What I've learned from Business Leaders/Owners...

I’ve tried to make it a practice to meet with more business leaders/owners this year.  It’s easy for a pastor to find themselves only meeting with people in need, but it takes discipline to hang with people who are seemingly doing well.  People leading at a high level with rave reviews.

 

Here are some notes I’ve made along the way this last year.  Little learnings from leaders…

 

-       Most leaders deal with the same fundamental temptations, disappointments, and losses.  They’ve just learned how to cope with and cover them more successfully.

 

-       Money doesn’t replace meaning.  More affluence and influence is often accompanied by higher expectations and more pressure, not less.

 

-       Business owners deal with inordinate amounts of criticism and conflict.  It seems like most of them swim in those waters almost continually.  That’s the hidden cost.

 

-       The best entrepreneurs have a solid support system at home.  Their spouses are aware of their dreams and make the same sacrifices on a different front to see them come true.

 

-       It is a rare thing to meet a successful leader that doesn’t read widely.  They are continually sharpening their sword with good ideas that lead to best practices.  Leaders are learners.

 

-       I’ve seen just as many leaders cry when you touch on something meaningful as any other person sharing their story.  The percentages seem literally identical to me.

 

-       Most leaders are proficient in their field or craft, but usually are starving for emotional intelligence.  They often complain of success without soul care.  

 

-       Almost every business owner I’ve met with weren’t born with their butt in the butter, they had to start pushing a broom and prove themselves into promotion to get to where they got.

 

-       The best leaders gravitate to the hardest things first.  They don’t hope someone else will strip the cedars shakes while they bark orders from an air conditioned truck cab.

 

-       I’m amazed at the severe suffering most successful people have endured.  In fact, I’m convinced there is no success without suffering.  No prosperity without seasons of terrible pain.

 

-       The best leaders are the ones who find joy in the labor.  They look for little victories even in the valleys.  Always generous with encouragements even in discouragement. 

 

-       Every single business owner speaks of calculated risks that would make most people’s blood curdle.  They don’t wait for the perfect circumstances, they do things afraid.

 

-       It could appear to most that successful leaders don’t need God, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact, I’ve found their favorite topic is God’s grace. 

 

-       A good many of the leaders I’ve met with have experienced some sort of moral failure in their history.   It’s honestly where most of them found God or returned to God.

 

-       I’ve been blown away with the humility of most business owners.  They lead with confidence, but are quick to admit their own limitations.  It’s the secret ingredient to their achievement.

 

-       The best leaders always take care of their employees.  They aren’t just interested in their own margins, they care about the lack of margin in their labor force.  That’s their desired bottom line.

 

-       Most of them would say that following Jesus makes them better at leading others.  The best leaders are committed followers.  Even leaders must submit to authority well.

 

-       At the end of the day, most of the business leaders/owners I’ve met with just want love, joy, and peace.  Most admit it’s easier to make money than it is to feel meaning.  But that’s what they’re after more than anything.

 

Thank you to all of you leaders out there who are leveling up and keeping it real.  May God cover you and fill you as you pursue His purposes for your life and the lives of others.  “Do not grow wearing in doing good for in due season you will reap a reward if you don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9.

 

We love you for you, not for what you do or produce.