tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87268293559053971012024-02-19T15:01:53.387-08:00Kingdom Business Action PointThe daily LEADERSHIP blog for Kingdom Business magazine.Kingdom Point Media Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17633841708169068736noreply@blogger.comBlogger105125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-50436800541591006622009-12-07T10:52:00.001-08:002009-12-07T10:52:23.785-08:00Government. Debt. Small BusinessGovernment debt damages everyone - especially small business.In this time of massive debt with people voting for leaders who support adding to the debt, it might be good to once again read what one of our Founding Fathers wrote not so very long ago (in the ages of nations)."We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our selection between economy and liberty or profusion Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-9124079938801510872009-11-20T14:24:00.000-08:002009-11-20T14:44:02.555-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: Learning to Lead by being LedProverbs 20:24 (NIV) A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?For the Christian Leader, this may be a “Well, Duh!” verse. Of course! Really? Interesting conundrum here: we have a responsibility to think and act; but in our doing so, we never contradict God’s sovereignty.As one moves through management and into leadership, bosses, processes or initiatives,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-46361011352232234712009-11-18T09:38:00.000-08:002009-11-18T09:40:33.990-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: Fighting GossipThe internal politics of an organization can damage an otherwise healthy culture. Conflicting views of business strategy, for example, often yield pettiness, personal attacks and the politics of the destruction. Leaders, in both “sacred” and “secular” organizations, must deal with the human tendency to devour gossip.Proverbs 18:8 (MSG) Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you reallyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-56076683336832564242009-11-16T10:08:00.001-08:002009-11-16T10:08:59.738-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: The Heart of a Leader is the KeyProverbs 16:21 (NAS) The wise in heart will be called understanding, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.Definitions of leadership include words like influence, persuasion and motivation, i.e. the ability to inspire others to do what they normally may not consider doing.Those writing about leadership agree that the simplest definition of a leader is a person who has followers. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-60856818547707955662009-11-13T11:26:00.000-08:002009-11-14T22:42:48.842-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: Understanding and PrudenceThere are many expectations followers have about their leaders: one in particular is the leader’s ability to “understand.” A well-rounded leader wins the favor of followers by faithfully communicating, “they get it.”This is a leader who has learned to both manage complexity well and lead clearly through the tensions inherent in the structural conflicts involved in change. Careful! Success here Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-29100621252792193512009-11-11T13:16:00.000-08:002009-11-11T13:18:00.171-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: Guided by IntegrityLeaders who are driven by integrity make a difference – they are the ones who manage change well. Completeness I believe, has at its core an obligation of each leader to “know self” and this is a journey of three, interconnected phases: Understanding Purpose: · Do you know why you are here?· What is your purpose? Have your written your personal vision statement?· Why were you created?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-36026000442810038842009-11-10T11:27:00.000-08:002009-11-10T11:29:07.816-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: Wise Words InspireAll sorts of people can inspire, motivate to bring about change. Sometimes, the oasis of hoped for change is just a desert illusion.Proverbs 10:11a (NKJV) The mouth of the righteous is a well of life…Not so with a righteous leader: this person draws from a well of “living water” and motivates people to move (change) quenching their thirst with “the healing water” from the Giver of Life.AccordingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-42849604422156394312009-11-09T05:00:00.000-08:002009-11-09T05:00:09.343-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: Skilled Living is a Significant LifeProverbs 9: 1, 10 (MSG) 1Lady Wisdom has built and furnished her home... 10Skilled living gets its start in the Fear-of-GOD, insight into life from knowing a Holy God.A special house has been built for Believers and it should be enough - but many times, we spend time looking out the window at other buildings that seem bigger, better, bolder.The world does this as their practice of living. Never Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-90991718849531701412009-11-05T09:47:00.000-08:002009-11-05T09:49:19.793-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: AbsolutesWhom you look to for wisdom when leading your team, your small business, your ministry determines – well, everything. Your understanding of personal purpose, your core values and your worldview all merge at this intersection.Biblical business ethics adheres to the underlying principle that there is absolute, foundational truth upon which you must build your thought life and behavior. Solomon of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-15261013865403891612009-11-02T10:05:00.000-08:002009-11-02T10:08:25.662-08:00LEADERSHIP Series: Fundamentals of LeadershipBusiness schools demand certain perquisites to take advanced classes. Those “fundamental” classes lay the foundation for the deeper thinking required.Prov. 2:2 (NAS) Make your ear attentive to wisdom; incline your heart to understanding;So also, Biblical Leaders have foundational classes; not only are we to “tune into” wisdom, we are to apply wholeheartedly what we have learned – it is an action Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-11646220601097102622009-10-27T16:20:00.000-07:002009-10-27T16:21:37.413-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Asset ManagementProverbs 27:23 – 27 (MSG) [Be diligent to] know your sheep by name; carefully attend to your flocks; (Don't take them for granted; possessions don't last forever, you know.) And then, when the crops are in and the harvest is stored in the barns, you can knit sweaters from lambs' wool, and sell your goats for a profit; there will be plenty of milk and meat to last your family through the winter.“Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-25097792449061802422009-10-23T09:03:00.000-07:002009-10-23T09:10:00.173-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Meditating on the Right Things Yields Eternal ResultsWe all meditate: we just don’t think about it as such. Probably your mental image is a yoga position, or you pictured a cloistered monk; however, don’t be deceived! What you think about when you are working-out – jogging or walking along – where you mind wanders and settles – that is meditation.For some that thought-time is filled with complaining, anger, bitterness, gossip, sexual images, envyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-21091134574866299522009-10-21T15:59:00.000-07:002009-10-21T16:00:22.599-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: How Are You Known?Understanding personal purpose - Why are you here? - yields not only knowing "who you are" but also how you impact others.Proverbs 22:1 (NIV) A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.Consider that your impact on others as a leader has more value than all the wealth you can accumulate.A.W. Tozer offered seven “tests” for us to use when we want Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-11778313399850295522009-10-19T09:17:00.000-07:002009-10-19T09:20:27.697-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Reject the Blame Attitude The blame-game. Easy to play, given we have so very much practice. Hard to stop, given our self-centered natures. When our words are wrong, we blame others. When others make mistakes because of our folly, we blame. Blame. Blame Blame.Pr. 19:3 (NIV) A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.Christian leader let me put this in context: I’m not writing about mistakes,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-1116698477253918862009-10-15T09:18:00.000-07:002009-10-15T09:22:48.422-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Wise CommunicationThe stored-up knowledge of experience becomes most useful when communicated wisely. It takes care to communicate “rightly” – proper time, proper place, and proper thoughts.I understand this so very well, because sometimes I fail to wisely communicate. I blurt: Foolish thing to do. So, I've learned that in work, friends and family relationships, leaders communicate carefullyProverbs 15:2 (NKJV) Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-25714629149431037882009-10-14T09:34:00.000-07:002009-10-14T09:36:06.046-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: The Heart to LeadWisdom’s place in the heart is not ostentatious. It is quiet: a strength that leads to insightful understanding that has its foundation laid in a clear, personal purpose, a set of consistent ethics, and a compelling, yet coherent worldview.In their groundbreaking work, Daft and Lengel, in Fusion Leadership point out that leaders must have heart to lead. They proclaim, [that a] “Fusion Leader Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-9978420179739057742009-10-12T15:42:00.000-07:002009-10-12T15:43:02.908-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Headstrong or Humble?Proverbs12:15 (MSG) Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice. “Taking advice” defines effective leaders. They are the ones who have learned having an open mind yields beneficial results. That learning is life-long. Leaders learn to listen - not just hear - and are listening with the expectation of learning from the advice, no matter the source.Advice comes inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-11617804205326548182009-10-09T10:17:00.000-07:002009-10-09T10:20:22.318-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Leaders and Life-long LearningThe acquiring of wisdom is a journey, not an event. The journey is not only revealing about “self” but also about the shape and expression of a leader’s ethics.Proverbs 9:9 (AMP) Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser; teach a righteous man (one upright and in right standing with God) and he will increase in learning.Our progress in life is a result of our choices and our Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-7622335121349920052009-10-08T09:12:00.000-07:002009-10-08T09:13:06.821-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: FocusIn Bruce Doyle III’s book Before You Think Another Thought he suggests that “what you focus on expands in your life…[and]…it is important to focus your attention effectively.”Focus is a choice – a preference.Proverbs 8:9-10 (MSG) [Wisdom speaking] Prefer my life--disciplines over chasing after money, and God-knowledge over a lucrative career. For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealthUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-76453431082490259182009-10-06T08:37:00.000-07:002009-10-06T08:39:00.057-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Managing ExpectationsProverbs 6:16-19Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.God’s expectations for his people were, of course, communicated Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-66169727096369707612009-10-05T13:47:00.000-07:002009-10-05T13:48:15.121-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Guard Your SpeechLeaders communicate. Effective leaders communicate well. Sometimes, however, communicating well means being quiet.As some readers know, I was a theater major many years ago and completed all my graduate work, sans thesis, in theater. That schooling made it clear to me that actors are taught not only how to communicate, but also how to “be” in the silence between speaking parts. It is a form of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-15350371412693247762009-10-01T17:27:00.000-07:002009-10-01T17:28:31.855-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Foresight and LearningLife-long learning is an attribute of leadership – especially of those seeking to hone their skills as a servant-leader.Proverbs 1:5 (NASB) A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel…From recorded history, wisdom has been institutionalized, and with good reason. The wise were about sharing, training and producing wise people. We learn from Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-42990823014728633982009-09-29T15:51:00.000-07:002009-09-29T15:55:42.732-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Purpose Vision and ImpactA fundamental of authentic, transformational leadership (servant-leadership) is that the leader has a clear understanding of his/her purpose. The platform for personal purpose is undergirded by a person answering essential questions like:Where did you come from?Why are you here?What is your destiny?What role does God have in your life?Are you aligned with a purpose outside of self?If one believesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-76010870425872946092009-09-28T17:28:00.000-07:002009-09-28T17:29:29.853-07:00LEADERSHIP Series: Hate CovetousnessThe terms “emotional fluency” or “EQ” (the ability to use emotions effectively) are sometimes used when describing the process of developing positive corporate culture by practicing integrity.Proverbs 28:16 (MSG) Among leaders who lack insight [or judgment], abuse abounds, but for one who hates corruption [covetousness], the future is bright.The juxtaposition of covetousness and the lack of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726829355905397101.post-36600437475380023042009-09-24T08:43:00.000-07:002009-09-24T08:46:06.967-07:00LEADERSHIP Series :Self ControlA common characteristic of failed leadership is a lack of self-control - a lack manifested in many ways: but most important among them is the blame game.Taking full responsibility for our actions, learning from mistakes and using what you have been given to its full advantage are “walls” that will protect the leader.Learn self-control by:Curbing curiosity – everything is permitted, but not Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1