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Glenn's Upcoming Public Seminars |
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Jackson, TN
9:00 - 3:00
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8/12/08 |
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Click
here
for video preview. |
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If you've got time to lean,
you've got
time to clean. |
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Ray Croc |
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This Week's Money Tip |
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How to Reduce Credit
Card Debt Up to 30% Faster--
Even If You Can Only Make Minimum Payments |
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Click
here
to get it now. |
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Dear Glenn,
I am a member of your
Priority
Club and have a question. I have some employees that
are very poor at problem solving.
I am trying to develop that skill in them. Is
there a book you could recommend to help me teach them
steps in problem solving?
Michelle
in Mobile, AL
Dear
Michelle,
Not a book, but a
method I teach. There's not enough room to explain it in
this column, so here's the abbreviated version.
It's basic instinct for parents to solve their kids'
problems, and managers to solve their employees'
problems.
But the best managers empower their employees by
leading them through solving problems on their own, just as
good parents empower their kids to make smart decisions
when Mom or Dad aren't around.
This can only be achieved with practice under
supervision. The method I teach is called "The Path of
Least Resistance". Listen to this week's Priority Club
CD for the step by step explanation.
Thanks
for your question.
Glenn In Nashville
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Click this button to submit a question.
If it's selected for publication, you'll win a Work Is Not for Sissies
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or coffee cup.
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Glenn's
Personal
Blog
Click on this pen to see what
Glenn's
on a rant about now.
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Last week I did a phone interview with
Dan Mulhern, for a radio
talk show called "Everyday Leadership". Because it was
originally coordinated through my publisher in New York
City, I didn't realize
at the time that Dan's wife is the governor of Michigan (talk
about a tough place and time to be a leader).
As
we were talking off air, he mentioned something he told an
employee who didn't work out - "Don't leave a loss without a
lesson".
His
timing was perfect, because I had just bid a very sad farewell to Dr.
Howard Olds. He was the pastor of Brentwood United Methodist Church,
and I've quoted him several times.
He was so adored that over 2,000 people attended his funeral,
which is more than most country music stars get.
Back on February 17th, he preached a sermon titled “Strength in
the Midst of Weakness”. I took notes as always, and wrote down
these key points:
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“I always try to turn my personal struggles into something that
is helpful to others”
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“To be weak is to be human”
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“Don’t ever let a struggle go to waste. Let it be a tool by
which you help somebody else”
>
“Stronger humans will always rise to the top and make decisions
for the weak”
After the sermon, he announced that he would be stepping down on
July 1 because his battle with cancer had not been “going the
way he had planned”. He spent the next four months preparing
everyone for the day when he would no longer be there, and
titled his final sermon on June 29 “Don’t Stop”.
Though he was too humble to say it, Dr. Olds understood the
great paradox that ultra-charismatic leaders like himself, Rick
Warren, and Joel Osteen
face in their business. Sometimes followers get so attached
to the leader that this attachment overshadows the mission of
the organization.
Part of Dr. Olds’ obituary in the local newspaper read, “Under
his leadership, the church has refined its vision and purpose in
Christ: to love one another radically, make disciples
intentionally, serve the poor compassionately, and develop
leaders humbly”.
He
was smart enough to make it clear to everyone that the mission
would not change after he was gone, and that we would be just
fine without him. That last part was the only thing he ever said that I
didn’t believe.
We
will never be just fine without him. Nothing could possibly fill
the hole that’s been ripped open right in the middle of my soul.
No one can ever fill his shoes. And I don't believe anyone can
ever ease the pain.
The
only person that possibly could is Dr. Olds himself. Dan Mulhern
was right about taking a lesson from loss, and I took a huge
lesson from the loss of this leader I admired so much.
When real leaders leave us, they don’t stop leading. This is
because leaders derive their power from influence, and their
influence lasts long after their departure.
When I read that Dr. Olds had requested that donations be made
to endow a scholarship fund at a small Kentucky college in lieu of flowers,
I whipped out the checkbook to support his mission, though I'd
never heard of the college.
When I told my beautiful bride that I didn’t feel like attending
church after Dr. Olds’ passing, she responded, “He’d be
disappointed in you if you didn’t go.” We went.
And, I just bared my soul to you by sharing something far more
personal than I wanted to share, because of two things Dr. Olds said
on back on February 17th:
“To
be weak is to be human” and “Don’t ever let a struggle go to
waste. Let it be a tool by which you help somebody else” .
Leaders may leave us, but their effectiveness as a leader lives
on forever.
To Your
Success,
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