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Salvaged

Book Reviews, Junkyard Management, Leadership, Salvaged,

The Power of Stupid Questions

I want to be as constantly stupid as the disciples. Or rather, to ask the kind of stupid questions the disciples ask Jesus.

A trademark of my writing – especially in my books – is to contradict myself. I embrace the contradiction because we need to evaluate, ponder, and understand the wholeness of an issue. Besides, it makes people think.

So this post is going to contradict one of the chapters in my book Salvaged. In chapter 10, Questioning Captain Satellite, I talk about the power of asking good questions. The line, “The best leaders ask the best questions …

Leadership, Salvaged,

Vines and Ministries

Quick Commercial: My new book is released next week, June 2nd! Please order a copy here.

Okay, back to thought of the week:

In the last few weeks I’ve had several people tell me it’s time for them to move on from a ministry they lead. It reminded me of something I wrote in my second book: sometimes it takes more faith to leave a ministry than to start one.

Which prompts me to think about the vine and the branches story in John 15. Just hang with me a minute so I can explain.

High end grape growers do …

Generosity, Goble Properties, Leadership, Salvaged,

The Generous Boss

This morning I had the honor of speaking to the Campolo Scholars at Eastern University. The topic was leadership and the talk was centered around why I wrote the book Salvaged.

At one point we covered the leadership ideas of Max De Pree, which concludes that all leaders finish their job by saying “thank you” to everyone involved. The process for a leader is basically, 1) define reality, 2) become a servant, 3) become a debtor, and finally 4) say thank you.

There’s generosity to this model. It’s basically the servant leadership concept from Scripture, but expressed in more …

Book Reviews, Salvaged,

Books to Read or Give This Season

It’s that time of year when my annual list of favorite books is chosen. I do this in part as a suggested reading list, and in part as a gift guide. The year isn’t over of course, but I’ve read over 80 thus far and think the pool of candidates is deep enough to choose a few. Normally I’m at 100 books by now, but I think the stay at home orders minimized driving time, which shortened the number of completed audiobooks.

Anyway, here are my favorites and why:

If you want a daily devotional, the collection of writings by …

Junkyard Management, Leadership, Salvaged,

Six Ways to Motivate Your Team During a Pandemic

Last year I shared my six ideas for motivating your team (which had previously been published by Outreach Magazine). I wondered how the six ideas hold up during a pandemic. Would they still work in an era of zoom calls and working from home?

I looked over the list and decided to give it a refresh. Usually I write about stuff I know and have decades of experience with, but this time I’m winging it like everyone else. So your feedback is even more welcome as we all learn how to motivate folks in these crazy times!

Anyway, here are …

Junkyard Management, Leadership, Salvaged,

Impure and Unclean

Growing up in the junkyard meant working in the impure and unclean. Actually, not just working in it, but embracing it.

It was routine to come home covered in grease, dust, oil, and sweat. After a long day of work with my dad, my mom would insist I go through the garage, take off my shoes, and wash my hands. Then — and only then — I could enter the house to take a shower.

Everything touchable in the junkyard was dirty, and a lot of that dirt and grime came home on me. Many of the metals, oils, and …

Junkyard Management, Leadership, Salvaged,

The Importance of Ownership

Ownership matters to the success of an endeavor. A business, nonprofit, team, family, or just about any effort needs people who act like owners. My book Salvaged touched on this in the chapter about scaling (hint: don’t be suckered into scaling). There is a unique power of an owner compared to, say, an investor.

Hopefully, we can all agree that ownership matters.

And perhaps never more so than now, after we shut down the economy and are now starting the effort to reopen.

Right now, ownership really matters.

You have probably heard the maxim, “Leadership casts a long shadow.” Indeed …