And the kings of the earth, and the great men and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man …
—Revelation 6:15
3011 Hints On Getting Along With People
James L. Hayes, head of American Management Association, after nearly 40 years in management education, gives the following “Hints for Getting Along with Workers”:
(1) Be people-conscious. Create a climate that will lead to job satisfaction in your company or organization.
(2) Tell workers exactly what you expect from them.
(3) Be a good listener.
(4) Have a two-way door. Encourage employees to come to your office but also get out to where people work.
(5) Be patient. Realize that bringing workers along in their jobs takes time.
(6) Give your employees not only problems to deal with but opportunities to grow.
(7) Keep your promises. Credibility creates trust.
(8) Be a problem preventer, not a problem solver.
(9) Tell the truth.
(10) Pass the pride along. Show prompt appreciation for good ideas and good performance.
3012 Boss Or Leader
H. Gordon Selfridge built up one of the world’s largest department stores in London. He achieved success by being a leader, not a boss. Here is his own comparison of the two types of executives:
The boss drives his men; the leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority; the leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says “I”; the leader, “we.”
The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
The boss says “Go”; the leader says “Let’s go!”
—Sunshine Magazine
3013 Virtue Of Simplicity In Leadership
Just as important to a leader as credibility, is something most vital that creates belief in him: simplicity.
Simplicity includes the capacity of a leader to avoid becoming in any way entangled in the confused web of his own power. To keep a clarity of purpose in the midst of the most devious machinations. Not to live many lives, as did a simple enough man like Warren G. Harding, or a complicated one like Woodrow Wilson, but instead to embody a few unmistakable goals, as did Lincoln, who was a very complicated simple man.
A leader’s simplicity is often expressed in grossly sentimental terms—Nasser’s weeping; de Gaulle’s defiance, reedy singing of the Marseillaise to a silent, hostile crowd—but it awes even a leader’s opponents.
3014 No Extremes In Leadership
Self-reliant but not Self-sufficient
Energetic but not Self-seeking
Steadfast but not Stubborn
Tactful but not Timid
Serious but not Sullen
Loyal but not Sectarian
Unmovable but not Stationary
Gentle but not Hypersensitive
Tenderhearted but not Touchy
Conscientious but not a Perfectionist
Disciplined but not Demanding
Generous but not Gullible
Meek but not Weak
Humorous but not Hilarious
Friendly but not Familiar
Holy but not Holier-than-thou
Discerning but not Critical
Progressive but not Pretentious
—Selected
3015 “Language Of Leadership” Book
New York (UPI)—A dictionary of modern magic words has been compiled. It’s called Buzzwords: A Guide to the Language of Leadership and is described as a guide to the “inside” vocabulary of upper-level leadership in industry, finance, government and the professions.
There are about 600 buzzwords in the book and the definition of each is somewhat extensive and discursive since they are used to cover wide varieties of concepts and situations.
Author Mueller says his magical buzzwords not only make business and professional conversation lively and amusing but they manage to convey convincingly the impression the speaker knows “all you need to know” about the topic in hand.
On the contrary, it is claimed they are expressions of exceptional potency, which can be used either to convince other persons or to obscure the issue and throw everybody else into helpless confusion.
Mueller gives as the supreme example of this by a rewrite of the twenty-third Psalm.
It starts: “The Lord is my external-internal integrative mechanism, I shall not be deprived of gratifications for my vice-rogenic hunger’s or my need-dispositions. He motivates me to orient myself towards a non-social object with effective significance. He positions me in a non-decisional situation. He maximizes my adjustment. … ”
3016 It’s Still Men That Count
The Cunard White Star Lines ran a series of full-page advertisements some time ago on various phases of their transportation business. Among them was a very striking one bearing the title, “It’s Still Men That Count.” It pointed out that although the modern ocean liner is in constant touch with every shore, her bearings confirmed by radio, her course held true by a gyro-pilot, nevertheless the men on the bridge know that the destiny of the ship and its passengers is in their hands.
—Roy L. Laurin
3017 Importance Of Human Factor
We were reminded of this vital fact when reading an advertisement of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation. Here is part of that advertisement: “A man is still the heart of the system. Grumman never forgets it. Grumman builds aircraft, spacecraft, seacraft, and underwater craft which extend man’s power by extending his reach. But at the heart of all Grumman vehicles is the human factor—men.”
—Prairie Overcomer
3018 Revolution Led By Deaf-Dumb Man
Umai of Tinnevelly, India, was the most astonishing rabble-rouser in history. He was a deaf-mute who could harangue crowds in sign language and inflame them to desperate deeds. In 1801 he instigated—by the power of the unspoken word—the so-called Poligar Rebellion, in which a mob of a few thousand desperados took on the whole British Empire. The rebellion was brought under control but not before several thousand men were killed and millions in treasure expended. Umai himself was caught and executed. “Never underestimate the power of a fanatic.”
—Robert Ripley
3019 Employers Prefer Pear-Shaped Heads
London (Reuter)—Pear-shaped-headed men are those most likely to be the world’s leaders, according to an article published, which cites British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Napoleon and General De Gaulle as examples.
Mr. John Byrne, a business man, writing in the Director magazine, said this shape, also known as the Burgundy bottle look, was the key to success in business and politics.
He suggested that a person’s shape could well be taken into account when applying for a job.
“There is the beginning of a new sort of management game which could be developed indefinitely.” he added.
3020 Ockham’s Razor
One of the earlier practitioners of work simplification was William of Ockham. This man lived in England about 600 years ago. He was a graduate of Oxford University.
William’s trouble came to a head when he tangled with ecclesiastical authorities on a moot problem of the day. He contended that the church should confine itself to the business of saving souls, not messing around with government. He raised such a fuss that the powers decided to get rid of him. He escaped to a distant country, and there went to work sharpening up the tool which later became known as Ockham’s Razor.
The Razor of Ockham is simply a method of thinking which cuts directly to the core of any problem, separating the essentials from the non-essentials, removing all unnecessary facts or elements of the subject being analyzed. Nothing was left to view but the bare bones of the problem. The “tool” has become an important implement in every supervisor’s management kit.
3021 When Decisions Are To Be Made
People who supervise others have decisions to make every day. They range from minor incidents to vital problems—whether to reprimand someone for being five minutes late or to setting quotas on a production line. Each decision saps energy and requires effort. But they must be made. Otherwise management is failing to manage.
If an important policy or big sums are involved, take time to think, but not to tremble. Consider all the angles. Then, if it’s up to you, make the best decision you can and let the chips fall where they may. Your decisions will never be 100% correct; neither will those of your subordinates. If you want action, not indecision, make it clear that you don’t expect perfection every time.
Good leaders want their managers to manage. They want action and a winning average—not perfection. They want an organization that moves instead of one that rests on its laurels for fear of making mistakes.
—Bits a Pieces
3022 The Supervisor’s Prayer
“Lord when I am wrong, make me willing to change; when I am right, make me easy to live with. So strengthen me that the power of my example will far exceed the authority of my rank.”
3023 Epigram On Leadership
• It is better to train 10 people, than to do the work of 10 people. But it is harder.
—Moody
• A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
• If you’re not afraid to face the music, you may some day lead the band.
• Success is knowing the difference between cornering people and getting them in your corner.
—Bill Copeland
• The employer generally gets the employees he deserves.
—Sir Walter Bilbey
• It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.
—Elbert Hubbard
• We too often love things and use people, when we should be using things and loving people.
• The wisest thing Woodrow ever said was one of the simplest when he remarked that, as President, he liked to put a man on an important job to see whether he grew or “just swelled.”
—Malcom Bingway
• Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something that you want done because he wants to do it.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower
• As General Patton once put it: “Don’t tell a man how to do a thing. Tell him what you want done, and he’ll surprise you by his ingenuity.”
• The ability to have our own way, and at the same time convince others that they are having their own way, is rare among men. Among women it is as common as eyebrows.
—Thomas Bailey Aldrich
• A good leader inspires other men with confidence in him; a great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves.
• The formula for success is simply putting the right people in the right jobs and then sitting on the sidelines and being a good cheerleader.
—A. Marshall Jones
• There is no limit to what can be accomplished if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.
—Emerson
• People’s minds are changed through observation and not through argument.
—Will Rogers
• When you ask people to do something, be sure to also tell them why. It’s well worth the effort.
• Success in almost any field depends more on energy and drive than it does on intelligence. This explains why we have so many stupid leaders.
—Sloan Wilson
• Rationalization is a great timewaster. Some people spend half their working hours rationalizing past mistakes or character flaws. Good leaders tend to be confident, honest people who have no need to be constantly justifying either their weaknesses nor past mistakes.
—Bits & Pieces
• Executive: A man who talks to visitors so the other employees can get their work done.
—Minneapolis Tribune
• The question “Who ought to be boss?” is like asking “Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?” Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.
—Henry Ford
• President Woodrow Wilson: By the time anything gets to me it’s a problem.
• Robert Frost once observed that if a man works faithfully eight hours a day he may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day.
• English dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse says, “I can train any dog in five minutes. It’s training the owners that takes longer.”
—Quote Magazine
• It isn’t the business you get. It’s the business you hold that counts.
—Bruce Crowell
• Soldier to officer: “Let me know when this becomes a volunteer army. I’d like to volunteer to be a general.”
—Ed Reed
See also: Labor-Management ; Skillfulness ; Rev. 18:23.