Live with resilience and decision-making skills

[All-round Servant Leadership] 6

Oral narration/Gao Lili

Organized/Weng Jingyu

If any of you lacks wisdom,
Ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault,
The Lord will give it to him. (James 1:5)

We have fully explored the various principles, qualities and concepts of all-round servant leadership. Next, in this issue, we will specifically explore the important skills necessary for leaders-resilience and decision-making. The time to make decisions is usually when problems arise, and God is the answer to all problems. As long as you seek wisdom from Him, any problem can be solved.

Everyone makes many decisions and solves problems every day. Sometimes, even in our sleep, we continue this process. Therefore, everyone has the ability to solve problems and make decisions. The key is, can we do it well?

During the Great Depression in the United States, there was a well-known builder named Benjamin Bornstein. At that time, his construction career also suffered a heavy blow and was in danger. In order to cope with the predicament, I could only pawn and sell off many valuable items in my home, leaving only the stylish car and its driver. Despite this, Benny was not depressed and still ordered his driver to drive around his home in the city every day.

When the economy recovers a little, people will want to cooperate with builders who can still survive. Since everyone often saw Benny's car driving in the city, they thought: "His career must be doing very well!" They all approached him for cooperation. Benny's decision was the best endorsement for his career. From a certain perspective, it is similar to the strategy of Joshua leading the Israelites to circumvent the city of Jericho in the Old Testament. wonderful.

Distinguish between two modes of thinking

When encountering a problem, there are usually two modes of thinking: The first is the "idea creator". The first thing this kind of person thinks of is usually the solution, just like the builder Bai mentioned in the previous example. Benny. The other kind of person is just the opposite. His first reaction when encountering a problem is usually to complain: "What happened? How did things become like this?" This is the so-called "idea consumer".

Those who truly have all-round servant leadership must be problem solvers; as long as they are disciples of Christ, they should exert their influence and strive to improve their decision-making abilities, because the problems that every leader faces are unpredictable and unpredictable. Number of wins.

In other words, the first thing that must be changed is our thinking model. Be willing to be an idea creator, rather than an idea consumer who starts complaining about problems or always hoping someone can solve them for you. This is an important skill and attitude that everyone should learn!

Ask God for wisdom

God is the source of all wisdom! We often see God guiding His people through difficult situations. Take Joshua as an example. Joshua led God’s people into the land of Canaan. After countless battles, we see God leading them behind the scenes to make very smart and wise decisions time and time again. For example, before they crossed the Jordan River, they sent two spies to the city of Jericho. After the two spies came back to report the enemy's situation, perform sand table simulations, and cry out to God, they formulated a wonderful battle plan.

1. Define the problem

Likewise, when we encounter a problem, we must first define the problem. Like Joshua, when he wanted to lead so many Israelites across the Jordan River, the practical problem he faced was: How to enter the land of Canaan? There are so many of them and the land is under enemy occupation. How on earth are they going to get in?

Extending to business management, the problem must also be clearly defined: What is your current market share? It seems that many people are making products similar to yours, so how do you break into the market? If there is a new product now, how should it enter the market? These are problems that must be faced frequently in business. Here are a few key points we should consider:

‧ What: What is the source of the problem?
‧ Where: Where did the problem occur?
‧ How: How did the problem occur?
‧ When: When did the problem occur?
‧ Why: Why did the problem occur?
‧ Who: To whom does the problem occur?

▲Joshua sent two spies into the city of Jericho to investigate the truth and collect the most advantageous information. The cover and help of the prostitute Rahab played an important role.

(Image source: http://asrunchem.blogspot.tw/2013/08/20130828-28-14.html)

▲Joshua sought wisdom from God, and with the power of the priests blowing trumpets and the people praising and cheering, he shook the walls of Jericho and captured the city victoriously!

(Picture source: http://www.fuyinchina.com/pic.asp?x=21&y=a02&z=06)

2. Identify the root cause of the problem and possible solutions

After defining the problem, the next step is to collect data. Joshua sent two spies out to investigate the strength of the enemy army. After learning that the Canaanites in Jericho had long been frightened of God’s power, they asked God for wisdom, and God began to teach them what to do. They gradually worked out a solution, such as circumnavigating the city of Jericho several times. The first six times they would be silent, and until the seventh time, they would collectively work hard to cheer and praise God.

According to research, South Korea's Samsung Group has suddenly emerged in the 3C field in recent years. Compared with Japanese companies, the difference is that Samsung's decision-making is fast, ruthless and accurate. Some people once thought that because Samsung is a family company, it can be more arbitrary, but this is not the case. For many years, Samsung has had a staff department, which has assembled a team of 400 people. It is responsible for analyzing the enemy's situation and formulating market strategies. In recent years, it has also had a special name called "Future Strategy Department."

So does the church. Are we fully aware of the impact of today’s cultural trends on people’s hearts? Do we know how to go out with the gospel? Or do we get immersed in the love of Christ once we receive salvation, but forget that we still have spiritual battles to fight and unbeliever family members to lead? I sincerely hope that the "Kingdom of God" magazine can play the important role of "Future Strategy Department" in the overall gospel war, put forward the latest issues and situations encountered in battlefields such as enterprises, missions, culture, relationships, and communities, and provide them to the people of the Kingdom of God. Become a platform for information exchange and solution development.

3. Choose a solution to the problem

After collecting information, we must make correct judgments; we must patiently collect all descriptions, data, or intelligence of relevant facts and analyze them calmly to find feasible solutions.

‧ Which method is most likely to provide a long-term solution to the problem?
‧ Which method is the most effective to accomplish now? Are there resources?
‧ Is it affordable? Is there enough time to execute?
‧ Are there any risks in this solution?

If the problem is not well defined, or the data is collected incorrectly, it is easy to approach the problem in the wrong way. Let’s say the church holds a men’s gospel meal. The atmosphere of the entire gathering is specially designed for men. All men are asked to be in charge of the song and worship team to arouse resonance among the congregation. Brothers who have strong testimonies in their families, careers, and churches are also invited to serve as special guests.

However, problems still occurred. Although many people came that day, the proportion of people who decided to believe in the Lord was very low. After self-examination, I discovered that although there were many people coming, many of them were brothers in the Lord and even sisters. Therefore, the fundamental problem is not that more people are good, but how to get many men who have not yet believed in the Lord to participate! For example, you can stipulate in the invoice that if you do not bring a male who has not yet become a Christian to attend, the ticket will not be given. Just having a large number of people to heat up the atmosphere does not achieve the goal, but inviting the right people to attend.

4. Follow up all the way and check carefully

After we have the best plan, we must formulate a plan, follow up on the implementation of the plan, and finally check whether the problem has been solved. If you encounter a problem along the way, you can save it immediately. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was forced to resign in 1995. Later, when the company encountered a crisis, the leadership team made the right decision to turn the tide and brought Jobs back, allowing the company to The performance has come back to life.

We can also make good use of various tools to analyze problems and conduct practical inspections. For example, team brainstorming can achieve the following goals:

‧ Bring new ideas.
‧ Create harmony and understanding.
‧ Encourage “possibility” thinking.
‧ The concepts or ideas proposed are more likely to be accepted by decision-makers.
‧ Such activities can reduce differences among diverse groups.

In addition, there are: SWOT analysis chart, PEST analysis chart, list of pros and cons, Platt diagram analysis, cause-and-effect analysis diagram (fishbone diagram), frequency diagram, etc. These practical problem-solving tools are provided with further instruction, case analysis and simulation exercises in the leadership and management workshops led by the author in KRC camps every year. You are welcome to register online (www.e-krc.org).

Key decisions that bring your business back to life

Every decision comes from God! Joshua's decision was very important. He organized the Israelites and marched around the city of Jericho. From a business point of view, this is a very important decision, which is equivalent to sending a message to the enemy to make them think that they are powerful.

3M Company has faced many hurdles. They decided to provide first-class on-the-job training courses to cultivate employees, and made decisions about internal job transfers to seek the best benefits for employees' workplace promotion and career development. The company is thriving because they made the best decision to develop talent and unleash the potential of their employees.

▲SWOT analysis chart can help us objectively and realistically analyze complex problems from a positive perspective (strengths, opportunities) and a negative perspective (weaknesses, threats).

▲Using fishbone diagram analysis can help the enterprise identify major problems and related details as a whole, and can also derive response strategies.

▲Plato’s analysis can help us clarify the complaints from customers from all directions and start dealing with the really important issues:

‧ Focus on what needs to be done first.
‧ Recognize what will be the solution that will get twice the result with half the effort.
‧ Continue to follow up on what to do next.
‧ Continue to focus on continuous improvement. In the same way, when there are differences or conflicts in church ministry, do you have the courage to clarify the voices of the members, and adopt the correct solutions to the suggestions for improvement?

The same goes for the church, whether it puts the greatest effort into training and equipping believers, and uses every opportunity for brothers and sisters to develop their gifts in small groups, Sundays, and special gatherings to train elite soldiers for the kingdom of God. Or is it just to save manpower and resources and put 80% resources on 20% people, but it will never be able to drive other 80% believers? The establishment of the Kingdom of God Resources for Christ Association is to inspire more resources of the Kingdom of God, to allow more people to develop their gifts, and even to shine for the Lord in the workplace. Behind every successful business, church, and team are important key decisions. In the next issue, we will continue to sharpen the sharp edge of all-round servant leadership and discuss execution in depth.

Author profile:

Lily is the founder and CEO of Kingdom Resources for Christ. After spending many years as an executive in large companies, she now serves in full-time ministry, often speaking, teaching, and leading retreats throughout North America and Asia. She also founded and runs the natural and ethical skincare and cosmetics company, LordnLily.com.