Leadership according to Bob Iger

Bob Iger has been the CEO of the Walt Disney Company for 16 years with decades spent there and its subsidiary ABC. He was crowned as the Time 2019 businessperson of the year. 

These are the leadership traits he has found most important according to his 2019 memoir, "The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company."

1. Optimism

Iger sees it as a pragmatic enthusiasm for what can be accomplished. "People are not motivated or energized by pessimists." 

2. Courage

"True innovation occurs only when people have courage." Its true in many types of business decisions. It is also at the heart of productive risk taking.  He also says, "Fear of failure destroys creativity. "

3. Focus

It is allocating resources to what is most important. "It is imperative to communicate your priorities clearly and often."

4. Decisiveness

"Chronic indecision is not only inefficient and counterproductive but deeply corrosive to morale."

5. Curiosity

Bob believes curiousity leads to the discovery of "new people, places and ideas as well as an awarness and an understanding of the marketplace and its changing dynamics."

He goes on, "The path to innovation begins with curiosity."

6. Fairness

Fair treatment of people is key to effective leadership. "Fear and anxiety discourage communication and innovation." He highlights the need for empathy and accessibility. "Nothing is worse to an organization than a culture of fear."

7. Thoughtfulness

"It is one of the most underrated elements of good leadership," he says.  It entails taking the time and gaining the knowledge so that the best decision can be made and informed opinions can be formed.

8. Authenticity

It is the precursor for trust and respect. Iger values being genuine and honest.  "Don't fake anything."

9. Relentless pursuit of perfection

He defines it as a refusal to accept mediocrity. "If you are in the business of making things, be in the business of making things great."

10. Integrity

Finally, he believes the integrity of people and product is the most important thing. High ethical standards determines its success.  "The way you do anything is the way you do everything."

Start Where You Are

These are difficult times and now more than ever people are looking for direction and hope. Many pray for a unprecedented change of circumstances or a miraculous job offer that will rescue them from their challenges. Friends that could happen but it's just not likely. And its probably not the best thing for you. Its through the struggle that makes you stronger and wiser. And the likelihood is God has been preparing you with where you have been for where you need to go. So start where you are. The key to your future might already be in your pocket. #dailydean 

Share your thoughts below.

Gifting to the heart: Life Lesson April 23, 2020

It was my birthday last month. Maybe it's because of my age but getting gifts isn't what it used to be when I was a kid. So I am thankful for the thought rather than the object. So I got a few nice things. But what touched my heart more than anything else was a small grouping of food items that I dearly love to eat... in particular Kellogg's Smacks, or dig 'em as I used to call them as a kid. I savored every bite of that box. The clothes and cologne were very nice and certainly more expensive than boxed cereal but nothing touched my heart near as much as that sugar-coated puffed wheat cereal.

Moral of the story: The best gift to give is not the most expensive. Its the one that touches the heart.

A Morning Prayer

God give me the success I need for today,  the strength to take advantage of those opportunities, the wisdom to see them clearly and the humility to accept the failures and the loss with grace. 
-Dean Carlisle 

Why Church

People sometimes ask me as a pastor, "if a person believes in Jesus do they have to go to church?  Why can't a person be a Christian all by himself/herself?"  My response is usually similar to those of other church leaders about corporate worship, working together as a team and mutual encouragement.  

But it occurs to me today that the question is inherently a selfish question.  The question is implicitly saying, "I have no interest in you as a fellow believer in Christ that I would make time to be there for you to encourage and share with you of myself."  Forgetting for just a moment that there truly is something in it for you, I also think it is important to remember that God wants to use you to help others.  I think we should want to meet together with other Christians. If the unselfish, helping spirit of Christ has truly been placed in us, we will want to be there for others. And church, in whatever format or forum you participate, is the place where God has designed for us to help each other as well as pool our resources to help others outside. Yes, there is something there for you when you choose to be a church goer, but I would encourage you to go for others' sake as much as your own.

Sin, Tom Brady and what we learned from deflategate.

In watching the saga of what has come to be known as 'deflategate' unfold I am perplexed, sometimes amused and perhaps even inspired by what is transpiring.  I laugh at the ridiculous: deflation = weight loss, postulate the Patriots.  I am perplexed by the ignorance: "I don't know how those footballs got deflated" remarked Tom Brady.  And my heart is warmed by the loyalty: "I know my friend Tom Brady would never tell anyone to cheat" Teddy Bruschi said in defense of his former teammate.  And I think that is kind of the point but yet misses it all together.

I am willing to give Teddy and Tommy the benefit of the doubt and say that in the strictest sense they are, in fact, probably speaking the truth.  I don't think Tom Brady ever specifically told anyone to deflate any football "below 12.5 psi".  He just wanted something that was illegal, soft footballs, and the people who are responsible for giving it to him were tasked with giving him what he wanted rather than following the rules.  That is to say that the team got caught ignoring the rules.  And what the Patriots are missing in their struggle to defend themselves and their star quarterback is that their system set them up for significant rule bending.  No one set out specifically to bend the rules.  It just happened based on personal preference and a disregard for vigilance in what is permissible and what is not.  And in the end they set themselves up for rule breaking and eventually got caught.

And I think the lesson for us is equally or even more important.  If we are not vigilant and intentional about following God's rules we will naturally start to bend them.  It's called sin.  We have a natural inclination toward the wrong.  And when we go about following our own desire we naturally stray into the illegal.  So we must ever be mindful of our own inclinations and what the expectations of us are.  We call those expectations the 10 commandments.   Romans 3:20 says "...for by the law is the knowledge of sin".  So the 10 commandments constitute the principal definition of sin and must be taken very seriously.  If we do not make the conscious effort to be completely honest every time, for example, we will naturally start to bend the truth.  No one says, "Today I am going to go out and lie to somebody."  Yet in our inclination for self-preservation at any cost, the truth is usually the first casualty.  So we must not only understand what sin is as defined by the Bible but we must also understand our inclination to it.  We must ask God daily to give us the wisdom to know the personal implications of His holy law and the strength to obey it always.  "Give me understanding," says Psalm 119:34 "and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart."  And whether Tom Brady does the same with the NFL rule book, well, we will have to wait and see.

Top 10 Reasons You Need God in Your Marriage

Recently, I preached at the wedding of some friends of mine who come to our church.  Rather than drone on and on with a stereotypical wedding discourse I decided to repackage my thoughts into a format familiar to most people today, a top ten list.  It seemed to go off very well so I'll share it here.

The top ten reasons you need God in your marriage.

10. Changing each other doesn't work. 

Barbara Streisand once said, "Why does a woman work for 10 years to change a man's habits, and then complain he's not the man she married?"  Rather trying to make each other more like what the other wants, why not make God the center of your marriage and let Him change you into the people He wants you to be.  It's much more effective and you'll like God's changes better.

9. Times will get tough.

There are times when your problems are bigger than both of you put together.  It's nice to know that you can lean on God when all is chaos around you.  We are reminded in Hebrews 13:5 that Jesus has promised, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

8. Money doesn't grow on trees. 

Financial difficulties seem to plague all marriages and can come on at any stage in your relationship.  God has promised in Philippians 4:19 to provide, "all your needs."  Now there's a promise you can take to the bank.

7. Communication is difficult at times. 

With God, though, you can work through your misunderstandings.  But it's not enough to just say God help this man or woman understand. You have to get on your knees together and pray for help.  God will see you through those times of miscommunication and confusion if you work through the challenges as a team of 3.

6. You will face tough decisions ahead. 

There are times when you won't know what to do.  Thankfully God does and He will guide you in that direction.  Psalm 32:8 says "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will guide you with my eye."

5. There are plenty of people out there who would try to steal your spouse away.

There will be temptations. Pray for strength. Stay focused on God.  Pray together.  And He will see you through.

4. Forgiveness doesn't always come easy. 

We learn to forgive each other as we see how God has already forgiven us.  If the focus of your marriage is exclusively on the other person they will repeatedly disappoint us and shake our faith in the relationship.  But if we focus on God we are reminded of all He has forgiven us and we will have the proper perspective in order be able to forgive each other.

3. Marriages take planning. 

Couples don't just get to where they want to be in life on accident.  Together you must plan where you want to go.  But even the best plans don't always work out.  Thankfully, God leads through His providence.  Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart plans his way but the Lord directs his steps."

2. Health is fleeting. 

We all grow old.  Eventually everyone experiences health difficulties and often times it is up to the spouses to take care of each other.  It is of great comfort to know that the Great Physician is on your side and can help and heal.

1. The couple that prays together stays together.

Sociological research repeatedly indicates that couples united in prayer stay together at higher rates than those that aren't.  One Gallup poll found less than 1% of couples who prayed together daily got divorced.  Prayer and trust in God is the greatest glue to hold your marriage together.