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My friends Matt and Lance came up from Santa Barbara today to help me work on the house. They had the day off and volunteered to pitch in — and they made a huge dent! We’re just about done painting the downstairs, and after a few color decisions, will probably have the whole place painted by the end of the weekend.

After working on the house for the afternoon, we all went to my folks for a great dinner my Mom had prepared. We hung out for a bit afterward, playing Madden and just chatting about school, life, and such. I got lucky on a couple of plays and ended up beating Matt by a larger margin in Madden than the game really felt. Then Lance beat me pretty handily but I lost one of my best players to injury in the first quarter. I don’t think the end result would have changed with that player, but I think things would have been closer.

It was great to see them again and just hang out. I love this new stage of life, but hanging out with the guys was a great part of the school years. I need to make a point to arrange for a “guys weekend” or something every so often. I think it could be a lot of fun, and a good refresher from time to time.

A good listener is not only popular everywhere,
but after a while he knows something.

— Wilson Mizner

I’ve been working on several home improvement projects in our newly acquired condo the last week and a half. At times I’ve come home exhausted, wondering when it will ever end. Other times I’ve come home excited to see the progress we’ve made in such a short time. In the process I’ve come to see several key leadership principles illustrated that I thought I’d share:

1. I don’t know everything. The sooner I admit it, the better the project progresses.
I’m pretty quick to admit that I am not Tim “The Toolman” Taylor when it comes to projects around the house. I’m eager to learn, and willing to work hard, but in all honesty I lack sufficient experience to tackle many projects without significant outside help. I’m fortunate to have my Dad and my Father-In-Law around to help provide that extra experience. They have both made a huge difference in the projects that we’ve tackled, and the more often I admit “I don’t know what to do,” the quicker stalled tasks get rolling again.

I realize I need to be more sensitive to this aspect as a leader as well. If a task seems stalled, perhaps a probing question will reveal that I failed to give adequate direction or give me an opportunity to clarify an aspect of the project. This also ties closely with the “Task Maturity” idea in number 3.

2. The right resources are critical to keeping a project on track.
Many times I’ve seen that a home improvement project can be transformed from “daunting” to “done” in almost no time when the right tool is brought in for the job. I must admit my inexperience with these projects limits my approach to solving them to the few tools I feel comfortable using. When my Dad or Father-In-Law pitch in, they have seen a much broader array of projects and tools and can often see that my time can be better spent if I have the right tools in hand.

In leadership I see this as a very interesting parallel. When I give a project to someone, they will use the resources at their disposal to try to solve the project — but they will be limited by their experience and the “tools” they are comfortable using. Over time their experience will broaden, but in the beginning I’ll need to be sure to monitor their progress a little more closely, and step in with the right “tool” when the timing is correct.

3. Team projects need to account for task maturity (borrowing from Andy Grove).
Working with two experienced craftsmen on a home improvement project is an interesting experience. On the one hand I get to enjoy watching the depth of their combined knowledge streamline the projects we tackle, and on the other I get to see them collaborate to their strengths to make sure their individual expertise is used to the fullest.

A few days ago I was struggling to stay busy, and felt I was watching the others work more than I was actually working. I certainly didn’t feel this was fair, and wanted to help more, but was stuck. My level of task maturity - or ability to be self-starting and see a task to completion with little or no monitoring - is pretty low when it comes to home improvement. I admitted to both my Dad and my Father-in-Law that I needed some more explicit direction, and they were able to give me a list to tackle. I love lists like that. I was able to take each item, and work through it… in a day I’d accomplished more than the previous three combined because I had adequate direction, and a sequence to follow.

As I leader I need to be certain I evaluate my team members and their task maturity. The more mature, the less detail and description a project will take. The less mature team members will require a more sequential project description, and perhaps more of a walk-through to get going. Additionally, the degree of monitoring will vary dramatically with the task maturity of the team member. I will need to monitor everyone until I know how well they can handle a particular task or category of task on their own. Then I can begin to back off and allow them to function at their task maturity level.

Conclusion
I’m enjoying working on our new house immensely, and am glad I’ve been able to recognize these parallels to the working world. It is amazing how some principles seem to recur regardless of the arena in which they are found. Hopefully you can use these same principles in your sphere of influence.

The past few days I’ve felt incredibly scattered. I’m certainly being pulled in many, many directions with the new mortgage, a kid on the way, and potential career shifts in play. Yet in some ways I feel things are going as smoothly as could be expected - I just don’t feel I’m able to be as present for some things as I usually am.

I’ve really noticed that I struggle to listen attentively to conversations that in the past were very easy to stay focused upon. It isn’t that I lose interest, or that I’m plotting my response too quickly - it’s more that the words start getting scrambled before my mind grabs them and puts them into thoughts. I notice the words scrambling, and then force myself to concentrate… I never used to have to work to listen… But at least I notice, right? It could be worse… I could not know the difference — shudder — Wouldn’t that be scary?

Maybe if I get some sleep… and cross a few things off my TODO list tomorrow… hopefully then I’ll start to pick up the pieces and feel less scattered.

Lately I think I’ve fallen into believing our modern culture’s definition of success - that success is found by achieving a desired goal. I’ve had several goals that I wanted to see accomplished over the past 9 months, and only a few have been realized. At the same time several unexpected events have occurred that have been fantastic - yet they were not necessarily goals I had set for this time frame.

In analyzing why I haven’t met several of these goals, I’ve come to see that many contributing factors have been outside my control. Before I start casting blame and dodging responsibility, I must admit some goals were unmet due to my lack of preparation or follow through. I’ve been working hard to prepare more and be more persistent in my follow through as a result. I realize I cannot change the past but I can learn from my mistakes and try to keep them from repeating.

The unmet goals that have been a result of factors outside of my control will have to be lived with. I realize more and more that my goals should be related to my level of effort, and the rest will follow. I believe that if I am well prepared, if I give all of my effort, and if I follow through on the projects I begin, the journey will be enjoyable - and results will be achieved. They may not be the results I set out for, but if I’m giving all I have to give, I’ll know I’ve done my best.

At the same time, getting into a house and starting a family were not explicit goals I’d set for this time period. They did not happen without planning and careful thought, but in many ways I realize they represent success in ways that my other goals fell short. I’m excited to be starting this new phase of life - and realize that the ride I’m embarking on will be challenging but rewarding in ways those unmet goals would never have satisfied.

Success is a journey not a destination. The more I think about it the more I believe it to be true. If I consistently pursue developing my character, giving all of my effort to tasks at hand, building into the relationships I cherish, serving those around me, and growing in my relationship with God, the journey itself will be a success. If I focus too much on my goals and destinations, I’ll miss out on enjoying the surprises that come my way.

We closed escrow today on a two-bedroom condo on the south side of Santa Maria. The seller needed to rent the place back from us for a couple of days so that they can transition smoothly into their new home, so we haven’t quite been able to take over the place yet.

We’re looking forward to tackling a few home improvement projects - those of you who know how I enjoy woodworking can imagine the ideas I’ve come up with already! I think we’ll tackle the essentials first, new baseboards, paint throughout, and some lighting fixtures. We’ll probably also rehab the kitchen cabinets and do a little extra plumbing so that we can get a gas stove instead of electric down the line.

As far as woodworking is concerned, I’ve got dreams of building a set of built-in desks into the 10 by 10 office-nook area that is off of our bedroom. I’ve been laying out possible configurations, and still think there is room for improvement. Later we’ll rip out the existing stair rail and add a nice oak hand rail with white spindles… at least that’s the idea today. I’ve also had dreams of building a Murphy-bed from a kit, but that may be such a low priority that it won’t happen in this house.

Needless to say, my mind starts reeling from all of the ideas, and in the middle of it all, we’re supposed to think about moving our stuff out of storage and into the place before too long. Oh yeah. And we have to start thinking about how to furnish the nursery. If we have a girl, I’m sure I’ll want to build a doll house… and if a boy, hmm.. think we could build a tree house in an condo complex? I may have to move before that dream can be realized!

I particularly remember a Saint Patrick’s Day party I attended several years ago - or should I say I can’t seem to forget it?

I was working for a company in Santa Monica at the time with a great group of guys who were from Ireland. Actually if I remember right the company was founded in Ireland and opened an office in the USA to enter this market. Either way a good third of the company was Irish including my manager.

My manager invited me to join his family and a few other employees for a traditional Saint Patrick’s Day celebration. My wife and I couldn’t pass up such an invitation, and gladly joined in the fun. We had a great time, though with my American taste buds I must say the food wasn’t the highlight. Our hosts were very gracious and understood that their traditional dishes were a bit edgy for a California boy like me. Anytime you have the word “blood” in the description of the dish is cause for concern if you ask me.

All in all we had a wonderful time, and though I’ve lost touch with most of that group I did enjoy their warm friendship.

Enjoy your Saint Patrick’s Day, but stay away from the Blood Pudding.

I’m really not sure how to describe it. Finding out that I am going to be a father on Friday was certainly surreal, and obviously the news is still sinking in. One day you wake up and realize everyday from this point forward will be entirely different because of a new life that is on the way.

Even now I can tell a change is happening in me. I find myself making choices a little more carefully. I catch myself saying or doing things I know I’d regret if I had a little one watching. I imagine this experience will stretch me to the breaking point, but as Hemingway says:

“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”

I know I don’t want to be broken, but if I’m honest with myself, there are some areas of my life that could use some reshaping. If it takes breaking my will or my pride in order for me to be stronger in these areas, I’m willing to do the work. I know this process will force me to become more like the man I want to be, and will require that I turn to God more and more as I come to the end of my wisdom, capabilities, and energy. I’m looking forward to the end result, and expect to enjoy the transforming part as well.

In all that I think I know today about life, faith, work, and even fatherhood, I still realize Emerson had it right:

“The years teach much which days will never know.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’m looking forward to how the years season me. I expect to be better for the journey.

Seven Things To Do
1. Be true to yourself.
2. Help others.
3. Make each day your masterpiece.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.
— Joshua Wooden

John Wooden is a man I’ve respected from the day I first learned of him from my Grandfather. It turns out my Grandfather coached summer basketball clinics with John Wooden, and they were good friends. My Grandma told me a story this Christmas about a time my uncle broke his arm and John Wooden visited him in the hospital. I’m sure this type of thing happens more often than we realize, but when a man of such character pays attention to those we know, it makes a significant impact.

I’m reading a book Wooden wrote, titled Wooden - A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court. The list above was attributed to Joshua Wooden, John’s dad. This list is something John Wooden tried to live up to, and the principles behind it seem very worth a lifetime of effort to me.

Simple steps such as these are probably more effective than the personal mission statements or life goals many self-help gurus preach. I hope to one day look back and say I’ve tried hard to live up to these. I’ll start with doing my best today.

–Jeff Pruett

I finished The Servant by James Hunter last week. It was the second time I’ve read this excellent book, and it reminded me again of the values I hold that guide me as I try to lead in the various aspects of my life.

Hunter first challenges the traditional “command” leadership model and asserts that in today’s workplace this model breaks down as is widely ineffective. Rather, he proposes a new paradigm: turn the “command” model upside down. Hunter calls this model “servant leadership.”

The basics work like this: consider those under you as your customer. You want to do the best job you can to empower them to serve their customers the best. So you provide them with what they need to accomplish their tasks. This is very different than giving them what they want. Needs and wants rarely overlap, and are a key role in leadership is discerning when something is needed and when it is just wanted.

Serving those under you as a leader builds authority - that is the ability to convince others to accomplish the tasks you desire to be completed… but they want to do it because of the authority they have place in you. Authority is very different than power — again think flipping the command model upside down. Margaret Thatcher said it this way:

Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to remind people that you are, you aren’t.
–Margaret Thatcher

Authority is built on service. So what is service built on? Putting others before yourself. Hunter calls this Love the Verb. Love as an emotion is transitory. Love as a verb is a choice. Hunter defines Love the Verb using the model laid out in the Bible:

Leading out of Love:
- Showing Self-Control
- Giving Attention, Appreciation, and Encouragement
- Being Authentic and Without Pretense or Arrogance
- Treating Others as Important People
- Meeting the Needs of Others
- Giving Up Resentment when Wronged
- Being Free from Deception
- Sticking to Your Choices

The Result: Setting Aside Your Own Wants and Needs; Seeking the Greatest Good for Others

Who wouldn’t want to follow a leader who consistently displayed those traits? I know I would love to follow someone that treated me with such respect. I know that I want to be that kind of leader someday.

Fortunately, Hunter says the process of becoming that leader is just that a process. Each choice we make to build these traits into our lives begins building habits of leadership that eventually shape our character into the type of leader we want to become. In this way, our WILL to make the right choice is the foundation upon which the “servant leadership” pyramid rests.

WILL -> LOVE -> SERVICE/SACRIFICE -> AUTHORITY -> LEADERSHIP

It all begins with my choice. Today I’m choosing to build my leadership ability by working on my ability to truly love those in my care. I like the picture of a shepherd - a true leader is going to care deeply for those who are following him. If I don’t care deeply, my leadership will be less effective.

If you haven’t picked up this book yet… what are you waiting for? It’s a quick read, maybe 180 pages, but you’ll want to read it multiple times to really let the message sink deep.

Cheers!
Jeff.