Business Innovation + Biblical Insight

Charlie

The Legacy of a Leader, part 2

In the previous week, Dan Wooldridge shared his observations on the influential life of his mentor, Charlie, and the legacy of his life cut short by death. The first observation was that Charlie’s life was lived with an intentionally and alertly to fulfill his purpose to make a permanent difference in the lives he encountered. This week Dan picks up the story with the second attribute of Charlie.

The second remarkable attribute Charlie possessed was his keen sense of identity. In my profession of leader development, I see how leaders view themselves. I’ve seen many embrace the image of servant-leadership in an effort to improve performance. I don’t have a problem with this concept — in fact I endorse it — but I am concerned when I ask people to define "servant-leadership" and their responses make it clear this is just another technique to them. Some in business have told me frankly that if they found that servant-leadership didn’t make them more effective, they would try something else. Charlie had exactly the opposite view. He loved and embraced and lived out his identity, first and foremost, as a servant who was given the responsibility for leading.

That spirit infused everything Charlie did by altering the way he viewed people. He often reminded me that people, all people, are of infinite and eternal worth. C.S. Lewis wrote:

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations — these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit — immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This high view of people makes serving the highest calling rather than the lowest duty.

Charlie was overwhelmed at the privilege of serving people. He helped me imagine what our world could be like if civic, business, religious, and educational leaders walked into the marketplace, the classroom, the jobsite, the neighborhood, and really saw people in this way. Wouldn’t it change everything? Wouldn’t our businesses and organizations, our schools and communities flourish with such leadership?

Next week: The third key attribute of Charlie and the final insight that ties it all together.

Connect the Dots

The Best Commencement Address . . . Ever

The annual college commencements have commenced. Being involved with academic institutions, I have heard my share of speeches over the years. The most significant commencement address I've ever heard or read is Steve Jobs' address to the Stanford class of 2005. In the spirit of this momentous time of year I want to revisit that speech and reflect on what he had to say because I believe his message is important. These are my views, not his – I don't mean to put words in his mouth or make implications about his worldview.

Steve Jobs is a college dropout. “It started before I was born,” he said in the speech, explaining the circumstances of his adoption by working-class parents. 17 years later he spent six months at Reed College but couldn’t see the value in it:

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK.

Leaving school was pretty scary but he said, “looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made.” His decision started looking less scary when, with time on his hands, Steve took a calligraphy class:

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Featured Book

Orbiting the Giant Hairball

by Gordon MacKenzie

On the way to getting big, most companies turn into Giant Hairballs. Not on purpose; it just happens. Two hairs get tangled — not because they don't work but because on some level, for someone, they work just fine. As it is joined by more and more hairs, each of which worked well enough somewhere for someone, the tangle becomes more complex and larger. Before you know it there's a ball of hair so big it has it's own gravity field strong enough to pull . . . almost anything . . . nearly anyone . . . into its mass. That force field is success.

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