"Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course."
THE LAW OF NAVIGATION.
We are given a great example once again for another law taught to us. Two men fighting to reach a destination before the other with two separate plans on how to get there. If you read the story, you will learn that it is a life-death situation because of how one had planned the trip. The first man (Amundsen) carefully charts his course and makes it to Antarctica a month before his foe, but due to poor planning, the second man and his group all die because of his poor planning and poor leadership. It comes to show that both of these men steered the ship, but it took a leader like Amundsen to chart the course.
We are given 5 statements about what navigators do:
1. Navigators see the trip ahead
2. Navigators draw on past experience
3. Navigators listen to what others have to say
4. Navigators examine the conditions before making commitments
5. Navigators make sure their conclusions represent both faith and fact
Looking at these five statements, think about when you have been in a position of leadership and you have left out one of these five statements. If you can't think of anytime this has happened, you obviously enjoyed reading this chapter!
From the five statements given to us, there was one secret that was told at the end of the chapter: "The key to navigation is preparation."
I want to share the acrostic that John Maxwell came up with for planning ahead and being prepared:
Predetermine a Course of Action.
Lay out Your Goals.
Adjust Your Priorities.
Notify Key Personnel.
Allow Time for Acceptance.
Head into Action.
Expect Problems.
Always Point to the Successes.
Daily Review Your Plan.
Remember, it's not the size of the circumstance or the project that determines its acceptance, support, and success, but it's the leader that determines it. Leaders who are good navigators are capable of taking people anywhere.
Praying for each of you!
God Bless,
Spencer
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Chapter Three: The Law of Process
"Leadership develops daily, not in a day."
THE LAW OF PROCESS.
Many people now-a-days buy into books and ideas of "get richer today!" and "go through the Bible in 20 days!" There are a few problems with these theories, but the main one is that you don't get the full effect of the process. I can get richer by the second, but it's how I get there that matters (the process it took to get there). I can read my Bible in 20 days, but can I absorb all of that text? Again, it's the process that matters. That is the law of process.
Things don't come overnight. Any guy that was in my room for a Bible study at SLU will go crazy to see me use another of his quotes, but Jim Rohn once said, "You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction." People think of revivals as a huge lighting strikes the earth and my whole world shakes and I am 100% on fire for God consumed in Him. That would be a lie, and it is a reason why people don't carry on after a revival. It takes a process.
"Becoming a leader is a lot like investing success fully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you're not going to be successful." Yes, it's true that some leaders are born gifted with God-given gifts to be a great leader, but it is still a process. LEADERS ARE LEARNERS. To learn, it takes time, a process.
There is no overnight success, and the ones that have it are the ones that have a one-hit single and then fall off the face of the market a few weeks later because we are in a world that demands the "new". Do not let leadership being a process slow you down, fight your way to the top, because it is how every great leader has gotten in there position.
Praying for each of you!
God Bless,
Spencer
THE LAW OF PROCESS.
Many people now-a-days buy into books and ideas of "get richer today!" and "go through the Bible in 20 days!" There are a few problems with these theories, but the main one is that you don't get the full effect of the process. I can get richer by the second, but it's how I get there that matters (the process it took to get there). I can read my Bible in 20 days, but can I absorb all of that text? Again, it's the process that matters. That is the law of process.
Things don't come overnight. Any guy that was in my room for a Bible study at SLU will go crazy to see me use another of his quotes, but Jim Rohn once said, "You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction." People think of revivals as a huge lighting strikes the earth and my whole world shakes and I am 100% on fire for God consumed in Him. That would be a lie, and it is a reason why people don't carry on after a revival. It takes a process.
"Becoming a leader is a lot like investing success fully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you're not going to be successful." Yes, it's true that some leaders are born gifted with God-given gifts to be a great leader, but it is still a process. LEADERS ARE LEARNERS. To learn, it takes time, a process.
There is no overnight success, and the ones that have it are the ones that have a one-hit single and then fall off the face of the market a few weeks later because we are in a world that demands the "new". Do not let leadership being a process slow you down, fight your way to the top, because it is how every great leader has gotten in there position.
Praying for each of you!
God Bless,
Spencer
Chapter Two: The Law of Influence
William Channing, an author, once stated this, "Every human being has a work to carry on within, duties to perform abroad, INFLUENCE to exert,, which are peculiarly his, and which no conscience but his own can teach." I love how the quote ends with "...and which no conscience but his own can teach" because it teaches us that influence is not only an important job, but it is unique and everyone has their on influence on each other.
THE LAW OF INFLUENCE.
"If you don't have influence, you will never be able to lead others."
Chapter two on influence is a very important law in my opinion. Everybody poses an influence on others, think about it. There is easily a person that comes to mind from around school that you would consider a bad influence on yourself or others, and I would hope that you could easily think of at least one person that is a good influence on yourself or others. We influence by our attitudes, words and actions. The question for a leader is: "What kind of influence am I putting on others?" This chapter opens up by writing, "the true measure of leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less."
The chapter gives a story of how when Diana became married, her marriage was watched by millions on public television, and her funeral was watched by 2.5 billion people around the world. Take a guess at whether she had a positive or negative influence on others... I love to think about who will show up at my funeral, because it always keeps my influence on others in check. Seriously take a second to think about it, how many of us want nobody to show up at our funeral? Why wouldn't you? Because it shows what a negative influence you put on others.
As Christians, we influence both Christians and non-Christians. I heard a quote at SLU 101 this summer that will never leave me, "Your life is the only Bible that some people will read... What are they reading?" - Brent Crowe. From a leader's standpoint, that question could be posed as, "Your life is the only leadership in ________ (any situation) that some people will ever see... What are they seeing?" When you were raised by your parents they taught you basics of life, but what if they taught you to eat soup with a fork? It doesn't make sense to you now because you know that eating soup with a fork would be insane, but it's because your parents taught you to use a spoon. People around you are like children and you are the parent, you didn't know better at that age, and neither do some of the people around you. Influence can and WILL change lives.
My challenge for you is to seriously think and pray about this: What kind of influence are you displaying through your words, actions and attitude even when you think nobody is watching?
Praying for each and every one of you!
God Bless,
Spencer
THE LAW OF INFLUENCE.
"If you don't have influence, you will never be able to lead others."
Chapter two on influence is a very important law in my opinion. Everybody poses an influence on others, think about it. There is easily a person that comes to mind from around school that you would consider a bad influence on yourself or others, and I would hope that you could easily think of at least one person that is a good influence on yourself or others. We influence by our attitudes, words and actions. The question for a leader is: "What kind of influence am I putting on others?" This chapter opens up by writing, "the true measure of leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less."
The chapter gives a story of how when Diana became married, her marriage was watched by millions on public television, and her funeral was watched by 2.5 billion people around the world. Take a guess at whether she had a positive or negative influence on others... I love to think about who will show up at my funeral, because it always keeps my influence on others in check. Seriously take a second to think about it, how many of us want nobody to show up at our funeral? Why wouldn't you? Because it shows what a negative influence you put on others.
As Christians, we influence both Christians and non-Christians. I heard a quote at SLU 101 this summer that will never leave me, "Your life is the only Bible that some people will read... What are they reading?" - Brent Crowe. From a leader's standpoint, that question could be posed as, "Your life is the only leadership in ________ (any situation) that some people will ever see... What are they seeing?" When you were raised by your parents they taught you basics of life, but what if they taught you to eat soup with a fork? It doesn't make sense to you now because you know that eating soup with a fork would be insane, but it's because your parents taught you to use a spoon. People around you are like children and you are the parent, you didn't know better at that age, and neither do some of the people around you. Influence can and WILL change lives.
My challenge for you is to seriously think and pray about this: What kind of influence are you displaying through your words, actions and attitude even when you think nobody is watching?
Praying for each and every one of you!
God Bless,
Spencer
Chapter One: The Law of The Lid
I am real excited that we have opened the first chapter of this book together. I honestly believe that God has huge plans in store for the lives of each of us in this group.
THE LAW OF THE LID.
"Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person's level of effectiveness." There is a lid to everyone's leadership and that is their ability to lead. You will learn that you possess qualities that other leaders would kill to master that seem easy to you, but you will also learn that there are qualities in those around you that you would love to have yourself.
Two key aspects of leadership are leadership itself and the effectiveness of your leadership. Maxwell gives us a great example of how the law of the lid works in a story of the two men that started the world-famous McDonald's. He shares about how the dedication and desire for success of the McDonald brothers was very high, but the leadership ability was a joke. McDonald's would be a failure if the two brothers hadn't realized an important quality in being a leader, knowing when you have hit your lid. They knew that they could not succeed any longer, so they sold the business to Ray Kroc. His leadership lid was worded perfectly in the book, being referred to as "sky high".
"The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be." This quote is very self-explannatory yet many people do not understand it. Nobody is going to be the perfect leader, there will always be something to work on. For those of you that went to SLU 101 in San Antonio, you heard from the Chick-Fil-A speaker that they are always making adjustments to their products and their stores because they have something to work on each time they show up for work. Success without leadership is nothing... but success with leadership can be life-changingly effective.
There are two quotes I would like to leave you guys with:
"Leadership has a multiplying effect... wherever you look, you can find smart, talented, successful people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership."
and
"To reach the highest level of effectiveness, you have to raise the lid - one way or another."
Praying for you guys!
God Bless,
Spencer
THE LAW OF THE LID.
"Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person's level of effectiveness." There is a lid to everyone's leadership and that is their ability to lead. You will learn that you possess qualities that other leaders would kill to master that seem easy to you, but you will also learn that there are qualities in those around you that you would love to have yourself.
Two key aspects of leadership are leadership itself and the effectiveness of your leadership. Maxwell gives us a great example of how the law of the lid works in a story of the two men that started the world-famous McDonald's. He shares about how the dedication and desire for success of the McDonald brothers was very high, but the leadership ability was a joke. McDonald's would be a failure if the two brothers hadn't realized an important quality in being a leader, knowing when you have hit your lid. They knew that they could not succeed any longer, so they sold the business to Ray Kroc. His leadership lid was worded perfectly in the book, being referred to as "sky high".
"The higher you want to climb, the more you need leadership. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be." This quote is very self-explannatory yet many people do not understand it. Nobody is going to be the perfect leader, there will always be something to work on. For those of you that went to SLU 101 in San Antonio, you heard from the Chick-Fil-A speaker that they are always making adjustments to their products and their stores because they have something to work on each time they show up for work. Success without leadership is nothing... but success with leadership can be life-changingly effective.
There are two quotes I would like to leave you guys with:
"Leadership has a multiplying effect... wherever you look, you can find smart, talented, successful people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership."
and
"To reach the highest level of effectiveness, you have to raise the lid - one way or another."
Praying for you guys!
God Bless,
Spencer
Introduction to The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
The first time that we met for Student Leadership Community, we were able to be introduced to new people and a new book. "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell will be our guide throughout this year to learn not to be a leader, but how to be a GREAT leader.
On page XX, I highlighted a few things that we need to keep in mind throughout the times that we read and share what God reveals to us through this book. The first sentence I underlines was, "every success and every failure has been an invaluable lesson in what it means to lead." Another word for invaluable is irreplaceable, and this quote is very straight-forward yet very true in life, not just leadership. Our successes and failures make or break us, it's how we handle our circumstances and the attitude that we use to handle them that is the determining factor.
A quote a few paragraphs down on the same page says this, "Leadership is leadership, no matter where you go or what you do. times change. Technology marches forward. Cultures vary from place to place. But the true principles of leadership are constant..." I believe that this is the basis for all of leadership, whether it is studying this book or acting in the world as a leader. Let this saying stay in your heart in all times as a leader.
We highlighted together four motivational points for this book:
1. The laws can be learned.
2. The laws can stand alone.
3. The laws carry consequences with them.
4. These laws are the foundation of leadership.
No matter where you are at right now, allow God to use this book to work in you to create you into the young woman or man that God wants you to be.
Praying for each of you!
God Bless,
Spencer
On page XX, I highlighted a few things that we need to keep in mind throughout the times that we read and share what God reveals to us through this book. The first sentence I underlines was, "every success and every failure has been an invaluable lesson in what it means to lead." Another word for invaluable is irreplaceable, and this quote is very straight-forward yet very true in life, not just leadership. Our successes and failures make or break us, it's how we handle our circumstances and the attitude that we use to handle them that is the determining factor.
A quote a few paragraphs down on the same page says this, "Leadership is leadership, no matter where you go or what you do. times change. Technology marches forward. Cultures vary from place to place. But the true principles of leadership are constant..." I believe that this is the basis for all of leadership, whether it is studying this book or acting in the world as a leader. Let this saying stay in your heart in all times as a leader.
We highlighted together four motivational points for this book:
1. The laws can be learned.
2. The laws can stand alone.
3. The laws carry consequences with them.
4. These laws are the foundation of leadership.
No matter where you are at right now, allow God to use this book to work in you to create you into the young woman or man that God wants you to be.
Praying for each of you!
God Bless,
Spencer
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