He said, “So do I.” Then I asked, “What do you do about exercise when you travel?” He said, “It is simple. I go into the hotel room, take my luggage off the rack, sit down on it, and put me toes under the bed and do back bends.” It had been a LONG time since Fat Fred did that! However, again, when caught in the wrong, I don’t give up, so I countered, “What do you do about your shoulders?” “I roll under the bed and push the bed up in the air.”

Now, what is the difference between Heston and Smith? I saw the difference in a survey recently which indicated there was only one definable distinction between successful and unsuccessful people. The unsuccessful say, “I should – I ought to – I plan to – I’m going to” – but never do. The successful say, “I will.” They make the decision and take action. They do it.

This week carefully consider: 1) Where do I need to make a decision? 2) What excuses do I make? 3) How would my life change this week if I said “I will.”

Words of Wisdom: “Decisiveness is a matter of the will.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Bring a plan, make a decision.” (Isaiah 16:3(a) NET Bible)

Create a Positive Atmosphere

Weekly Thought – April 30, 2024

Fred gave his first professional speech in his late twenties to a human relations (then known as personnel) convention in Nashville. It garnered newspaper attention and opened the door for his second speech to be a national conference in Los Angeles. Years of keynote addresses, corporate conferences, and Christian organizations soon followed. These ideas are excerpted from a conversation about speaking well.

Create a Positive Atmosphere

To a large degree, the atmosphere we establish will determine how effective our talk is going to be. Atmosphere is created by both our verbal and nonverbal messages. I hear too many speakers who are sloppy in their opening comments. Perhaps it’s because they haven’t thought about it, but the negative mood they create is hard to overcome. All of us have heard a speaker begin, “I hope you all will excuse my voice this morning. I’ve had a cold all week.” Or, “I really appreciate your coming out on a miserable, rainy day like today.” Haven’t you heard one start with this hang dog start; “Folks, we are not getting enough people. When I stand up here and look at this sparse crowd.” You can fill in the blank and certainly determine the atmosphere created.

I enjoy starting with something like, “This has been a wonderful week” – people want to know why it’s been wonderful. It may be something as simple as “It’s been a fine week. I talked to some friends on the phone and was reminded of the marvelous gift of friendship.” This builds a friendly atmosphere. It conveys a feeling the audience can identify with. Perhaps they say to themselves, “Yes, I talked to some friends this week, too. And sometimes I forget how good that is.”

There are many ways to establish a friendly atmosphere. The most important thing is to avoid negative openings. Your own self-interest, or personal insecurity are not appropriate. I want to communicate openness. I want them to know I am there to serve them.
The setting of the atmosphere, of course, begins before I ever speak my first word. We can show friendliness by our demeanor on the platform. I try to pick out certain people and smile at them. This not only affirms those few people, but it shows the audience I am truly glad to be there.

For me, the most difficult of all disciplines in speaking is going into the talk with the proper attitude. If I do not want to speak, it is so difficult for me to speak well. Attitude control is essential. I must go with a friendly attitude, with a genuine desire to help the audience, and to give them something they will find beneficial. One of the best ways to let them know and to prepare my own attitude is to quietly, wordlessly pray then looking at the audience and affirming my desire to be helpful.

One note: it helps to notice how people are sitting and to gauge the emotional climate of the audience. This certainly affects how you need to come across to them. What do I mean? Think of the way that people sit in the room. When people are scattered in a sparsely populated auditorium they feel exposed. They can’t hide. In a jammed room, people think they are anonymous and you can detect and expect a more open response. In the smaller environment I have to be more personal, speaking as if I were face to face in conversation.

But whether you are a rookie speaker or a seasoned veteran, it is important to create a friendly atmosphere.

This week think about: 1) How do I feel about public speaking? 2) Who could I help by sharing these thoughts? 3) What can I do to create a friendly atmosphere for a speaker?

Words of Wisdom: “I must go with a friendly attitude, with a genuine desire to help the audience, and to give them something they will find beneficial.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The one who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious – the king will be his friend.” (Proverbs 22:11 NET Bible)

Conversational Simplicity

Weekly Thought – April 23, 2024

Fred kept an Albert Einstein quote in his office: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Fred loved the beauty of “how things work.” His fascination with machinery was well known to his family as he found his own solutions for mechanical problems around the house. Fred rarely watched TV, and never sat through a movie. These words are unusual, indeed… but helpful.

Conversational Simplicity

One night as I was going to bed Mary Alice had an old black and white western movie on. In it a taciturn thirtyish farmer marries a woman who is dying. The farmer promises to raise her baby boy. As she was dying he told her he wanted to build her a three room home with a porch where they could sit and rock under the hackberry tree. He did take the baby boy and raised him with a single dedication.

I was taken by the simplicity of the man, his singleness of purpose, and his absolute commitment. There were no psychological arguments in his life. He took the boy to raise; he accepted her death; and he buried her. These people required very little conversation because their commitment was total, simple, direct, and all-consuming.

It is hard to verbalize the elegance of the man when he told a dying woman of the house plans. His comment to the crying baby was, “I’ll raise you good if it takes every breath in my body.”

The simplicity of the conversation was part of the man. He would say “howdy” without embellishment. In the film his conversation was never more than two or three words… certainly made it easy on the script writer! One of his longest sentences was to the growing man as he enters manhood. “When you grow up I’ll buy you a gun, and we’ll shoot chicken hawks together.” When the man died, one of the other farmers said, “We never knew how much love was in him.”

The farmer said things simply, not feeling he had to justify or rationalize or make himself look good by his conversation. Much of urban conversation is impressing, embellishing, and striving for attention. Most talk to impress, not express.

The truth simply spoken is a brilliant jewel in an elegant Tiffany mounting… understated yet always appropriate.

Contrary to my challenge to others to stretch their experiences, the simple farmer in this movie built a significant life through the purposeful dedication to his son. The lessons he taught that young man probably equipped him for a good life. He knew the value of communicating beyond the limitation of words.

This week think about: 1) How careful am I with my words? 2) Who do I know who speaks little but says much?3) What commitments have I made that have changed my life?

Words of Wisdom: “We should talk to express, not impress.”

Wisdom from the Words: “A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3:7 NET Bible)

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