Principles
Below is my ever-growing list of life and leadership principles. Some are my own some are taken from others:
When sharing vision remember that clarity beats creativity every single time
It’s more important to be kind than to be nice (yes there is a difference)
Leverage your strengths and never work on your weaknesses
Responsibilities are more important than rights
Suffering is a gift and leads to change
PEACE with God first, then you will find PURPOSE, then you can enjoy PLEASURES and not sin
Do not live for things under the sun...live for things of the Son
Try a lot of stuff…people long to follow leaders who try stuff
“Well Done” is better than “Well Said”
Replace judgment with curiosity
Winning happens in the morning
Leaders are learners
Small habits done daily create large impact over time
When your kids go out tell them to “be good” don’t tell them to “have fun”
No one is useless; you can always serve as a bad example (Steve Rice)
Don’t speak unless you can add to the silence (Lowell Short)
Come to work knowing what needs to be done and give every job away
Leaders should work on the organization and have staff work in the organization
The culture a leader creates is the world your employees live in…so lead wisely
When the Boss gets Better the Business gets Bigger
If you think you have to be the smartest person in the room you will eventually be in a room full of idiots (Proverbs 15:22)
Hard words make soft hearts. Soft words make hard hearts.
In Preaching: My job is to tell the truth. Your job is to make a decision.
Doing hard things in your job leads to success. Doing the comfortable things leads to mediocrity.
The leader has the most difficult and most rewarding job in the organization.
Leadership is simultaneously the most lonely and the most social in the organization
The motive for leadership isn’t rewards but responsibility
Leadership is about making other’s lives better not mine
Leaders exercise every day
In a crisis or tense moment have the lowest heart rate in the room
On my best days I ask questions, on my worst days I give advice
Leaders love meetings
Leaders know the difference between tensions and problems. Tensions are to be managed. Problems are to be solved.
Church should be masculine
Success isn't standing on a mountain of your talent. It's standing on top of a mountain of your failures rather than lying underneath them.
Your employees need to know how to win. Therefore, a job description should be a vision.
The only difference between a visionary and a lunatic is that the visionary turned out to be right
Never hire thinkers. Always hire doers. You can teach a does to think but you cannot teach a thinker to do.
Most often critics don’t hate you, they just love the organization
Leaders don’t build organizations they build teams that build the organization.
It’s okay if not everyone likes you…it’s not okay if they don’t respect you
Allow God to discipline you. Your followers/kids don’t need to know that you are always right. They need to know God is always right and sometimes that means you are wrong
Always choose reformation over revival
To reignite a church make the old people feel young
Hellos should be long…goodbyes should be quick
Leaders must know WHAT to do and WHY but rarely need to know HOW
You can have growth or control but you can’t have both (Craig Groschel)
Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone (Andy Stanley)
My best visions have always been branded in 5 words or less. Clarity.
Excellence is difficult
Have a low regard for the usual way of doing things (Jeff Bezos)
When it comes to excellence: teach new people the standard for excellence and let all the old people be grandfathered in.
When leading someone and they say “you’re right” you do not have them. When they say “that’s right” then you have them.
Lead out of a love for Jesus not out of hate for other churches (Sabbatical 2012)
If you fight against Jesus and win…you lose (Sabbatical 2012)
Delight before you Discipline (Proverbs 3:11-12)
Leaders love to make decisions
Leaders are the C.R.O.: Chief Reminding Officer
Script out your sermons/speeches. Every word counts.
Do not hire people…Select people
Embrace the suck
The worst hires I’ve ever made were people who were hard workers but incompetent
Hustle is a virtue
99% of problems are caused by poor communication and 99% of solutions are due to good communication
Growth matters…Jesus is not pleased unless every seat at the banquet table is full
Choose trust over suspicion (Andy Stanley)
Have measurable goals
Vision is like a Polaroid…it develops over time
Vision attracts criticism
When evaluating a potential staff member rate them on a scale of 1-10 but NEVER rate them as a 7. A 7 rating is a cop out. If they are a 8-10 then hire. If they are a 1-6 move on.
Leaders run towards the problem. Hired hands run away from the problem.
