Weekly Thought – August 8, 2017

Fred’s thinking aided men and women for decades. He didn’t “shoot from the hip,” even though his style seemed extemporaneous. He invested hours considering questions from others who asked for his help. This week we excerpt some of his ideas on getting ahead in business.

Please continue praying for BWFLI as we develop the BWFLI Mentoring Roundtable which will roll out in 2018. We are organizing his mentoring questions, articles, and Fred Saids on the subject for use in focused campus events.

Plan Your Progress

File your flight plan carefully. It isn’t enough to have a personal plan for progress. It is also important to know how and with whom to file. Don’t assume the boss knows what you want for the future. Tell him or her carefully. They may think (and probably do) you want to do anything the company wants you to do. If you have a preference, then it is best to let it be known enough in advance not to work an inconvenience on the corporation at the time a change comes up. Be clear on what promotions, what segment of the business, or even location you prefer. Be willing to be inconvenienced for the business. But also recognize there is always a strong possibility your goals and that of the company can be coordinated. Don’t assume everyone knows.

Be sure your personal plan is written out. Often I’ve asked people what they want and their answer is, “Something better.” They wanted me to define it for them because they had not taken the time and effort to do it for themselves. Personally, I don’t believe I have ever had a boss who was more interested in my progress than I was. And certainly they didn’t have a greater responsibility for it than I did. Therefore, I needed to work the plan out in writing and as specifically as possible.

Senior executives have a clearer view of the overall strategy and the road ahead. There is a more satisfactory fit if they know what you want. Most will be impressed if they see you have thought it out. However, you don’t want to express these plans in a way which appears self-serving, or threatening.

And a warning: don’t give out more of the plan than is reasonable for the foreseeable future. If you want to be President, it is usually better to get to Vice President first! Too much advance talking can bring envy, opposition, and frustration. Keep a great deal of flexibility in any plan. Give out only those parts to those who can help at the appropriate time.

Be sure your plan is of mutual benefit to your employer. A selfish plan is dangerous. If it is totally selfish, then keep it to yourself. Selfish plans require manipulation and they don’t usually work out naturally. I found those with singularly focused on self-serving goals often failed to succeed in the long run.

This week think about: 1) Is my personal progress plan in writing? 2) How clear am I at work about my career goals? 3) Who should be included in my planning?

Words of Wisdom: “Be sure your plan is of mutual benefit to your employer.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Do not withhold good from those who need it, when you have the ability to help.” (Proverbs 3:27 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – June 20, 2017

Fred drew pictures for people to grasp concepts and apply them. He called his illustrations “handles on pots.” He wanted people to take ideas and make them usable personally and professionally.

Energy Levels

Life for most of us is somewhat like a two stage rocket. The first is physical energy – it ignites and we are off. As physical energy diminishes, the spiritual stage must ignite to boost us into orbit or we fall back. When I say “spiritual” I don’t mean religious, but activity of the human spirit.

I have seen two kinds of spiritual energy: ego and responsibility. I cannot tell in the production between the two, but I can tell the difference in the spirit of the two. Running on ego alone destroys a person like a machine without lubricant. The result is increased heat and then burnout. When our kids were learning to drive I tried to impress upon them the basic rules of automobile mechanics. One of them was fundamental: keep the oil clean and changed.

On the other hand, a sense of responsibility creates great energy – a uniting force which seems to get the person all together. It lubricates and so remains a protection to the machine. The faster the speed, the greater the lubricant. There is joy in the going with a well-oiled machine.

As I write I think of several friends – all high achievers. From the outside they all look equally productive. But underneath you see the ones which are driven by ego, and those motivated by responsibility. The ego lubricant will wear out and they are probably at risk for burn-out.

Remember, the energy fuel or lubricant is not part of the machine. It is external. It is an additive. The fuel drives the engine and the lubrication protects it against friction and heat. In some sense, we are all production machines. I am not equating being and doing, but in reality it is hard to separate a person from what they do and who they are. The two seem to generate a confluence.

You need to understand the differences in machines, as well as fuels and lubricants. Not all are gifted with high performance vehicles. But those who maximize the machine they were given by using the best fuels and lubricants can experience high levels of achievement and satisfaction. If you have a high performance machine, though, use it responsibly and in understanding. It is important to discard false humility. Always remember: humility isn’t denying the power you have, but admitting it came THROUGH you, not FROM you.

If you are given something great, then He expects great praise. Accept the fine machine you have, properly time it with excellent education, and break it in carefully with experience by not running too fast too soon. Select the fuel and lubricant best suited to your purpose.

Beware the leanness of soul by operating on cheap fuel. If you feel this, check the pump from which you are getting your gas. It may be mislabeled. Warning: don’t run too long on ego alone – it is dangerous stuff!

Think about: 1) How careful am I about the fuels and lubricants I am using in my machine? 2) How has ego negatively affected my effectiveness? 3) When do I feel like I am running “in the zone?”

Words of Wisdom: “Humility isn’t denying the power you have, but admitting it comes through you and not from you.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The reward for humility and fearing the Lord is riches and honor and life.” (Proverbs 22:4 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – May 2, 2017

Fred believed we have much to learn from our enemies. He also believed we are known by not only the friends, but also our enemies. He also believed in external and internal opposition. “Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.”

Overcoming, not Overwhelming

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan tells the story of Christian and his trek to the Celestial City. Along the way are the City of Delight and the Valley of Despair. He starts on his way, determined to persevere, but the enemies actively pursue him. Successful perseverance comes by overcoming the enemies cleverly disguised, and customized to fit each traveler and each situation.

Many of our obstacles may be external, but the most serious are generally internal. When I was a director of the S.H Kress Company, I visited the stores and asked the manager about his problems. If he described them as externally driven, I doubted his managerial capabilities. If he discussed the internal problems, I knew we had a manager with potential for progress. This manager defined situations he could do something about. Certainly, there were external threats, but most were out of his control.

Each step of the perseverance process comes back to building good mental disciplines. Fighting the enemies of endurance requires good habits. Start with a reflex, and then train it into a habit. Habits are our friends.

A couple came to see me saying, “We have a problem.” As I listened, it became clear she had nothing to do with the creation of the problem. Yet, she maturely accepted ownership as half of the marriage partnership. She could have easily said (and I have heard it many times before), “This stupid husband of mine, much against my advice, lost our money.” But she didn’t. And, eventually they worked together to find an answer. She knew that resolution, not recrimination, was the road to solution.

How easy it is in rough times to point fingers and shift blame. From childhood we learn to respond like a quick draw sharpshooter.”It’s not my fault.” Our third grandchild is a boy named Jeff. He was born behind two strong-willed sisters. One day when he was still a pre-schooler our daughter heard him mumbling to himself. She got close enough to hear, “Not my fault, not my fault, not my fault.” “Jeff, what did you do?” “Nothing – I’m just practicing for when Heather and Meredith blame me.”

This week think about: 1) What reflexes am I honing into good habits? 2) What are the customary pitfalls on my journey? 3) How do I assess my external and internal threats?

Words of Wisdom: “She knew that resolution, not recrimination, was the road to solution.”

Wisdom from the Word: “You have joy, Israel! Who is like you? You are a people delivered by the Lord, your protective shield and your exalted sword. May your enemies cringe before you; may you trample on their backs.” (Deuteronomy 33:29 NET Bible)

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)

Weekly Thought – January 3, 2017

Fred commented on New Year’s Resolutions: “They are usually last year’s regrets.” He was a proponent of healthy decision making, not emotional short-term reactions.

2017 is a year of promise for BWF. In addition to three campus events, we will be planning for a conference in 2018 titled “What’s Next.” More details will follow. Please pray for us as we start quickly with leadership institutes in February and April.

Decide Well

Our life is a network of decisions. A few are vital, but many more are more mundane. For example, the choice of a spouse and the decision to have children are two of the most critical, long-ranging. Buying a new suit is shorter term and less important – unless it results in a major fashion faux pas! And I have personal experience with this. A waitress once welcomed me to breakfast in a familiar place with a smile and, “Good morning, Mr. Smith, I see you dressed yourself today!”

Decision making is both an art and a science. I have known men and women who have the intuition for excellent decisions. They usually have the capacity to both see problems and solution possibilities. Charles Kettering, the automotive genius, once said, “A problem well-defined is half solved.” Other friends have said, “Knowing the options is the secret of good decision making.”

Executive and cabinet leader Robert McNamara had a regular management practice. Before he would accept a recommendation he would ask, “What other options did you reject before you chose this one?” When the answer was a sheepish admission that this was the first option, they would be sent back to reconsider and bring other options.

In order to pick the best option, you must know what the object of the decision is. Is this decision to solve a problem or open up a possibility? A key element of good decision making is recognizing the reality of the environment. I work to set aside all but the facts of the situation. When I have moved away all the emotional factors I can look rationally at the work that needs to be done. Too many people consider what they wish the situation were, what they hope it will be, without holding to the reality of what is.

Then I think through the ramifications of each option, as unemotionally as possible. I want to consider how each possibility would be implemented and executed. To make a decision without understanding the implications is poor leadership. So, I travel down the road with each option looking for potholes, faulty assumptions, and undesired outcomes. Good decision making is a satisfactory experience and worth the effort.

When this isn’t done, policies can be put in place which end up very ineffective, making management look weak. A good decision is structurally sound and effectively executed.

This week carefully consider: 1) What decision needs to be made this week? 2) How do I connect faith and decision making? 3) Who models good decision making?

Words of Wisdom: “Too many people consider what they wish the situation were, what they hope it will be, without holding to the reality of what is.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Whatever you decide on a matter, it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.” (Job 22:28 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – October 11, 2016

Fred’s strategic approach to life planning influenced generations of men and women. He focused on his gifts and the most effective way to use them. He said, “I have never felt time pressure because I didn’t get involved in things that weren’t mine to do.”

The Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute at Palm Beach Atlantic University will be October 26, 27th. Please pray for the team members, the faculty, students, and staff. We are blessed to share these days together “stretching and blessing the next generation of leaders… to the glory of God.” Please pray about participating with us financially. All gifts are tax deductible and gratefully received.

Where Am I Going?

Choosing a goal in life is not our most important decision – choosing our direction is. Chasing short-range goals can take us in the wrong direction. Mature success and satisfaction come from the direction in which we move, not in the goal that we attain.

Too much goal orientation brings us the same problem that Harvard Business School found in the case study system of teaching. Bright young students learned to solve problems rather than identify opportunities. The real progress in life comes in recognizing opportunities. Problem solving is important, but it is just a means of taking advantage of opportunities.

When we become too goal-oriented, we become almost mechanical in our approach to life. The totally technological vantage point tends to turn us into computers. Who wants that?

I oppose setting an ultimate goal for one’s life in the sense of a specific, definable, measurable place in life one hopes to arrive. To define a place where “I will have made it” puts too much importance on one decision after another. This deterministic approach creates a sense of futility to those who attain what they have aimed for, what they have defined as success, and what they see as the “end all.” Too often they realize that it was process and the journey that energized them, not the final goal achievement.

The becoming is the joy in the journey.

I am not opposed to planning, but I am much more interested in making decisions based on the impact they will have on who I will ultimately become. Following the path is an adventure. I don’t want to be so focused on goals that I get to the top of the ladder only to see that it is leaning against the wrong wall.

Goals are important as mile markers to confirm that we are traveling in the right direction. They are never to be an end in themselves. To adhere rigidly to our goals is to miss some of the excitement that comes spontaneously. It is also a clear way to miss so much of the life God has for us.

This week think about: 1) How well am I balancing goals and direction? 2) What measures am I using to determine if I am pleased with my direction? 3) Who is in my circle to help me assess my direction?

Words of Wisdom: “The becoming is the joy in the journey.”

Wisdom from the Word: “So you will walk in the way of good people, and will keep on the paths of the righteous.” (Proverbs 2:20 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – September 6, 2016

Fred differentiated between interest and curiosity – one he valued, the other he didn’t. He also had standards for criticism. The Smith children learned the value of “constructive criticism” as they grew up. They shocked Fred when they told him it wasn’t greatly appreciated. “But I knew you all wanted to improve so I felt it was my responsibility to point out the deficiencies.”

The Art of Criticism

Keep criticism positive. Recently I sat down and thought through the reasons for criticizing. I think most people would recognize themselves in my analysis. Three reasons were negative and one was positive.

1) Self-dissatisfaction: Sometimes we criticize we are just passing on a self-grudge. If before 10:00 in the morning I have been critical of everyone and everything I must stop and ask, “Fred, what are you mad at yourself about?” Generally, I have to stop, go make a phone call, and apologize for something. My environment won’t change until I stop being mad at myself and do what it takes to straighten it out.

2) Superiority: We criticize to show others our superior knowledge. How often do we find ourselves in a situation where someone throws out a really good idea and you go through these mental gymnastics: “Wow, that is a good idea, but if I am too enthusiastic I let him think he is smarter than I am.” So what do I do? I say, “Joe, that is a terrific idea, but…” Many “yes, buts” come from a desire to show superior knowledge.

3) Poor Performance: Much criticism comes from those who haven’t made the grade and want to “rain on somebody’s parade.” A bitter spirit often shows itself in critical remarks. I have found it necessary to neutralize work environments by removing those who become professional naysayers.

4) Improvement: A sincere desire to help others develop is a positive reason for criticism. Pointing out things others may not see in themselves promotes growth. It should be done quietly and kindly. It should be done in private. A rare exception is the heckler who shouts from the audience and needs “correction” publicly. This criticism should be disciplined to cover just the area in question with specific remarks which are made to build up and improve. The motivation of speaking to edify sets this reason apart from the others.

When you criticize positively, you are demonstrating emotional stability – a quality needed by every leader.

This week think about: 1) How do I accept criticism? 2) What triggers a critical attitude in me? 3) Where can I apply these ideas this week?

Words of Wisdom: “Many ‘yes, buts’ come from a desire to show superior knowledge.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The person who hears the reproof that leads to life is at home among the wise.” (Proverbs 15:31 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – August 30, 2016