Setting Expectations

Greetings.  I am back from vacation - had a really nice time in Florida with my wife and kids.  While we had some interesting weather (tornados and storms), we also had some absolutely beautiful days.  Of course, I learned more from the stormy days than the sunny ones...isn't that how life is?  But that's for another blog day.

Anyway, we had some challenges as a family during the stormy days.  Much of it having to do with life not meeting our expectations.  I was thinking about this over the last few days and was reminded today about something that Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philippi.  In the first chapter of this letter, Paul says that he can't decide whether it is better that he live or die.  He is focused on doing everything he can to be useful.  To use whatever the day brings.  Seems we could learn something about that.  Paul is able to find joy even while in prison.  Glad that the prison guard knows he's there for his faith.  Glad that it is an encouragement to others to be bold about their faith.  Amazing to me when I think that we allow a bit of bad weather to change our attitude.  Sunny - Happy, Rainy - Bummed.  I'm victim to this as much as anyone, but what I am reminded of is the fact that we shouldn't let our circumstances change our attitude, drive, determination.

In my business I am currently facing some challenges due to the unrest in the middle east.  Frustrating.  Disappointing.  Disheartening.  But should it be?  I think that allowing my circumstances to be disheartening is where I start to miss the mark.

Part of overcoming this is to do a better job of setting and managing expectations.  Now, I am not suggesting that we set the bar so low that anything is better than our expectation.  A defeatist attitude is not what I am advocating.  What I am suggesting is that we set our objectives and build our action plans based on what we can best determine will happen.  Build in some contingencies, and then move forward, confident that if we work our plan, we will have put ourselves in the best possible position for success.  Sure there will be set-backs and unexpected challenges, but with this attitude, we should be able to quickly assess the situation, lean into our pre-determined contingencies, and adjust.

Road blocks, economic conditions, and storms of all kinds, shouldn't affect our attitude or add stress to our lives.  Planning ahead, recognizing those things outside of our control, and setting reasonable expectations, is the key to a enjoyable and joyful life...and vacation too.

Best,

jvt

What are you waiting for?

This past Saturday was just a beautiful, sunny, pre-Spring day here in St. John, IN.  It's as if all of nature was straining to break forth with new life.  I loved it.  With the coming of Spring, I should be excited about the future; about the great possibilities that the new season brings, and yet I can't help thinking about the past a bit.

Have I used the time well?  Have I accomplished anything that will last?  Will my time here on earth amount to anything of value?  Will I even be a footnote in the scheme of things.  I suppose some of you are thinking that I'm having a mid-life crisis.  But I can assure you I am not.  What is happening is that I have been doing a lot of thinking about the future, but in light of the past.  I am in a small group that meets a couple times a month and we have been looking at a fabulous book by Max Lucado called Outlive Your Life.  I have always enjoyed Lucado books, but the studies have not really done it for me.  THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT.  It is about the best video series I have watched with a group.  I would recommend this for anyone who is asking how to best invest themselves in the world around them.

Anyway, enough commercial.  What are you doing to invest yourself in those around you?  Are you building relationships?  Are you mentoring anyone?  Are you lending anyone a helping hand?   If you are waiting for a personal invitation, may I remind you that you already have one?   When Jesus was asked by an expert in the law who his neighbor was, that he might love him, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan.  You can find that story beginning in Luke 10:25.  The best part is the end.  After the story, Jesus asks the expert in the law who acted like a neighbor.  The expert says, "The one who had mercy on him."  Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."

So, I'll ask again, what are we waiting for?  Make your life count.  Outlive it!

Best,

John.

Shrinking the World

If you are like me, there are times when the world feels large and ominous.  Events like last week's Tsunami and the continuing devastation in Japan can really make us glad we don't live by the coast.  It's easy to feel like those events are very far away.  I have also observed that the impressions and views we have about those who live so very far away from us are often misguided, and sometimes just flat wrong.

I've been thinking about these ideas this week as my daughter is studying the events surrounding World War II.  Frankly, I felt a bit embarrassed to try to explain why the world in general, and the U.S. in particular did nothing to stop Hilter, Mussolini, and Japan as they reached beyond their boarders.  I have no doubt that it is easier looking back at events that happened three quarters of a century ago than it was at the time.  Sadly, I sometimes wonder if we've grow much beyond the viewpoints prevalent in the 1930s and 40s.  When Italy invaded Ethiopian, we yawned.  When Hilter invaded Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, we hardly squeeked.  What's worse, the UK prime minister, Chamberlain's policy of appeasement aside, his comments still resonate today, "How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing" (Underline added).  What if those of us in Chicago said that about the people of Norfolk, VA, (home of Norfolk Naval Base and headquarters of NATO, yes, that NATO) which is about the same driving distance (870mi) as London is from Sudeten, Czeck Republic.



Distribution of Supplies in Japan



So, all this to say, that while we might be appalled today at the idea that people less than 900 miles away would be considered too foreign to fight for, I suspect that we sometimes find ourselves feeling the same about the plight of those that are separated by culture even in our own backyard, let alone those in Japan who are now struggling for daily survival in one of the richest countries in the world.  One organization making a difference is Samaritan's Purse.  Samaritan’s Purse is sending more than 90 tons of emergency aid to bring help to disaster victims in Japan.  Supporting them could make the difference in the lives of many, and as you become connected to those in "far away lands", I can guarantee that your world will become smaller, and the needs and concerns of those both far-away and right next store will become important to you. 

Best,

John.

Integrity - the true sign of Leadership

There are two qualities I seek in all the employees I hire.  One is high self-motivation (I'll write on this later), the other is Integrity.  You might think that this a no-brainer, and some of you just said, "of course." However, I have found that this characteristic is not universal among employees.

Many people claim to be ethical, even honest, but being upright and a person of integrity is more than being ethical.  Integrity requires a level of consistency that is often at odds with business today. Integrity requires that a leader not make exceptions to rules and expectations even in the face of significant arguments to the contrary.  Gerstner, in his book recounting the IBM turn-around has much to say about the kinds of executives he sought and challenges to integrity.  Examples included arguments to compensate above established parameters in order to 'keep an employee', or requests to pay unearned bonuses to 'maintain morale'.  These are often viewed as ethical and reasonable departures from stated policy.  Gerstner considers them an integrity issue.  His conclusion is that companies which tolerate lapses in integrity are destined to fail.

Nehemiah faced his own issues with Integrity in the power structure within Jerusalem (Neh. 5) The officials were loaning money to those who were in need and struggling.  The people were struggling due to famine, a poor economy due to a lack of safety, high unemployment, and loss of earning power due to the focus on building the wall. When people couldn't pay, these lenders began to foreclose.  Those suffering included many who were working on the wall.  There was a huge uproar and Nehemiah knew he had to do something.  What is amazing is that the lenders certainly had 'every right' to loan, charge interest, and foreclose.  It was their money to do with as they wished.  Today, many would claim the same right.

However, the Mosaic Law, which had been ignored for many years, forbid the children of Israel from charging one another interest.  Not only that but, Nehemiah and his team were loaning money at no interest, feeding many daily, and attempting to establish a healthy economic environment by improving the safety and well-being of those within Jerusalem.

 

What the officials were doing was not 'illegal' under Babylonian law, and we might even say they were enterprising, responsible businessmen.  We might even be tempted to say they were engaged in honorable activities, even helping sustain the local economy.   However, what they were doing was not an example of integrity.  They loaned to those who couldn't pay.  They foreclosed without care for their brothers.  They sought to benefit from the improvements in Jerusalem without personally contributing to the outcome.

In contrast stood Nehemiah.  Not only was he supporting many who were in need, and loaning without interest, but Nehemiah, sought not personal gain as Leader in Jerusalem.  That's not to say he didn't desire to be paid, desire the respect of others, or seek success.  As governor, Nehemiah received a salary, money for his expenses, and had the right to tax the citizens of Jerusalem.  His predecessors not only spent all their allotted expense budget on themselves, but taxed the people to line their own pockets.

When push came to shove, only a man of integrity could appeal to the wealthy and challenge them to change their ways.  He points to the Law.  He points to the example of the men who came with him from Babylon.  His authority, his power, came not solely from his position, in fact he never threatened. He never ordered, he appealed.  It was Nehemiah's integrity that won the day.

With the observation of MLK, Jr.'s birthday, we have one more example of how integrity in leadership has the power to reform a nation.  You, too, can impact your family, community, and workplace by being a person of integrity.

jvt