Secret Techniques of the Successful Moral Manager
By Marvin Pirila
91 STILLMEADOW RD
ESKO, MN 55733-9626
(218) 879-2478 (HOME)
(218) 391-2876 (CELL)
Copyright©2006
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The Circle of Productivity, Effective Leadership, & Winning
Dr. Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s Search for Meaning described his conversations with other prisoners in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. In the death camps, inmates told Frankl that they no longer expected anything from life. Frankl suggested they had it backwards. “Life was expecting something of them. Life asks every individual to discover what it should be.”
A good life or a bad life takes an equal amount of energy and effort. A good life may become a great life if you follow some basic rules. On the other hand, if you have a bad life, great misery is just a step away. Each of us has the power within ourselves to determine what kind of life we desire.
If you have the desire to be a great leader and bust through to new levels of leadership, this book is for you. This path to success is possible when we realize that any limits are self-imposed.
I have struggled myself through many self-imposed obstacles in life. One for example was a serious fear of public speaking. In fact, it was the very last class I took in college. I also avoided any speaking parts in other classes up to that time. I had extremely low self-esteem and felt everyone would laugh at me if I opened my mouth. I came to the crossroads one day when I wasn’t selected for an opportunity to train other employees. The reason given to me was that I was too quiet. I realized then that I wouldn’t go anywhere unless I was willing to step outside of my comfort zone. It wasn’t easy or comfortable for me to give public speeches, but I forced myself. It took a very long time, but I’m can do it reasonably well now and won’t let that stand in my way of pursuing things I want. I attribute my ability to constantly step outside my comfort zone to self-discipline and a higher desire to do things that challenge myself.
We learn early on that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In life, it is also the fastest to walk a path without twists and turns, bumps, and bends. Everyone should strive to take the righteous and safe path to their destination.
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Psalm 26:12 - - My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.
What did level ground signify? (26:12) - - A place of confidence and security, where one does not trip and fall over temptation or evil. It may also refer literally to the level courtyards where the godly gathered to worship the LORD.
Ephesians 2:10 - - For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Secret Management Techniques that only Managers that work with People know
How do you learn all the tricks of the trade involved in leadership without spending the years suffering the pains? Quite simply, you learn from those that took that very route. Thanks to their trials, errors, and successes, you can avoid many of the barriers they encountered and propel yourself upwards much faster. When you run into problems, you will know how they handled a similar situation and how they fared. This allows you the advantage of insight. You accelerate your progress by learning from those that have the experience, characteristics, and attitude that successful leaders and winners of life have.
Successful executives at mid and high level positions learned the majority of what they know from their initial supervisory position. This book delves into the minds of many successful leaders at various levels, but particularly the initial level. Experience at the initial level helps form your managing style. If you want to succeed as a leader and many other aspects of life as well, you need to learn the secrets used by other successful managers.
Effective managers know how to maximize the efforts of employees and the means available to them (equipment, processes, etc.). More importantly, they know how to maximize their own efforts and that of their employees. They maintain a long-term vision of the desired direction, while working through day-to-day operations.
The greatest common denominator of all great people is their commitment to living a moral, value-based life. Strict morals (honesty, integrity, character, etc.) allow a person to avoid the pitfalls that befall so many men and women. Successful people know that doing wrong, immoral things is paid for thousands of times. Your conscience becomes ridden by guilt and you suffer a dear price. Continued denial of wrongdoing furthers your erosion of character. Others can see what you so desperately try to keep hidden and begin to question your character. Strong moral values expand your influence while immorality restricts.
Supervisors Wear Many Hats
A supervisor is responsible for finding the inefficiencies or problems in workflows, monitoring production processes, quality, supply chain, inventory, manufacturing, and a host of other operations. Ultimately, the success of the company rests with supervisors, their employees, and the efficiency of their operations. Supervisors attempt to fine-tune operational processes to be more efficient and profitable for the company.
Supervisors use tools like performance measurement, flowcharts, best practices information, and benchmarking. These tools help determine where the problems are and the best methods to correct them. Technology is changing at a phenomenal pace and what is new today is gone tomorrow. To keep pace, supervisors must always be looking to upgrade their computer skills along with their managing skills.
Supervisors break down every process, analyze it, and make it (and its final product) better. The universal goal is customer satisfaction, achieved through improving quality, efficiency and ultimately reducing costs for everyone.
I always looked at every operation with an eye towards tweaking it a little and making it more efficient. If any time could be saved, even mere minutes, I would make a change. It not only saved time, but employees got the message that we needed to be looking everywhere to become more efficient.
The key to making things work successfully is the supervisors’ ability to enlist the efforts of his or her employees. Motivated employees will produce more with higher quality; have fewer accidents and better attendance. The most critical characteristic of a successful leader is the type of relationship he has with his or her workers, peers, and bosses. Because of its degree of importance, relationships will be discussed in length in following chapters. Positive relationships are built on trust, integrity, honesty, listening, fairness, and the belief in one another.
Mission Statement
Every person looks for value in life, and studies show that more are looking for it at work. What they do and accomplish at work is critical to their feelings of self-worth. Each person should know what it is that he or she values about work. Maybe they value the customer service, level of productivity, or quality standards above all else. Regardless of what it may be, every organization should incorporate a core, shared value into its’ mission statement in order to establish their primary purpose/goal. A mission statement provides employees with direction toward organizational goals and values. A mission statement must be in clear, simple, and understandable terms, while being visible for everyone, including customers to see.
An organizational mission statement should reflect the deep-shared vision and values of everyone within that organization. Ideally, employees should create the mission statement themselves. There is greater power in employee involvement and employees are more likely to fulfill those values when they are their own. The mission statement creates great unity and tremendous commitment as it creates a frame of reference in people’s hearts and minds.
“The companies that seemed the most focused – those with the most quantified statements of mission, with the most precise financial targets – had done less well than those with broader, less precise, more qualitative statements of corporate purpose. (The companies without values fared less well, too.)” Source: In Search of Excellence, Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr. (with Allan Kennedy in analysis of “superordinate goals), pp. 280-281.
Perhaps the biggest, most binding mission statement of the United States is the constitution itself. Signed nearly 240 years ago, the constitution is still the foundation that our country rests upon.
Where does the Bible fit in with Leadership?
The common traits of all successful leaders include a strong commitment to ethics, morals, integrity, and self-discipline. They have a desire for excellence within them and know how to motivate their employees along the same line.
There is no better source for moral, spiritual, and ethical guidelines than the bible. Jesus was the ultimate teacher of living right, living just. He motivated by being, doing, and speaking. Jesus demonstrated leadership on all levels; he treated everyone justly, fairly, and equally; and filled all the parts of the all consummated being and leader.
Principle-centered living unleashes personal power in the form of a self-aware, knowledgeable, proactive individual, unrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors, and actions of others. They are also unaffected by the situations and environmental influences that affect others.
We reap the consequences of our choices. The closer we follow God’s way, the more God will show us the way he has chosen for us.
The Bible Holds More Answers than all other References
Whether you are an atheist, religious follower of another faith, or still undecided, the Bible carries the many truths of all walks-of-life. The focus of this book will be limited largely to characteristics of leaders and the many examples of leadership found within the Bible. This is not the first book on leadership, success, and winning making references to the Bible and certainly not the last. Some of the many books including the Bible in its bibliography and/or index are: The Success System That Never Fails (W. Clement Stone), The Psychology of Winning (Dr. Denis Waitley), and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey).
Jesus gave everything to his cause, trained his seven disciples to carry on after his absence, and founded the movement of Christianity that thrives today. He displayed true leadership in every verbal and non-verbal manner, responded wisely to rhetoric and actions, and shared infinite wisdom. The world thrives on a higher, natural order and when we engage them and make them our own, we will improve our chances of success.
Jesus is unequivocally the greatest leader that ever walked the Earth. His words and actions have been tested and tried through thousands of years and stand unscathed. He persuaded the people around him that he was the son of God and that Heaven existed for the faithful. Jesus was the only one to cross over into death and return. Jesus shared the promise God gives everyone that believes in him, eternal life in Heaven.
He convinced others through miracles and his teachings. He reinvigorated the Christian movement that lasts yet today. No other leader comes remotely close to this achievement. Imagine for a moment how carefully and meticulously scrutinized his teachings have been and how they still stand today unchanged. They form the basic building blocks of all civilization, including its rules of conduct and behavior. When you employ these teachings to every extent possible, you will have the most complete life possible. You will enjoy more success, contentment, and fulfillment than ever imagined. That is not to say that there won’t be times of sacrifice and suffering. There will be. Humans must endure these times and learn the lesson that comes from them. They are necessary if one is ever to experience the thrill of success. What is good if there is not evil? What is success if there is no failure? What is happiness without unhappiness?
And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6
Jesus is the ultimate teacher of ethics, morals, integrity, honesty, and fairness. He showed favoritism to no one, demanded little, and gave everything. He built relationships and lifted up the oppressed. He taught others how to deal with their enemies, love their neighbor, and live a righteous, moral life. As important as teaching, Jesus showed people how to live morally by the way he lived his own life.
The bible is the ultimate self-help book available. Only Jesus and God himself could give the right answer to all questions the first time, immediately.
Every management book in existence relies on the principles and guidelines of the bible, the true source of management, leadership, and happy living skills. The closer we walk with God the more we began to understand the driving forces in life.
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Psalms 23:3 - - he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
How does God guide us? (23:3) - - God does not reveal every detail of his plan for our lives. Nevertheless, there is an inner assurance that comes when we do his will. Developing a close, dependent relationship with the Lord will help us follow his way. And if we do the things we know God wants us to do, we’ll discover more details about his will for us.
Proverbs 20 – “7The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.”
Does blameless mean we must measure up to a list of rules? (20:7) - - Blameless does not imply perfection but integrity. Someone with integrity believes in God and strives constantly to align his life with God’s will.
The Moral Path
It is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness and I pronounce it as certain that there was never a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous. Benjamin Franklin
To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.
Theodore Roosevelt
"God... has formed us moral agents... that we may promote the happiness of those with whom He has placed us in society, by acting honestly towards all, benevolently to those who fall within our way, respecting sacredly their rights, bodily and mental, and cherishing especially their freedom of conscience, as we value our own." --Thomas Jefferson to Miles King, 1814. ME 14:197
"Peace, prosperity, liberty and morals have an intimate connection." --Thomas Jefferson to George Logan, 1813. ME 13:384
"The order of nature [is] that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue." --Thomas Jefferson to M. Correa de Serra, 1814. ME 19:210
"Without virtue, happiness cannot be." --Thomas Jefferson to Amos J. Cook, 1816. ME 14:405
"Truth is certainly a branch of morality, and a very important one to society." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Law, 1814. ME 14:139
"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." --Thomas Jefferson to Nathaniel Macon, 1819. ME 15:180
"Honesty, disinterestedness and good nature are indispensable to procure the esteem and confidence of those with whom we live, and on whose esteem our happiness depends." --Thomas Jefferson to Francis Eppes, 1816. ME 19:241
"The moral sense [is] the first excellence of well-organized man." --Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1823. ME 15:418
Psalm 10:5 - - His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.
Why do the wicked always prosper? (10:5) - - Some poetic statements like this are generalizations. Here the psalmist expresses frustration because a person who does live by a moral code can often deceive others and coerce from them valuable possessions, disregarding social decency or divine standards. When sin and injustice twist the fabric of society, only God’s final judgment, for which the psalmist pleads, will fully restore justice.