Leadership Gold (book review)

June 8, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

I thoroughly enjoy John Maxwell’s books, as they have opened my eyes to leadership principles more than any other author. And the “duet” of Leadership Gold and Go For Gold easily fit into the category of extremely helpful.

As I pondered it, I think what I appreciate most about Dr. Maxwell’s books is his level of affirmation. He challenges me to get better as a leader by showing me how I can do it. He encourages me to build on what I already know, and keep on growing. He helps me see what I can become and can accomplish as a God-fearing leader.

Leadership Gold is made up of 26 leadership lessons that Dr. Maxwell has learned over decades of leading. Each lesson comes with his personal example — sometimes failures, sometimes successes — along with actionable steps the reader can take. At the end of each lesson there are both application and mentoring exercises. To dig deeper into each lesson, the companion Go For Gold is a short reading for each day of the week that corresponds with the lesson in Leadership Gold. Combined, these books are a powerful one-two punch!

If you are in a leadership position, or if you aspire to be an effective leader, I can highly recommend these two books to you.

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Leadership Tension

June 7, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

Along time ago I was studying the virtues that the Greek philosophers taught. To the Greeks, the virtue was considered the “golden mean” between two opposite extremes. It was the ability to balance the tensions that produced the virtue.

In areas where I have leadership responsibilities, I try to find the virtue of leadership as the balance between these two tensions:

  • Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. (1 Timothy 3:1)
  • Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. (Jeremiah 45:5)

On the one side: desire leadership. On the other side: don’t desire leadership. Do your best at it, but be ready to give it up.

I love this statement on leadership from John Maxwell —

Leadership is the willingness to put oneself at risk.
Leadership is the passion to make a difference with others.
Leadership is being dissatisfied with the current reality.
Leadership is taking responsibility while others are making excuses.
Leadership is seeing the possibilities while others are seeing the limitations.
Leadership is the readiness to stand out in a crowd.
Leadership is an open mind and an open heart.
Leadership is the ability to submerge your ego for the sake of what is best.
Leadership is evoking in other the capacity to dream.
Leadership is inspiring others with a vision of what they can contribute.
Leadership is the power of one harnessing the power of many.
Leadership is your heart speaking to the hearts of others.
Leadership is the integration of heart, head, and soul.
Leadership is the capacity to care, and in caring, to liberate the ideas, energy and capacity of others.
Leadership is the dream made reality.
Leadership is, above all, courageous.

I am trying to balance the pulls of leadership, but while I do I’m loving the leadership tension!

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Winner Or Whiner?

May 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

This morning on John Maxwell’s “Minute With Maxwell” he said —

Winners know they have to do the right thing and then they’ll feel good. Whiners want to feel good before they do the right thing.

I have learned this is true in my life. If I wait until I feel like do something, I’ll make all kinds of excuses to avoid doing it. But if I do what I know I’m supposed to do I’ll feel good that I did it.

Good feelings follow good actions.

Winners do right to feel good.

Whiners wait to feel right before they do anything.

Behavioral psychologist William James wrote —

Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not. Thus the sovereign voluntary path to cheerfulness, if our cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully and to act and speak as if cheerfulness were already there.

So today are you going to be a winner or a whiner?

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What’s Your Excuse?

February 25, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

It’s so easy to make excuses, isn’t it?

  • I wasn’t feeling well.
  • I don’t have enough training.
  • The sun was in my eye.
  • The other guy was supposed to….
  • I don’t have the right tools.
  • If only….
  • I can’t because….

John Maxwell has started a new teaching series where he presents a one-minute lesson on one word every day. Today’s lesson was on excuses. Watch the clip here.

Here are some other quotes on excuses —

“Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” —George Washington Carver

 “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses only results.” —Kenneth Blanchard

“Obstacles are not excuses for failure, they are opportunities for growth.” —Craig T. Owens

“People who are good at making excuses are seldom good at anything else.” —Benjamin Franklin

Okay, now it’s your turn. In the comments below, add one of your favorite quotes about excuses.

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Derailed (book review)

November 16, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Derailed

As I read Dr. Tim Irwin’s latest book, Derailed, I thought about a quote from John Maxwell: “A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man learns from others’ mistakes. The wisest man learns from others’ successes.”

The subtitle of this book is “Five lessons learned from catastrophic failures of leadership.” In this we learn from others’ mistakes. But then Dr. Irwin goes on to show us successes that we can learn from as well. Combining the insight from successful — or should I say “non-derailed” leaders — with his own discernment, Dr. Irwin shows us how to stay on the rails.

When I first noticed that the examples in the book were all high-profile CEOs, I thought, “What could I learn from them? After all, I’m not a CEO of Fortune 500 company.” But Dr. Irwin does an excellent job of bringing the four qualities of character — authenticity, self-management, humility, and courage — down to a pedestrian level where even we non-CEO-types can benefit from his wisdom.

Although the principles in Derailed can benefit anyone in leadership, or aspiring to a leadership position, this book still might not be for everyone. The six case studies in the book are all derailed CEOs, and unless you have a penchant for the business world, you might not find them very enjoyable reading. However, for those of you who enjoy business history, there is much to gain from a careful reading of Derailed.

I am a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson.

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Big, Big World

September 15, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Bigger Than Me“The smallest package in the world is a person who is all wrapped up in himself.” — Billy Graham

We have a tendency to get so wrapped up in ourselves. If we are feeling down, no one is happy. If we don’t like our job, everyone has a lousy job. If we have a toothache, the whole world is hurting. But as John Maxwell says, “The whole world — with one minor exception — is made up of other people.”

On Wednesday in our Impact youth service we’re beginning a new series called Bigger Than Me. It’s a reminder, a wake-up call, an eye-opener to remind our students that the world is big. Bigger than them. And in need of someone who is not all wrapped up in himself.

Come join us at 7:00pm on Wednesdays.

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Burn, Baby, Burn

August 12, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

It’s been a debate around golfing circles for years as to which PGA pro gets credit for responding to a fan who quipped, “That was a lucky shot!” The famous reply (variously attributed to either Gary Player, Arnold Palmer or Lee Trevino) is, “You know, the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get.”

Regardless of who said it, there’s so much truth in that statement. Here’s what I’ve learned about success —

NO ONE is an over-night success. “The heights of great men reached and kept // Were not attained by sudden flight // But they, while their companions slept // Were toiling upwards in the night.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

NO ONE is a half-hearted success. “Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.” — Zig Ziglar

NO ONE is successful on their own. “Leaders will not experience long-term success unless a lot of people want them to.” — John Maxwell

SUCCESS requires a high price. “Achievers choose what losers won’t and pay the price that others don’t.” — Anonymous

SUCCESS takes dedicated time. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers quotes the 10,000 Hour Rule. He writes, “The biggest misconception about success is that we do it solely on our smarts, ambition, hustle and hard work.” Instead, he says that highly successful people have put in a minimum of 10,000 hours in a single area (think the Beatles with their music or Bill Gates with his computer programming).

SUCCESS starts with personal initiative. “Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.” — Arnold H. Glasow

John Wesley explained how he drew such large crowds in the First Great Awakening by stating, “I set myself on fire, and the people come to see me burn.” If you want to be successful, you must set yourself on fire, pay the price, and do the time.

Are you ready? If so, then burn, baby, burn!

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Put Your Dream To The Test (book review)

August 11, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Dream Test I’m a HUGE John Maxwell fan. He has been a mentor-from-afar for me for a number of years. So I know whenever I pick up a Maxwell book I’m going to be challenged and stretched in my thinking. Put Your Dream To The Test lived up to my expectations.

What’s your dream? Everyone has a dream, so what’s yours? I have always loved this quote from T.E. Lawrence:

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”

If you are a “dreamer of the day” you will find great value in reading this. In this book, Dr. Maxwell guides you through ten questions to help you refine the pursuit of your dream —

  • Is my dream really my dream?
  • Do I clearly see my dream?
  • Am I depending on factors within my control to achieve my dream?
  • Does my dream compel me to follow it?
  • Do I have a strategy to reach my dream?
  • Have I included the people I need to realize my dream?
  • Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?
  • Am I moving closer to my dream?
  • Does working toward my dream bring satisfaction?
  • Does my dream benefit others?

In typical Maxwell fashion, I was challenged to think differently, I was encouraged to renew what I have already learned, and I realized some things I needed to give up. One of the aspect of Maxwell’s books that I especially appreciate is how energized I feel after reading them. I feel like the counsel he gives me has prepared me to live my life more fully.

If you have a dream that is bigger than you, good! If you have a dream that size, I would strongly recommend that you read this excellent book to help you see your dream and seize your dream.

What’s your dream?

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Sharper Thinking

May 29, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday I was challenged to do a lot of thinking. To think about things I’ve not considered before, and to think about things I have considered before but from a different perspective.

Yesterday Nate Elarton convened a Pastor’s Leadership Thinking Lab. The purpose was to use Warren Bullock’s book When The Spirit Speaks as a springboard to talk about the vocal gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation in our church services (see 1 Corinthians 12-14). At the outset we all reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to our fellowship’s fundamental truths — those were non-negotiable. The challenge was to think about and discuss the practicalities of the how’s in our services. (You can read some of the real-time quotes from our Lab here — they are tagged with “PLTL.”)

It was a bit intimidating being in the room with such smart people. These are guys with way more education and experience than me… guys who have had the privilege of studying and discussing this topic with some of the greatest Pentecostal thinkers of our generation. I felt a little out of place. In fact, during the lunch break one of my friends commented, “Have you ever felt like that in a roomful of tuxedos you’re the one brown shoe?” My feelings exactly.

But King Solomon wrote, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17, New International Version). The iron of my colleagues definitely sharpened me yesterday.

I also like what John Maxwell said, “Some of my best thinking has been done by others.” In other words, these really smart guys have thought about some things in ways I haven’t; they’ve been exposed to some great thinkers that I haven’t; they’ve experienced some things that I haven’t. But spending the day with them was like getting that education they received, having those conversations with great thinkers they had, and experiencing those things they experienced.

Did I agree with every thing that was shared? No.

Was I challenged to think differently? Yes.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “The truest test of a first-rate mind is the ability to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

If you really want to sharpen your thinking, get around some people smarter than you. Spend time with people who see things differently than you. But most of all, make sure these folks are one in purpose with you. All of the guys in this Lab shared the same passion to see God glorified and people drawn into a deeper relationship with Jesus. That’s what made yesterday so rewarding for me.

Do you have some “iron” friends in your life that are sharpening your thinking?

 

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Moderate Back Thrusts

April 1, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

How would you like to have this written on your tombstone —

Appointed by God to be king
Caused all Israel to sin against God
Doomed my family line to extinction

That is exactly the epitaph of King Jeroboam (see 1 Kings 13-14). In God’s indictment of Jeroboam He says, “Because of the sins you have committed, and the sins you have caused Israel to commit, you have provoked Me to anger and thrust Me behind your back.”

I find that phrase — thrust Me behind your back — intriguing. The word thrust means to throw something away. How exactly does one go about throwing God away? Can you crumple Him up like a piece of paper and toss Him in a garbage can? Can you grab Him and shove Him behind you? Is He like a stack of old newspapers thrown in a recycling bin? Clearly not!

One only thrusts God behind one’s back little by little. Just moderate back thrusts.

John Maxwell was exactly right when he said that whatever good things a leader does in excess, those following will do in moderation. Whatever poor things the leader does in moderation, those following will do in excess. The “moderate” ways in which Jeroboam thrust God behind his back caused all of Israel to sin excessively. And that became Jeroboam’s eternal legacy!

People are watching me — my kids, my neighbors, my friends, the baristas at Starbucks — what example am I setting for them? There are only two examples I can set: (1) Pursue God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength; in other words, love God to excess. Or (2) Moderately thrust God behind my back little by little by little.

Search me, O God, see if there is ANY moderate back thrusting in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

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