Jeff Gunther

Success

2011-11-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

"To laugh often and much;

to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

to appreciate beauty;

to find the best in others;

to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (US essayist & poet, 1803-1882)

A Return to Love

2011-11-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Source: A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

(as quoted by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural address, 1994)

Happy People Are Givers

2011-06-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Excerpt: The Law of Happiness: How Spiritual Wisdom and Modern Science Can Change Your Life, by Dr. Henry Cloud (Howard Books, 2011)

When my older daughter, Olivia, was about three or four, she attended a half-day preschool a few days a week. She loved it and was making lots of friends. One day, before I took her, for some reason we got into a conversation about sharing. We talked about how you can share all sorts of things with others, from love to helping someone, to sharing cookies and toys. I suggested that when she was at school that day, she find someone and share something with her. I thought it was one of those normal on-the-run father-daughter talks. I didn't think much about it.

Later, though, something happened that I will never forget. I picked her up from preschool, and as we were walking around the neighborhood, she began to tell me about her day. I asked her about all her activities, and she told me they had made some cookies and how much she loved them. Then she told me she saw that one of the kids didn't have any, for some reason, so she walked over and gave some of her cookies to him. I thought that was nice but not earth shattering. She had shared things before. What she said next, however, was.

"Daddy, something happened. I don't know what it is," she said as she gave me a serious look.

"What, Livi? What happened," I asked.

"Well, when I gave Brandon the cookies, I felt something in here. Right here." She immediately pointed to her little chest. "It felt really warm in here. What was that?" she asked.

When I heard that, I actually felt like I was going to break apart in tears, but I managed to hold them back. "That was love, Livi. That is what you feel inside when you give things to people. It makes you fell nice and warm inside."

"It feels really good," she said. "I want to do that some more. I like it."

Speaking Makes Me Sexy

2011-04-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

On any given night of partying, Wang Yip stands only a one in 30,000 chance of meeting his future wife. Last week Wang delivered a deceptively clever surprise-ending speech, allegedly about how we can use math to predict the probability of extraterrestrial life, but of course, it was really about why Wang is still single.

Hey, I’m single too! And I think I may have figured out how we can improve our odds.

Speaking makes me sexy!

Let me demonstrate. When we sit in the dark recesses of a room, unknown and unnoticed, we are one of 30,000, but when we stand centre stage, we are one in 30,000. Whether speaking at a church of 1,000 members or traveling the nation as a sales trainer, I’ve found that there’s something strangely seductive about the familiarity an audience feels toward someone in the spotlight.

No one needs to know that you may have spent 20 hours preparing to speak for only 20 minutes. The plain truth is that, when we present our best self, we are more attractive.

[This message, of course, wasn’t really about me being sexy. It was an attempt to help my fellow Toastmasters identify what they get out of participation in the club, and what they’re prepared to give in return. What follows is a rough version of the rest of that speech.]

Here are my top three reasons for attending Toastmasters:

I genuinely love the people in the room. Many are already good friends; others are well on the way. I look forward to this family of friends every Thursday morning.
God created me to communicate. The Dead Sea is not dead because there’s nothing flowing into it; it’s dead because there is nothing flowing out of it. A part of me would die if I didn’t get this opportunity to speak.
I crave the comments of others. Where else can we count on constructive criticism each time we make a presentation?

There are many good reasons for being involved in a Toastmasters group. That’s what we get, but what do we give?

Here’s what I give:

When people ask for help I try always to give it. If a fellow Toastmaster has a role that needs to be filled, I’m quick to say yes.
It would be a very rare occasion that I don’t make an effort to provide helpful feedback to featured speakers.
I stepped up to serve on the Executive Committee this past year.

What do you give when you’re part of a group? I’d rather hear honesty than apathy. If you’re completely burned out and have nothing left to give, say so. If you think there’s an ounce of energy left; that you might consider allowing your name to stand for an Executive Committee role, then have the courage to say so.

It’s been said that if you can’t speak, you can’t lead. But the corollary – that just because you can speak, you can lead – isn’t necessarily true. That’s why Toastmasters provides two tracks: The Competent Communicator; and the Competent Leader.

The Executive Committee is your opportunity to both give and get. I would love to serve alongside both keen new leaders-in-training and no-nonsense veteran leaders.

So why are you here? We want to hear from you. You are under no obligation to return the form in front of you. But I would be truly honoured if you would hand it to me as you are leaving today. I understand we’re busy, and I won’t judge if you just can’t see yourself stepping up right now. But I would be truly grateful if you would at least consider engaging at a more meaningful level.

Why are you here?

Are you interested in truly gaining full benefit from the Toastmaster experience… or is it just because you think speaking makes me sexy?

Knowing

2011-01-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

In the past few days I've had the distinct privilege of walking with a friend as he struggled to complete an MBA assignment. Duane (not his real name) is a highly skilled professional in his field (healthcare) and has courageously taken on the challenge of furthering his education, mid-career.

When Duane found himself stuck on one particular question of an assignment, he did what all intelligent business people do: he called for help. As I listened to Duane's struggle to line up his learning with the case study in front of him, I recalled my own experience as an MBA student. I, too, leaned on the wisdom and experience of others who helped me get through. Cliff (his real name), an accountant, and Michelle (her real name too), an economist, walked with me for two full years. Their support was invaluable.

Nearly fifteen years later, I realize that what seemed so daunting back then, is now really quite obvious. A little education and a lot of experience will do that.

Duane will be just fine. When the classes are finally over and the exams are all written, the case studies will fade back into real life, and eventually, what once seemed so strange will suddenly seem obvious. That's the difference between learning and knowing.

And I will proudly watch as Duane magically mixes old learning with new to create something quite spectacular. And Duane will one day walk with someone else as they struggle through something strange - and he will know!

Remembering

2010-11-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

We are reminded today of the brave men and women who have fought to protect our freedom. With poppies, moments of silence, and media coverage of public events honouring our heroes, today is a day for remembering. I find myself reminded today, also, of the man who taught me to remember.

Mr. Wayne Belanger was my high school principal. I recall the annual Remembrance Day Assemblies he led. As a young adult, I was mostly concerned about present day events and all things that revolved around me. I confess that I sometimes found these assemblies long and tedious and, while I understood from my history classes what he was talking about, I never full grasped the relevance.

It wasn't until years later, as I sat in a movie theatre witnessing the opening sequences of "Saving Private Ryan" that I realized what Mr. Belanger was talking about. These kids, who were only slightly older than us, were going to war, and suffering so that we could live in freedom.

So today, Mr. Belanger, I honour you, and others like you, for taking seriously your role as mentors to younger generations. And I take a moment of silence to remember those who have fought, and those who continue to fight - and sometimes fall - for freedom.

How to Find a Genius

2010-10-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

Business has been great this year. So great, indeed, that I discovered I was in desperate need of a little help.

About a month ago I ran an advertisement seeking an Administrative Genius. I was immediately impressed by both the quantity and quality of the applicants. In less than 48 hours I heard from 40 people. One person wrote such a compelling cover letter that I had to call her right away. Six others also delivered exceptional cover letters and targeted resumes. I identified an additional four as "maybe's" for a possible second round of interviews. Five others I offered to refer to people in my network who were also seeking assistance. And twenty-four did not present well enough to merit further action.

There may have been some gems in those 24, but they never made it past the first cut. In case anyone is interested, here's how I narrowed the field:

Anyone who responded in less than 7 seconds (I'm exaggerating only slightly) did not hear from me. How could they possibly have diligently researched me, my company, and the position offered in such a short period of time?
Grammar, spelling, and formatting errors don't cut it - especially when the specific purpose of the position is to make an employer look good! One person told me they were "consciencious". (If you think about it a bit, it may have been a good idea to spell-check that word!)
I included a simple test in the offering: "Apply to jobs@SecretHomes.ca with subject line: "Administrative Genius"". Missing this seemingly minor point is a good way to have your resume end up in the wrong file and demonstrates a lack of attention to detail or inability to follow simple instructions. (And, in my mind at least, a "Genuis" is significantly different than a "Genius".)
Templated Cover letters and non-specific resumes don't get far either. They sort of imply a lack of self-esteem.
Applicants get no extra points for cover letters or resumes that open with "What I want is... blah, blah, blah". No employer on earth cares about what you want until they have at least a faint idea that you might be suitable for what they want. If the employer is paying for the ad and your salary, try starting with helping them solve their problem. If you're successful, they will be more than delighted to give you what you want.
Finally, and somewhat curiously, not one applicant used any tool beyond a cover letter and resume to attract attention. For example, part of the posted job description listed management of Social Media. Doesn't anyone have a Facebook or Twitter account they'd want me to see?

I did have the pleasure of interviewing half a dozen very impressive individuals. For the most part, these people made flawless presentations, and were secure enough to take some chances by revealing a personality, rather than false professionalism.

Generally, I learned that one of the main attractors about my ad was that I described the position as one that would allow work from home and in the field, as well as flexible hours. In some cases, the candidate discovered through the interview process that there are trade-offs to this kind of freedom, and that perhaps they really were more suited to a little more structure.

Admittedly, I wasn't entirely certain of what I hoped to find. It is very difficult to describe an ideal position, and then seek to find the perfect person to fit that ideal. It is far more reasonable to find a good person and craft a position around them.

To all forty people who honoured me by responding to my advertisement: Thank-you! It takes great courage to put yourself out there. I know that there are many amongst you I would love to have met. I hope the comments above may in some small way help in your search. To those I met: a special thank-you. My inability to offer you a position at this time reflects more on my needs than your qualifications.

For my part, there is a happy ending. For the past eight months, I've had breakfast almost every Thursday morning with a group of people I've come to know and respect. A chance conversation with one of these people revealed an astonishingly good fit. On Monday, I met with my friend Blaine to begin planning how we could work together. I may introduce him more fully in a future post.

And that is how you find a Genius - look long and hard, but don't forget to look right in front of your nose!

Hey Buddy, Can You Spare Some Change?

2010-10-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

How do you respond when someone approaches you in the street and says: “Hey buddy, can you spare some change?”

Even after all these years, I’m still not sure. Let me share a story with you, along with 3 propositions and 3 possible responses.

A few days following my 19^th birthday, I boarded an airplane with a one-way ticket from Ottawa to Calgary. I had $100 in my pocket. Mine was a self-imposed experiment: Could I survive on my own?

Landing in Calgary, I immediately set about finding work. On the first day, I read 2 books at the library on oil drilling rigs. On the second day I presented myself at the office of every drilling company in Calgary. On the third day, I was on an airplane headed for a remote drilling rig about a hundred miles north of Fort St. John.

Working on the rigs paid well, so when I returned, I did so with several thousand dollars, which I immediately deposited into a bank account. I’d made it with $100. My next experiment was to try starting with nothing. My goal was to accumulate just $150 – the price of a flight back to Ottawa.

Well, I didn’t quite have nothing; before making my deposit I’d paid for 7 nights at the YMCA – a tiny room and a warm bed was welcome in February – twelve dollars a night.

The next morning I arose early and full of energy. I was about to prove that everyone who lives in poverty does so by choice and is simply lazy. I headed off to a temporary industrial employer. Sure enough, I waited around for about an hour, and then headed out on a bus to my first assignment. This was going to be even easier than I thought.

At the end of the day, I discovered something somewhat disturbing. I would receive my wages at the end of the pay period – 2 weeks from now! Two weeks! I only have a bed for one week. How am I going to eat?

A minor setback.

Back at the Y that evening I did some research. There was a street corner just a few blocks away where guys would line up first thing in the morning. Trucks drive by and pick up day labourers – and the best part was: they paid cash!

At $4 an hour I needed to work three hours to sleep inside. I dug ditches, I swept warehouses, I unloaded trucks, I cleaned construction sites, one time I even hosed out sulphuric acid sludge from a big white tank somewhere. I got a steak lunch for that one – and a rash!

If I had a choice between sleeping inside or eating, I always chose sleeping inside. Then one day I was carrying ceiling tiles from a stack to a work site. I noticed a workmate making about 1 and a half trips for every one of mine. He asked me when I last ate. “Three days ago”, I answered. My new friend told me where I could get a free meal.

The next morning I showed up at the Single Men’s Hostel. Before receiving a meal ticket, I had to meet with a counsellor. I remember he asked me how much money I had. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a handful of change, and answered: 67 cents.

That morning I discovered the gift of free food. I also learned that scary looking people aren’t so scary, up close. I learned that no one ever complained when the food was only lukewarm, and if the scruffy guy across the table was too hung-over to eat, he was never too hung-over to share.

After two and half months on the streets I learned something else too: It’s almost impossible to get ahead when you’re down. For the first time in my life, I truly felt despair.

My hypothesis failed. I eventually went back to the bank, collected my cash, bought a plane ticket, and flew home.

Here are my three observations:

We are all poor. Rev. 3:17 reads: “You say: ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” People are fragile. Mental illness or an unfortunate string of events can put almost anyone out on the streets.
We are all rich. Placed in global and historic perspective, almost anyone living in Canada is fabulously wealthy. We have access to social services providing food and shelter. Many parts of the planet don’t share this luxury.
We are all the same. Proverbs 22:2 reads: “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is Maker of them all.

So what do you say when someone approaches and asks: “Hey Buddy, can you spare some change?” Here are three possible responses…

“Spare some change?! Get lost!”

My friend Jim, who lived on the streets for 3 years, says: “Don’t give it to them. Half will spend it on alcohol; the other half will spend it on drugs.” In Canada, homeless people have access to social services. But Jim would also ask you to treat all people with dignity. The only reason he no longer lives on the streets is because someone cared enough to love him when he was unlovable.

The third response is yours: What do you do when someone asks: “Hey buddy, can you spare some change?”

Did You Miss Me?

2010-09-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

I recently read somewhere that nearly 80% of all new blogs are abandoned within the first 90 days. I can certainly see how! Life gets busy, and frequently communication falls by the wayside.

As a pilot I learned that, when faced with a possible emergency situation, I should Aviate, Navigate, and Communicate - in that order! In other words, keep flying, figure out where you are, and tell someone. I wonder how well that translates to this journey we call life.

My last post here, Take a Break, was nearly eight weeks ago. Did you miss me? I guess I've proven my point.

I have two other blogs. On my SecretHomes blog I reveal real estate secrets and share stories intended to help people buy, sell, rent, or invest in real estate. On my Kingdom Business Group site I explore the integration of faith and work, and seek out virtuous business opportunities.

In an effort to free up some time to communicate more regularly on all three, I'm looking for a really good Administrative Assistant. I have some thoughts I'll share on that tomorrow morning...

I'm becoming a big believer in the value of sharing ideas and hearing from others, and I'd love to hear from you.

Take a Break

2010-08-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Many years ago when I was a Maitre d', Gerry Gourmlay was one of my favourite waiters. However, I'd like to tell you about the one time he made me more than a little anxious.

The dining room was packed. All the other servers were busy in their sections, but Gerry was nowhere to be found. I searched everywhere and finally discovered him, relaxed and sitting on an overturned container outside the kitchen door, savouring a cigarette.

"What's the deal Gerry!?" I asked with, I'm sure, a trace of panic in my voice.

"Jeff, everyone in my section is happy. Nobody will miss me for 5 minutes." Gerry was right. Gerry was almost always right. When we do our very best in the service of others, we both need and earn the freedom to take occasional breaks.

Slow down a bit today. Take a break. No one will miss you for a few moments.

Tenant-First Rent-to-Own Investment Model

2010-07-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

Executive Summary:
The Basic Residential Real Estate Investment Model demonstrates our ability to generate superior investment gains through prudent use of leverage secured against hard assets.

Rent-to-Own builds on this model by enabling a tenant to ultimately own a home they are renting. Advantages to an investor are many: reduced initial capital investment; increased monthly cash-flow; reduced maintenance and management; a predefined exit strategy; and quicker turnaround of capital.

Here’s how it works. A future purchase price is established in advance. The tenant/buyer pays a non-refundable deposit (option) securing their right to purchase at that price. This deposit becomes part of their future down-payment, along with any additional instalments. We then work with the tenant/buyer to help them qualify to purchase from us outright within one to three years.

This strategy is ideal for good tenants who would rather own than rent, but have not yet saved a full down-payment, or for those who may not yet qualify through traditional means. Tenant-First simply means that we find people, rather than properties. We allow them to shop and select a home of their choosing, and then negotiate and close on their behalf.

Why Work With Partners?

Ready access to capital and credit enables us to immediately begin selecting and working with prospective tenant/buyers. The Capital Partner benefits by participating in returns that would be otherwise unattainable.

I’m often asked if there are many of these deals out there. Of course not! If there were, everyone would be doing this. We use a variety of sophisticated lead generation systems including our www.SecretHomes.ca website to attract and screen tenant/buyers. While the concept of rent-to-own may be more common than you would expect, closing deals requires knowledge, skill and ability.

There is risk associated with all investment activity

Case Study

This is the same property profiled in the Basic Model. Potential returns are better because the Initial Financial Contribution is offset by the option/deposit, and cash-flow is increased through regular down-payment instalments and by eliminating property management from the budget.

You will note that there is a fee for acquisition and project management. This covers lead generation and general costs associated with full-time attention to the investment.

These projections are based on actual rent ($1335/month); mortgage payments ($588/month); property tax ($1,380/year); and condo fees ($195.50/month). I have assumed that an additional $150 per month will be contributed toward down-payment.

CASE STUDY (Stonewood Village)
Appraised Value	$204,000
Purchase Price	$198,000
Tenant Deposit (minimum 3% of Appraised Value)	$6,120
Acquisition & Project Management Fee (1% of Purchase Price)	$1,980
Initial Investment (DP + cash to close + light renovations + fee - Tenant Deposit)	$40,760
First mortgage (80% loan-to-value)	$158,400
Second mortgage (VTB)	$0
Year 1 cash-flow ((Rent + Additional Deposits) - PITC) x 12)	$7,032
Year 1 cash-on-cash return	17.25%
Year 1 mortgage reduction (35 year amortization; 2.75% variable interest)	$2,730
Year 1 gain (cash flow + principal reduction)	$9,762
Year 1 return on investment assuming 0% appreciation (gain / investment)	23.95%
Estimated 3-year value (locked-in 3.5% annual appreciation)	$226,178
Estimated 3-year mortgage balance	$149,977
Estimated 3-year gain (value + cash-flow - deposits - mtg. balance - investment)	$45,017
Estimated 3-year return on investment (3 year gain / investment)	110%

Capital Partner:

The Managing Partner finds, negotiates, and administers the investment from beginning to end. A Capital Partner supplies initial capital and credit, is fully secured on title and, upon disposition receives return of all funds invested, plus participation in 50% of net profits, as fully described in the Joint Venture Agreement.

Using the Case Study above, the Capital Partner’s projected net gain and return on investment is calculated as follows:

Calculation of Capital Partner 3-Year ROI
Estimated 3-year gain	$45,017
50% of 3-year gain	$22,509
Divide by Initial Investment	$40,760
Capital Partner return on investment (3-years simple interest)	55%

This post is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to solicit investors.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

2010-07-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

I recommend "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing", by Al Ries and Jack Trout, to absolutely anyone in business. Here are the chapter headings... or maybe you should just buy the book.

It is better to be first than it is to be better.
If you can't be first in a category, set up a new category
It is better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace.
Marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle of perceptions.
The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect's mind.
Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect's mind.
The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.
In the long run, every market becomes a two horse race.
If you are shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.
Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.
Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.
There is an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand.
You have to give up something to get something.
For every attribute, there is an opposite, effective attribute.
When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.
In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.
Unless you write your competitor's plans, you can't predict the future.
Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.
Failure is to be expected and accepted.
The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears in the press.
Successful programs are not built on fads, they're built on trends.
Without adequate funding, an idea won't get off the ground.

Investing in Rent-to-Own Property

2010-07-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

Investing in Rent-to-Own Property:

A Complete Guide for Canadian Real Estate Investors

Mark Loeffler (Mississauga, ON: John Wiley & Sons, 2010), 186 pages

Mark Loeffler’s “tenant-first rent-to-own” strategy is truly a winner for all parties! My only criticism is with respect to style so I’ll get that out of the way now: this book might have benefited from tighter editing. That aside, Loeffler clearly explains and outlines each step of this investment strategy in sufficient detail to be of tremendous assistance to any active real estate investor.

Part 1 lays a firm foundation for the chapters to come by providing compelling reasons why one should explore this approach, and then clearly and comprehensively describes how to start, and who you need to know.

Part 2 is a rich resource for identifying and sorting prospective clients, and one that should be referred to and mined frequently for continually growing a client list.

Part 3 briefly describes how to find and purchase property which is certainly sufficient for seasoned investors, but beginners would do well to seek additional education and coaching in this area.

Part 4 will be a HUGE time, money, and mistake-saver for most new rent-to-own investors! Both here and on his website (www.theversatileinvestor.com) Loeffler generously shares forms and contracts developed through his own trial and error.

This book wraps up with two helpful sections. The first, called Tenant FAQs, enables the investor stay a step ahead in the process. The second, Worst-Case Scenarios, attempts to alleviate fear and encourage action.

This title turns light reading on significant strategy. Loeffler does an adequate job of describing the rent-to-own process with a terrific tenant-first twist. I readily recommend this book to fellow real estate investors and thank Mark for sharing his experience and insight.

Do You Require Technical Assistance?

2010-07-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

I have an absolutely brilliant friend named Eric. He is extraordinarily intuitive and has a natural gift for business. When I first met him about five years ago – among other qualifications – he had recently graduated from a program in information technology.

One day, when working on a project together, I was having difficulty with my computer and asked Eric what I should do. When he said he didn’t know, I responded in mock shock: “What did they teach you in school?!”

Eric told me he only learned two things:
1. Almost any computer problem can be solved by rebooting; and
2. Never patronize the client.

Eric has come a long way since then. I have had the distinct pleasure of working with him again over the past few weeks. When unable to view a website update in my browser, I received this response to my request for assistance:

“I would suggest clearing your cache, your cookies, restarting, turning off your computer, turning it back on, trying in a different browser, typing in the address manually, trying with and without the "www", changing your internet provider, calling the geek squad, and buying a new computer, not necessarily in that order.”

Of course, Eric was right – and I hardly felt patronized at all!

2010-07-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

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Getting Naked

2010-07-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

A Business Fable about Shedding the 3 Fears that Sabotage Client Loyalty

by Patrick Lencioni (Jossey-Bass, 2010) 220 pages | Summary: 8 pages

It’s probably not fair to review a summary, so I’ll just offer a few quick impressions of the wisdom offered in this well-written Executive Book Summary from Soundview.

In only eight pages, the editor does a superb job of condensing the storyline of a fable while retaining the key points of Patrick Lencioni’s book.

In Getting Naked, Lencioni bravely introduces the themes of vulnerability and suffering into business practice by showing how humility, selflessness, and transparency -- for the good of the client -- make good business sense.

I especially appreciated Lencioni’s focus on relationship as rationale for giving business away, and his simple explanation for why having a bad client is worse than having none.

Getting Naked provides helpful perspective for Management Consultants, Financial Advisors and Professional Practices. Buy the book or subscribe to Soundview Executive Book Summaries to fast track your business reading.

The RRSP Secret

2010-06-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

The RRSP Secret:

Defend and Build Your Wealth with This Powerful Investment Strategy

Greg Habstritt (Mississauga, ON: John Wiley & Sons, 2010), 236 pages

Greg Habstritt’s first book, The RRSP Secret, makes a significant contribution in the realm of personal finance in Canada.

This is not a novel, so I’ll give away the secret: the subject matter deals with investing in Arm’s Length Mortgages. “Why do you think the biggest financial institutions rely on mortgage financing as their bread-and-butter business? It’s because it is so profitable!” (70) Sophisticated investors have long used this strategy in their personal portfolios. Greg shows readers how almost anyone can.

Greg describes arm’s length mortgage investing as: stable and predictable; able to consistently produce double-digit returns with controllable risk; not requiring payment of commissions/fees to advisors/‘experts’; virtually immune to what markets are doing; and 100% eligible for your RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA, and LIRA. (69)

The Introduction suitably sets the stage and provides a personal connection with the author. Many Free Bonuses are available by registering yourself as an owner of the book on Greg’s www.rrspSecret.com website (which also adds you to his growing database and impressive marketing machine).

Part 1, What the Financial Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know, is extraordinarily informative, readable, and intentionally disturbing.

Most readers will recognize themselves in a chapter devoted to investor bias. “Any time you invest in something you don’t understand, you’re gambling, not investing.” (7) Habstritt believes that “a direct indicator of how successful you will be in life (not just financially) is based on your willingness to be accountable for your results.” (9)

In this section Habstritt reveals how the financial industry really works and how the government uses RRSPs to generate tax revenues. He uncovers the unfortunate truth about the limited availability of truly unbiased financial advice, and turns some well-worn ‘truisms’ on their head. By way of example, here’s what Warren Buffet has to say about diversification: “Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.” (43)

In Part 2, The Best-Kept Investing Secret for Canadians, Habstritt tackles the task of describing mortgage investing step-by-step, including finding and evaluating opportunities, setting terms, and managing risk. This section, while packed with information, is considerably less readable.

One of Habstritt’s challenges is that he’s addressing two audiences: lenders and borrowers. Happily, the end result is a balanced presentation useful for any party willing and able to sort through the comprehensive detail provided.

If you’re wondering if this book is for you, simply start at the back and read the short section entitled Conclusions, where Greg explains why he wrote it and shares two third-party success stories. I recommend Greg Habstritt’s The RRSP Secret to anyone willing to learn and employ one simple strategy to strengthen their financial future.

It’s Not About the Speech…

2010-06-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

A former mentor of mine, Floyd Wickman, who commanded speaking fees in the tens of thousands of dollars, once shared with me how he was able to almost mystically captivate his audiences. Would you like to know his secret?

I’ll give you a hint: It’s not about the speech – it’s about the audience!

Floyd explained that, in any audience, there are only ever ten people. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew everything you needed to know about all ten of them before you ever stepped up to a podium or onto a stage? Well you can…

Classic speaking theory suggests that most speeches fall into one of three general purposes: to entertain, to educate, or to motivate. Floyd showed me, that in order to really connect with your audience, you need to do all three – every time.

Entertain

We all love to be entertained. For a speech to be entertaining, it doesn’t need to be uproariously funny; it only needs to be enjoyable and perhaps divert our attention for a few moments. As I write this, Shrek 3 is in theatres. Although I’ve not seen this one, it no doubt delivers a childlike storyline and moral for the kids, cleverly combined with more sophisticated diversions for mom and dad.

Educate

One of the most common purposes of a speech is to educate or inform. This involves helping people to learn about a new subject, develop a new skill, or learn more about a familiar subject. Many workplace speeches are intended to inform.

Motivate

To motivate or persuade requires changing an audience’s attitudes or behaviours. Change rarely comes easily, so this can be one of the hardest tasks of a speaker. However, if done effectively, it can also be one of the most rewarding. Sales presentations and high level vision talks are good examples of speeches intended to motivate.

Your Audience

But it’s not about the speech; it’s about the audience. So who are these ten people in your audience?

The first three only want to be entertained. These may be your toughest customers. They already know everything they need to know about your subject – in fact they may know more than you do. What’s worse, these are the people that are already out there doing it! They certainly don’t need to be motivated. They may be asking themselves why they’re even wasting their time listening to you. Ah, but if you can entertain them, they could become your biggest fans.

The second three people only want to be educated. These people are hungry. They come with notepads and poised pens. They want to learn. So if you merely entertain or motivate, they’ll go away feeling cheated. But if you leave them with memorable information that will help improve some part of their life, they will be very glad they came.

The third three people in your audience only want to be motivated. These people are having a bad day, week, month, or year. They’re thinking: “I already know everything I need to know – I’m just not doing it! So don’t try to teach me and don’t just entertain me!” However, if you can move them to finally take action, they’ll love you forever.

And what about that tenth guy? Well, for whatever reason, no matter what you do, you’re never going to get through to him. He’s probably in the wrong room. Maybe he meant to attend a session down the hall and is just waiting for an opportune time to get up and leave without drawing attention to himself. You will never be able to completely satisfy everyone in every audience.

Inspire

It’s not about the speech; it’s about the audience. Merely delivering a speech will get you only so far. Entertaining, educating, and motivating, combined with inspiration, will transform audiences. To inspire literally means ‘to breathe life into’.

Several months ago, Bruce Springsteen appeared with Elvis Costello on a wonderful show called Spectacle. Between powerful performances, Bruce described how he wants to write and perform in a way that connects with real people. There are loads of talented musicians, singers, and songwriters, but only a handful can do this. Bruce approaches his craft with a passion for transcendence by being “up in the heavens and connected to the earth” with “music that’s rooted, and at the same time, flying.” Arguably, Springsteen has succeeded.

Now breathe in. As you prepare your next speech, think about how to entertain, educate, and motivate every time, and begin to breathe life into your audiences.

Remember: It’s not about the speech; it’s about the audience!

Wholesale-Hybrid Real Estate Investment Model

2010-06-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

Executive Summary:

The Basic Residential Real Estate Investment Model demonstrates our ability to generate superior investment gains through the prudent use of leverage secured against hard assets. This involves acquisition, at or slightly below market value, of homes that are in generally good repair. These are essentially retail investments.

Wholesale investing involves purchasing homes, in need of more major repairs, at discounted prices and adding value through renovation. These opportunities are found through court-ordered sales or from otherwise motivated sellers. Acceptance of wholesale offers requires the ability to pay cash and to close quickly.

When renovations are complete and a qualified tenant is in place, new conventional first mortgage financing can be put in place. This means that an investor may then be able to extract up to 80% of the improved market value. Ultimately we are controlling the same asset, but with significantly less capital.

Adding value through renovation, and this more sophisticated use of leverage, translates into higher returns. Capital raised through refinance can then be redirected to the next project – thus recycling the down payment.

Why Use an Equity Partner?

This is by far the best question I have received. Real estate investors routinely target returns of 20-40%. They just don’t usually share them with you!

It is certainly possible to arrange short-term debt (bridge financing) through private or commercial lenders. Interest rates are naturally higher than conventional financing, but not unreasonable. The problem is that each deal requires at least some new capital, and additional credit when it comes time to refinance. Eventually I will run out of both.

An equity partner is in for the long haul and shares in gains through renovations, as well as cash flow, mortgage principal reduction, and appreciation. Ready access to capital and credit enables us to find and close better deals.

There is risk associated with all investment activity

Seasoned investors identify, mitigate, and manage risk. The lowest risk real estate investments are single-family homes. Townhouses have fewer variables when it comes to renovation – interior only – so there is reduced likelihood of error in estimates. We are minimizing down payment, but not equity, and we are fully secured on title.

These wholesale purchases do however require cash up front, and the luxury of conditions, inspections, and written estimates may be significantly lessened.

Case Study:

This is the same property profiled in the Basic Model. After Repaired Value and rental assumptions are the same. The reason returns are so much better is because of the wholesale purchase price, value added through renovations, refinancing, and most importantly, because the same asset is controlled with less capital.

Wholesale-Hybrid Model (recycling down payment)
After Repaired Value (retail)	$204,000
Unconditional Cash Purchase Price (90% of ARV less Renovations)	$163,600
Seller Financing	$0
Closing, Carrying Costs & Contingency (3 months)	$4,400
Full Interior Renovations	$20,000
Initial Financial Contribution (Purchase + Renovations + Carrying)	$188,000
Refinance with new first mortgage (80% loan-to-value)	$163,200
Acquisition & Project Management Fee (2% of ARV)	$4,080
Capital Investment Remaining after Refinance (initial + fee - mortgage)	$28,880
Year 1 cash-flow (rent - PITCM)	$4,219
Year 1 cash-on-cash return	14.61%
Year 1 principal reduction (35 year amortization; 2.5% variable interest)	$2,868
Year 1 gain (cash flow + principal reduction)	$7,087
Year 1 return on investment assuming 0% appreciation (gain / investment)	24.54%
Estimated 5-year value (assuming 3.5% annual appreciation)	$242,288
Estimated 5-year mortgage balance	$143,315
Estimated 5-year gain (Value + cash-flow – mortgage balance – investment)	$91,188
Estimated 5-year return on investment (5 year gain / investment)	316%

Capital Partner:

The Capital Partner’s projected net gain is calculated as follows:

Calculation of Capital Partner 5-Year ROI
Estimated 5-year gain	$91,188
50% of 5-year gain	$45,594
Divide by Capital Investment	$28,880
Capital Partner return on investment (5-years simple interest)	158%

A Final Note:

This post is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to solicit investors.

Twenty Twitter Tips

2010-05-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

The following post is in response to a friend’s question: How Do You Get People to Follow You on Twitter?

The short answer is: It’s called social media; engage others and provide something of value!

Here are Twenty Twitter Tips to help you get started:

Go to the Twitter Help page and read it;
Read a few of the blogs on ‘How to Find Followers’, but don’t buy a program to automate!
Fix your Bio (if it’s weak – or cliché); choose a great photo; state your location; and include a link to your website;
Send invitations to people already in your database;
If you haven’t already done so, download (free) TweetDeck or a similar application to manage your Tweets;
Use ‘Hash Tag’ (#) searches to find relevant Users (i.e. #environment, etc.);
Follow everyone you find interesting (there’s an initial limit of about 2,000);
Search the ‘followers’ or ‘following’ lists of others you find interesting, and follow them;
‘Retweet’ (RT) interesting and relevant Tweets;
‘Mention’ (@) your Followers liberally; respond to, or comment on, their Tweets;
Keep your own Tweets laser-focused (but stay human);
Use Hash Tags to identify your tweets (if applicable);
Participate (Tweet) often (but don’t overdo it);
Use compelling titles for your blog posts and link to them in your Tweets;
You should be blogging in your area of expertise at least once a week (keep it to approximately 300 words);
Remember: Social Media introduces; Blogs educate; Websites/People sell;
Provide your Followers with value: Contribute, contribute, contribute!
Watch and emulate the Users you appreciate most;
Keep it fun. Don’t become obsessed. It’s not a contest – just let it happen;
Contact me if you’d like clarification on any of the points above.

I Met Jesus in Kitgum

2010-05-13T16:27:00.000-07:00

I met Jesus in Kitgum. Her name is Sandy. I don’t know what she looks like, but I’ll never forget the sound of her voice.

Four years ago, my friend David Collins, founder of Canadian Food for the Hungry, invited me to join him and small group of adventurers on a Vision Trip to Uganda.

Uganda is in east Africa. The northern part of the country has been ravaged by an ongoing, brutal, and senseless civil war. After arriving by airplane and spending a few days in the capital city of Kampala, we boarded a much smaller aircraft and headed north to Kitgum.

Kitgum is a tiny dusty town just south of the Sudan border. Home to numerous relief agencies, it’s a bit of a safe haven for victims of a war that has recruited thousands of children and forced them to serve as soldiers, porters, or looters.

Just before dark, we settled into our accommodations – a sagging mattress, a torn mosquito net, well-worn furniture, and a cold shower. I was a little apprehensive about sleeping in that room, but it was far better than what we would witness the next day.

In the morning, as we piled into our van, we heard rumours of recent ambushes on the route we’d be travelling. For the price of a case of cookies, we were in good hands – eight armed guards rode in the truck ahead of us.

That day, we visited two IDP camps and interviewed three brave survivors. IDP stands for Internally Displaced Peoples. These are like refugees – in their own country – who have been moved from homes scattered throughout the countryside in an effort to avoid attack from rebel forces. The theory is that there’s safety in numbers. The problem is that it’s almost impossible for these people to support themselves in camps.

One of the camps we visited was Padibe. A fire had recently torn through this camp, devouring the grass roofs of tiny huts that provide shelter. These people had lost everything – and then lost that too!

At Padibe, we heard from a young woman – now in her mid-twenties. Guilt and fear prevented her from speaking in much more than a faint whisper. Through a translator she told us how, as an adolescent, she was walking with three other girls from her village, on their way to work in a field, when they were ambushed by rebel soldiers. The soldiers warned them not to show fear, and in a twisted attempt to prove their point, shot and killed two other children in front of them. All four girls were terrified. Their punishment was that this young woman and one of her friends were ordered to beat the other two girls to death. From the lips of the translator we hear three dreadful words: “…and we did.”

The survivors were taken to a nearby rebel camp. But in the middle of the night, the beaten girls regained consciousness and crawled toward the sound of voices, looking for help. Our survivor and her friend were told to finish the job – “…and we did.”

For over twenty years, children have been abducted and forced to do unthinkable things. Girls are recruited as porters, looters, and concubines. Ten year old boys are lined up across from one another, given guns, and told to shoot the boy across from them. Those who survive become soldiers; those who don’t are called cowards. The threat is always the same: “After what you did, you can never go back.”

The broken young woman addressing us in the IDP camp eventually escaped during a raid and hid two nights in the bush before arriving in Kitgum.

But that’s not my story.

My story involves another young girl: Sandy. Sandy’s a Night Walker – one of hundreds of children who live on small farms with their parents, yet journey every evening to huddle together for the night on a concrete slab in the centre of Kitgum, in an effort to avoid abduction.

After an emotionally exhausting day in the camps, our group returned to Kitgum and, that evening, visited the Night Walkers. We were somewhat surprised by their enthusiastic welcome. These kids were clean, well-dressed, orderly, educated, healthy-looking, beautiful, gentle, and joyful.

I was tired and found a place to sit on a concrete wall. I remember the warmth of the wall and the warmth of the bodies around me. The black children seemed to fade into the blackness of the night. I heard a voice beside me: “My name is Sandy.”

We just sat there. Sandy’s fourteen. She sleeps on the veranda and has a twelve year old brother named Jacko. She showed me her school books and math homework. A ten year old entertained us. I played and teased with others as they crowded around. But I sat with Sandy.

Not far off, I heard voices that sounded like fun. I asked Sandy if she’d like to see what was going on, but she was clear:

“No, I just want to sit here with you.”

After a trying day, and in the midst of commotion, here was a friend who just wanted to sit with me. I couldn’t move. I wanted to stay there forever.

I don’t know how long we sat there, but eventually someone came to tell me it was time to go. I stood, and reluctantly said good-bye. I moved away from the wall and waited for the others.

But as I stood there I felt something. The breeze? My imagination? A gentle touch on my shoulder?

It was Sandy: “Mr. Jeff, are you coming back tomorrow night?”

I wouldn’t recognize Sandy to see her. It was dark, and she was dark. But she had a rich and gentle voice. I would remember that voice.

“I just want to sit with you.”

“Are you coming back?”

Toastmasters & the Church

2010-05-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

In January of this year I made two commitments to myself: I would join a Thursday morning Toastmasters group, and I would join a Sunday morning church service.

My first morning at Toastmasters a gentleman with a broad smile walked directly toward me, recognized me as a guest, shook my hand, and warmly welcomed me. He then took me into the room and elegantly introduced me to others who would soon become my friends. I was addressed by name and treated as an honoured guest. That first day, I was treated to a hot breakfast, offered an opportunity to speak, and at the end of the meeting the group genuinely wanted to hear how I felt about being in their presence.

Within only a few short weeks I’ve been invited to lunch with one of my new friends, and coffee with others. Another called Easter Sunday to invite me to join him for dinner. The Toastmasters organization actively explores and builds on the individual gifting of each new member. I even have a mentor to help me grow. At each meeting I’m encouraged (and delighted) to serve the group, and I’m learning how to love others.

This morning at Toastmasters I had the distinct privilege of delivering a short message entitled: I Met Jesus in Kitgum.

I’ve been following Jesus for over twenty years. I have served on staff at a large local church and have a Masters degree in Christian Studies. I know that the Church truly is the body of Christ. I love the stated vision of the little congregation that meets on Sunday mornings in my new neighbourhood, and to their credit, they do have great coffee, but like all who are created in the image of God, I long to be valued, to belong, and to contribute.

As I wait in hope for the church, I praise God that his Spirit is welcome at Toastmasters!

Never Be Afraid To Ask

2010-04-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I was sitting on the front row in an Executive MBA classroom. Maryann, a few rows back, was explaining a concept related to the application of technology in her work as a Business Systems Consultant.

As Maryann spoke I recognized repetition of a certain TLA.[1] In fact she used this TLA so frequently that I began to suspect that it might be integral to what she was explaining. The problem was: I had no idea what those three letters stood for!

Being no match for Maryann’s technological expertise, I naturally did what you might do. I quietly leaned to the woman on my left and asked: “What does ‘TLA’ stand for?” She shrugged and whispered: “I don’t know.” I then shifted to my right and asked the same question of the man sitting there. Same response.

Next I did something that took great courage, and defies all human logic: I raised my hand and asked the question. Maryann graciously obliged, and much to my surprise, nearly seventy percent of the classroom simultaneously expressed appreciation for their newfound knowledge. And I thought I was the only one who didn’t understand!

Here I was, sitting in a room full of brilliant people, and no one dared to ask! Why is it that we sometimes risk ignorance in order to maintain appearances?

I have, of course, since learned that the best and brightest people we encounter in life are never afraid to ask for clarification when they don’t understand something. Hmm, I guess maybe that’s how they came to be the best and brightest among us!

[1] A ‘TLA’ is a three letter acronym for ‘Three Letter Acronym’. I credit my friend Steve Outhouse for sharing this clever tidbit with me. I use it here generically, for demonstration purposes.

A Basic Residential Real Estate Investment Model

2010-03-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

Executive Summary:

Our objective is to purchase and retain break-even or positive cash-flow residential revenue property in fundamentally strong markets – property acquired at or below market value, with expectation of a minimum 5-8 year hold. Strategic improvement and superior property management help to attract and retain desirable tenants.

Revenue producing real estate investment benefits from the prudent use of leverage secured against hard assets to achieve: income from cash-flow; reduction of mortgage balance; equity growth through appreciation; a hedge against inflation; and favourable (capital gains) tax treatment.

There is risk associated with all investment activity. One deterrent to would-be real estate investors is fear of having insufficient information, knowledge, and experience to find, acquire, and control consistently performing assets in fundamentally strong areas. There is significant difference between emotional speculation and a reasoned approach to investing. Seasoned investors learn to identify, mitigate, and manage risk.

Why Edmonton?

Looking to the future, resource-rich Alberta, and specifically working-class Edmonton, presents one of the most promising investment opportunities in the world. Here are a few reasons why:

Average income (percentage and net dollar value) is increasing faster than provincial/national averages
Population is growing faster than provincial/national averages
Job creation exceeds provincial/national averages
The city has a diversity of major employers
At 25.9% debt service to income, standard townhouses are well within the RBC Affordability Index’s ‘hot zone’
Edmonton is expected to benefit from an economic real estate ripple effect due to major investment in Alberta oil sands
Political leadership has created an atmosphere of economic growth
The Economic Development Office is progressive and helpful
Infrastructure is being built to handle expected growth
The area is attractive to baby boomers’ lifestyle
There is a short-term problem likely to disappear in the future: many large-scale energy infrastructure projects are temporarily on hold
Labour and materials costs are rising, driving up cost of new homes and consequently dragging along value of re-sales

Why Me?

I have been involved in the real estate industry for nearly 30 years, as an investor, agent, educator, or consultant. I have assembled an exceptional team of real estate experts to handle all aspects of each transaction. As a Real Estate Investment Network member, I have timely access to research and updates on real estate markets.

Why this property?

This property is a well-situated 2 story townhouse with front and rear yards, adjacent parking, 3 bedrooms, 1½ bathroom, 5 appliances, and in excellent condition. The complex has good management and this unit has a tenant already in place.

The calculations below assume purchase at market price and variable rate mortgage. This property is one of three to be purchased as a package.

Projections:

Purchase price	$205,000
Appraised value	?
Down-payment & cash to close (includes 1 month staying fund)	$44,500
First mortgage (new financing at 2.25% variable)	$164,000
Second mortgage (VTB)	$0
Year 1 annual cash-flow	$3,575
Year 1 mortgage reduction	$3,116
Year 1 profit	$6,691
Year 1 Cash-on-Cash return	8.03%
Year 1 Return on Investment (assuming 0% appreciation)	15.04%
Estimated 5-year value (5% growth/year)	$261,600
Estimated 5-year mortgage balance	$147,692
Estimated 5-year profit (Estimated 5-year Value + cash-flow – Mortgage Balance – Down-payment)	$87,283
Estimated 5-year Return on Investment	196%

Joint Venture Partner:

Joint Venture Capital Partners are invited to participate in these projects as outlined on the accompanying Classic JV Worksheet. As Managing Partner, I find, negotiate, and administer the investment from beginning to end. The Capital Partner supplies the initial capital and credit, is fully secured on title and, upon disposition, receives return of all funds invested prior to participation in 50% of all net profits.

Using the projections above, expected net gain is calculated as follows:

Estimated 5-year profit	$87,283
50% of estimated 5-year profit	$43,641
Divide by down payment & cash to close	$45,425
Estimated 5-year return on investment	98.0%

Some other things you may not know:

· There are no Land Transfer Taxes in Alberta

· There are no Rent Controls in Alberta

· All mortgages in Alberta are non-recourse

· In Alberta, all Condominium Corporations must commission an engineering firm to provide a Reserve Fund Study every 5 years

· Over the past 50 years, average residential real estate in Canada has appreciated by a compounded 6.4% annually (Alberta is expected to lead future growth)

· Vacancy rates in Edmonton Q4 2009 were 4%; CMHC projects 3.5% by Q4 2010

· Alberta is currently one of the few balanced markets in Canada

· Alberta has the second largest oil reserves in the world (after Saudi Arabia) – and arguably the most secure!

Future Brands in Real Estate Sales Organizations

2010-02-12T18:14:00.000-08:00

INTRODUCTION

The business of branding in real estate sales organizations is changing. In a previous paper entitled “The Future of Franchising in Residential Real Estate Sales” I wrote that it would be naïve to assume business will continue as usual. Relentless competition, advancing technology, a faltering business model, unfavorable industry trends, and demographic market forces all pose a threat to continued profitability. So, if this is true, where do we go from here?

Al Ries and Jack Trout are probably the world’s best-known marketing strategists. Although their simple book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing,[1] was written thirteen years ago, it contains valuable information for understanding the coming shake-out in residential real estate brands. Unfortunately, most marketers fail to accept that there even are laws of marketing. Concepts that win awards rarely drive the success of a business; a strategic and well-executed plan that respects the laws of marketing does.

The balance of this paper is essentially a speed review of Ries and Trout, with illustration to our present situation where applicable. It closes in a brief description of three branding opportunities suggested by the lessons learned.

SPEED REVIEW

The Law of Leadership: “It’s better to be first than it is to be better.”[2] The basic issue in marketing is creating a category you can be first in. It is better to be first than it is to be better. Charles Lindbergh was the first to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo. Bert Hinkler was second; but although he did it faster and more efficiently, no one remembers him. Century 21 enjoys international leadership because it was the first to successfully introduce the franchise concept to organized real estate.

The Law of the Category: “If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.” The third to make a solo flight across the Atlantic was Amelia Earheart. We remember her name because she was the first woman. Re/Max achieved market awareness by being first to exalt the individual salesperson.

The Law of the Mind: “It’s better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace.” It is very difficult to change a mind once it is made up. Capturing mind-share – early on – should be the primary goal of the marketer.

The Law of Perception: “Marketing is not a battle of products, it’s a battle of perceptions.” Most people have a sense of personal infallibility; they believe they are better perceivers than others. Many marketers make the mistake of focusing on facts because they believe in objective reality. But the ‘everybody knows’ principle means perception may be more important than reality.

The Law of Focus: “The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect’s mind.” You burn your way into the mind by narrowing focus to a single word or concept. The most effective are simple, and benefit-oriented: ‘The Neighborhood Professionals’; ‘Above the Crowd’.[3] Focusing on a single concept takes courage; it is the ultimate marketing sacrifice.

The Law of Exclusivity: “Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect’s mind.” When a competitor owns a word or a position in the prospect’s mind, it is futile to attempt to own the same word.

The Law of the Ladder: “The strategy to use depends on which rung you occupy on the ladder.” The mind is selective. Prospects use imaginary ladders to decide which information to accept or reject. In general, a mind accepts only new data consistent with its product ladder in that category. Everything else is ignored. There is a relationship between market-share and your position on the ladder in the prospect’s mind. You tend to have twice the market share of the brand below you and half the market share of the brand above you. This means three leading brands is not a battle of equals. Seven seems to be the maximum number of rungs on a ladder, and there are fewer rungs on infrequently used products or services – like real estate sales. There are specific strategies to use for No. 2 and No. 3 brands; for those lower on the rung, the best strategy is to switch to a different ladder by creating a new category.

The Law of Duality: “In the long run, every market becomes a two-horse race.” A new category is a ladder of many rungs. Gradually, the ladder becomes a two-rung affair. And time frames vary: fast-moving markets play out in two or three seasons; slower moving ones (like real estate sales) may take two or three decades. Early on No. 3 or No. 4 may look attractive. However, knowing that marketing is a two-horse race in the long run can help you plan strategy in the short run. As time goes on, customers get educated and want the leading brand, based on the naïve assumption that the leading brand must be better.

The Law of the Opposite: “If you’re shooting for second place, your strategy is determined by the leader.” Wherever the leader is strong, there is an opportunity for a would-be No. 2 to turn the tables. Discover the essence of the leader and present the prospect with the exact opposite – upstart versus old reliable. There are two kinds of people: those who want to buy from the leader and those who don’t. Too frequently, potential No. 2 brands try to emulate the leader; the first brand to capture a concept is often able to portray competitors as illegitimate pretenders.

The Law of Division: “Over time, a category will divide and become two or more categories.” Categories are dividing, not combining: ‘full-service’ real estate companies won’t happen. What prevents leaders from launching a different brand to cover a new category is the fear of what will happen to their existing brands. Honda did not make this mistake when they introduced their premium brand, Acura. While timing is important – you can be too early to exploit a new category – it is better to be too early than too late. In order to get into the prospect’s mind first, you must be prepared to spend time waiting for things to develop.

The Law of Perspective: “Marketing effects take place over an extended period of time.” Long-term effects are often the exact opposite of short-term effects: ‘sales’ don’t work in the long run; and line extensions, like specialty markets, dilute the brand.

The Law of Line Extension: “There’s an irresistible pressure to extend the equity of the brand.” Line extension is taking the brand name of a successful product or service and putting it on a new one you plan to introduce. One day a company is tightly focused on a single product that is highly profitable, the next it is thinly spread over many products and losing money. Why does top management believe that line extension works in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? One reason is that, while line extension is a loser in the long term, it can be a winner in the short term. Further, management is frequently blinded by an intense loyalty to the company or brand. Line extension is imagined to be the easy way out. Launching a new brand requires capital, in addition to an idea or concept.

The Law of Sacrifice: “You have to give something up in order to get something.” This is the opposite of extension. There are three things that can be sacrificed: product line, target market, and constant change. There is no truth to the theory that the more you have to sell, the more you will. Generalists are weak; specialists are strong. There is no need to cater to everybody? Coke and Pepsi coexist by appealing to different segments of the market. There is no need to change your strategy every year at budget time. It is often better to stick with what works and sacrifice the rest.

The Law of Attributes: “For every attribute, there is an opposite, effective attribute.” Don’t emulate the leader – it is much better to find an opposite attribute. The key word is opposite – similar won’t do. If you do not have your own attribute, you’d better have a low price – a very low price. Sometimes it will be necessary to choose a lesser attribute.

The Law of Candor: “When you admit a negative, the prospect will give you a positive.” Positive statements must be proven to the prospect’s satisfaction. No such proof is needed for negative statements. Marketing is often a search for the obvious. Admitting a problem opens minds. This, however, must be used carefully and with great skill. The negative must be widely perceived as a negative, triggering instant agreement; otherwise it will create confusion. You must then shift quickly to a positive.

The Law of Singularity: “In each situation, only one move will produce substantial results.” Marketing is not the sum total of many small efforts beautifully executed. History teaches that the only thing that works is the single, bold stroke. Think about military strategy. Most often there is only one place where a competitor is vulnerable, and that place should be the focus of the entire invading force. This may mean exploiting the unexpected. To find what will work, you must know the market.

The Law of Unpredictability: “Unless you write your competitors’ plans, you can’t predict the future.” Although you can’t predict the future, you can get a handle on trends; the danger comes in extrapolating how far a trend will go, or assuming the future will be a replay of the present. Research measures only the past, new ideas or concepts are almost impossible to measure. Build in flexibility. There is a difference between predicting the future, and taking a chance on the future.

The Law of Success: “Success often leads to arrogance, and arrogance to failure.” Small companies are mentally closer to the front than big companies.

The Law of Failure: “Failure is to be expected and accepted.” Too many companies try to fix things rather than drop things. Tom Peters coined the phrase: ready, fire, aim. Take risks: It’s hard to be first in a new category without sticking your neck out. When the senior executive has a high salary and a short time to retirement, a bold move is highly unlikely.

The Law of Hype: “The situation is often the opposite of the way it appears to the press.” When things are going well, a company doesn’t need the hype. When you need hype, it usually means you’re in trouble. History is full of marketing failures that were successful in the press. No one can predict the future. Forget the front page. If you’re looking for clues to the future, look in the back of the paper for those innocuous little stories. Real revolutions arrive unannounced in the middle of the night and kind of sneak up on you.

The Law of Acceleration: “Successful programs are not built on fads, they’re built on trends.” A fad is a wave in the ocean; a trend is the tide. A fad gets lots of hype; a trend gets very little. Fads are very visible; trends are almost invisible but very powerful. The best thing to do with a fad is dampen it, stretch it out and make it more like a trend. One way to maintain long-term demand is to never totally satisfy it.

The Law of Resources: “Without adequate funding an idea won’t get off the ground.” Very few ideas are ever accepted by large companies. The best bet is to find a smaller company and persuade it of the merits of your idea. Investments in new ideas should be front-loaded (i.e. take no profit in the first 2-3 years, plowing all earnings back into marketing).

LESSONS LEARNED

These laws point to a variety of possibilities for real estate brands. This section will briefly describe three: fee-for-service, premium branding, and local experts. The first two involve creation of a new category in a related market, and the third requires reclamation of an formerly well-established niche.

Fee-for-Service: Trends really do sneak up on us. If the plethora of ‘for-sale-by-owner brand’ upstarts ever get their act together, or combine and conquer, we will almost certainly see the first legitimate fee-for-service real estate brand. This is effectively the creation of a new category, and will gain market share most effectively if they position themselves as a fully licensed financial service rather than going head-to-head with the established real estate brands. By focusing exclusively on the opposite of the traditional notion of real estate brokerage, an à la carte real estate brand could align itself with the likes of lawyers, accountants, consultants and financial planners, posing a significant threat to the status-quo.

Premium Branding: There is presently no nationally recognized brand targeting high-end homes. Most of the current competitors have a brand extension that attempts to capture this market (e.g. Fine Homes and Estates), however, none carry the sway of a fully dedicated brand. Significantly, according to a recent survey of commission rates garnered on average and high-end homes, the latter seems to be the only segment of the market that continues to sustain ‘full-fee’ premium real estate services. Although this amounts to a niche market, it may prove to be a highly profitable one.

Local Experts: Century 21 once owned the term: Neighborhood Professionals. “Archrival Century 21 had a new commercial in which they were using children in a neighborhood setting. Damn, they were good. Everyone could see how powerfully that message came through. The company’s ‘neighborhood professional’ image was having a big impact. That’s what real estate was all about – kids; neighborhoods; families; and your friendly, helpful, always-there-when-you-need-him professional real estate representative.”[4] Re/Max knew they had to come up with an idea for a message that would become a household brand – a word, a slogan, or a feeling. And, whether intentionally or by accident, they came up with an exact opposite strategy: real estate is about the individual sales person. Most large real estate organizations have since followed suit, abandoning the neighborhood team approach to brokerage.

Today, an astute real estate franchise organization could likely claim a niche in Canada through a bold approach of targeting young, ambitious, well-qualified, media-savvy, team-builders and self-promoters. This would necessitate recruiting directly from universities and local colleges. This is where the top financial organizations go to recruit the very best – those who will command six-figure salaries – not unlike the income available to skilled real estate operators. The necessity of age and experience in this business is a myth propagated by a mature and forgetful industry.

There may well be room for highly-educated, well-informed local teams in the industry. Sell turnkey franchises on campus to business-oriented graduates who already know about studying and paying for credentials. In order to qualify as a franchisee in a clearly defined territory (neighborhood), they must demonstrate leadership by attracting a team according to specific criteria outlined in their franchise agreement. The franchisor must provide complete education, including: cutting-edge prospecting and promotion through technology; the most sophisticated information available on managing teams; and media training. Once established, everything the franchisor does focuses on promoting and propagating the image of a neighborhood professional – which means making the franchisee a credible local expert and celebrity because of his or her relationship with the brand. The franchisor and franchisee must also acknowledge in advance that protégés will inevitably want to break off and develop markets of their own. In order to facilitate this, there should be clearly defined markets, as well as incentive for the development and release of team members, which would lead to system growth.

Considering these and other approaches in light of the 22 immutable laws described by Ries and Trout, there is indeed opportunity ahead.

[1] Al Ries and Jack Trout, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk (New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 1993). This review is based largely on this work; page numbers and some quotations have been removed for readability as this article is not intended for publication.

[2] In a later work, this principle is referred to as “the survival of the firstest.” – Al & Laura Ries, The Origin of Brands: Discover the Natural Laws of Product Innovation and Business Survival (New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 2004).

[3] When you develop your word or concept, be prepared to fend off the lawyers: they want to trademark everything. The trick is to get others to use your word: to be a leader you must have followers.

[4] Phil Harkins and Keith Hollihan, Everybody Wins: The Story and Lessons Behind RE/MAX (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2005) 87.

Three Things People Love or Hate About...

2010-01-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

“What do you love or hate about a visit to your dentist?”

That’s a question I often asked when developing dental centres. While informal surveys may seem simplistic, they can provide profound insight that goes right to the core of your business model.

It doesn't take long before you are able to discern three key things that people love – or conversely, hate – about your industry and your competitors. Deliberately design and differentiate your business around Disney-like delivery of the ‘love’ factors, purposefully eliminate the ‘hate’ factors, and you may just be on to something!

In dentistry, we discovered that people love to be seen on time, and hate to be kept waiting. They love to be remembered as a person, and hate to be treated as a number. And, they hate paying the bill – especially when it seems so expensive, but appreciate choices that are clearly communicated.

We found these three things so consistently true that the concepts became imbedded in our culture. Treating people in a timely and caring manner, and using plain language to communicate cost-effective services showed up in our values, daily activities, peer reviews and evaluations, bonuses, on comment cards, and was celebrated at staff meetings.

We built an extraordinarily successful business around the answers to one simple question.

So, what three things do people love or hate about your business?

Making Sense of Haiti

2010-01-24T14:29:00.000-08:00

It’s not easy to explain with authority or convincing clarity why God might allow bad things to happen to good people. Accepting that the mysteries of divine wisdom are difficult to discern is what forms the foundation of faith. Yet in the aftermath of the Haitian disaster we see tangible evidence of answered prayer.

Jesus taught us to pray: “… ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done…’ ” ^{^[1]} What is his will? When asked which commandment is greatest, “³⁷Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^a ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^b…” ” ^{^[2]}

The world has rallied around the Haitian cause. In the midst of suffering, God turns the hearts, souls, and minds of the world to love of neighbour. This is people doing what people were created to do.

Many have felt compelled to pray not only for victims and survivors, but especially for rescue and relief workers, and the people who support them through small sacrifices of their own. May God’s Spirit be with them!

^{^[1]} The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 6:9-10

^aDeut. 6:5

^bLev. 19:18

^{^[2]} The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 22:37-40

When a Benefit Ceases Being a Benefit

2010-01-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I received a call from a good friend and former co-worker. Cheryl (not her real name) has a naturally giving spirit, and has earned a reputation for going beyond the call of duty in order to serve her clients, coworkers, and company.

The topic of our conversation concerned her frustration with a present employer’s take on what she believed to be a straightforward policy with respect to an employee benefit. The issue was admittedly minor, but justifiably frustrating all the same.

Cheryl has a knack for finding good deals – both at work and home. The benefit in question concerned employee reimbursement for supplies used in the workplace. The reimbursement amount had a set limit which, to date, all employees had used to the maximum. When Cheryl discovered a way to purchase double the supplies for the same price, she found her benefit cut in half, and felt she was being penalized for being frugal.

Proverbs 18:17 reads: “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.” It’s easy to see Cheryl’s point: she found a way to create greater value for her employer, and her employer illogically rejected her effort. As a result of Cheryl’s effort however, the employer had now discovered a way to reduce the overall cost of the originally intended reimbursement.

The question is not, and never is, about who is right and who is wrong. Most employee benefits are originally established with good intentions and with the hope of attracting and retaining good employees. Happy and conscientious employees help to create a pleasant and profitable workplace.

Now here’s the point: When an employee benefit becomes a contentious issue, it ceases to be an employee benefit. Many readers would be surprised to discover that the amount at issue in this story was only twenty-five dollars.

Turning benefits into barriers is surprisingly common. Employers can guard against inadvertently alienating employees by following these guidelines:

Before introduction of any new benefit, carefully consider what you are hoping to achieve.
Clearly communicate the purpose and parameters of all employee benefits – in writing!
Always remember why you established the benefit in the first place, and be prepared to alter it in favour of your employees when you discover that perception has changed.
Quietly congratulate yourself for elegantly adapting to change, and continuing to lead a happy and productive team.

What I Now Know About Stress

2010-01-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

Stress occurs when two or more forces are acting in non-complementary directions.

In the workplace, people become stressed when they feel pressure to perform beyond their ability, under unreasonable time pressure, or without support required for realistic expectation of success. I have often believed workplace stress to be something largely self-inflicted. I mean, do superiors really expect their staff to accomplish more than is humanly possible? Apparently, sometimes, they do.

We all need, on occasion, to push ourselves beyond what we think possible. George Bernard Shaw wrote: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

Effective employers set expectations high and, at the same time, guard against excessive transference of their own stress onto employees. Healthy employees should know that they are expected to do their absolute best – and no more.

On a personal level, in leading an organization I recently encountered stress as essentially a battle between must and can’t. In this case, can’t eventually prevailed, and the pain subsided. The bittersweet discovery is that we truly can emerge stronger and wiser from all the twisting and pulling of stress.

Five Findings from Failure

2010-01-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

Acquiring and bringing a business back from the brink can be an exhilarating experience, but what makes it so, is the ever-present possibility of failure. Failure is one of the best ways to really learn things we thought we already knew. Here are five findings from a failed turnaround attempt:

People: The management team that caused the problem, or failed to prevent it, will almost never be capable of contributing to the solution. Loyalty won’t help; change your team – fast!

Urgency: Have a plan ready to go before you start. There’s no time to learn on the job. There’s no time to train leaders.

Clarity: Accept responsibility for understanding everything. Don’t assume, because an expert on your team has seen something, they approve of it. Ask. Don’t proceed until you both have clarity.

Information: A Buyer will never have as much information as a Seller. Do your due diligence – and trust your gut. It’s better to walk away from a potential winner than be stuck with a certain loser.

Communication: Sharing information with stakeholders can be a double-edged sword: if your success is in their best interest, they may collaborate to find a workable solution; if risk-averse they may pull out when needed most. Don’t expect outsiders to fully grasp your predicament, but communicating early helps avoid completely blindsiding them.

Transforming Youth Leadership

2010-01-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

INTRODUCTION

Although an extraordinarily great percentage of significant spiritual decisions are reached within the first eighteen years of a person’s life, many churches struggle to keep a youth pastor even eighteen months. Is this a problem?

Given the present organizational structure of churches in contemporary culture, the simple answer is: yes. This paper seeks first to identify specifically why the apparently short tenure of youth ministers presents a problem, and then drives deeper to discover some of its sources. In identifying the root sources and resultant issues, it becomes possible to propose a variety of specific solutions. Unfortunately, these solutions, while certainly worthy of implementation, require incremental change; and change is difficult. So, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Church should seek a more transformational solution. The surprising conclusion of this study is that an integrated approach to raising children in the Church by involving the whole community may indeed render the traditionally understood role of youth pastor and its attendant issues unnecessary in many of our churches.

Let us first consider come of the data surrounding the importance of the first eighteen years. In his book, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, George Barna centres his study on children aged five through twelve. His reason is simple: “if you want to shape a person’s life – whether you are most concerned about his or her moral, spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional or economic development – it is during these crucial eight years that lifelong habits, values, beliefs and attitudes are formed.”[1] His research uncovered that adults who attended church as a child are twice as likely to read the Bible during a typical week as are those who avoided churches when young; twice as likely to attend a church worship service in a typical week; and nearly 50% more likely to pray to God during a typical week.[2] Adults essentially carry out the beliefs they embraced when they were young. Barna presents four critical outcomes: a person’s moral foundations are generally in place by the time they reach age nine; a person’s response to the meaning and personal value of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection is usually determined before they reach eighteen; in most cases people’s spiritual beliefs are irrevocably formed when they are preteens; and adult church leaders usually have had serious involvement in church life and training when they were young.[3]

As for the tenure of youth pastors, the eighteen month figure probably originates from an article written in 1983 by Paul Borthwick. A credible source with well over a decade in youth ministry in twenty-two years of service on staff at a single church, he wrote: “the general consensus is that the average tenure of a youth minister is not more than eighteen months.”[4] There is however sparse concrete evidence. In surveying a variety of studies, Joe Neill uncovered little support for the eighteen month figure and surfaced some research to suggest more career stability than previously believed. According to one source, the average paid youth minister has 4.2 years of experience and has been at the same church for 3.9 years. Another source reveals that youth ministers stay in one church an average of 4.65 years.[5] At the end of the same article, after weighing the evidence, Neill concludes: “The best answer I can come up with is that there really is a problem. If there are perceived tenure problems then there are problems – no matter what the statistics say.”[6] The problem was significant enough for the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination to commission an extensive study addressing as a fundamental concern the short tenure of youth pastors. Its data revealed that only 30% of youth ministers were in their present position more than two years.[7]

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?

“Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt. 19:13-14)

So why is this short tenure of youth ministers a problem? Veteran youth leaders know that it takes time to break through to youth, teens and their parents in effective ministry. The nature of youth ministry tends to be relational, and lack of fidelity leads to frustration.

In contemporary church environments, the motivation for the involvement of teenagers in church-related activities tends to be relational, rather than spiritual. If this is the case, when the relational networks change upon graduation from high school or college, we can expect a continued decline in church attendance among the emerging generation.[8]

Matthew 28:20b reads: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” According to Kenda Creasy Dean: “Few lines of Scripture sound more reassuring – or less likely – to young people than Jesus’ promise at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Contemporary culture offers little assurance that anything will be with them always.”[9] The church reinforces this insecurity when youth ministries lack consistency. Teenagers respond best to relationships that are stable and trustworthy. Youth take a long time to open up to people, requiring that we build youth ministries with leaders who are ready to be long-term friends and pastors.

Each time a youth leader leaves, it is difficult for the group to avoid feelings of rejection and frustration – as if they are being shown that they are not important. Frustration hinders the effectiveness of ministry and impacts attitudes toward the church that last well into adulthood.

SOURCES OF THE PROBLEM

In her book, Dean identifies four common misconceptions surrounding youth ministry: adolescence is a deficient form of adulthood; Christian youth programs solve problems youth face; youth ministry’s primary purpose is to ensure the church of tomorrow; and youth ministry is primarily about youth.[10] These misconceptions both flow from and contribute to three source challenges – a culture of segregation; perceived stylistic differences; and a crisis in theological depth – and are in part responsible for the creation of the youth minister’s position. But because the problems are systemic, a number of issues arise, all pointing to a subtle lack of respect for the position.

The growth of denominational programs in American Sunday schools owed much to Horace Bushnell’s emphasis on the church’s role in nurturing childhood faith, but his biographer, Margaret Bendroth, fears he may have regretted the institutional isolation of children from adult worship, when what he advocated was their full participation in every aspect of church life.[11] Today it seems that adults meet in the sanctuary while youth meet in the youth room; adults worship on Sunday morning while youth do devotions Sunday evening; adults participate in missions while the youth do service projects; and adults hear sermons while youth hear talks. The result is that young people feel more ‘set aside’ than ‘set apart’. This is the age-segregation of American institutional life that began at the turn of the last century as the one-room school house was gradually phased out.[12] Today, our culture continues to segment the population for marketing purposes. Regrettably the congregational church has ‘bought into’ the concept without adequately investigating its consequences.

Blame it on postmodernism, the generation gap, or whatever you will, but teens seem to have little patience for institutional forms of religious expression. There is, however, a significant difference between what young people want and what they need or honestly think is appropriate. At formative stages especially, children do not know what they need; they require adult direction and they need boundaries. Whether the differences are real or partly perceived, they are most certainly exacerbated by continued divisions.

Simply because stylistic differences exist, capacity for theological depth need not be compromised. Dean laments, however: “For most of the twentieth century, mainline Protestants have done youth ministry in the shallow end of the theological pool.”[13] “When youth ministry draws its primary energy from special events, ‘cool’ leaders, and high-voltage youth gatherings more than from the long tradition of practices through which youth identify with the life, death and resurrection of Christ, we communicate a version of faith that has no analogy in the adult church – or in real life for that matter.”[14]

Segregation, stylistic differences and the dumbing down of theology seem to mandate a dedicated professional for ministering to youth. Due at least in part to the misconceptions described above, a number of issues arise in this position. Neill lists several in his article: time conflict between job demands and personal needs, and between administrative duties and youth contact; a disconnect between students and church; a disinterested or apathetic youth group; inadequate salary; inadequate budget; greater opportunity for successful work in new positions; conflict with the senior pastor; unhealthy spiritual environment; and disillusionment.[15] Neill summarizes all of these issues as deriving from a “subtle lack of respect” for the position of youth minister and balances his comments with the acceptance of at least some responsibility on the part of youth ministers: “if youth ministers have lost respect, it’s probably from us doing stupid things.”[16] I conditionally agree. The beginning of any solution is the acceptance of responsibility, but as long as misconceptions exist the problems will survive.

PATCHING THE PROBLEM

While cause and effect continue to blur, there are seven common deficiencies for which Borthwick and others suggest solutions: calling, gifting, vision, support, recognition, energy, and experience. Without addressing these, the position of youth minister becomes merely a stopping point along the way to something else.

Many youth ministers fail simply out of an absence of calling. It becomes incumbent upon the church to affirm the call. Younger servants in particular may need assistance in understanding the concept of call and the biblical model of congregational involvement in such decisions.

Another and related area is a genuine lack of gifting, fit or ability. A disinterested or apathetic youth group may simply be pointing to a problem in leadership. An especially deplorable practice is the use of the youth group as a ministry tryout area. Without specific gifting, this can be a setup for failure for the individual involved, and sends a clear message to the congregation that the treatment of the younger generation is somehow less critical than adult ministry. Candidates must clearly consider their gifting.

Every leader needs a clear vision for ministry. The lack of vision is a third area where the youth minister can fall down. Ministers should be encouraged to set personal and ministry goals and to see their ministry as a process and not just a yearly program.

Another major area of concern is an ongoing lack of support within the congregation. The youth minister should be encouraged to continue to study. They should always lead through a team supplied by the laity. They should receive support in front of parents as well as training in relating well to parents. The odds are shifting in favour of more qualified youth ministers as a result of formal youth ministry majors. An essential addition to this would include a deliberate mentoring program and a spiritual director.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance’s study suggests pastors at the beginning of their careers likely do not receive the recognition for their efforts that their more seasoned colleagues do.[17] This lack of recognition harms the possibility of longevity. The youth minister needs to be an integral part of the church’s overall leadership team. There should be opportunity to grow beyond youth ministry. Some churches encourage their staff to have a ‘major’ and a ‘minor’ so that they are involved in at least two types of ministry at differing levels. There should also be opportunity to grow outside the church through observing or working with other groups and interacting with others in youth ministry. Pay must be relative to responsibilities, education and experience.

Another intimidating aspect of youth ministry is the relentless need to ‘be there’ for the kids – a lack of endless energy. Youth ministers must learn to guard their personal life and to have relationships outside of teenagers. This is essentially the concept of Sabbath-keeping.

The final area of deficiency is in experience. New ministers need time to grow before they are expected to assume positions of leadership. Says Neill: “If we’re funneling all the newbies into youth ministry, what should we realistically expect regarding tenure?”[18]

Without addressing these deficiencies, a frequent result is that the position is used as a stepping stone to other ministries. This attitude is so prevalent that some denominations even use it as mandatory home service for missionary candidate preparation. If the youth pastor is considered a junior minister, it should be natural to expect eager transitions to other positions, such as ‘senior’ pastor.

The view that youth ministry is a place where pastoral leaders ‘do time’ until they qualify for ‘real’ ministry is alive and well, thanks to the self-defeating practice of throwing clergy, seminarians, and unsuspecting volunteers with little experience and less support into positions where adolescents, searching for fidelity, demand more than we have to give.[19]

TOWARD A TRANSFORMATIONAL SOLUTION

Change is certainly necessary if we are to move beyond the revolving door into and out of youth ministry, but some of these symptoms may be pointing to a larger issue. Perhaps the church needs not a tune-up but a transformation.

Change is a shift that may or may not last, tends to happen at a discrete and identifiable moment in time and is often incremental in nature – almost imperceptible in many cases. Transformation, however, is an enduring process in which the person is radically reformed and does not revert to his or her previous condition.[20]

The same is possible of organizations.

Marva Dawn tells us: “The dominant culture never has to worry about character formation because its principles and morals are easily imbibed.”[21] The problem is that Christianity is no longer the dominant culture. The church is called to be an alternate and parallel society and this must be intentional and deliberate. “The reason why Christians are so similar in their attitudes, values and lifestyles to non-Christians is that they were not sufficiently challenged to think and behave differently – radically differently, based on core spiritual perspectives – when they were children.”[22] Fortunately, teenagers will settle for nothing less than passion – something worth suffering for, and children come with a simple faith worth emulating. “He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 18:2-4) Spiritual heritage must be passed from one generation to the next.

The transformational solution steers away from the role of youth pastor and toward community and an integrated approach to ministry that redefines the expectations of the leader.

“The mandate to ‘be there’ for young people belongs to the Christian community, not to any individual or group of individuals.”[23] The task begins with church-permeating prayer for children and families. Barna’s research points also to the importance of families taking the lead in the spiritual development of children. Many of the essays edited by Bunge emphasize the importance of parents in the nurturing of children. Raising and educating children are seen as important tasks requiring cooperative effort between the home, church, community and state. Bushnell, Chrysostom, and Schleiermacher all describe the family as a “little church.”[24] The primary agent of grace is the family, not the church. “Religion never thoroughly penetrates life until it becomes domestic.”[25] Barna’s survey data indicates that parents generally rely upon their church to do all of the religious training. It is not so much that they are unwilling as they are ill-equipped. Churches only get one or two hours with a child, while parents have them all week. The more willingly churches play the co-dependent role in this drama, the less likely we are to see spiritually healthy families and a generation of young people who grow into mature believers.[26] What churches need to do instead is prepare parents more adequately to handle the responsibility of their own children’s spiritual growth. “The community’s and the pastor’s primary task concerning parents is to help them keep God first in their lives.”[27] This will require considerable personal contact from the churches. “If we want to nourish in them godly character and the desire to choose God’s will over the allures of the world, it is critical that we begin when they are small to invite them into the delight of being different.”[28]

Research shows that church leaders are surprisingly uninformed as to the spiritual content and practices related to their children’s ministry. Most are simply interested in acquiring a turnkey curriculum. Interestingly, while 41 percent of those attending churches are under the age of 18, only 15 percent of church budgets are allocated to children and youth ministries. Children are sometimes mistakenly considered a ‘loss leader’ or seen as ‘bait’ in order to attract adult ministry.[29] While finances are not the issue, evidence of priority certainly is. Church leaders need to clearly understand the facts:

People are much more likely to accept Christ as Savior when they are young. Absorption of biblical information and principles typically peaks during preteen years. Attitudes about the viability and value of church participation form early in life. Habits related to the practice of one’s faith develop when one is young and change surprisingly little over time.[30]

“If you want to have a lasting influence upon the world, you must invest in people’s lives; and if you want to maximize that investment, then you must invest in those people while they are young.”[31] What is required is an internally consistent approach.

An integrated approach might radically alter or redefine the role of youth pastor. In a substantial number of the churches surveyed by Barna with really effective ministries to children, there is no one staff member dedicated to leading the children’s ministry.[32] As an alternate society, church needs to be intergenerational. Young people can participate according to their gifting as parts of the Body. Every child should be personally involved in some form of ministry. The pastor’s role becomes that of an advocate for the youth. In Matthew 21:15-16, the chief priests and teachers of the law were indignant because the children were shouting praise in the temple area, but Jesus defended them. Perhaps children ‘get it’ earlier, and we really do still have something to learn from them. “Invariably, the churches where the children’s ministry prospers are those led by pastors who are unapologetic advocates for that ministry focus.”[33]

As priority of the entire church shifts toward the nurturing of children, the requirement for a dedicated individual assigned to children or youth is actually diminished. In many congregations the lead pastor could be expected to fulfill the requirement. Only in congregations where size truly prohibits, or where the lead pastor is somehow unable to relate to children, might a staff member be required. The unfortunately titled ‘senior’ pastor (where the individual is occasionally neither older nor more established) carries with it the implication that all other pastors are junior.

CONCLUSION

In light of overwhelming evidence that faith decisions are grounded in the early years of a person’s life and the counterproductively short tenure of youth pastors, we do indeed have a problem. It simply takes a commitment of time to impact young lives. Although answers are readily available to the issues of youth leadership and have been successfully implemented in some congregations, the pervasiveness of the problem points to a subtle lack of respect not only for the position of youth minister, but for the focus of their ministry as well. As a result, the position continues to be treated as a stepping-stone to more satisfying ministry. A transformational shift to a truly alternate society where the last come first and titles are set aside in favour of following the example of Jesus remains our highest hope.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Atkinson, Harley T. and Fred R. Wilson. “Career Development Cycles and Job Satisfaction of Youth Pastors in the Christian and Missionary Alliance.” Christian Education Journal vol. xi, no. 2 (Winter 1991): 39-50.

Barna, George. “Adults Who Attended Church As Children Show Lifelong Effects.” The Barna Update (November 5, 2001).

________. “Parents Accept Responsibility for Their Child’s Spiritual Development But Struggle With Effectiveness.” The Barna Update (May 6, 2003).

________. “Research Shows That Spiritual Maturity Process Should Start at a Young Age.” The Barna Update (November 17, 2003).

________. Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church’s #1 Priority. Ventura, California: Regal, 2003.

Bass, Dorothy C. and Don C. Richter, eds. Way to Live: Christian Practices for Teens. Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2002.

Borthwick, Paul. “How to Keep a Youth Minister.” Leadership vol. iv, no. 1 (Winter 1983): 75-81.

Bunge, Marcia J. ed. The Child in Christian Thought. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2001.

Dawn, Marva J. Is it a Lost Cause?: Having the Heart of God for the Church’s Children. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1997.

Dean, Kenda Creasy. Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2004.

Neill, Joe. “Staying Power When the Door Looks Soooo Good.” Youthworker (July/August, 2004) 4 p.

[1] George Barna, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions: Why Children Should Be Your Church’s #1 Priority (Ventura, California: Regal, 2003) 18.

[2] George Barna, “Adults Who Attended Church As Children Show Lifelong Effects,” The Barna Update (November 5, 2001, accessed 09 August 2004); available from http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx.

[3] George Barna, “Research Shows That Spiritual Maturity Process Should Start at a Young Age,” The Barna Update (November 17, 2003, accessed 09 August 2004); available from http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx.

[4] Paul Borthwick, “How to Keep a Youth Minister.” Leadership vol. iv, no. 1 (Winter 1983): 76.

[5] Joe Neill, “Staying Power When the Door Looks Soooo Good” Youthworker (July/Aug 2004, accessed 11 August 2004): 1-2; available from http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/topics/power/staying.php. In this article Neill quotes three sources: Merton Strommen, Karen Jones, Dave Rahn, Youth Ministry That Transforms (Zondervan, 2001) chapter 1; Rick Lawrence, “The 18 Month Myth” Group Magazine (Jan/Feb 2000); and Jonathan Grenz “Factors Influencing Job or Career Changes among Youth Ministers” Journal of Youth Ministry (Fall 2002).

[6] Neill, “Staying Power,” 2.

[7] Harley T. Atkinson and Fred R. Wilson. “Career Development Cycles and Job Satisfaction of Youth Pastors in the Christian and Missionary Alliance.” Christian Education Journal vol. xi, no. 2 (Winter 1991): 48.

[8] Barna, “Lifelong Effects.”

[9] Kenda Creasy Dean, Practicing Passion: Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2004) 73.

[10] Ibid., 13-14.

[11] Margaret Bendroth, “Horace Bushnell’s Christian Nurture” in The Child in Christian Thought, Marcia J. Bunge, ed. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2001) 356.

[12] Dean, Practicing Passion, 37.

[13] Ibid., 162.

[14] Ibid., 168.

[15] Neill, “Staying Power,” 3.

[16] Ibid., 3.

[17] Atkinson and Wilson, “Career Development Cycles,” 49.

[18] Neill, “Staying Power,” 3.

[19] Dean, Practicing Passion, 90.

[20] Barna, Transforming Children, 97-98.

[21] Marva J. Dawn, Is It A Lost Cause? Having the Heart of God for the Church’s Children, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1997) 6.

[22] George Barna, “Spiritual Maturity Process” (November 12, 2003).

[23] Dean, Practicing Passion, 91.

[24] Marcia J. Bunge, ed. The Child in Christian Thought, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2001) 356, 64-65, and 333.

[25] Bendroth The Child in Christian Thought, 356, quoting Horace Bushnell, Christian Nurture (NY: Scribner, 1861; reprint Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 1994).

[26] George Barna, “Parents Accept Responsibility for Their Child’s Spiritual Development But Struggle With Effectiveness,” The Barna Update (November 17, 2003, accessed 09 August 2004); available from http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx.

[27] Dawn, Is It A Lost Cause? 110.

[28] Ibid., 229.

[29] Barna, Transforming Children, 39-41.

[30] Ibid., 41.

[31] Ibid., 42.

[32] Ibid., 119.

[33] Ibid., 104.

Vision & The Spirituality of Leadership

2010-01-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

Introduction

Much has been written on the topic of leadership. Most of the literature eventually takes one of two tracks: practical direction for the secular marketplace; or spiritual guidance for the Christian, which is then typically applied in traditional ministry settings. Few arguments seem to make a satisfactory connection between the two by bringing Christian leadership back into the marketplace. Without discounting the great value of the work that has gone before, this essay proposes that connection. Of all the qualities of leadership, it is vision that moves leadership from the secular to the spiritual. Spirituality, however, is not limited to that which is distinctly Christian. Therefore it must be clear that it is vision in the counsel of God that further separates the sacred from the merely spiritual. Both types of vision may be observed and applied in either church or marketplace.

We will begin by seeking an understanding of leadership: what it is, and what it is not. We will see that while leadership naturally implies interaction with others, it is also intensely personal. Vision is the quality that characterizes powerful leadership, but what exactly is vision? We will learn that while vision appropriately includes others, it too is very personal. Vision is what makes leadership spiritual. Therefore, we must seek an understanding of spirituality. Spirituality suggests power, but power presents problems. So we will explore the positive side of power and consider how one might recognize its source. All leaders, Christian or otherwise, are free to choose the source of their vision as well as how and where best to apply it.

Leadership

Leadership is a high calling. According to Max Stackhouse, business leaders, increasingly, are the stewards of civilization.[1] Without leadership, organizations are resigned to the status quo, or subject to atrophy. In a popular book targeting business leaders, Blanchard, Hybels and Hodges make the bold statement that the only reason for pursuing excellence with customers, or growing profitably, is to honor God and to help others reach their highest potential.[2] Honoring God and developing people in the marketplace requires competent and creative leadership. Max DePree says that “the goals of the organization are best met when the goals of the people in the organization are met at the same time.” Unfortunately, “these two sets of goals are seldom the same.”[3] Not only does leadership have its challenges, even the definition of leadership is subject to misunderstanding.

The word leadership is ambiguous. “To an extent, leadership is like beauty: it’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it.”[4] Newspaper editor Gloria Anderson adds: “You can’t make being a leader your principal goal, any more than you can make being happy your goal. In both cases, it has to be the result, not the cause.”[5] In order to gain a greater understanding of what leadership is, it is helpful to consider what it is not. Leadership is not about motivation. “Employees bring their own motivation… What people need from work is to be liberated, to be involved, to be accountable, and to reach for their potential.”[6] Neither is leadership about personal achievement or recognition. Jim Houston reacts against the proliferation of leadership literature: “The high value placed upon a single person with his or her own aesthetic notion of what is due him or her is not unlike the contemporary cult of ‘leadership.’”[7] Leadership also is not synonymous with management.

It has been said that management is doing things right, while leadership is doing the right things. Warren Bennis describes the difference between managers and leaders as the difference between those who surrender to the context, and those who master it.[8] The root origin of manage is a word meaning ‘hand.’ To manage, then, is to handle, or maintain. By contrast, the word lead, at its root, means ‘go, travel’ or ‘guide.’[9] Etymologically, therefore, the term leadership evokes the notion of a journey. Leadership involves anticipation of the future and the ability to take people there. “Leadership is a reciprocal relationship between those who choose to lead and those who choose to follow.”[10] Followers need leaders to show the way. The popular term ‘servant leader’ refers to those whose paramount aim is the best interests of those they lead. According to Kouzes and Posner, servant leadership is rooted in love – of products, services, constituents, clients, customers, and work – and love may be the best-kept leadership secret of all.[11]

But this is an incomplete picture. Leadership is not only about others; it is also personal:

It’s not about the corporation, the community, or the country. It’s about you. If people don’t believe in the messenger, they won’t believe the message. If people don’t believe in you, they won’t believe what you say. And if it’s about you, then it’s about your beliefs, your values, your principles. It’s also about how true you are to your values and beliefs.[12]

This means that character counts because character directly reflects the source of a leader’s belief system. A good way to see that source is through a leader’s vision.

The Role of Vision in Leadership

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained

(Proverbs 29:18, NASB)

A compelling vision is essential to great leadership. On this, the experts agree. While Bennis lists passion, integrity, trust, curiosity and daring, as ingredients of a leader, first among them is a guiding vision.[13] Leighton Ford says leaders get attention through vision.[14] George Barna: “Vision is to a leader as air is to a human being: Without it, you die.”[15] DePree: “To carry out its work, the organization needs from a leader a clear statement of its vision and its strategy.”[16] Blanchard et al: “‘All great organizations have a visionary leader at the top who maintains a clear picture of the kind of organization it’s going to be. People are inspired by vision.’”[17] Kouzes and Posner: “Leaders inspire a shared vision.”[18] Hybels: “Vision is at the very core of leadership.”[19]

Examples of visionary leadership abound. In 1774 John Adams declared a vision of a new nation, a union of thirteen states independent from Parliament and the King of England; in 1776, the United States of America was born. In 1789 William Wilberforce began a tireless campaign against slavery; in 1883, four days before his death, Parliament passed a bill completely abolishing slavery. In the late 1800s the Wright brothers began working on a flying machine; on December 17, 1903 they made history at Kitty Hawk. In the early twentieth century Henry Ford vowed to make an affordable automobile; fifteen years later he had produced millions of Model Ts. In the 1940s Billy Graham had a dream of reaching people for God; to date, over one billion have heard Dr. Graham present the gospel.[20] But what exactly is vision?

First of all, vision is not to be mistaken for mission. Mission describes an overall purpose for existence, whereas vision is focused guidance that helps determine the unique way in which one has been called to fulfill a particular mission.[21] According to Peter Block: “A vision is really a dream created in our waking hours of how we would like the organization to be.” It differs from mission in that mission is simply a statement of what business we are in.[22]

Vision, in the marketplace, may legitimately carry a variety of meanings. That leaders have vision may mean they think longer term; or that they see where their system fits in a larger context; or that they can describe a possible future that lifts and moves people; or that they can actually discern, in the clutter and confusion of the present, the elements that determine what is to come.[23] Hybels offers this crisp definition: “Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion.”[24] For Christians, vision may represent the revealed will of God. Therefore, staying vision-focused keeps Christians God-focused; the vision is a reminder of dependency.[25]

Yet vision requires not only dependency on God but also on others, for there is a shared aspect of vision. Former sociology professor-turned-playwright, Philip Slater, provides this illustration from the theatre explaining how creativity is magnified in community:

Inexperienced playwrights often want to direct their own plays so they can make sure everything conforms to their vision. The result is usually sterile and often disastrous. If the vision comes through the writing, the director will see creative ways of enhancing that vision – ways the playwright never dreamed of. And so will the actors, designers, composers, and so on. I tell playwriting students never to write stage directions that tell an actor how to do or say something, since it limits the actor’s options and encourages phony gestures. A good actor, I tell them, will have a dozen ways of creating the effect you want – ways you haven’t thought of – and will choose the one most natural and the one that most powerfully expresses that vision.[26]

Similarly, in a marketplace context, vision may begin with the leader, and gain clarity as it is communicated in community.

There are, however, limits to the communal aspect of vision; like leadership, vision also has an intimately personal nature.

Another contemporary myth about vision-crafting is that it should be a shared idea, thus reducing the risk of others failing to buy into it. As a consequence, missions and visions that were once extraordinary ideas are adapted, modified, and pummeled until their fire and passion have been squeezed out of them. These ‘consensus’ missions and visions reach for the lowest common denominator where an accord can be built – egalitarian and democratic no doubt, but soulless and lacking in magic. In other words, they suffer from a fatal flaw – compromise – and this leads to mediocrity.

Lance Secretan continues:

The power of a compelling Cause rests in the soul of its creator, because Cause springs from the soul. It is a spiritual statement from one soul and cannot be the result of many. It comes from a deep place of knowing – some conviction that a richly imagined future could, in some way, dramatically and positively change the world. Others can offer their input, help, advice, and even help to fine-tune, strengthen, and wordsmith it. But in the end, a magnetic Cause is a one-of-a-kind thing that cannot be cobbled together by a committee or a team.[27]

In addressing the business community, Secretan uses words like ‘creator’, ‘soul’, ‘spiritual’, and capitalizes the word ‘Cause.’ Although the source of Secretan’s inspiration is not clear in this passage, he suitably shows that vision is spiritual.

Vision represents one of the clearest distinctions between leader and manager:

By focusing attention on a vision, the leader operates on the emotional and spiritual resources of the organization, on its values, commitment and aspirations. The manager, by contrast, operates on the physical resources of the organization, on its capital, human skills, raw materials and technology.[28]

This is the crux of the argument: vision moves leadership from secular to spiritual, but spiritual need not necessarily mean Christian. Only vision inspired by God may truly be considered sacred. Since God is Lord of all, he is able, through the Holy Spirit, to use any leader in any situation for the working out of his will.

Spirituality though, like leadership, is a difficult concept to pin down. Parker Palmer describes these two words as among the vaguest in our language. When you put them together, he says, you get something even more vague.[29] Katherine Tyler Scott, a leadership development consultant for church and business, says arriving at consensus on the meaning of leadership is an elusive accomplishment. Agreeing on the meaning of spirituality is equally challenging. Unlike leadership – which everyone agrees is necessary – we lack certainty about the value and emphasis that spirituality should have in our public lives. Scott writes:

Immediately we can see that the objective definitions lead us in different directions: spirit evokes images of an intangible and internal world, while leadership focuses on the visible and the external reality. Spirit is a matter of being and becoming, of creation and recreation, while leadership is doing, acting, performing. The definition of spirit invites contemplation, analysis, and insight, while that of leadership directs our attention to visible results.[30]

Spirituality and religion are not quite the same either. Whereas religion is a system of beliefs and practices shared by a community, spirituality more precisely describes the way people live out their beliefs, values, and convictions in daily life. For many, spirituality represents a search for meaning. Some have suggested that, where spirituality is the goal, religion is a path. Therefore it would be wrong to assume that only Christians seek spirituality. It is more accurate to say that, for those who do not know Christ, spirituality deals in the realm of the unknown. And danger lurks in the unknown.

Spiritual Power in Leadership

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbable saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.

(Zachariah 4:6, NASB)

When leaders lead with vision, they deal in that which is spiritual, and are presented with the problem of power. The demon in power is pride. Leaders must be aware of the principalities and powers and recognize their own frailties, for “power can take us down the path of the demonic.”[31] According to Henri Nouwen, the second temptation of Christ was to do something spectacular; something that could win great applause. The third temptation was the temptation of power. (We will deal with the first temptation later.) “What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life.”[32] “Rare,” says Andy Stanley “is the visionary who is able to maintain a spirit of dependency and humility in the face of public success.”[33]

Good leaders therefore must vow to bring authority and submission into proper balance by modeling leadership within the context of servanthood.[34] DePree even goes so far as to suggest the practice of leadership without power.[35] Leadership and power are not the same, but they are correlated. Power has acquired such a bad name that many good people persuade themselves that they want nothing to do with it. While ethical and spiritual apprehensions are understandable, no leader can legitimately renounce power.[36] John Gardner draws this analogy:

To say a leader is preoccupied with power is like saying that a tennis player is preoccupied with making shots an opponent cannot return. Of course leaders are preoccupied with power! The significant questions are: What means do they use to gain it? How do they exercise it? To what ends do they exercise it?[37]

Perhaps it is helpful here to recall that, for the Christian, the marks of spiritual power include: love, humility, self-limitation, joy, vulnerability, submission, and freedom.[38] This underscores why it is important for leaders to know where the power is coming from.

Christians must be rooted in a “permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance.”[39] This means dwelling in the presence of God. Receiving a vision from God is both deeply spiritual and deeply practical. It involves the quiet, internal work of making one’s heart ready, as well as the energetic, external work of exploring and experimenting.[40] Responding to vision need not be overtly mystical. Often, the vision does not originate with the leader personally, but rather from others. The leader may be the one to choose the image from those available at the moment, articulate it, give it form and legitimacy, and focus attention on it, but closer analysis reveals that the leader is often not the one who has conceived the vision in the first place. [41] In other words, leaders must be good listeners, and resist the temptation of self-reliance.

Application and Conclusions

In the marketplace, as elsewhere, all leaders have a choice: on the firm foundation of faith they may wait upon God for vision, or they may forge ahead with a vision rooted elsewhere. Now, according to Nouwen, Jesus’ first temptation was ‘to be relevant,’ by turning stones into bread. “I am telling you all this,” says Nouwen “because I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.”[42] Is it not instead possible that Jesus’ first temptation was to be self-sufficient? If Christian leaders fail to be relevant – if their vision cannot stand the test of the marketplace – the Holy Spirit can, and does, use other means to accomplish God’s will.

In the marketplace, the Christian leader’s primary goal is not conversion. The best way to bring glory to God is through excellence in pursuing a God-given vision. Stanley concurs: “The truth is, our secular pursuits have more kingdom potential than our religious ones.”[43]

This essay began by looking at leadership. While leadership most certainly involves others, it is also very personal. Effective leadership is grounded in a compelling vision and, while vision embraces others, it too is intimately personal. Vision is the quality that distinguishes leadership as spiritual, but while vision moves leadership from the secular to the spiritual realm, spirituality is not exclusive to Christianity. Only vision rooted in the revealed will of God is truly sacred. Even so, God can, and does work through leaders who do not profess to know Christ. All good leaders respect the power inherent in spirituality and become instruments of the Holy Spirit, whether they operate in the church or in the marketplace.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barna, George. The Power of Team Leadership: Finding Strength in Shared Responsibility. Colorado Springs, Colorado: WaterBrook Press, 2001.

Bennis, Warren. On Becoming a Leader. London, Random House, 1998.

Bennis, Warren and Burt Nanus. Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge. 2^nd ed. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 1986.

Blanchard, Ken, Bill Hybels and Phil Hodges. Leadership by the Book: Tools to Transform Your Workplace. New York: WaterBrook Press, 1999.

Block, Peter. The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1987.

Bolman, Lee G. and Terrence G. Deal. Leading with Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2001.

Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.

DePree, Max. Leadership Jazz. New York, New York: Dell, 1992.

________. “Theory Fastball” in On Moral Business: Classical and Contemporary Resources in Ethics in Economic Life. Max L. Stackhouse, Dennis P. McCann and Shirley J. Roels, eds. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 572-577.

Ford, Leighton. Transforming Leadership: Jesus’ Way of Creating Vision, Shaping Values & Empowering Change. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1991.

Foster, Richard J. The Challenge of the Disciplined Life: Christian Reflections on Money, Sex & Power. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1985.

Gardner, John W. On Leadership. New York, NY: The Free Press, 1990.

Houston, James, M. The Mentored Life: From Individualism to Personhood. Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress, 2002.

Hybels, Bill. Courageous Leadership. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002.

Kouzes, James M. and Barry Z. Posner. The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1995.

________. Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2003.

Lattore, Patrick. “Leadership” in The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity: An A-to-Z Guide to Following Christ in Every Aspect of Life, Robert Banks and R. Paul Stevens, eds. (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 564-568.

Nouwen, Henri J.M. In the Name of Jesus: Reflection on Christian Leadership. New York: Crossroad, 2001.

May, William F. “The Virtues of the Business Leader” in On Moral Business: Classical and Contemporary Resources in Ethics in Economic Life. Max L. Stackhouse, Dennis P. McCann and Shirley J. Roels, eds. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 692-700.

Palmer, Parker J. “Leading from Within: Out of the Shadow, into the Light” in Spirit at Work: Discovering the Spirituality in Leadership. Jay A. Conger and Associates, eds. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1994), 19-40.

Scott, Katherine Tyler. “Leadership and Spirituality: A Quest for Reconciliation” in Spirit at Work: Discovering the Spirituality in Leadership. Jay A. Conger and Associates, eds. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1994), 63-99.

Secretan, Lance. Inspire: What Great Leaders Do. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2004.

Slater, Philip. “Leading Yourself” in The Future of Leadership. Warren Bennis, Gretchen M. Spreitzer, Thomas G. Cummings, eds. (San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-Bass, 2001), 103-115.

Stackhouse, Max. “Introduction: Foundations and Purposes” in On Moral Business: Classical and Contemporary Resources in Ethics in Economic Life. Max L. Stackhouse, Dennis P. McCann and Shirley J. Roels, eds. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 10-34.

Stanley, Andy. Visioneering: God’s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Personal Vision. Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 1999.

[1] Max L. Stackhouse, “Introduction: Foundations and Purposes” in On Moral Business, Max L. Stackhouse, Dennis P. McCann and Shirley J. Roels, eds. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 12.

[2] Ken Blanchard, Bill Hybels and Phil Hodges, Leadership by the Book (New York, NY: WaterBrook, 1999), 163.

[3] Max DePree, Leadership Jazz (New York, NY: Dell, 1992), 23.

[4] Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader (London: Random House, 1989), 1.

[5] Ibid., 131.

[6] Max DePree, “Theory Fastball” in OMB, 572.

[7] James M. Houston, The Mentored Life (Colorado Springs, CO.: NavPress, 2002), 29.

[8] Bennis, On Becoming a Leader, 44.

[9] James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1995), 36.

[10] James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, Credibility (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2003), 1.

[11] Kouzes and Posner, The Leadership Challenge, 14.

[12] Kouzes and Posner, Credibility, xiv-xv.

[13] Bennis, On Becoming a Leader, 39-41.

[14] Leighton Ford, Transforming Leadership (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1991), 26.

[15] George Barna, The Power of Team Leadership (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook, 2001), 37.

[16] Max DePree, Leadership Jazz, 26.

[17] Blanchard et all, Leadership by the Book, 125.

[18] Kouzes and Posner, The Leadership Challenge, 11.

[19] Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 31.

[20] Ibid., 29-30.

[21] Barna, The Power of Team Leadership, 41.

[22] Peter Block, The Empowered Manager (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1987),113.

[23] John H. Gardner, On Leadership (New York, NY: Free Press, 1990), 130-131.

[24] Hybels, Courageous Leadership, 32.

[25] Andy Stanley, Visioneering (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1999), 57.

[26] Philip Slater, “Leading Yourself” in The Future of Leadership, Warren Bennis, Gretchen M. Spreitzer and Thomas G. Cummings, eds. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2001), 114.

[27] Lance Secretan, Inspire! (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2004), 68.

[28] Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus, Leaders (New York, NY: HarperBusiness, 1986), 85.

[29] Parker J. Palmer, “Leading from Within” in Spirit at Work, Jay A. Conger and Associates, eds. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1994), 27.

[30] Katherine Tyler Scott, “Leadership and Spirituality” in Spirit at Work, Jay A. Conger and Associates, eds. (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1994), 63, 65.

[31] Richard J. Foster, The Challenge of the Disciplined Life (San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1985), 13, 179.

[32] Henri J.M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus (New York, NY: Crossroad, 2001), 38, 57, 59.

[33] Stanley, Visioneering, 67.

[34] Foster, The Challenge of the Disciplined Life, 12.

[35] DePree, Leadership Jazz, 179.

[36] Gardner, On Leadership, 55.

[37] Ibid., 57.

[38] Foster, The Challenge of the Disciplined Life, 201-207.

[39] Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, 31.

[40] Hybels, Courageous Leadership, 38.

[41] Bennis and Nanus, Leaders, 88-89.

[42] Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, 17. [italics mine]

[43] Stanley, Visioneering, 225.