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the bible on leadership bookz@team-fly

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the bible on leadership from moses to matthew management lessons for contemporary leaders lorin woolfe american management association new york · atlanta · brussels · buenos aires · chicago · london · mexico city san francisco · shanghai · tokyo · toronto · washington d.c.

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special discounts on bulk quantities of amacom books are available to corporations professional associations and other organizations for details contact special sales department amacom a division of american management association 1601 broadway new york ny 10019 tel 212-903-8316 fax 212-903-8083 web site www.amacombooks.org this publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered it is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal accounting or other professional service if legal advice or other expert assistance is required the services of a competent professional person should be sought library of congress cataloging-in-publication data woolfe lorin the bible on leadership from moses to matthew management lessons for contemporary leaders lorin woolfe p cm includes bibliographical references and index isbn 0-8144-0682-3 hardcover 1 leadership 2 executive ability 3 management 4 leadership in the bible i title hd57.7 .w666 2002 658.4 092 dc21 2002 lorin woolfe all rights reserved printed in the united states of america this publication may not be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of amacom a division of american management association 1601 broadway new york ny 10019 printing number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2002001991

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this book is dedicated to judy becca talia and sascha who daily remind me of my true purpose and the divine in all of us.

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contents preface acknowledgments 1 honesty and integrity samuel paul and isaiah are among many biblical leaders demonstrating this quality james burke warren buffett and herb kelleher offer business models ix xiii 1 2 purpose biblical heroes include moses who led his people to the promised land hezekiah and queen esther among exemplary business leaders are steve jobs fred smith and anita roddick 24 3 kindness and compassion jesus who gave us the golden rule as well as david the good samaritan and others are biblical models admirable business leaders include howard schultz aaron feuerstein and roy vagelos 49 4 humility peter who said i am only a man myself the long-suffering job and others exemplify this trait modern examples include larry bossidy ray gilmartin and charles pollard 70 5 communication joshua with his horn as well as his words ezra and luke were great communicators examples from the world of business include andy grove sam walton and mary kay ash 87 vii

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viii contents 6 performance management noah solomon and jeremiah were masters of encouragement and discipline lou gerstner gordon bethune and jack stack are among the business leaders known for being firm but fair 109 7 team development biblical leaders didn t use the term team but nehemiah was one of many who understood the power of working in groups modern exemplars include hal rosenbluth michael eisner and professional basketball coach phil jackson 130 8 courage courage is perhaps the most striking characteristic of biblical leaders with daniel and the trio of shadrach meshach and abednego among many who overcame fear to embrace risk for a greater good among leaders of our time are rudolph giuliani steve case and peter brabeck-letmathe 153 9 justice and fairness james and joseph were great believers in giving others their fair share in the business context leaders like walter haas jr max de pree and paul o neill have exhibited this characteristic 175 10 leadership development the greatest leaders jesus and moses in biblical times jack welch and roger enrico in modern times ensured that their organizations would thrive long after them by their commitment to developing leaders who would renew and carry on their mission 195 notes index 219 229

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preface what in heaven does the bible have to do with leadership everything the bible is probably the most widely-read book in the world it is revered for its religious precepts and guidance its wisdom and its literary beauty read carefully and with another perspective it is also the greatest collection of leadership case studies ever written with tremendously useful and insightful lessons for today s leaders and managers whatever our religious beliefs most of us in the western hemisphere are familiar with the bible s stories and heroes they form some of the major archetypes of our collective consciousness and can serve as universal examples of leadership at its best and worst consider some of the managers and leaders of the bible and the lessons they can impart to today s manager jacob although inferior in strength to his macho brother esau was able to usurp his brother s birthright by appealing to the power behind the throne his mother to deceive the ceo his father joseph cast into corporate exile because of his brothers jealousy of his close relationship with his father jacob was forced to join the opposition egypt there he was able to infiltrate the court use his influence with pharaoh and ultimately bring his family and tribe to live with him where they became a mighty force however the merger of the israelites and egyptians soon became extremely rocky creating a whole new set of leadership problems moses the man who inherited these problems was a leader who spoke so poorly that his brother aaron had to deliver most of his ix

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x preface speeches for him but the strength of his vision and his commitment to israel s mission made him the ultimate visionary and a leader the people would follow through the most adverse circumstances many modern corporations experience adverse conditions but few are condemned to wander in a desert real or allegorical for forty years the burning bush is a corporate vision par excellence and the ten commandments are the ultimate mission statement joshua succeeded moses and that transfer of power is an example of thorough succession planning assisted by divine intervention it would take a great and inspiring leader to replace moses and lead the israelites into the promised land joshua s motivational genius and strategic planning helped the israelites literally knock down impregnable fortresses samson is one of the best negative case studies in history he possessed great physical strength but had some tremendous blind spots in his interpersonal judgment the person he most desired was actually the person he had most to fear and who brought about his downfall samson was literally blindsided by an enemy he thought was a friend and who also happened to be a member of the opposite gender there are a lot of lessons in this story for today s business leader job had more troubles than any modern corporate executive yet he stuck to his faith and his vision his case study can teach the modern executive a lot about sticking to your vision despite obstacles suffering and doubters jesus the son of a carpenter and born in a manger rose to found the most populous religion on earth jesus communication skills were consummate he was able to cogently communicate new and revolutionary ideas using parables instead of direct explanation and he was able to answer pontius pilate s loaded questions without appearing a traitor to rome or a posturer to his own people pilate are you king of the jews jesus you say i am the sermon on the mount is a beautiful example of motivational communication which influenced not just the small assembly there but millions of people in millions of assemblies since his work with the disciples was some of the most

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preface xi astute team-building ever accomplished and his mastery of the symbolic act gained him the largest following of any leader before or after him the bible is full of these and other leaders kings prophets warriors strategists and visionaries it is a story of prophets true and false fortunes gained and lost organizations ascending and crashing its literal truth has been questioned but its lessons and stories have been embraced as universal archetypes that influence the way we live our lives on a deep psychological spiritual and symbolic level so why shouldn t this biblical wisdom on leadership be applied on a business level this book attempts to do just that reviewing the most inspiring biblical case studies and comparing them to the challenges faced and conquered by some of today s most successful business leaders it should come as no revelation that the traits and skills of successful bible leaders are also those exhibited by the most successful modern leaders honesty and integrity purpose kindness and compassion humility communication performance management team development courage justice and fairness leadership development the emphasis of this book is on business and most of the modern case studies depict business situations but the bible also has lessons for leaders in politics athletics the arts and yes even religion you should find this book useful whether you are leading a business unit a political committee or task force an athletic team a symphony orchestra or a religious institution such as a church or synagogue you have one of the

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xii preface world s best management tools the bible at your fingertips why not use it to help you lead your stakeholders whatever your arena for leadership it is my most fervent wish that in studying the leadership challenges of the great figures of the bible you will receive the instruction and inspiration to meet your own leadership challenges.

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acknowledgments a book is never the result of just one person i d like to thank kevin barron and meldron young their enthusiastic response to my idea and also to the chapter drafts kept me on purpose thanks to bill hill for reminding me of the intersection of business and the spirit adrienne hickey asked for my best and helped me focus my efforts erika spelman ushered the book into final production with patience and biblical forebearance thanks to all the modern leaders i ve included perhaps some of you may be surprised to find yourselves in a book that compares you to biblical leaders but to me the connections were readily apparent and last but perhaps most important thanks to my family who did without me while i spent countless hours at the computer in the library and in my study digesting and merging biblical verse and management wisdom you provide my inspiration and purpose xiii

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the bible on leadership

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chapter one honesty and integrity an honest answer is like a kiss on the lips prov 24:26 judge me o lord according to my integrity ps 7:8 od s honest truth actions that back up the words and words that are congruent with the actions people of integrity and honesty people we can trust that s what we look for in our leaders james kouzes and barry posner one of the best-known teams of management experts in the united states and authors of the leadership challenge performed a survey of several thousand people around the world and several hundred case studies they found that honesty was the most frequently cited trait of a good leader so frequently cited that they wrote a separate volume about it called credibility how leaders gain and lose it why people demand it it doesn t matter how noble or worthwhile your cause if you haven t earned people s trust by constantly keeping your word and being true 1

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2 the bible on leadership to your values people won t follow you too far they may follow you to a point but when the going gets tough they ll start to hang back or look around for another leader you may tell followers that despite the obstacles the goal is achievable and that you will back them up 100 percent but if you have failed to back them up in the past or even if you simply lack a track record of trust and honesty no one is going to line up to follow you through a deep mud puddle let alone the red sea lately managers and leaders across the world have often left us wanting in this key area richard nixon hired people to break into the headquarters of the opposing political party then lied and claimed he had nothing to do with it bill clinton had an affair with a white house intern a few years older than his daughter then promptly denied that he had ever participated in any sexual activity with her morton thiokol the aerospace company failed to listen to a scientist s warnings that the challenger spacecraft was unsafe causing the entire crew to go crashing to a fiery death just minutes after the launch executives at texaco engaged in a systematic pattern of discrimination against minority employees and tried to hide it but audiotapes provided incontrovertible evidence of their actions the leaders in the bible were cut from a different cloth even when their visions seemed unrealistic people followed them because of their integrity and honesty the bible is full of examples of individuals who kept their words despite incredible natural and human obstacles and of leaders who risked loss of power money and even their lives to keep their integrity intact noah was selected and rewarded for his integrity lot was saved from the hellfire and ashes of sodom and gomorrah for his honesty moses who brought god s warnings against lying stealing and coveting to his followers in dramatic fashion was a man of great integrity himself the ten commandments are very explicit thou shalt not steal thou shalt not murder thou shalt not give false testimony against thy neighbor thou shalt not covet they neighbor s house wife manservant or maidservant or anything belonging to thy neighbor that s four commandments out of ten that deal directly with integrity and honesty.

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