Category: Leadership
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What A Caddie Taught Me About Encouragement
This past week I was invited to play a round of golf at East Lake Golf Club in Decatur, Georgia. East Lake is no ordinary club. It’s the site of the Tour Championship, the culminating event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. More importantly, it was also the home course for golfing…
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A Moment of Truth
A Moment of Truth is a phrase that may conjure up different scenarios in your mind. For me, it triggers thoughts about customer service. Over thirty years ago, I read a book titled Moments of Truth by Jan Carlzon, then President of Scandinavian Airlines. Carlzon saw every customer interaction as a moment in time that…
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Bold Ashes
This Wednesday, February 26, 2020, Christians will celebrate Ash Wednesday. This solemn occasion is the traditional start of the Lenten season when Christians prepare for Easter by reflecting on their mortality, their need for a Savior, and the renewal of spiritual disciplines in their lives. I recall the Ash Wednesday during the last Presidential election…
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Is Sitting with a Conservative Now Criminal Behavior?
The Twitter world had a hissy fit earlier this week. A photo showing liberal comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres sitting next to President George W. Bush in the owner’s suite at a recent Dallas Cowboys football game generated a caustic response from the political Left. Apparently, it’s now a crime to sit next…
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Well Done Faithful Servant
I lost a friend last week. Lost him to pancreatic cancer. He was more than a friend – more like the big brother I never had. And that doesn’t describe him justly. He was a mentor, a role model, the kind of man whose opinion you sought, whose counsel was valued, and whose approval was…
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Respecting the Opposition – A Lesson from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This week, we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., the most visible leader of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Growing up in Atlanta during that same period gave me a front-row seat on the non-violent protest strategy used by Dr. King. I must confess to not always understanding, much…
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Quenching the Flames of Resentment
I believe in absolute truths. When my oldest son was nine years old, he thought he would play Superman and jump off the roof of our garden shed. Halfway way down, he suddenly realized he was about to give a personal, painful demonstration of the law of gravity. Just as there are physical principles that…
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The Dignity of Work – Part III The Power of Appreciation
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” Max DePree, American Businessman. “The number one factor in job satisfaction is not the amount of pay but whether or not the individual feels appreciated and valued for the work they…
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The Dignity of Work – Part II Finding Joy in Work or Why My Wife Wanted to Be a Garbage Man
Mark Twain is said to have quipped, “Find a job you enjoy doing and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Few would argue with the premise of that statement. Most of us would also agree that finding a job you love to do is not always easy. What about those jobs…