Power, Position, Prestige…or a Life Well Spent?

What do you imagine your ‘last words’ might be? Someone was listening in to a few famous people as they breathed their last; here’s what they said. “I'm bored with it all.” (Before slipping into a coma.)  ~~ Winston Churchill, statesman, died January 24, 1965

“How were the circus receipts in Madison Square Gardens?”  ~~ P. T. Barnum, Circus Promoter, died 1891

“All my possessions for a moment of time.”  ~~ Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England, d. 1603

Business leader Malcolm Forbes's life emphasized the epicurean philosophy, “Eat, drink, and be merry – for tomorrow we may die.” He was famous for denying himself nothing that money could buy. Malcolm threw himself a birthday party for his eightieth birthday that cost $1,000,000. The party favors were amazing! He flew two or three hundred of his closest friends to Tangier in a chartered 747 jet. He knew, and was known by, every important person in the world of politics and finance. He built one of the world’s great fortunes as one of its foremost publishers. It seems that Mr. Forbes philosophy of life would be that we should strive to see, taste, hear, experience, or possess as much of the world’s various valued faire as possible before the time to depart it comes. I wonder what his last words were!

Actually Solomon, the Bible king was richer than Malcolm Forbes. He pursued meaning in things, in work, in money and in entertainment. Listen in to his words,

“I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who lived in Jerusalem before me. I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire! So I became greater than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. And with it all, I remained clear-eyed so that I could evaluate all these things. Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional reward for all my labors.” Ecclesiastes 2:4-11

You may come to the end of your life’s journey with a large amount of wealth or you may be honored by your peers for your accomplishments. But what do you suppose it might all mean to you as you face your last moments on earth? Do you suppose that you might hold a stock portfolio to your chest and gain comfort by looking at the number of shares on the certificate? The house that you own, the backyard renovation, the new carpet or the car…none of which you’ll ever see again… how much will they mean then? Likely not much at all. As you slip across the threshold into the arms of God, they’ll mean even less…actually nothing at all unless they were used for lasting purposes.

The Apostle Paul who was mentored by Jesus Christ had it all, the social status, the recognition, the power. He could even throw his enemies into jail. He was respected by the existing religious authorities of his day, he was an ‘up and comer’, “of the stock of Israel, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee.” He said all of those status symbols, the power, prestige, position type things, became “rubbish” to him when he met Jesus Christ.

What in the world would make him change his mind about things like that? Why would he give up the power and access to affluence? Paul believed that there are things that are even more important than power, position and prestige. He believed in eternal things. He knew that, “You cannot serve both God and money.”

How about you?  What are you striving for? Who are you trying to be like? When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus Christ, he either gradually or immediately, stopped pursuing the status and values of this world. He, either slowly or immediately, began to pursue only those things that would promote and proclaim the great news of hope and meaning and purpose that is found in Jesus Christ. To him life became, “forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ.”

We only have so many assets to invest. Our assets are the amount of time we have left, the money that we control, the relationships we have, and the package of gifts and talents that God has given us. Investing them to honor God and proclaim the kingdom of God is why we’re on earth. How about you? Have you invested well on earth so that your dying words will reflect an eternal legacy?

************

Greg Leith was born in Canada and has lived in all four corners of North America. His career spans over 35 years of senior leadership roles in corporate, nonprofit and academic sectors. He is currently the CEO of Convene , a nationwide group of hundreds of faith based CEO’s learning together to grow exceptional businesses, become higher-impact leaders and honor God. He serves on various boards related to his passion of faith integrated with the marketplace, and he loves helping people get clarity on mission and purpose as a certified life coach. Married for over 35 years to his wife Shelley, he’s the father and friend of five thriving young adults. He and Shelley love to speak on marriage and parenting for FamilyLife, and they live in Southern California.

The Business of Business is Planning

If you don’t get this right a lot of things will happen and none of it is good! Planning, in my view, must be strategic, deliberate, premeditate, calculated, considered, and intentional. We are admonished to do everything decently and in order.

My question to you is, “How do you know what direction to take unless you plan it out?”

If there was one I believe that these people, among others, would be included in the “Planning Hall Of Fame”; those that planned strategically as they sought to carry out God’s vision for them:

1] Jethro, Moses father-in-law, mentored Moses to appoint officials over the people of Israel and had them serve as rulers to judge over the people. [Exodus 18: 17-27]. I view Jethro as history’s first organization development consultant.

2] King David knew his role in the planning for and staging of the resources needed for the building of the temple and left everything needed for Solomon to complete the building of the temple.

3] Nehemiah made careful preparation and plans for the rebuilding of the Wall around Jerusalem.

4] The apostle Paul developed a strategic missionary strategy of proclaiming the gospel and establishing churches in centers of commerce from which believers could take the gospel to outlying villages.

5] Jesus Himself was a planner. Reading the gospels I get the clear sense that Jesus operated intentionally. He was clear about His identity, His mission, and deliberately went to places like Caesarea Philippi just to ask the disciples, “Who do you say that I am”. He could have had that conversation anywhere but he intentionally traveled a long way to just to ask that question; “Why”, is the subject of another blog.

Additionally as the time approached for Jesus to complete His mission, he moved intentionally toward Jerusalem in order to complete His Father’s mission for Him. He knew His plan and was able to declare, “It is finished”.

Jesus gave the disciples a vision, provision and a plan to reach the world when He told them, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Throughout biblical history Godly people have been planners and strategic about it. Prayerful and thoughtful analysis and preparation are the keys in designing for success in the work of God.

Questions that support the need for planning include:

• “Who are we?”, is about mission and purpose

• “Where are we?”, is about analysis

• “Where are we going?”, is about vision

• “How are we going to get there?”, is about planning

• “How are we going to pay for it?”, is about cash flow generation and management

• “How are we doing?”, is about implementation and measurement and Course correction

The purpose of planning, which is the Business of Business, is to ultimately create a set of priorities that enable a CEO to act courageously and responsibly today in order to advance toward a God given future vision and legacy with an ever greater expression of God’s power in the marketplace. It is an intentional systematic effort to seek the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to discern the will of God as we move into the future.

If a designated leader isn’t planning how can that person really be a leader? My experience as a business leader is that there is no substitute for good planning and preparation leading to efficient and effective implementation.

King Solomon wrote, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint”. Jesus says, “My people perish for lack of vision”.

Here is a question for you to ask of yourself, “What area of my life and business do I need to be more strategic about?”   God wants to reveal to us not only what we are to do but give us the energy, will and determination to do it strategically, faithfully, and persistently.

“Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully, prepare prayerfully, proceed positively, pursue persistently.”   William Arthur Ward, inspirational writer

Here I am Lord send me!

The Convene points of difference: A conversation among Convene chairs

Convene Chairs eat their own cooking. They get together and work challenges and opportunities just like the CEO teams they gather. In a recent conversation we talked about how we have come to understand and respond to the question that often comes:  "What are the points of difference between Convene and other peer-based advising groups for CEOs and business owners?"

Our answer? We have:

* An Essence Process (that distills the team's best thinking)

* The Holy Spirit Co-Creating Wise Counsel (with like-minded peers)

* A Safe Peer Environment Committed to the Ongoing Transformation of the Leader (producing trust, vulnerability and speed of decision-making)

These elements, when combined, lead to greater clarity sooner.

 This in turn, empowers our members to make more confident decisions, grounded in deeper understanding for greater (Kingdom, business and family) impact.

Three great temptations wage war against a CEO:  fear, pride and confusion. When a CEO does not have clarity on the issue at hand, on God's will for them and their stewardship of the company, or on a particular opportunity, it is nearly impossible to act dutifully. Fear, pride and confusion block right and timely action.

The alternatives are twofold:

1) To not act, delay the decision, gather more facts, avoid, put off, minimize, rationalize or spiritualize.

2) To act with compromised effect based on un-clarity of purpose, opportunity, etc.

By engaging a Convene Team with a tough issue, a CEO is:

1)   Humbling themselves by submitting their pride to the counsel of the team, thereby counteracting the enemy's tool of pride;

2)   Gaining truth, wisdom, insight and clarity, thereby counteracting the enemy's tool of confusion;

3)   Gaining depth as a leader, borrowed experience and encouragement from others thereby counteracting the enemy's tool of fear.

"For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace." (1 Cor 14:33 - ESV)

It is interesting that Paul, who wrote those words, creates a dichotomy between confusion and peace.

And so, we answer the question about the Convene distinctive as more confident decisions, grounded in deeper understanding for greater (Kingdom, business and family) impact... and personal peace.

Convene Chairs

-Harris Wheeler

-Marcus Bigelow

-Mark Vincent

-Michael Powers

-Mike Petty

-Ron Hoover

-Todd Kemp

As Proud Entrepreneurs We Have The Opportunity To Share

We business types are proud to be described as entrepreneurial.  According to Peter Drucker, entrepreneurship is about taking risk. The entrepreneur is willing to put his or her career and financial security on the line and take risks in the name of an idea, spending time as well as capital on an uncertain venture. Most of us would agree with that definition and most of us have had the opportunity to experience the “highs” of success and the “lows” of failures from the risks and ideas we have pursued.

As Christian business owners, what are we called to do with the wisdom and experience gained through these successes and failures?  The Bible is filled with passages that give us direction on that question:

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:16)

"One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches." (Galatians 6:6)

Knowledge of God’s plan for our business talent and experience directs us to the question, "How can I help others develop their entrepreneurial capability?"

Peter Greer, President of Hope International and a speaker at the 2015 Convene Leadership Summit, continues to challenge all business leaders to share their entire entrepreneurial gift and experience with others.  In his recent book with co-author Chris Horst, Entrepreneurship for Human Flourishing, we see that free enterprise and entrepreneurship are integral to advancing human flourishing around the world. And it is the most effective way to overcome poverty and hunger.

Jeff Rutt, a member of our Convene team, founded HOPE International in 1997 motivated by a church mission trip to the Ukraine where he recognized that the charity food programs were not being successful–the people needed a “hand-up” instead of “handouts.” Jeff has always been bold in his business and life pursuits.  He bought the 200 acre family dairy farm from his father when he was 16 years of age. He and wife Susan operated the farm for 10 years, and after a decade of hard work and 100 hour weeks in dairy farming, Jeff decided to change careers. "I looked for something with lower risk and fewer hours" Jeff says with a straight face. "So I got into home building."

For the past 8 years Keystone Custom Homes has been the highest ranked builder in the mid-atlantic region. The 2015 sales goal for Keystone is 400+ new units. Whether farming, building, or founding Hope International, Jeff Rutt has always been an Entrepreneur who seizes The Opportunity

Making Common Sense a Common Practice

Johnny was a really good dancer. In fact, he was the best dancer in our high school. He learned the latest dances, taught them to the rest of us, and was always the star of the school socials. Apparently he caused quite a stir among our friends. One commented, “Johnny’s good. And he knows it!” Let’s think about this comment. Wouldn’t it be a shame if you were good and DID NOT know it! It would be awful to go through life not realizing that you were competent, capable, able and effective. Obviously, Johnny knew he could dance. He was confident enough to learn new dances and to “perform” them. He possessed one other trait: he believed he was good! He believed in himself. He was not cocky nor was he conceited. (Conceit is a strange disease that makes everyone sick except the one who has it!) He believed in what he did; he believed he did it well; he enjoyed doing it.

Here’s a question for you: could you be good and NOT know it? If you knew you were good, wouldn’t you feel better, have more confidence, enjoy your life and your work more? (The answer is yes. I’ll help with the hard ones.) If you believed in yourself and in your abilities, wouldn’t you be a better spouse, parent, friend, salesperson?

We tell our children they are capable and competent. We tell them they can make the team, pass the test, be selected. We encourage our friends that they can get that promotion, close that deal, overcome that hurdle.

It is common sense to believe in others. Why then, is it so difficult to believe in ourselves? Shouldn’t it be common sense to believe in ourselves? Our parents do, our best friends do, our spouse does. God does. He made it clear in Psalms 56:9, “This I know. God is for me.” He also made is clear in John 3:16. If He believes in us, why shouldn’t we? After all, His knowledge is certainly greater than ours!

Perhaps we need to make this a common practice. Ralph Watts certainly did. Ralph was the type who would give you the shirt off his back and then call you that evening and ask if it fit properly. Yet, Ralph had a tough go of it. He had health challenges, he lost his parents before he finished school, and three teachers and a college professor told him that he wasn’t smart enough. Yet, he didn’t believe in what they said. Ralph believed in Ralph! This belief led him to attain two masters degrees. This belief led him to become president and CEO of a multi-million dollar health care organization. This led him to the top 15 in earnings for all CEO’s in his state. This led him to a wonderful family with a beautiful wife and daughter. Ralph did not believe in the opinions of others. He believed himself to be competent, capable, and effective.

You are probably very good in several areas of your personal and professional lives. You could be more fulfilled if you only recognized that you are good. Just like Johnny and Ralph, if you believe in yourself, you may be able to do more and actually enjoy doing it.

You only need two votes to believe in yourself. Each morning, you must cast a vote for yourself. That is the big vote. Only you can mark your choice. The other vote has already been cast. God has already voted for you. He believes in you and wants you to do the same.

It is common sense, now let’s make it a common practice.