The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence (37 page)

HENRY FORD WAS brilliant in many ways. Between 1900 and 1908 there were 501 car companies established. Yet Ford would best them all with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. Ford had a genius for car construction and transformed mass production with the development of the assembly line. He also revolutionized industry by introducing the $5 workday. Buoyed by his rising fame and enormous wealth, the entrepreneur began to espouse his views on other social and political matters. At the outbreak of World War I, Ford adamantly opposed American involvement, claiming he wanted to spare American lives from European battlefields. Thinking that, as a successful businessman, he could talk reason to the European belligerents, Ford enlisted a cruise liner dubbed the “Peace Ship” and set sail for Europe in 1915 along with a motley collection of anti-war activists. The entire endeavor became one of the most embarrassing events in Ford’s storied life.

Ford would often promote his views against smoking and drinking, as well as popularizing traditional dances such as the Two Step and the Waltz. He also promulgated a virulent anti-Semitism. One contemporary critic accused Ford of being among wealthy businesspeople who “assume that because they have made a great success and shown exceptional ability in one field of action, therefore their opinions are of equal weight in all others” (Steven Watts,
The Peoples’ Tycoon,
225)
.
Ford ran for the U.S. senate and barely lost. On June 25, 1916, the
Chicago Tribune
carried a scathing article against Henry Ford, calling him an “ignorant idealist” for espousing ideas it considered harmful to America while being ignorant of the facts. Ford defended himself by suing for libel. Ford ultimately found himself on the witness stand in court, trying to prove he was not ignorant. In that he failed. He was repeatedly asked basic questions about American history to which he consistently gave the wrong answer. At one point Ford defensively argued, “I could find a man in five minutes who could tell me all about it.” It became painfully clear that, while Ford knew much about constructing automobiles, his knowledge about many other basic areas of life was appallingly meager. Over time, as Ford grew older, he became worse at offering his opinions on matters he clearly had not thought deeply about. His biographer notes, “He increasingly appeared as, at best, a slogan-spouting, irrelevant old man chained to the past, and, at worst, a dangerous reactionary” (
The People’s Tycoon,
430).

Scripture offers much wise counsel with regard to our speech. Proverbs 22:29 claims, “
Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men.”
Certainly skill in our profession will provide us a platform for greater influence. The great temptation will be for us to speak on matters for which we have little knowledge or upon which we have given scant serious thought. Scripture sagely advises, “
Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from trouble”
(Proverbs 21:23). The key is to watch over our mouth to ensure that we do not say more than we know! Success and leadership positions will provide us a platform for influence. But we must always be cognizant of what we know, and what we do not know. We are most influential when we speak on that which we truly understand, and we defer to others, and seek their counsel, on matters for which we are uninformed. What are you known for? Do people take your words seriously? What do you really know?

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. Are you an expert in certain fields? If so, what are they? What are some fields you do not know very well? How often do you voice your opinions on matters on which you are generally uninformed?
   

2. How effective are you at guarding your mouth? Do you avoid expressing opinions that you have not carefully thought through? Are you respectful of others’ viewpoints?
   

3. We cannot learn anything new while we are speaking. In conversations do you do the majority of the talking or the listening?
   

GEORGE C. MARSHALL emerged from World War II as one of its most respected and celebrated military leaders. As the top U.S. Army commander, his task after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was to rapidly build the U.S. military to a strength that could defeat its enemies. Marshall placed orders to purchase 60,000 planes, 45,000 tanks, and 8,000,000 tons of merchant shipping in 1942. He planned for 125,000 planes, 75,000 tanks, and 10,000,000 tons of shipping in 1943. The U.S. would ultimately spend 160 billion dollars on its military during World War II and build its military forces to over eight million people.

One day Marshall was busily writing at his desk when Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves, the military director of the atomic bomb project, entered his office. Groves respectfully waited until Marshall was finished. Marshall then scanned the request for 100 million dollars to be approved, and signed it. As Groves was about to leave, Marshall said, “It may interest you to know what I was doing. I was writing the check for $3.25 for grass seed for my lawn” (Ed Cray,
General of the Army,
315). While Marshall was famous for his normally wise use of time, he recognized the incongruity of delaying a 100-million-dollar project to develop the world’s most powerful weapon while he invested three dollars on grass. While we may never have to make 100-million-dollar decisions, we all will face important and unimportant matters.

The apostle Paul urged believers, “
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil”
(Ephesians 5:15-16). The most precious resource we own is our time. Without it, nothing else we possess matters. Yet, as Marshall realized, we must decide each day and each hour how we will invest our time. Those who have changed their world have had no more time available to them than those who wasted their lives.

In the workplace, time is money. Valuable employees manage to get the most out of their day. Nevertheless, there are innumerable time wasters always lurking in the shadows seeking to squander our most precious resource. Studies show an enormous amount of time being spent by today’s employees logged in to social media or surfing the net while on company time. Text messaging and e-mails bombard us while we try to complete projects or to study important documents.

People will thoughtlessly waste our time, if we let them. Small talk in the hallway about sporting events or the latest movie can whittle away precious minutes. Urgent but secondary issues can distract us from that which is essential. A thousand little things clamoring to be done can prevent us from accomplishing the one major project that had to be finished. At the end of a hectic and exhausting day we may realize, to our chagrin, that while we seemed busy all day, we never managed to complete our most pressing tasks.

Jesus was one of the busiest people of His day. People were constantly clamoring for His attention. Critics watched Him. The needy followed Him. Yet Jesus never seemed to be in a hurry. He never raced to His next appointment. Yet at the end of the day, Jesus had accomplished every assignment His Father gave Him. No one distracted Him. He redeemed His time. How like Jesus are you, with your time?

REFLECT FOR A MOMENT

1. How good are you at using your time? Are you behind in your work? Do you seem to have more to do than you have time to complete? If so, review your schedule. Prayerfully ask the Lord to show you if you are using your time effectively.
   

2. Are you a victim of time wasters? What are the biggest wasters of your time? Honestly reflect on what wastes the most time. Do you squander time on the Internet? Do you spend too much time watching television or movies? Do you love to visit with colleagues? How might you address these issues so they do not continue to dissipate your precious time?
   

3. Do you make it a practice to tackle your most important jobs first? Or, do you let numerous smaller tasks eat away your day so you never have time to complete your most important ones? How might you reorder your schedule so your critical work is always completed in a timely manner?
   

Mark Nelson

President, Chevron International Pte Ltd., International Products

AS BUSINESS LEADERS, we often find ourselves facilitating a planning effort…creating a plan for corporate funding, for resource optimization, for investors, and even planning for specific scenarios. In most cases, planning leads to clarity of execution, aligned people, and delivering on commitments. We each have consequence history that would tell us effective planning can create value.

James 4:13-16 says,
“Now listen, you who say, ‘today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that’”
(NIV). What is the message here? Are we not to plan? Did Joseph plan his journey as a child to eventually be a powerful leader in Egypt? Did Moses plan to tend sheep for 40 years? Did Saul plan to join the followers of Christ he so frequently persecuted?

James’ admonition is critical to business leaders in that we are required to plan for our organizations, but we might need a different vantage point for our personal lives. When people focus on achieving their personal goals, they negate the opportunities God can provide. James’ advice seems to be that if we want to establish a goal, we should come to God for verification. I personally have, at times, accomplished objectives and still felt a bit empty. Conversely, I have interacted with folks who may have experienced a considerable setback (missed an objective) but were experiencing fulfillment. Upon reflection, I was planning and these fulfilled individuals were preparing…preparing to serve God in whatever His master plan held for them.

Can you imagine Moses tending sheep suggesting to his wife that he would part the Red Sea and lead the Israelites from Egypt? Or Joseph, while being traded into slavery, contemplating that he would one day be accountable for financials of the entire Egyptian Empire? Many business leaders I know have confessed that if you had told them a few years ago that they would be where they are today they would not have believed you.