principled management – SOLUM SERVICES

Risk It! Stand Ground. Give Ground.

Pick your battles. There is a time to stand and a time to give ground. Use wisdom. Move purposefully.

Phil:1:27: But whatever happens, make sure that your everyday life is worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I do come and see you, or merely hear about you from a distance, I may know that you are standing fast in a united spirit, battling with a single mind for the faith of the gospel and not caring two straws for your enemies. (J.B. Phillips translation).

A winner….. knows when to fight and when to compromise.

A loser ….. fights over the wrong things and compromises at the wrong time.

Hebrews 12:14 Let it be your ambition to live at peace with all men and to achieve holiness “without which no man shall see the Lord” (J.B. Phillips translation)

Winners know when to fight to win and when to give. In the song, “The Gambler”, the advice was given, “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.” There is a fight worth fighting, and there are items in life not worth the effort.

Winston Churchill in the darkest hours of England’s battles with Germany had this sense. When others wanted to lay down and give up he stood ground and challenged, “Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.” The war was won over courage and tenacity and knowing the fight needed to be fought.

You have to know when to fight. After living in their new home for a year, the Newbies had a major problem. Sewage came running over into the downstairs bath, living room, and entry foyer. What a mess! Massive cleanup, roto-rooter, and a few days of showering at the neighbors did not fix it. The city claimed the problem was theirs, the plumber claimed the city needed to fix it. Two great neighbors and a day of digging exposed a major city problem. Out they came, and yes, they fixed it. They dug 14 feet deep, repaired the sewer main, and replaced fences they had to tear down. But, they didn’t take care of the carpet and house. Forms, forms, and more forms, telephone calls, working with city attorneys, and a lot of prayer resulted in a surprise. One night the local city councilman called to alert the Newbies that their reimbursement request was scheduled to get the hatchet the next day at the city council meeting. P. Newbie showed up at the council meeting of this large metropolitan community. Deep in the docket was a line item scratching the claim along with over 30 other homeowners. What could he do? Fight. Fight for his wife to get carpet. Fight for restoration. Fight he did. First in prayer, then in rhetoric. “Mayor, my friends and I dug a 7 foot deep hole to show the city that the problem was theirs, I am willing to dig a 7 foot deep rhetorical hole to help the council see it needs to pay these costs.” The council halted him right there and offered to pay a reasonable settlement. No one else was awarded that day. The clerk could not believe it when she issued the check.

You have to know when to give and compromise The budget battle was intense. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in expansion monies were battled over by several departments. Systems executives along with P. Newbie decided to withdraw and let the money go to retail remodels. Eight months later accounting in an executive meeting moved $50,000.00 to systems and challenged them, “See what you can do with that.” After 30 days of scramble and results, they gave them another $400,000.00 to spend moved from retail remodels.

Take Inventory

Where do you need to fight? Does someone need defending?

Where do you need to lay down your arms? Is it better to give now and win a friend?

Make Application

Write what you are going to specifically do in the next 30 days about this.

Pray To Have Wisdom

Father, teach me. Show me wisdom to count the costs of every battle and decide. Help me to see when I need to simply serve by not fighting for my preferences. Help me see when I need to rise and defend my family, pastor, employer, friends. Enliven my heart to be a wise warrior with what is entrusted to me.

Risk It! Change

Every great innovation began with a resistence to status quo. The greatest status quo that hinders is personal character.

Phil:4:8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9: Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

A winner …shows he is sorry by acting differently.

A loser…. says, “I’m sorry”, but continues to do it again.

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

You would like to get victory over weaknesses, wouldn’t you? That is what Jesus is all about. In the book of the Revelation there are many promises to the one who overcomes, stays until the end, “takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin”, keeps moving on. Our weaknesses, insecurities, nuances of personality haunt us in the path of the winner. Over and over we will make mistakes, glitch in performance, slip climbing the ladder, fall on our face, get egg on our face, boondoggle……sin.

Yes, one key word used for sin in the Bible is simply to miss the mark. Shoot at a goal and miss it. Decide we want to be loving and react with anger. Decide to keep our minds pure then fill it with trashy books, magazines, and the boob tube. Promise to a wife or son or daughter or friend or neighbor or coworker or employee or employer and then not follow through. Sin.

The question is, “What do we do then?” Do we take a winner’s stance or a loser’s escape. Do we face up, fess up, and clean the mess up? Or do we put on a face, say, “I’m sorry”, and fade away only to do it again and again?

Winners change. Winners find a way to do life differently the next time.

Some years back a famous jewel thief was being interviewed over his life. He had spent many years in prison. His modus operandi was to only steal from the rich and famous. The interviewer asked him what his biggest theft was. His reply was, “Me.” The explanation was simple. He had stolen his own life. What could have been a great creative mind used productively was used to steal and hurt. When you refuse to change and use the talents and strengths God gives you, you are stealing from yourself. Your time, energy, and talent go into actions that only produce hurt and pain for you and others. Why not change to a better way? Why not get a new thought process and quit doing what doesn’t work, what only hurts?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12: 1-2 NIV.

Take Inventory

What needs changing in your thought life?

What can you fill your mind with that will cause the old thoughts to go out and new ones come in?

Make a date with destiny. When are you going to start?

Make Application

Write what you are going to specifically do in the next 30 days about this.

Pray To Be Changeable

Father, quicken my mind and heart. I make mistakes everyday. Help me not repeat them. Help me overcome the items in life that are so easy to do wrong. Focus my thoughts on good things, pure, lovely, true, honest, excellent things that cause me to follow through with real change not just being sorry.

3V Decision Criteria

Posit this! Every action you take, every thought you make should be measured against the 3V criteria. Validity, vitality, and veracity need to mark your reputation and the reputation of your organization or business. Consistent failure on any of these over your history will eventually mean failure of your endeavors. You may make money, fulfill the purpose of your non-profit, and have fun without them. You are not successful. You will fail or your successors will fail.

As a leader, ingrain these in your psyche. Your personal reputation and continuance depend on them. When others doubt you (and they will), your ability to face the mirror in the morning and be true to yourself is what will move you forward in life. When you revel in victory, the congruence of these in the actions and intents that took you to the mountain will sweeten the taste. When you struggle with results, the confluence of these bolsters confidence better days await.

To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. William Shakespeare

Validity

A valid thought or action is in the right time for the right reason. Every venture has a sequence and a rhythm. Today may not be the right moment to launch a new product line. It might be a good product, but the operation is not ready to support and the customers have not been informed.

An invalid is someone struggling with a disabled portion of the balance. An invalid action is the same. It struggles in some measure due to imbalance. Something is wrong with the preparation or timing or maybe the idea itself.

Be valid in your actions and thoughts. Match the time and reason.

Leaders struggle with this concept. Our vision for direction and purpose can overwhelm our ability to move with right time and reason. Continual steps out of time will cause others to doubt your leadership. Do all you can to ensure this is the right time and reason in relation to the people, progress, priorities, processes, projects, tools and technologies, and products and services. (Five Ps).

Progress and priority are factors to assess when testing for validity. Are other factors aligned to make this work? Has sufficient progress been made in all areas relative to support? Is this a priority that will happen? Is there commitment?

Be valid as a leader.

Vitality

A vital thought or action is full of energy and passion and purpose. It fulfills the destiny and design of the organization or operation. It takes energy. (Energizers)

Leaders need energy in constant measure. How painful is it to watch a leader with a great opportunity to implement a valid solution and yet they do not have the force of life to execute? It happens. We let our passion and purpose become diluted by invalid action and distress. Don’t. Stay on track. Keep your energy up.

Vitality is easier when you are working with purpose and design. It is tough to support an initiative that does not fit the purpose of an organization. You’ve been involved in those. They stifle creativity and stymie progress. Some board member wants to please a friend and asks you to run in circles to help them out while critical issues lack attention. It sucks away vitality.

Veracity

A veracious thought or action is marked by integrity, ethicality, and honesty. It is true to all involved. There is no hint of injustice, unfairness, or dishonesty. Now this is a tough one to hit in today’s business and community environments. It is worth all the effort you can give it.

Disconnect on this item is huge. Hypocrisy is evident when your corporate intent is simply words on a page for marketing and recruiting.

Be the same leader at home, at work, and in the community. Do what you do in the best interest of the other person. “You can have anything you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar. ““Treat men exactly as you would like them to treat you.” Jesus of Nazareth

Be direct with communication. Be transparent. You don’t have the latitude to dispense everything you know to everyone you know. That is a matter of right discretion. You do have the requirement to be authentic and considerate.

Summary: Every leader will be judged by results. Results will be consistently productive when you tend to validity, vitality, and veracity.

Manage Well: Eclectic Tips on Excellence by Philip Larson

Link: http://amzn.com/B00JG0M1BG

Manage Well – available on kindle now.

Power Principle Choices: These subjects were selected by members of teams I’ve managed as their favorite sayings learned working with me. In a surprise session, they unveiled a 31 day flip book with key sayings they had heard from me over and over. Apparently, they are such a part of my vernacular they decided to keep notes. Managers are teachers.

After working with a team in one company, I met for lunch with the manager. It had been ten years since I worked in that company.

He shyly said, “We still use the PAL method.”

I responded, “What is the PAL method?”

He then explained that I had signed every directive and procedure with my initials, PAL. They had studied the methods behind the memos and made a system out of them. That is an honor. But, I reminded him they should be learning and growing and not get too bound in prior principles. However, principles are timeless. Look for the principles.

If it works for them, then I am honored. If it works for them it will work for you. There are few others I snuck in besides the 31 and a few I left out for the next book. Enjoy

Management is a craft. A craft is when talent is developed with training and application. There needs to be a base talent for leading and managing on which you build knowledge and skill and mix a little artistic individual expression. No two individuals manage exactly the same. How boring would that be?

After years of studying, going to classes, getting degrees, learning from mentors, reading every day, teaching in conferences, counseling with mentees, and just plain doing the do, one of my frustrations is the secretive nature of leaders. It seems they want you to drag the most important tips out of them. Really, that is intentional. A good leader never gives away everything. In fact, I’m going to give away the unspoken rule of leadership that did not make it into the team member selection, because I rarely state it publicly.

“Hold wisdom close. Only release it to anticipating learners.”

One wise wisdom steward said it this way. “Correct a fool (someone who does not want your correction) and he will turn and shame you with it.” Ouch! How true. Over time, when a leader meets this truth a few times, she becomes guarded with what she shares and with whom.

You Stand for What You Tolerate: Two Intolerable Stances for Any Leader

Tolerance has a clear definition and requires clear standards. When you live with weak tolerance, you live weak. When you live with strong tolerance, others become strong. Any leader must have standards to define the limits of tolerance. Those standards assist in accomplishing vision and mission in both short and long term initiatives.

Who said it, “You stand for what you tolerate.”? I found it well said in Marlo Thomas’, The Right Words At The Right Time Vol 2. Many would say, “You get what you tolerate”. But I like the prior phrase.

The ancient proverbial Solomon wrote, “Out of the fullness of your heart, your mouth speaks.” That is pretty close. He wrote more than a few other wisdoms on the need for discipline and vision. You stand for what you tolerate.

There are two intolerable stances for any leader.

-Tolerance without standard. How often do we act in fear in our organizations and in front of those we are called to lead by example? Someone points an accusing finger at another’s actions and we react in fear of some unknown legality or loss of face in the masses. No leader can lead long without standards. An issue arises and we allow weakness to make decisions because we do not have dedicated enough time prior to establish our priorities and principles.

A computer installation for a large company hit a standstill. Managers had been pleading for right electrical backup in an area plagued with storms, but the company standard of “tolerate failure until it costs a fortune or breaks a visible law” was in play. Now it was getting ready to cost a fortune. Every worker was doing something different and the manager responsible could not direct the mess effectively. Yes, it did cost a fortune to get out of the mess, but standards based risk policy would have deemed the situation intolerable well before the failure and have avoided major expense and exhaustion of staff. You stand for what you tolerate and you get what you tolerate

-Standard without tolerance. This one will strangle the best of leadership and organizations. “Well this is the decision of the board and we will implement with no questions.” Of course, no decision has thought through every implication or situation that will transpire. Thinking people were dispatched to manage through the muddle. Have you ever made this mistake.

A successful company was hard at work following the directions of the consultant. Why would this group not just comply? These manufacturing based principles must work in service sectors, too, right? Wrong. They would work with some revision, but not straight out of the guru box. Smart managers needed to be allowed to apply the principles in a slightly different manner than the book. The result was a struggle. And with wisdom, in this instance, the team managers prevailed and were allowed to make right modifications. The result was a 40% decrease in costs alongside a service turnaround deliverable that went from 10 days to 2 days on a regular basis. A strict adherence to the standard would have brought everything to a standstill and crushed the teams involved. Team members were energized and worked for years coming up with improvement after improvement because tolerance was built into the standard.

Summary: You stand for what you tolerate. You get what you tolerate. These two intolerable stances can cost you major progress and undermine morale and loyalty. They are quite common. Take a few minutes this week to mull over your standards and ensure you haven’t violated these. If you have, you are suffering now. The evidence may not have surfaced. It will. And it will cost you in ways you would not tolerate if you realized it.

Let us help you. This is what we do.

Start a conversation. phil@shepherdok.com