We just finished the afternoon session with Tara Russell and Dave Ramsey. Tara is the CEO and Founder of Create Common Good, a social and entrepreneurial venture that provides training and employment to refugees and others in need. Dave, of course, is an author, radio personality, and creator of Financial Peace University. The focus on their sessions was how to effectively do ministry through our work in the marketplace.
The following are their leadership comments that you should share with everyone on your team:
Tara Russell
- Our congregations have a completely inaccurate view of your (pastors) role and their role of living out their ministry.
- “Why is such a smart, American girl dumb enough to believe in Jesus.” – a Chinese co-worker. That was a defining moment in my life.
- When you work with women in prostitution your work never ends…It’s a constant churn.
- Food has always been about building relationships.
- How many of you can think of a fond memory about food that doesn’t involve people?
- Instead of being human beings we have become human doings. We are measured by what we do.
- Food is about healing.
- I am totally convinced there is so much untapped potential in your churches and your communities.
- The more people you manage the less you care about people.
Dave Ramsey – How To Build A Stable of Thoroughbreds
- My goal as I get older is to learn from other people’s stupid rather than my own.
- If you put a fish on the back of it, you ought to drive it right.
- You have to build very intentionally, very creatively, and with a lot of maintenance, a culture of excellence.
- Thoroughbreds don’t run with donkeys. They run with other thoroughbreds.
- Once you get 2 or 3 thoroughbreds, they will run the donkeys off.
- We don’t believe in exit interviews.
- Chaos is always around excellence. Creativity does not happen in controlled environments.
- A thoroughbred can’t stand to be left behind…The excellence level starts rising.
- We need to learn to do Christian hiring.
- The first rule of putting thoroughbreds in the room is screening for them. Our hiring process takes about 4 times as long…Take more time.
- The first step we take in hiring is we pray.
- We have 14 steps in our hiring process.
- We clarify what winning looks like.
- We get people out of debt. This is not a small job. Me and Jenny Craig got a lot of work to do.
- If they can’t live on what you pay, you are going to have bitterness and problems.
- The last interview we do is my wife and I go to dinner with you and your spouse.
- If I go against my wife’s feelings, it costs me $10,000 bucks. If my wife has a feeling, you don’t get hired.
- You have to love people enough to know that there is another side to the hiring process, it firing.
- If we “release” someone, we are being held captive.
- You cannot work for us and still go to Heaven.
- You have to create unity.
5 Enemies Of Unity
- Poor Communication
- We have a no tolerance policy for gossip. I will warn you once and then set you free…If we have problems in our organization it’s probably why you’re there. It probably means you’re there to fix it…I don’t understand why people pee in their cereal and wonder why it tastes bad.
- Unresolved Conflict
- Shared Purpose
- You Can’t Sanction Incompetence – When there is a donkey on the team, the thoroughbreds get demoralized because they think the leader is incompetent or weak.
Conflict is one of the roles of a servant leader.
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