by Bill Lambert, CEO of Mine Safety Appliances, Inc.
This is part of our "Preachers from the Pew" series during Lent
Intro
When Graham asked me to participate in his “Preaching from the Pew” Lenten sermon
series I didn’t agree to it. I thought to myself, “What is it I have to say that anyone wants
to hear about my spiritual journey? What might possibly interest or in some
unimaginable way be of any help to anyone else? No way; forget it!” I thought. Graham
persisted and we emailed each other back and forth. I wasn’t convinced. However, as
I’ve tried to do in my life when I’m faced with a decision and the path isn’t clear to me, I
said to Graham that I would “pray on it and get back to him.”
I did pray on it and a week went past, and then a little more than a week without any discernment on what I should do. I was delaying this decision and then inexplicably something really strange happened.
It was a sunny day mid‐week a few weeks ago and my car was filthy. I hadn’t washed it in weeks and honestly it looked like a salt lick for deer. I decided kind of spur of the moment that at lunch time, I’d run out to Jerry’s Car Wash in Cranberry and get my car washed. Seemed like a very convenient and clever plan to take care of something that needed taking care of over lunch. So, I pulled into Jerry’s and as I gave my car to the attendant and walked in to pay, who’s in there just ahead of me? You got it, our very own Reverend Graham Standish who also had the exact same idea to get his car washed at the same moment as me!! I thought, “Seriously?” I mean, what are the odds of this happening? There was no escaping him or delaying the discussion now.
So, as Graham and I sometimes do, we got into this spiritual journey discussion at Jerry’s Car Wash. Our cars came off the assembly line and rolled out of the building. The workers towel dried our cars and shined the tires, all the while Graham and I are still talking. More cars come off the assembly line and start to back up behind our cars. Finally, one of the attendants yells to us, “hey, your cars are done! You gotta get them out of here.” So, we finished our discussion, got in our cars and promised to talk a little more.
But I must say that it was in that short, but meaningful conversation ‐‐ and in my reflecting on whether it was coincidence or God’s providence that Graham and I meet at that moment to discuss this ‐‐ that I decided to say “okay, I’ll try it.” So, here I am!
Prayer
Pray with me, please:
Holy and gracious God, you’ve called me to follow you and so I try. Bless my words today Lord that my discussion this morning at Calvin Church might resonate and be of some assistance to just one member who hears my story. That through my confession and
I did pray on it and a week went past, and then a little more than a week without any discernment on what I should do. I was delaying this decision and then inexplicably something really strange happened.
It was a sunny day mid‐week a few weeks ago and my car was filthy. I hadn’t washed it in weeks and honestly it looked like a salt lick for deer. I decided kind of spur of the moment that at lunch time, I’d run out to Jerry’s Car Wash in Cranberry and get my car washed. Seemed like a very convenient and clever plan to take care of something that needed taking care of over lunch. So, I pulled into Jerry’s and as I gave my car to the attendant and walked in to pay, who’s in there just ahead of me? You got it, our very own Reverend Graham Standish who also had the exact same idea to get his car washed at the same moment as me!! I thought, “Seriously?” I mean, what are the odds of this happening? There was no escaping him or delaying the discussion now.
So, as Graham and I sometimes do, we got into this spiritual journey discussion at Jerry’s Car Wash. Our cars came off the assembly line and rolled out of the building. The workers towel dried our cars and shined the tires, all the while Graham and I are still talking. More cars come off the assembly line and start to back up behind our cars. Finally, one of the attendants yells to us, “hey, your cars are done! You gotta get them out of here.” So, we finished our discussion, got in our cars and promised to talk a little more.
But I must say that it was in that short, but meaningful conversation ‐‐ and in my reflecting on whether it was coincidence or God’s providence that Graham and I meet at that moment to discuss this ‐‐ that I decided to say “okay, I’ll try it.” So, here I am!
Prayer
Pray with me, please:
Holy and gracious God, you’ve called me to follow you and so I try. Bless my words today Lord that my discussion this morning at Calvin Church might resonate and be of some assistance to just one member who hears my story. That through my confession and
About Me
Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Bill Lambert. I’m 53 years old. I’m the son of a plumber, the middle of four boys to Wilber and Ada Lambert, I’m a husband to Sandy of almost 30 years, a father of two wonderful daughters, a past elder, a golfer, a dreamer, a procrastinator, a reader, a snowboarder and sometimes thrill‐seeker, an innovator, a business leader and ultimately I’m a Christian pilgrim on a spiritual journey, just like you.
While I’d love to talk to you about my wife, our daughters, my golfing prowess, or my snowboarding adventures, instead what I’m going to talk to you about this morning is my business life, what’s it’s like to be CEO of a public Company with $1.2 billion in sales, to have 5,500 employees in 42 countries around the world and how as a man and a Christian I’ve struggle with stress, bad decisions, feeling “down and out,” feeling absolutely overwhelmed and at my wits end, and having to make tough life‐impacting decisions for those who depend on my leadership.
I’ll talk to you about how I cope, how I stay spiritually centered, how I view leadership as a calling and in fact a ministry, and how I now look to Jesus Christ as a co‐worker, there beside me as my trusted advisor and counselor.
Back in the late ‘70’s, as I was studying to become a mechanical engineer I used to love to dream about making things. I would sketch and plan and dream. I wanted to learn about mathematics and apply physics in the ways that engineers did. I studied well, earned my bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduated with honors, passed my “Engineer in Training” exam, and was on the road to gaining my Professional Engineers license, which I successfully accomplished a few years later.
After a short stint as a design engineer at Westinghouse Air Brake Company, I joined MSA as a 23‐year old design engineer, designing life‐saving breathing apparatus that fire fighters wear. I loved it! I loved life!
I married my high school sweetheart, bought a small two bedroom house in Pleasant Hills, had great friends that I got together with socially, partied way too much and spent every cent I earned. Sandy and I were having a great time in life. I was pretty full of myself. Confidence was not something I lacked. Humility? Forget it.
Seven years out of college, I began to question where my career was headed. I wanted more. My ambition pushed me to drive harder; work harder; and play harder. I was leading teams at work and we were accomplishing some great things. I saw myself as someday moving out of engineering and taking on greater and greater roles in Marketing and Sales. And someday (and I could see it clearly) I envisioned me being a General Manager leading a small group of people in all aspects of business. Yes, that was my calling, to be the “boss”, the General Manager.
In 1987, I applied for admission to the Carnegie‐Mellon Graduate School of Industrial
Administration. At the time, it was ranked as the #7 MBA School in the nation; behind
Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Wharton and the Kellogg school of business. It was challenging,
but I got in. I found this MBA program fascinating, I loved the hard work, I loved the
competition, I loved the pride that came from being associated with such a renowned
school and surrounded by so many bright ambitious people all working their way up. And
I did well! I was 29, I was aggressive and I was cutting a path for myself.
However, over those three years of working full time and going to CMU at night, the stress on my family and on me was intense. It was in that 1987‐1990 period, that I had what I term my “time in the crucible.” A crucible is what a metallurgist or an alchemist uses to transform a material under intense heat and pressure. These three years became my crucible where I transformed myself – but not necessarily for the “good.”
HubrisI had major projects going on at work, more than one not going particularly smoothly. Sandy and I had been trying to start a family and failed consistently. But just as I started graduate school, she became pregnant (with Emily). My mother, who had suffered a series of strokes, became progressively sicker during these years. In my second year of grad school, October 1988, she passed away only hours after Emily, 10‐months old at the time, took her first steps into my mother’s arms. The next spring, Sandy and I moved from Pleasant Hills where she was close to her mother, sister and a support network all the way up to Cranberry Township (in the “far north”), which might not sound like a big deal today, but for a South Hills girl back then (before I‐279) it was a really big deal. In November of ’89, Kelly was born. I was in a demanding job, still in Grad School, still extremely self‐centered, starting a family, in a new house in a new neighborhood, had lost my mother, was losing my father emotionally and had barely enough money to get by.
At the time, I thought it was by my great strength and perseverance that I was being transformed in this crucible. God had nothing to do with it. It was all me. I graduated with my MBA, was a hot commodity, had a number of job offers, and was clearly on a new path.
I broke out of Engineering just as I said I would. I entered Marketing and Sales and was speeding toward fulfilling my vision of someday being the “boss,” the general manager.
Trouble is, I had no idea just how right my vision was, or how fast it would come to me, or how many bad decisions I would make along the way. I was working hard, I was going out after work and I was making a lot of bad decisions that was affecting my family.
Within 6 years, I had held numerous marketing positions, was promoted multiple times, led multi‐national teams, was working closely with the CEO, led the acquisition of two competitive companies, was promoted twice in the same year and by December of 1996,
However, over those three years of working full time and going to CMU at night, the stress on my family and on me was intense. It was in that 1987‐1990 period, that I had what I term my “time in the crucible.” A crucible is what a metallurgist or an alchemist uses to transform a material under intense heat and pressure. These three years became my crucible where I transformed myself – but not necessarily for the “good.”
HubrisI had major projects going on at work, more than one not going particularly smoothly. Sandy and I had been trying to start a family and failed consistently. But just as I started graduate school, she became pregnant (with Emily). My mother, who had suffered a series of strokes, became progressively sicker during these years. In my second year of grad school, October 1988, she passed away only hours after Emily, 10‐months old at the time, took her first steps into my mother’s arms. The next spring, Sandy and I moved from Pleasant Hills where she was close to her mother, sister and a support network all the way up to Cranberry Township (in the “far north”), which might not sound like a big deal today, but for a South Hills girl back then (before I‐279) it was a really big deal. In November of ’89, Kelly was born. I was in a demanding job, still in Grad School, still extremely self‐centered, starting a family, in a new house in a new neighborhood, had lost my mother, was losing my father emotionally and had barely enough money to get by.
At the time, I thought it was by my great strength and perseverance that I was being transformed in this crucible. God had nothing to do with it. It was all me. I graduated with my MBA, was a hot commodity, had a number of job offers, and was clearly on a new path.
I broke out of Engineering just as I said I would. I entered Marketing and Sales and was speeding toward fulfilling my vision of someday being the “boss,” the general manager.
Trouble is, I had no idea just how right my vision was, or how fast it would come to me, or how many bad decisions I would make along the way. I was working hard, I was going out after work and I was making a lot of bad decisions that was affecting my family.
Within 6 years, I had held numerous marketing positions, was promoted multiple times, led multi‐national teams, was working closely with the CEO, led the acquisition of two competitive companies, was promoted twice in the same year and by December of 1996,
was named corporate Vice President and General Manager of the company’s largest
division. I’m 38 and my “vision” had been realized!
Within two years as General Manager, the company had lost a major defense contract, which caused us to shutdown a factory in Rhode Island. We completely changed our selling strategy, causing us to shutdown regional sales and distribution offices around the country. One of the acquisitions we made was losing money and the other was struggling. To add insult to injury, we decided to completely revamp our information technology system, implementing an all new global enterprise resource planning system for all our business transactions. We weren’t prepared for it and business processes came to a standstill. As you can imagine, it all brought us to our knees, literally. Here I was the Company’s youngest ever general manager leading the company’s largest division, and running it right into the ground! During that time, the division under my leadership went from being the most profitable in the Company to reporting a $10 million loss!
I was traveling a ton. I was drinking a lot. I wasn’t being successful at leading my Division. And worst of all, I wasn’t acting like the father or the husband I wanted to be. I nearly destroyed our marriage and I nearly lost myself along the way. My crucible had transformed me alright, but in a way that was further from God, further from my family and further from who I really wanted to be.
ReckoningI always considered myself somewhat of a prayerful person and I felt that since the time I was confirmed and accepted Christ as my savior, that I always had a very close and personal relationship to God. I would talk to him, especially during my quiet time.
But during these particular years, I actually spoke less often to God. I turned to Him less. I prayed less. And yet I seemed to be searching more – in all the wrong places.
I needed help. My family knew it; my friends knew it; and most fortunately for me, God knew it! So what would you do in that situation? Somehow I thought “Time Management” was my salvation. If only I could manage my time better, everything would be okay.
Within two years as General Manager, the company had lost a major defense contract, which caused us to shutdown a factory in Rhode Island. We completely changed our selling strategy, causing us to shutdown regional sales and distribution offices around the country. One of the acquisitions we made was losing money and the other was struggling. To add insult to injury, we decided to completely revamp our information technology system, implementing an all new global enterprise resource planning system for all our business transactions. We weren’t prepared for it and business processes came to a standstill. As you can imagine, it all brought us to our knees, literally. Here I was the Company’s youngest ever general manager leading the company’s largest division, and running it right into the ground! During that time, the division under my leadership went from being the most profitable in the Company to reporting a $10 million loss!
I was traveling a ton. I was drinking a lot. I wasn’t being successful at leading my Division. And worst of all, I wasn’t acting like the father or the husband I wanted to be. I nearly destroyed our marriage and I nearly lost myself along the way. My crucible had transformed me alright, but in a way that was further from God, further from my family and further from who I really wanted to be.
ReckoningI always considered myself somewhat of a prayerful person and I felt that since the time I was confirmed and accepted Christ as my savior, that I always had a very close and personal relationship to God. I would talk to him, especially during my quiet time.
But during these particular years, I actually spoke less often to God. I turned to Him less. I prayed less. And yet I seemed to be searching more – in all the wrong places.
I needed help. My family knew it; my friends knew it; and most fortunately for me, God knew it! So what would you do in that situation? Somehow I thought “Time Management” was my salvation. If only I could manage my time better, everything would be okay.
The TurnIt was late 1997 and by some strange turn of events I ended up in a “time management
seminar” in Boston, Massachusetts. I think at the time I thought maybe better time
management would help me. The name of the course was “First Things First”, maybe
some of you have read that book, or attended a similar seminar by Steven Covey.
To be honest the course was lost on me. Today, I can’t tell you a thing about better time management and I don’t think I’m any better today at it than I was back then. But what I can tell you is that I’m fairly certain that God spoke to me as I sat in that hotel ballroom attending that course. It wasn’t through an old man sitting next to me who looked like
To be honest the course was lost on me. Today, I can’t tell you a thing about better time management and I don’t think I’m any better today at it than I was back then. But what I can tell you is that I’m fairly certain that God spoke to me as I sat in that hotel ballroom attending that course. It wasn’t through an old man sitting next to me who looked like
George Burns. It was much more subtle, like a voice within me responding to the
prompts I was hearing.
What I heard which resonated completely with me, was this concept of:
What I heard which resonated completely with me, was this concept of:
-
Make the choice of who you choose to be from this day forward; not who
you’ve been, but who you choose to be;
-
Write a contract with yourself describing that person;
-
Decide what your priorities are (the things you’ll take care of “first”); and
-
Review that list every day; take steps to reinforce those priorities, like a
bricklayer constantly putting grout back in where the wind and rain tries to
wash it away.
It was one of those moments of perfect clarity that came over me. I wasn’t in church, I wasn’t reading the Bible, and I wasn’t listening to a pastor, but the message coming to me I believe was from God. I think it was God calling me back to Him.
That night in my hotel room, I prayed and I cried for what I had become as a husband, father and business leader. I asked God for forgiveness and I asked for His help.
This voice inside of me was telling me to grow up and grow towards God; to make a choice; to get myself centered on Him; to get my priorities straight; to put my “first things first”; and He was calling me to ACT NOW on this message. I suddenly felt the Holy Spirit was alive in me!
That night I wrote a contract with myself; printed it out the next morning in the hotel business center; signed it; dated it; made a few copies of it for each of my portfolios I carry around; laminated it (because I’m an engineer!) and have carried it with me ever since to every meeting I go to. I look at it frequently. I am reminded by the priorities I established and I’m guided by what I said I’d be nearly 15 years ago.
On my “First Things First” list – right there in the middle – is the statement: “Having a personal relationship with Christ and trusting Him to guide me in my life’s decisions.”
I’m holding up one of those laminated copies of my contract that I carry around with me. I’ve shared this with a few people over the years and I’ll give you a copy if you’d like after church. It’s fifteen years old this year and I’ve often thought about revising it, but I haven’t. This represents a particular moment in my life, an anchoring point if you will and an anchoring point in my walk with God. That’s special to me. It almost feels like an anniversary of sorts.
There are three sections to my contract. It all fits on one page. There’s a section for my “Personal Life Statement”; a section for my “Professional Life Statement”; and a section
As I look back on it, it’s in a way very secular, but I share it with you because it’s what got
me centered at a time when I was off the path. It adjusted my path by just a few degrees
and I feel it put me back on a path toward God.
What my first things first list caused me to wrestle with was that my role on this earth was a special calling, as a father, as a husband, as a Christian, and as a business leader. I needed to be able to exist in this secular world, be a Christian, have God lead me and make a difference in the life of those I touched – “yes,” those would become my new marching orders!
Prayer Makes All the Difference
Brother Lawrence, in “The Practice of the Presence of God,” wrote: In the midst of your work console yourself with God as often as you can. During your meals and your conversations, lift your heart towards God from time to time; the slightest little remembrance will always be very pleasant to God... We do not have to constantly be in church to be with God. We can make a prayer room into which we can retire from time to time to converse with God gently, humbly, lovingly. Everyone is capable of these familiar conversations with God – some more, some less. God knows what our capabilities are. Let us begin (then), for perhaps God is only awaiting a generous resolve on our part.
I felt that God was just waiting for me to take that step. To seek Him, to pray more frequently, to ask anything of Him – strength, forgiveness, wisdom, compassion, resolve. I learned that tough decisions and tough situations were helped immensely by me going to God in prayer. These frequent, “familiar conversations” as Brother Lawrence likes to call them, became incredibly helpful to me as I tried to fulfill my vows expressed in my First Things First contract.
Leadership as a Choice and the Opportunity It Provides
Management is not something you do to other people. You might manage your inventory, your checkbook, your time, and your resources. You can even manage yourself and your attitude. But you do not manage other human beings. You manage things; you lead people. And you lead them NOT by motivating them with money, position, or titles. No, I think the best leadership INSPIRES people. It inspires them to advance a mission, to achieve something meaningful and aspirational, to be more than they could be by themselves.
The life and works of Jesus Christ INSPIRES us and it personally inspires me to be better, to be more loving, more forgiving, and more generous. It inspires me in that I find myself asking, “How might I be more like Him in how I view my family, my business situation, the world?”
What my first things first list caused me to wrestle with was that my role on this earth was a special calling, as a father, as a husband, as a Christian, and as a business leader. I needed to be able to exist in this secular world, be a Christian, have God lead me and make a difference in the life of those I touched – “yes,” those would become my new marching orders!
Prayer Makes All the Difference
Brother Lawrence, in “The Practice of the Presence of God,” wrote: In the midst of your work console yourself with God as often as you can. During your meals and your conversations, lift your heart towards God from time to time; the slightest little remembrance will always be very pleasant to God... We do not have to constantly be in church to be with God. We can make a prayer room into which we can retire from time to time to converse with God gently, humbly, lovingly. Everyone is capable of these familiar conversations with God – some more, some less. God knows what our capabilities are. Let us begin (then), for perhaps God is only awaiting a generous resolve on our part.
I felt that God was just waiting for me to take that step. To seek Him, to pray more frequently, to ask anything of Him – strength, forgiveness, wisdom, compassion, resolve. I learned that tough decisions and tough situations were helped immensely by me going to God in prayer. These frequent, “familiar conversations” as Brother Lawrence likes to call them, became incredibly helpful to me as I tried to fulfill my vows expressed in my First Things First contract.
Leadership as a Choice and the Opportunity It Provides
Management is not something you do to other people. You might manage your inventory, your checkbook, your time, and your resources. You can even manage yourself and your attitude. But you do not manage other human beings. You manage things; you lead people. And you lead them NOT by motivating them with money, position, or titles. No, I think the best leadership INSPIRES people. It inspires them to advance a mission, to achieve something meaningful and aspirational, to be more than they could be by themselves.
The life and works of Jesus Christ INSPIRES us and it personally inspires me to be better, to be more loving, more forgiving, and more generous. It inspires me in that I find myself asking, “How might I be more like Him in how I view my family, my business situation, the world?”
When you’re in a leadership position you have a responsibility to the people entrusted to
your care. Sometimes it can feel a little overwhelming. When I think about the 5,500
families that I influence by my leadership decisions – more if I include all the
shareholders, suppliers and customers that our Company impacts – it can be a little
humbling.
But I must tell you it is also be an awesome, energizing responsibility! Think about it, employees spend roughly half their waking hours working and living in the environment you create as a leader. Wow!! What a great opportunity Leaders have to advance God’s mission on Earth!
In the end, I think Leadership is the skill of inspiring people to work enthusiastically toward goals they are attracted to; goals they see as righteous and good. But paradoxically, Jesus said that to lead, you must be willing to serve and to make sacrifices.
We have to Make the Choice of who we choose to be and how we choose to lead a Christ‐centered life! Just as I made a choice over 14 years ago.
Jerome Brunner, noted Harvard psychologist, said, “We are more likely to act ourselves into a feeling than feel ourselves into an action.” What he was saying is that our behaviors influence our thoughts and our feelings. Think about that. If you act out in a certain way – if you consistently behave in a certain way toward someone or something – it will ultimately determine how you “feel” about that person.
Social psychologists call it the “power of Praxis”. And it’s what I’ve tried to do as I fulfill my First Things First vow.
A New Way to RespondLet me give you an example. A little more than ten years after I had signed my First Things First contract, I was faced with a very difficult situation at work. The year is 2008, I’ve just been elected by the Board to be the CEO and we – all of us – are on the brink of the worst global economic recession in our lifetime. The financial markets begin to collapse in the Spring of that year. By September, Lehman Brothers falls and that’s when the bottom falls out of the economy.
Parts of our business were staggered by the suddenness in the evaporation of orders. Our hard hat sales were down 50% in November from a year earlier. December they were down 55% from a year earlier. The U.S. economy was shedding jobs at the rate of 800,000 workers per month! We make products that keep people safe while they work. And there were less and less workers needing to be protected.
As the leader of our Company, I had some difficult decisions to make. Keep people on, or follow suit and lay them off. Or maybe, seek God’s help and pray about it.
But I must tell you it is also be an awesome, energizing responsibility! Think about it, employees spend roughly half their waking hours working and living in the environment you create as a leader. Wow!! What a great opportunity Leaders have to advance God’s mission on Earth!
In the end, I think Leadership is the skill of inspiring people to work enthusiastically toward goals they are attracted to; goals they see as righteous and good. But paradoxically, Jesus said that to lead, you must be willing to serve and to make sacrifices.
We have to Make the Choice of who we choose to be and how we choose to lead a Christ‐centered life! Just as I made a choice over 14 years ago.
Jerome Brunner, noted Harvard psychologist, said, “We are more likely to act ourselves into a feeling than feel ourselves into an action.” What he was saying is that our behaviors influence our thoughts and our feelings. Think about that. If you act out in a certain way – if you consistently behave in a certain way toward someone or something – it will ultimately determine how you “feel” about that person.
Social psychologists call it the “power of Praxis”. And it’s what I’ve tried to do as I fulfill my First Things First vow.
A New Way to RespondLet me give you an example. A little more than ten years after I had signed my First Things First contract, I was faced with a very difficult situation at work. The year is 2008, I’ve just been elected by the Board to be the CEO and we – all of us – are on the brink of the worst global economic recession in our lifetime. The financial markets begin to collapse in the Spring of that year. By September, Lehman Brothers falls and that’s when the bottom falls out of the economy.
Parts of our business were staggered by the suddenness in the evaporation of orders. Our hard hat sales were down 50% in November from a year earlier. December they were down 55% from a year earlier. The U.S. economy was shedding jobs at the rate of 800,000 workers per month! We make products that keep people safe while they work. And there were less and less workers needing to be protected.
As the leader of our Company, I had some difficult decisions to make. Keep people on, or follow suit and lay them off. Or maybe, seek God’s help and pray about it.
I did pray about it. And what we did wasn’t exactly “following suit.” We had to cut back,
but we started only with the temporary workers and the contractors. We went into our
budgets and eliminated all of the discretionary spending we could. In the Spring of 2009,
we kept most everyone on the payroll and advanced maintenance schedules to keep
them busy. We instituted a voluntary retirement incentive program for those who were
approaching retirement eligibility. We actually gave a 2.5% pay raise to our factory and
hourly workers in 2009! Management on the other hand didn’t get a raise. In fact, I went
to them and asked everyone above a certain grade level to take a pay cut. I would lead
with a 20% pay cut, executives below me with a 10% pay cut and those who reported to
them with a 5% pay cut. We temporarily suspended our 401k company matching
contributions, but we kept our pension program fully funded.
There were lots of actions we had to take, some big and some small. By March of 2009, I went to the workforce and said, “That’s it, no more cutting. From here on out we weather this storm together and we make ourselves stronger!”
We made a profit in 2009, but it wasn’t a lot.
When I presented my 2010 profit plan budget to the Board, it called for even less profit to be made in 2010. They said, “What?!?” I felt in my heart that we had weathered the worst of the storm and now we needed to invest in our people and in our programs. And so we did.
2011 was a record year for our Company. And 2012 will be even better. Our 2011 employee engagement survey scores were the highest ever and our people voted our Company one of the Best Places to Work in Pittsburgh.
Lessons Learned
I learned a few lessons during this “Great Recession”, as we like to refer to it.
There were lots of actions we had to take, some big and some small. By March of 2009, I went to the workforce and said, “That’s it, no more cutting. From here on out we weather this storm together and we make ourselves stronger!”
We made a profit in 2009, but it wasn’t a lot.
When I presented my 2010 profit plan budget to the Board, it called for even less profit to be made in 2010. They said, “What?!?” I felt in my heart that we had weathered the worst of the storm and now we needed to invest in our people and in our programs. And so we did.
2011 was a record year for our Company. And 2012 will be even better. Our 2011 employee engagement survey scores were the highest ever and our people voted our Company one of the Best Places to Work in Pittsburgh.
Lessons Learned
I learned a few lessons during this “Great Recession”, as we like to refer to it.
-
Seek God’s help in prayer in every difficult situation; before every difficult
decision.
-
Leadership is not about personality, possessions, or charisma, but all about who
you are as a person. I used to believe that leadership was about style and flair,
but now I know that leadership is about substance, namely character and
authenticity.
Paul wrote nearly two thousand years ago that, in the end, only three things matter:
faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love. Love – not in how we feel, but
in how we behave and treat each other.
My Path Is not the Same as Yours
Brother Lawrence in “The Practice of the Presence of God” wrote, “All things are possible to him who believes; they are less difficult to him who hopes; they are easier to him who loves; and they are easier still to him who perseveres in the practice of all three virtues – belief, hope and love. There is no way for you to have too much trust in so good and so faithful a friend as Jesus Christ, for He will never fail you, not in this world or the next.”
And Thomas à Kempis, in “The Imitation of Christ,” wrote: Blessed are the ears that are attuned to the soft whisper of God’s voice and that ignore the buzzing of the world. Blessed indeed are the ears that pay no attention to outside clamor, but listen to the truth teaching from within. Blessed are the eyes that are closed to outside things, but are intent on inner things. Blessed are they who plumb their own depths and by daily efforts prepare themselves to understand the secrets of heaven. Blessed are they who are completely free to attend to God and who have shaken off everything that stands in their way. Mark these things, my soul; be silent, and visit the quiet recesses of your own heart. It is there that you will hear God’s voice.
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The third lesson I learned is that our thoughts ultimately guide who we are and
that our actions speak louder than our words. In the Dhammapada, Buddha is
reported to have said:
(Your) thought manifests (themselves) as (your) words; (Your) words manifests (itself) as (your) deeds;
(Your) deeds develop into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
(And your character becomes your destiny);
So watch (your) thought(s) and its ways with care,
And let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings.
As the shadow follows the body, As we think, so we become.
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My “First Things First” contract became my vow with God and to myself. It
became an anchoring point. And the true security for that anchoring point came
from God.
My Path Is not the Same as Yours
Brother Lawrence in “The Practice of the Presence of God” wrote, “All things are possible to him who believes; they are less difficult to him who hopes; they are easier to him who loves; and they are easier still to him who perseveres in the practice of all three virtues – belief, hope and love. There is no way for you to have too much trust in so good and so faithful a friend as Jesus Christ, for He will never fail you, not in this world or the next.”
And Thomas à Kempis, in “The Imitation of Christ,” wrote: Blessed are the ears that are attuned to the soft whisper of God’s voice and that ignore the buzzing of the world. Blessed indeed are the ears that pay no attention to outside clamor, but listen to the truth teaching from within. Blessed are the eyes that are closed to outside things, but are intent on inner things. Blessed are they who plumb their own depths and by daily efforts prepare themselves to understand the secrets of heaven. Blessed are they who are completely free to attend to God and who have shaken off everything that stands in their way. Mark these things, my soul; be silent, and visit the quiet recesses of your own heart. It is there that you will hear God’s voice.
At our home, in our bedroom, I have a very peaceful lithograph of an empty canoe tied to
its mooring on a glassy calm lake with a soft morning fog burning off as the sun rises. It’s
quite a beautiful and peaceful scene. Below that photograph is inscribed the words from
Psalms 46:10 “Be Still, and Know that I am God.”
“Be Still, and Know that I am God” reminds me that we are finite, and that God is infinite. As a leader it’s okay to surrender, to relax, to “chill out” and to know that God cares for us and desires that we may enjoy a calm confidence centered in Him.
Catherine Marshall in “Beyond Ourselves” wrote, “God deals differently with each of us. He knows no “typical” case. He seeks us out at a point in our own need and longing and runs down the road to meet us. This individualized treatment should delight rather than confuse (or scare) us, because it so clearly reveals the highly personal quality of God’s love and concern (for each one of us).”
Friends, we each have our own path. Maybe your path will take you through a car wash, as it did me. But realize that my path is not your path. The great news for each of us is that God is there to walk with us on our own personal path – in life, in business, in our social circles, in our families.
My prayer for each of you today is that your path might be adjusted by even a few degrees as the result of having spent this time together this morning. A few degrees may not make much of a difference on a short journey, but for the long journey of life it may well put you in a completely different place, as it did me.
May God continue to bless you on your journey ahead. Amen!
“Be Still, and Know that I am God” reminds me that we are finite, and that God is infinite. As a leader it’s okay to surrender, to relax, to “chill out” and to know that God cares for us and desires that we may enjoy a calm confidence centered in Him.
Catherine Marshall in “Beyond Ourselves” wrote, “God deals differently with each of us. He knows no “typical” case. He seeks us out at a point in our own need and longing and runs down the road to meet us. This individualized treatment should delight rather than confuse (or scare) us, because it so clearly reveals the highly personal quality of God’s love and concern (for each one of us).”
Friends, we each have our own path. Maybe your path will take you through a car wash, as it did me. But realize that my path is not your path. The great news for each of us is that God is there to walk with us on our own personal path – in life, in business, in our social circles, in our families.
My prayer for each of you today is that your path might be adjusted by even a few degrees as the result of having spent this time together this morning. A few degrees may not make much of a difference on a short journey, but for the long journey of life it may well put you in a completely different place, as it did me.
May God continue to bless you on your journey ahead. Amen!
