The Power of Friendship

Proverbs 27:17 (NKJV)   As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

First note: it is iron we are talking about. Not tin. Not soft rock. Iron is filed by iron to refine its shape, to sharpen its edge or to shine its surface. A lonely piece of iron, by itself, can do nothing.

It should never be “lonely at the top” for effective leadership is not a solitary endeavor. The leader must have around friends who provoke the leader to deeper thinking (energizing the intellect) or provide authentic encouragement --both brighten the countenance.

Testing ideas in conversation refines our skills: its also the penetrating questions of the soul that shapes our spiritual being. The influence is great; therefore, leaders must choose wisely the friends who would brighten their countenance.

Copyright © by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Practice Self-control

Proverbs 25:28 (NLT) A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.

A 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 beneficial
Checking pride and vanity – it’s not about you
Containing anger and revenge – see above
Confining personal ambition – Empty self and be filled with God

Peace and safety are given to those who have learned to control themselves: which of those four “Cs” do you need to work on?

Copyright © 2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Sweet Success Starts with Wisdom

Proverbs 24:13-14 (NLT)  My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste. In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.

Honey is a powerful food. Not only is it sweet, but also it has healthy attributes and has been used through the ages to treat various aliments. Its sweetness is not open for debate. Once tasted, no arguments can be set forth to convince you otherwise.

Exactly like The Truth, right? Well, not exactly: many have grown up around beehives, honeycombs, various containers of honey – even been schooled “in honey” – but have not actually tasted the honey. Silly. It’s a picture, however, of many who have been schooled in religion but never tasted the sweetness of Christ.

“Tasting” Wisdom is a life-altering experience – it sweetens the soul; brightens the future, and secures your hope. That kind of success attracts – even in the workplace. Are you attractive?

Copyright © by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Focus on Building the Heart Not Wealth

Proverbs 23:4 (NASB)  Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it.

Motives are everything. In his book, Principle Centered Leadership, Steven Covey derides our culture’s fixation on wealth, especially wealth without work. He notes a correlation between one’s movement away from the laws of nature and the degree to which one’s judgment is adversely affected.

The law of nature (God’s truth) is this: if it's only money…leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after. [1Tim.6: 9]

Believing leaders beware: the heart is desperately wicked. Focus on your heart and the needs of others. Allow profits and wealth to be the consequence of good management and your dependence on the Lord. Depend on self: disaster. Depend on God: blessing.


Copyright ©2006 by P.Griffith Lindell

Leaders Are Givers

Proverbs 19:17 (MSG)   Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.

It was Milton Friedman who posited in 1970 that the best corporate citizens were not those who had charitable giving as a value; rather the best corporations were those who maximized their profits and let the stockholders worry about charitable giving.

His view sparks plenty of debate as many corporations have rejected his thesis and begun serving other “stakeholders” beside the stockholders. KLD Research publishes a scorecard rating that corporate citizenship on the theory that Friedman was wrong.

Other research demonstrates that the attitude of giving begins at the top and reflects the personal core values of the leader. Modern man finally coming around to Ancient Wisdom – that is still fresh today. God is all and in all. Is He in your corporate and personal wallet?


Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Who Directs the Leader? The Answers Matters.

Proverbs 20:24 (NIV) A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?

This is one of those very tough leadership verses for we supposedly “know the way.” We share the vision. We focus on the mission. We shape actions by the core values. We’re …leading.

The truth is that we have a “necessary and constant dependence on God.” When I stop depending on Him and just venture out with a “Griff-generated-thing,” I really only understand this: it was all about me. Not good.

When I let God direct my steps with prayer, collaboration and the Word, I don’t try to understand - for His ways are not our ways.

I am learning to “trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Who do you trust?

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Motivate with a Cheerful Attitude

Proverbs 17:22 (MSG) A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

Health professionals have long recognized this truth; but it is even now permeating the business community.

According to author Susan Heathfield, writing on employee motivation, a leaders should: “Start the day by showing a positive, cheerful attitude (Your arrival at work sets the employee motivation tone for the day.)”

Good medicine for you: good medicine for your company. The leader lays the foundation for the culture. Your smile and disposition not only helps you, but also others.

Our Creator is sure practical!

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Worship God Doing Business

Proverbs 16:11 (AMP) A just balance and scales are the Lord's; all the weights of the bag are His work [established on His eternal principles]. (MSG) God cares about honesty in the workplace; your business is his business

A Christian Worldview recognizes that the source for maintaining truth and justice in affairs of commerce is God. A secularist sees the rocks, or lead pieces (the weights) and scale as simply man’s manufacturing ability – man’s ingenuity.  The philosophical two-story worldview in which we live (faith, feelings, etc. are in the private, upper story; science, math, commerce etc. are in the public, lower story) is denied here:  the Creator God who became man forever broke that false barrier. It is He who put the concepts of just scales in man’s heart “so that no man can alter them without violating God's rights and authority.” (Wesley) God is all and in all – even your work. Do you honor Him – there?


Copyright © by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Love Truth

Proverbs 13:5 (MSG) A good person hates false talk; a bad person wallows in gibberish. (AMP) A [consistently] righteous man hates lying and deceit, but a wicked man is loathsome [his very breath spreads pollution] and he comes [surely] to shame.

Sometimes it’s the little things that cause the biggest problems in business – like that “little white lie” that seems to often grow faster than even bamboo! The Message (MSG) rendering captures a universal truth that was demonstrated for me on this last business trip: “good” people soon tire of “fast talkers” – in this case a couple of men invited (expenses paid) to a panel: they showed up only for the Hor’doeurves (and open bar) where they were labeled as loathsome and then, following the meeting they “missed” appeared for the expensive dinner - picturing the Amplified rendering. Honoring Truth is tough (remembering its grace & truth that encourages) and takes a commitment of the heart – you “gotta” hate lies – even the little white ones. Ouch!

Copyright © by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Bridle the Tongue

Proverbs 10:19 (NIV) When words are many, sin is not absent; but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Practical insight. Give humans a chance to chatter, without care and forethought, invariably we will exaggerate, hyperbolize, and stretch the truth or just lie. Why? In our self-absorption, we want to “look good.” Leaders who focus on others find it much easier to practice the discipline of listening (you can’t listen and talk at the same time!). In sales training, we often say, “God has given you two ears and one tongue: use them in that proportion.” The Biblical principle, stated here and other places, is that we will be held accountable for our “idle words.” Listening carefully is more powerful than saying a lot. Are you listening?

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Counter-cultural Leadership

Proverbs 9:10 (AMP) The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning (the chief and choice part) of Wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight and understanding.


Today’s culture demands that this verse is a personal, subjective value but has nothing to do with objective reality - including how you lead and manage: it may be OK for you but certainly not for everybody else. However, if the Incarnation and Resurrection are historical facts, then the dichotomy that defines our culture is false (“values” relegated to personal and private issues, and science, math etc. as held as the only objective reality). To believe both is a contradiction. God-fearing leaders hold that the Creation, Incarnation and Resurrection are objective Truth that speaks to our purpose and destiny including how we work, live and lead. Christian leaders must begin to shape our culture – not succumb to it. Christianity offers a “unified, integrated truth” whose source is Wisdom. Who are you going to believe: Our culture or our Creator?

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leading in a World of Darkness

Proverbs 6: 23 (MSG) For sound advice [that had come from Wisdom] is a beacon, good teaching is a light, and moral discipline is a life path.

This chapter in Proverbs is on living skills and, in the section on warnings about sexual morality, comes this gem about the qualities of a leader who provides sound advice, good teaching and moral discipline.  Life is not simple and neither is leading. Business is in constant flux. Capital gets depleted. Priorities change. Boards demand progress. Individual contributors are often driven by self-centered motives painted in the texture and hue of team effort. Complexities arise fraught with gray areas. Discerning truth and righteousness demands of leaders something beyond their natural skills. Being known as a Christian business leader should have an impact on the lives around you. It is about being a light. Light has a way of reveling. Christian leaders must distinguish right from wrong even in the face of what might be "legal" but not righteous in God's eyes. Is your “light” providing sound advice, good teaching and moral discipline?

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Bedrock Leadership

Proverbs 5:1-2 (NIV) My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

Who you look to for wisdom determines – well, everything.  The underlying principle in these verses is that there is bedrock truth upon which you must build your thought life and behavior. Solomon never assumed that truth was relative and that morality was a function of personal choice:  his worldview drove this admonition and foreshadowed what the Apostle Paul said about Christ; "for in him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The predicate of this principle is not only that your view of others will not be self-serving (maintain discretion) but also what you say builds the continuity of useful knowledge. Leadership that honors others and builds a legacy – and it begins at the source: Do you “pay attention” to God or man?”

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Understand the Impact of the Starting Point

Proverbs 4:7 (NLT) The beginning of wisdom is: Get wisdom! And with all you have gotten, get understanding. {AMP = discernment, comprehension, and interpretation.}

For business success - or life success – having a clear understanding of beginnings is vital. It is the foundation of all your thinking. Solidifying your comprehensive worldview (Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?) will define where you look for answers and how your are at business. Believing leaders understand that the source of Wisdom for all of life (yes, business life too) comes from God who created us and provides a clear path to communicate with Him. The “wisdom” whose beginning is matter, or sensory data or “whatever” is often packaged to look like "spiritual" wisdom. Good packaging. Bad product. Either God is God of all (including all of wisdom and your work life), or he is not god at all. Wisdom at work, works. Understand?

Copyright © 20056 by P. Griffith Lindell

The Measure of a Christian Leader

Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG) Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.

The measure of a Christian leader is how well that leader weaves his/her faith into the fabric of living both at home and at work. This verse is devoid of meaning if we relegate God to Sunday and forget Him Monday to Saturday. I remember when I first met Ray Brown (http://www.drbmar.com). On his desk was a little plaque with verse 5 applied to it. I instantly knew the measure of this man: his faith meant something to the extent that anyone in his office knew what drove him and how he ran his business. He did not buy into the scared/secular separation worldview. It is a myth that has no basis in Scripture. Who do you trust and listen to: mythmakers or your Maker?

Copyright ©2006 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Know to Whom to Listen

Proverbs 2:5 (NLT) Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart {inclining and directing your heart and mind} on a life of Understanding.

Tune your ears to:  make them open to; get them on the same frequency as - Wisdom. More than just passive listening, this requires recognition of the worldview of not only the speaker, but also the listener, which yields understanding. Our ears are bombarded with the "wisdom" of the world from the media, from the educational system, and from the business press. Their collective worldviews are not God-centric and therefore not on the right frequency - not the right wavelength. However, lest we tune-out the verb beginning today's verse, break it down and discover that it's not a matter of just hearing; rather, it is a matter of choosing to listen. Just as one tunes a car radio, the wise must tune their "radio" to pick up the "station" that provides Wisdom. Where are our dials set?

Copyright © 2006 by P. Griffith Lindell