Browsing Tag

Max De Pree

Generosity, Goble Properties, Leadership, Salvaged,

The Generous Boss

This morning I had the honor of speaking to the Campolo Scholars at Eastern University. The topic was leadership and the talk was centered around why I wrote the book Salvaged.

At one point we covered the leadership ideas of Max De Pree, which concludes that all leaders finish their job by saying “thank you” to everyone involved. The process for a leader is basically, 1) define reality, 2) become a servant, 3) become a debtor, and finally 4) say thank you.

There’s generosity to this model. It’s basically the servant leadership concept from Scripture, but expressed in more …

Freestarters™, Leadership,

Taking a Walk? Or Charting a Course?

John Maxwell has said, ““If you think you’re leading, but no one is following, then you are only taking a walk.”

Now look, I’m not the leadership guru John Maxwell is. But I take issue with his comment. Mostly because it is wrong often enough to make me pause and object.

Good leaders define reality, as Max De Pree famously said. But sometimes the process of defining that reality is remarkably lonely. A leader can be on a very long solo walk before anyone realizes she’s onto something. What looked to begin as a lonely ramble through the woods ends …

Junkyard Management, Leadership,

Wit and Wine

I’ve lost track of the number of boards I’ve served on. From organizations I’ve started myself to boards that have been around for nearly a century. They’ve included churches, foundations, mission groups, retreat centers, colleges, conferences, and companies.

The common denominator in them all? Building a good board is hard work. You need quality people who share your vision and have the capacity to help. Finding the right people is not easy.

Decades ago I discovered the late Max De Pree’s books about leadership. One of the most helpful insights was the four W’s for board members: work, wealth, wisdom, …

Book Reviews,

Leadership is an Art

Nearly twenty years ago I read Leadership is an Art by Max De Pree. The former CEO of the legendary company Herman Miller, De Pree was one of the great business leaders of his day. So naturally, I was eager to find out what he had to say.

The book had a profound impact on my understanding and practice of leadership. The most significant line for me was, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor.”

I’ve always …