Leadership Summit, Day 2

Again, Rob Wegner did an awesome job taking detailed notes of each of the sessions this year. You can check out his blog here.

Here are some quotes that I'll be pondering in the days ahead.

Session 5a - Dave Gibbons - Third Culture Leadership

"Third culture is the mindset and will to love, learn, and serve in any culture even in the midst of pain and discomfort."

"Obedience is more important than passion."

"Maybe the Christian life is more about obedience than about how we feel."

Session 5b - Andrew Rugasira - Aid vs. Trade

Africa is made up of 53 countries with over 900 million people.

"Trade is the only sustainable way to help communities out of poverty - not aid (handouts)."

"Aid undermines accountability and reduces economic growth."

"People have been told for so long that they can't help themselves, that help has to come from outside, that they have begun to believe it."

"Reconstruct the narrative in your mind. Kindness doesn't come through handouts; it comes through helping people to help themselves."

Session 5c - Wess Stafford - Leveraging Your Past

This was one of the best Summit sessions I can remember in 10 years of attending. This one's in my crockpot - something's happening with this.

"In God's economy, nothing is wasted - everything can be redeemed."

"If you don't forgive them, you are carrying them around and you allow them to live rent free in your heart. What you did to me will not shape the rest of my life. You took my yesterday; you cannot have my tomorrow. You took my childhood; you cannot have my future. Unforgivenness is an open invitation to Satan's bondage in our lives."

"Forgiveness may not mean forgetting, that everything is ok; release from consequences of actions; or reconciliation. Forgiveness does mean giving up our right to revenge."

Session 6 - David Gergen - Eyewitness to Power

"Some are born with leadership gifts; some are born with the making of it. In either case, we have to work to develop our gift constantly."

"Reflective practices - getting out in the arena and actually doing it; then reflecting afterward on what we did right and wrong. What should I do differently next time? What went really well? Constantly learning and reading in our effort to improve."

"Not every reader's a leader, but every leader's a reader."

"It is tempting as a leader to confuse motion with progress. The best leaders are the ones who think carefully about what they are attempting to accomplish."

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

"Those who listen to communicators want to know three things: are you being straight with me? Are you being authentic? Do you know what you're talking about?"

"The personal habits of leaders matter so much. Self-discipline is essential. The best leaders in my judgment are the ones who have regular habits. Churchill would work hard in the morning, take a nap in the afternoon, then he would work more. Be in control of your life. Leadership is physically demanding, so be physically fit. If your body is flabby, it's a good sign your mind is flabby. [Incredibly convicting] You must build time into your day to reflect. You must build time into the day to be with people you cherish and who cherish you."

"Hubris destroys a leader. Faith, family, and friends are the anchors that keep you grounded."

Session 7 - Chip and Dan Heath - Switch

"Look for what is working in your organization. Study it and clone it."

"Bright spots are indicators that you are capable of solving your problems."

"There is a lot of data that is TBU - true but useless."

Hope... Valley of insight... Confidence

"Failure can be an early warning sign of success." (Thomas Watson - IBM - "Why would I fire you? I just spent $10 million educating you!")

Session 8 - Bono, The Church - Three Years Later

"Sometimes, we need to give a handout. Sometimes, we need to give a hand up. Both are valued in the Kingdom."

"The concept of neighbor has completely changed."

Session 9 - Tony Blair - The Irreducible Core of Leadership

"Every leader should have an irreducible core that cannot be chipped away."

"The final duty I owed my country was to do what I thought was right and if they disagreed, they would vote me out of office. Say what you believe, stand by it, and if necessary, fall by it."

"I found it was a great assistance to me to be prepared to walk away, not in petulant way. Be prepared to say, "This position matters to me. But, it doesn't matter more to me than doing the right thing.""

"In the world there are those who are running a commentary and there are those who are shaping the world around them."

"Hybels asked, 'Leaders take a lot of hits, pain and disappointment. How do you deal with that?' Blair: 'By counting my blessings. I get home, all the abuse is heaped on me, I'm ticked off, and my wife would say, 'What are you complaining about. It's a privilege to do this job.' You can never forget that. Every day I was doing that job, it was a privilege. Whatever pain or disappointment you accumulate it's like nothing compared to the blessings you have had. Look how much I have been given.'"

We must know as leaders what our irreducible core is.

Session 10 - Bill Hybels - Closing

"What is my irreducible core? What, if asked to compromise on that, would I respond "no deal?""

Consider making it a priority to every day:

1. Establish a time and place to meet privately with God
2. Commit to reading good books 30 minutes every day.
3. Review your replenishment strategy.
4. Commit now and every day to say yes to God when He asks you to do something.