Weekly Thought – June 6, 2017

Fred received regular calls and letters from those who valued his counsel. He never answered with pat phrases, clichés, or shallow answers. He carefully considered his answers. His responsibility to those who asked resulted in written material which still helps us.

Our BWFLI season wrapped up this Spring. Please pray for those who graduated, others who are seeking employment, and our school staff spending their summers preparing for next fall. Thank you for your consistent support. Your gifts of encouragement, financial resources, and team participation allow us to continue “stretching and blessing the next generation of leaders… to the glory of God.”

Older to Younger

(This is an excerpt from a letter written to a young businessman who asked Fred: “Can I be a Christian and still be a success?”)

I greatly appreciate your thoughtful letter. Your questions have been asked by business majors in more than 25 colleges and universities where I have lectured. They are important – and can be answered. I want to give you my thinking. I want it to be helpful.

Certainly I’ve seen individuals without integrity get promoted into high corporate positions and others get immensely rich using questionable methods. Yet, as long as corporate success and wealth have been reached by men who have not exchanged their souls, there is no conflict. You must understand the way of integrity and accept the price.

I believe in working for success much more than praying for it. Pray for maturity; work for success. My mentor, Maxey Jarman told me: “If a thing needs doing, it can be done honestly. If it can’t be done honestly, then it doesn’t really need doing.” Often dishonest methods are simply a shortcut to what could be proper goals. If the goals are honest, then the means and methods can also be honest. I hardly believe there could be proper goals with no proper means for reaching them with full satisfaction.

Let me illustrate: There is a choice of ways to get into a ball game. The proper way is to buy a ticket. You can then relax, and enjoy the game with your integrity intact. However, another way is to climb the fence or crash the gate. Some prefer the anxiety of this way. It is a “something for nothing” – and some believe it is the same with quick, though questionable, steps to sudden success. Both see the game, but there is a big difference. One pays their way with dollars; the other pays their way with their character.

As we begin our discussion of success, let’s be clear that success isn’t defined by wealth. The important principle “Success is using your talents and gifts to their highest advantage and contribution.” I often say it this way: “Success is the ratio between talents given and talents used.” Money may come with this, or it may not.

Think about: 1) What lesson am I learning from a mentor? 2) Who is benefiting from my life experiences? 3) When have I sacrificed my character for short-term gain?

Words of Wisdom: “I hardly believe there could be proper goals with no proper means for reaching them with full satisfaction.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The one who conducts himself in integrity will live securely, but the one who behaves perversely will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – October 20, 2015

Fred’s bride of 67 years would have been 100 on Sunday of this week. They met in seventh grade English class, but didn’t date until they both graduated from Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville, TN. In those days many scamps called it Human Frog! Her devotion to Fred lasted until her last breath. On this day in 2004 just weeks before her death, she turned to him in their side by side hospital beds, looked at him and said, “You are a good looking boy!”

Please continue to pray for the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute as the 2016 and 2017 planning begins. The ability to begin conversations and create connections is a very real mission. Thank you for your encouragement.

Color of Inner Credit

Texas is my adopted home state. I was raised in Tennessee but gravitated toward the Lone Star state through business (“bidness” to Texans) and Focus Weeks on Baptist campuses. I discovered personalities as big as the hats.

My friend Vivian Mead regaled all of us with stories of growing up in West Texas. Her tales of driving people off the sidewalks seemed perfectly natural.

An anonymous friend was a devoted hunter and ended up with a rather balding old lion after a hunt. His wife ordered a wig and had it fitted on the thinning mane.

Colorful personalities are a tangible asset. I have known many businessmen who borrowed against them. But without an equivalent character, color fades. Too many attempt great efforts with only flashy styles without waiting for the slower methods. This creates a hollowness.

One successful Texas told me, “I had the ability to borrow money before I had to ability to make it.” He said he would have missed out if his profit performance justified the money he needed. He had the talent to bring color and productivity together, but not all do. In Texas they have an apt expression: “He is all hat and no cattle!” This is color without anything to back it up.

I found in Eastern corporations the wide open, personality-driven style created wariness. The “Howdy, podner” was a novelty, but often questioned. The genuine articles won over the skeptical, but the ones who tried to ride in on nothing but personality soon found a cold reception.
Colorful personalities are noticed more quickly than others. But there has to be substance – there has to be some cattle to back it up. I enjoy the bold brashness of my southwestern friends, but I also respect the effort they make to be real.

This week carefully consider: 1) Who are my colorful friends? 2) How much of what I do is personality driven? 3) What can I do to develop depth?

Words of Wisdom: “Colorful personalities are a tangible asset.”

Wisdom from the Word: “He commanded them: ‘Carry out your duties with respect for the Lord, with honesty, and with pure motives.’” (2 Chronicles 19:9 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – August 11, 2015

Fred enjoyed reading military history. The strategies of great generals intrigued him, as did their motivations. One of his favorite stories was the one of Robert E. Lee’s young officer who ended each letter with YTCO: Yours to Count On. During a long hospital stay, one of his granddaughters sent him a simple piece of paper with those letters. They hung on his wall until his discharge.

Planning for the 2016 and 2017 BWFLI schedules is moving ahead. Teams of men and women who are committed to “stretching and blessing the next generation of leaders… to the glory of God” are forming.

The Three Aspects of Action

We must consider three aspects as we think about action: 1) concept 2) system, and 3) philosophy. The concept defines the basic principles. The system is the implementation method for these principles. And, the philosophy is the reason for doing it.

Let’s say it another way: The concept is the what to do; the system is the how to do it; and the philosophy is the why of doing it.

Once the concept is clearly understood the system becomes a matter of technological development and procedure. However, until the concept is crystallized, it is counter-productive to move ahead. One of the great aspects of leadership is setting the vision and then drawing everyone together under the banner.

A major downfall is attempting to repeat systems without thoroughly analyzing the situation. I always like to say, “keep current.” This means knowing all the details which will influence the impact of an action. Concepts can be transferable more easily than systems and implementation. There are very few situations which totally parallel each other and respond to the exact same systems. The great leaders know how to identify the differences and adjust accordingly.

An example of this is my experience with the great National Steel Strikes in the 1950s. I was called in to develop strategies for management. They pulled out ideas that had worked in the past and since their goal of coming to a positive outcome was the same, they assumed they could use the same system or technique. Again, updating your facts before taking action is critically important.

Action also requires art and science. Some aspects can be formularized, but others must be developed through experience. Asking the right questions, listening carefully, and watching body language enable one to read situations. In Texas they laugh about people who go “ready, fire, aim.” Jumping the gun in taking action can be deadly – and often very costly.

Knowing what to do, how to do it, and why to do it allows a leader (and the organization) to clearly develop a workable process which leads to success. Repeating past successes without current updating, or heading off without a proper vision can only lead to disappointment.

This week carefully consider: 1) Which aspect of action is my soft spot? 2) Where have I matured the most? 3) How can I use Fred’s thoughts to develop others?

Words of Wisdom: “The concept is the what to do; the system is the how to do it; and the philosophy is the why of doing it.”

Wisdom from the Word: “How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, who obey the law of the Lord.” (Psalm 119:1 NET Bible)