Bill Walsh, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was thought eccentric because of how extensively he planned his plays in advance of each game. Most coaches would wait to see how the game unfolded, then respond with plays that seemed appropriate. Walsh wanted the game to respond to him. Walsh won several Super Bowls with his “eccentric” proactive approach. He was a coach who looked into the future.
Looking ahead is the process of creating the future before it happens. People who learn to do it “understand where they are going.” Like Bill Walsh, it involves deciding your actions in advance so that your life will respond to you. What are the benefits of such a proactive pursuit?
Looking ahead gives direction. It’s like using a highlighter on a roadmap to indicate where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. The highlighted roadmap not only provides information for where you are going; it also suggests where you are not going.
Looking ahead helps us to create rather than react. With each step along our journey, we are faced with a choice either to create or to react. Many people spend their entire days reacting. Like goalies in hockey, with pucks flying at us all day, we react. We react to news, cars in traffic, people, events, challenges, and obstacles. A better way involves making choices and following plans.
Looking ahead saves time. “One hour of planning saves three hours of execution.” Planning yields a savings return. We only have twenty-four hours in a day and 365 days in a year. If we don’t use them wisely by looking ahead, we will forever forfeit those gifts.
Looking ahead reduces crisis. Our daily lives have two controlling influences: plans and pressures. When we look ahead and choose to plan, we take charge and control of our days. If we fail to look ahead, we will spend our days in crisis mode. We will fall into a trap of panic planning—planning on the fly with no time to effectively map out a strategy.
Looking ahead maximizes energy. Failing to look ahead, we dissipate our energy on less important matters, improper agendas, and lost crusades. We waste our time on the trivial many. But preparation often energizes us!
Be wise. Look ahead. It’s eccentric but well worth the effort.
The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves.
Proverbs 14:8
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Low Rank
But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
Luke 22:26
This verse states a view that is so different than what the world practices. According to the world, a leader is to have special privileges and to be treated better than everyone else. A former employee of mine thought that she didn’t need to do as much work because she had “paid her dues.” It only caused dissent with the rest of the employees. Wouldn’t you love to arrive at work someday and find your boss cleaning? Or how about the husband who doesn’t feel like he needs to help around the house because he is the “king of his castle”? Wouldn’t you love to have your husband cook you dinner after you’ve spent a long day with the kids? And what if he did that often? Now that’s serving up love!
Why are these scenarios so unusual? I think that it’s because we have a messed up idea of leadership—and a messed up idea about service. The world seems to see service as a form of weakness. Jesus tells us and shows us that service is a sign of strength—it takes inner strength to serve those around us. It’s a very humbling experience. Leaders who think they are above serving are simply afraid of their weaknesses.
Christ tells us that our leadership should be different than what the world expects. We shouldn’t gloat over being above anyone else but use our place in life to help others. The best leaders or teachers are the ones who can admit when they are wrong or they don’t know the answer. Then, because they are leaders, they work to find the correct answers and lead people down the right path.
Look at the leadership examples around you. Do they tend to be humble or haughty? Take a look at your own leadership style. If you’re a parent, how do you lead your children? As a wife, how do you serve your husband? Husbands, how do you serve your wives? Service isn’t just a sign of humility but of love as well. Good leadership requires love. It’s a love outside of us—God’s love. Ask God for his love to empower and guide your leadership and relationships with people. Follow him, for he is our ultimate servant-leader.
Luke 22:26
This verse states a view that is so different than what the world practices. According to the world, a leader is to have special privileges and to be treated better than everyone else. A former employee of mine thought that she didn’t need to do as much work because she had “paid her dues.” It only caused dissent with the rest of the employees. Wouldn’t you love to arrive at work someday and find your boss cleaning? Or how about the husband who doesn’t feel like he needs to help around the house because he is the “king of his castle”? Wouldn’t you love to have your husband cook you dinner after you’ve spent a long day with the kids? And what if he did that often? Now that’s serving up love!
Why are these scenarios so unusual? I think that it’s because we have a messed up idea of leadership—and a messed up idea about service. The world seems to see service as a form of weakness. Jesus tells us and shows us that service is a sign of strength—it takes inner strength to serve those around us. It’s a very humbling experience. Leaders who think they are above serving are simply afraid of their weaknesses.
Christ tells us that our leadership should be different than what the world expects. We shouldn’t gloat over being above anyone else but use our place in life to help others. The best leaders or teachers are the ones who can admit when they are wrong or they don’t know the answer. Then, because they are leaders, they work to find the correct answers and lead people down the right path.
Look at the leadership examples around you. Do they tend to be humble or haughty? Take a look at your own leadership style. If you’re a parent, how do you lead your children? As a wife, how do you serve your husband? Husbands, how do you serve your wives? Service isn’t just a sign of humility but of love as well. Good leadership requires love. It’s a love outside of us—God’s love. Ask God for his love to empower and guide your leadership and relationships with people. Follow him, for he is our ultimate servant-leader.
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