Barnabas File

In his newest book on leadership , Mark Miller challenges the reader to a choice: Will you be a common leader, accepting the “common wisdom” that informs that stance, or will you be an uncommon leader who realizes there is a better way?   Miller has written the book to serve leaders who believe they can make a difference in the world, who care about personal excellence, and who are energized by producing tangible results.  These attributes apply to all leaders, not matter where they serve in the organization.    The five fundamental movements that the author delineates are:   See the future. Engage and develop others. Reinvent continuously. Value results and relationships. Embody a leader’s heart.   Similar processes can be found in other books on leadership such as those by James Kouzes and Barry Posner ( The Leadership Challenge )  but Miller brings an up-to-date spin to the process of being an effective leader.  Each section also prov...

When Satya Nadella succeeded Steve Balmer as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he took the helm of a once thriving company that now seemed adrift.     The problem was not so much profitability but a stagnant culture.     The company that Bill Gates founded was now more concerned about return on investment than creativity.    According to Mark Miller in Culture Rules , the emphasis was on transaction rather than transformation.   In 2015, Nadella unveiled a new mission: “To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”  This was definitely a desire to be transformational rather than simply transactional.  But how would he help create a culture to achieve this aspirational goal?   To accomplish this, Nadella challenged every frontline leader to model, coach, and care.   First, the leader should have a growth mindset and embody the values of the organization.  A leader should be committed to an...

Culture is the water in which we swim; it is the air we breathe.     The culture of our organization is something we tend to accept without really understanding it.     And culture makes all the difference about whether our organization thrives or fails.    Despite what we declare as our mission or vision, the organization—church or other—will prosper only if the culture provides the proper environment.   In his latest book, Mark Miller makes a deep dive into culture.  In Culture Rules , he provides three simple guides for creating and sustaining a culture for a thriving organization.  The rules are Aspire, Amplify, and Adapt. This is the task of a leader.   First, aspire—share your hopes and dreams for the culture.   Second, amplify—assure that the cultural aspiration is reinforced continuously.   Third, adapt—always work to enhance the culture.   Unlike most of his previous books, this is not a management parab...

  Effectiveness can be learned.  Effectiveness must be learned. —Peter Drucker This quote affirms the late Peter Drucker’s belief that leaders are made not born.  Mark Miller cites Drucker in the Introduction to Smart Leadership to affirm that leadership can be learned and is based on making appropriate choices.  I must disagree with one word in the subtitle, however.  These are not “simple” choices but decisions that a leader practices until they become second nature.  With practice, they become part of one’s lifestyle. Miller, a VP at Chick-fil-A, has become a leadership guru in his own right.  Most of his leadership books have been written in the popular “fable” style, telling a story that embodies the principles he wishes to teach.  This is a more traditional approach that shares the insights of research, personal experiences about leadership, and practical suggestions for implementation. There is much here t...

“What are the implications of settling for less than the best?”     This the question that corporate CEO Blake Brown must ask of himself and his company in Mark Miller’s latest book on organizational leadership.    The theme of this volume is execution, with the author arguing that “greatness hinges on execution.” There is a lot of good information in this book.  The mantra throughout is, “What does it take to  win every day ?”  The key actions are identified as pursue mastery, own the numbers, and help others win. These are illustrated both in the strategy followed by Tom, the coach of the football team of which Blake’s son is a player, and their application to Blake’s company. There are some observations here that challenge any enterprise to become better in execution, but several can be applied to the church. First, “Improvement is possible, but progress requires change.”  Many church members will affirm the need f...

A number of researchers and writers in recent years have addressed the subject of employee satisfaction and engagement.    There seems to be universal agreement that the more engaged an employee is the more likely that he or she will be productive, healthy, and stay with the organization. Mark Miller has written several books on developing a high-performance organization-- Chess Not Checkers (being strategic), Leaders Made Here (building a leadership culture), Talent Magnet (attracting and keeping the best people), and now Win the Heart on creating a culture of full engagement. Miller’s key question is, “if people see their work as just a job, why would they bring their full, best self to work?”  Using the familiar business fable approach, the author maps how business owner Blake Brown discovers the keys to creating a workplace where people are excited, engaged, and energized by what they do. Drawing on insights from Civil Rights leaders, Renaissan...

As individuals and organizations, we are often distracted by the latest “bright, shining object.”  The object may be a new training program, software, or ministry opportunity.  Whatever it is, the new object seems more attractive than what we are presently doing, promising a quick and productive result. In his book Leaders Made Here , Mark Miller reminds us that we should hold our strategies tightly and our tactics loosely. In World War Two, Eisenhower’s strategy was to invade Europe and defeat the German forces.  Various troop and logistical movements were the tactics to accomplish this and were constantly modified. Strategies move us toward our long-term goals or vision while tactics are steps along the way.  Tactics change based on the realities on the ground.  New programs and ideas are tactics, but do they move us toward our ultimate goals or divert us from what we want to achieve?  Perhaps they are simply shortcuts to disaster.  We h...

Several years ago, I was searching for an associate director for a department I led.  My supervisor gave me this rather blunt but useful advice: “We want someone who can step right in and take your place in the event you are run over by a truck.”  A sobering thought, but one that impressed on me the importance of not only having a replacement in the wings but a deep bench of potential leaders. In Leaders Made Here , Mark Miller provides a story about creating an organizational culture that values leadership and seeks to make it second nature. The book carries over some of the ideas like servant leadership that Miller has presented in previous books, but charts new territory in suggesting ways to develop leaders. Miller identifies five commitments of a leadership culture: Define it; Teach it; Practice it; Measure it: Model it. This is certainly not a magic formula but one that can bear significant rewards for an organization over time.  We must...

Many of us have heard this question this summer as we have traveled with young (and sometime not so young) passengers.   Of course, this presupposes that we know where we are going!   We will only know if we are there if we have a clear idea of our destination.   Often, some have one idea while others have another. In a recent blog , Mark Miller wrote, “Have you ever been confused by a message you received from a leader? Have you ever received mixed messages from leaders in your organization? If your organization has at least two leaders, I’m confident the answer is ‘yes!’”   So how do you avoid sending mixed messages throughout your organization?   Who defines the destination so that we all get to the same place at the right time? Most organizations—secular or faith-based—tend to attract driven, creative people who are seeking ways to advance the mission of the organization (and perhaps their own agendas as well).   The greatest challenge is...

The management narrative was probably invented by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson over 20 years ago with The One Minute Manager.  The format uses a story to communicate information about management and leadership.  The protagonist goes on a quest to discover how to become a better leader, manager, parent, or person, meeting various people along the way who give information and insight.  The best writer in this genre is Patrick Lencioni; his characters have depth his situations are realistic.  Mark Miller has used this format in four books now.  He is not as good a writer as Lencioni, but his style does not get in the way of presenting some significant and helpful leadership principles. In The Heart of Leadership , Miller brings back young Blake Brown and seasoned leader Debbie Brewster.  Blake is stuck in his company, unable to get to the next level.  Through mentoring and directing Blake to other leaders, Debbie helps him to see that leade...