Leveraging Your Best Resources

I liked the Lord discussion of love. I am a sucker for a good love story, but I am also a realist and understand that there are individuals who do not treat others with love.

On the screens popped various images of war. Guns, armies, atomic explosions, warplanes, you name it. There were thousands of images. Even pictures of cavemen with sticks attacking each other. The images were very disturbing.

“In the Bible, I’m called a ‘Man of War.’ Do you think that is good, Sam?”

How was I supposed to answer that?  He is the all-encompassing God. If he wants to wipe out people, he could. He did it during the flood of Noah and helped the Israelites exit Egypt by destroying the Egyptians.

“Sure, God. You can be man of war. But aren’t you also a God of Love?”

“Ahh Sam. That is the key to real power. I can… and need to be both. Sometimes the only way to deal with evil is to kill it. You need war at times to create peace. When peace fails you need to be prepared for war. When Jacob went to meet his brother Esau after so many years and so much bitterness between them. He hoped for peace. However, Jacob prepared his camp as if he might face battle. Managers must have the same mindset.”

The Lord took a pose like Popeye. I could see those biceps burst in the shape of a can of spinach.

“Sam, what does a general need when they go to war?”

“You,” I laughed and pointed at his bulging biceps.

“That can’t hurt. But is faith alone sufficient?”

“I don’t know, maybe a good plan?”

“Plans are important, but more important are resources. In years past it was a large army. Now the key is having the right people, with the right resources, at the right time, with the right training. Everyone counts and everyone matters. The Talmud highlights how important every person is and that we can learn from everyone. For example, the Rabbis when trying to help explain the importance of honoring a mother and father do not refer to a biblical leader, but rather a non-Jew named Dama ben Nesina who postponed a major deal to avoid waking up his father from a nap. It doesn’t matter if people are of the right background, it is what they have inside that matters. The heart of a person can be the x-factor, the key resource. The best managers determine who their stars are and then leverages those skills.”

I completely understood the concept of knowing your resources. How could I publish an article without the support of everyone in IT and production?  My manager needs to coordinate everyone, and I am just one cog in the production cycle. Any one of the parties who might not produce becomes the missing link that prevents the publication from reaching our readers.

I liked the Lord’s prior analogy of the flame as a source of spreading power, without diminishing the initial flame. That analogy really stuck with me. “Lord, can you expand on the concept of how leaders might not be sharing that flame as effectively as possible? I mean a flame represents a resource as well.”

“Sam, many leaders rule by mirrors rather than windows.”

I saw the window turn into a mirror and the Lord walked over and started scratching away at the mirror’s silver lining.

The Lord continued, “Leaders often look at themselves rather than looking at others. Mirrors are just glass with a little silver lining. When a manager has some silver, power, or money they can share resources with others, or they can focus on themselves.  If they keep all their silver, they have a great mirror where they can see themselves and admire who they are and what they have become. However, if they remove some of that silver, the mirror becomes a window. The window allows the manager to see outside and see the plight and needs of others. Every manager should scratch away at their silver lining to expose the window to their soul and the plight of those around them.”

The Lord handed me a little mirror with two little candles in a nice olive wood case. It was stamped God, Inc. The mirror was half covered with a silver lining so that I would always be able to see myself and others at the same time. I saw the connection with the story the Lord just told me.

“Sam, give this to your wife when you get home tonight.  It will remind you about some of the concepts we talked about—flames representing power that you can share and the mirror to always look at yourself and who you are and what you should be. That should help serve as a tool to always stay humble. It can also be lights used for the Sabbath and to help symbolize the need to share your light with others. That is true love. A natural resource that never runs out.”

“Thank you, Lord. Your kindness to my family is greatly appreciated, especially when you single us out with billions of other people in the world.”

“I appreciate that, son. I love everyone-even those who act badly. Remember, they have the potential to act good, so I keep holding out hope- even to the last second. Similarly, when you love others, it is like loving me. When you connect with others, you are connecting with me. When you protect the weak you are protecting me. That is one reason why I was upset with Noah. He did not protest against me trying to destroy my own creatures. He was just saving himself. In contrast, when I was threatening to destroy the folks in Sedom and Gemorra, Abraham protested and wanted to protect the evil folks, because there could be some innocent people in the mix-beyond just his nephew, Lot. That was showing love to God’s creature-which meant showing me love. It is also a key to true leadership which is not ruling others- but serving others. The proverbial servant-leader.”

That reminded me of a quote I had read in preparation for the interview. “Lord, I have another quote I think you would like from Jonathan Swift who famously said, ‘We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another’.”

“Sam, love is tough. Tough love requires making sacrifice. Sometimes leaders have to take drastic action to prove their point or protect their organizations. It also requires action. Once there is a vision, there needs to be direction, empowering the people, and then there needs to be action. Tough love entails creating a mission that a leader can support and which the followers will follow. That is why Moses gave Israel, Inc. a mission statement that resonates to this day- become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. That is one kick-ass mission, and it has endured for all these years. It was not too far of a stretch goal, but it was a goal that could result in love between the people.”

I had never seen a corporate vision statement that tried to push the employees to be righteous, holy, trust the lord, and to be priestly. Most employees would not know how to become priestly…but after hearing the Lord talk over the past several hours, I was shocked how easy it could be. Treating people well is customer service. That is being priestly. It seemed so simple.

I don’t know how the Lord did it…but after this interview it seemed like all the fear and apprehension I had about what would happen during an interview with God concerning management seemed to evaporate. Good management was akin to Godly management. Treating people well and doing the right things worked for managers and connected people closer to the Lord. I had, like so many others over the millenniums, been scared that being close to the Lord was hard. It was something I had been doing for years: being a good person. With some minor tweaks I felt I could move from good to great. Then I remembered that that was the title of a leadership book written by Jim Collins- maybe he was one God’s agents.

The Lord shook his head… “I am going for you son.” All the screens lit up around the room with a picture of the Lord dressed as Uncle Sam with an American flag pointing his finger at me with the words… “I Want You.”