I have a friend in the Chicago area named Al Johnson. Al’s an Episcopal priest about my age who’s built a dynamic and growing congregation–a committed Christian community–at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Barrington, Illinois. Al is destined to be a bishop soon because he is a real leader who believes.
He also shoots a mean game of golf, as in “scratch.”
Al believes in the unfailing and unfathomable love God has for everybody. And because Al so obviously believes this, his congregation does, too. And they have responded to that belief with fifteen years of miracles of mercy, outreach, action, creative worship, growth, and love.
Al once told me, “Jim, the main thing is to keep ‘the main thing’ the main thing.”
Keep the main thing the main thing. That’s the main thing.
Life is full of distractions and opportunities. There’s more here to do and see than any of us has time to do or see. Many of these things can lead us astray–to wasted time, to darkness, even to destruction.
For me, staying on course requires a VISION of who I truly am, AWARENESS of what I was put here to do, and a COMMITMENT to do that uniquely individual thing better than anyone else could do because it’s MINE, and mine alone to do.
Keep the main thing the main thing, you know?
This simple truth applies to communities as well as individuals. St. Mike’s parishioners know who they are. Their vision is to bring the Kingdom of God to Barrington and the greater Chicagoland area, even beyond. They know that. They have made the commitment to live into a community to bring the love of God to others.
That’s their main thing.
What’s yours?
Your company is a community we call a “corporation.” That’s from the Latin root word for “body.”
Your company is a community or corporate enterprise, a body of people assembled and organized to do…
WHAT?
What do you do that’s so GREAT?
What’s DIFFERENT about what you do versus your competitors?
Current and prospective customers in your category, who probably have at least two great choices for providers of services just like yours, always ask the same question when considering their pick of the options:
“Why should I choose…YOU?”
Do you know who you are, and how to beat your competitors? Are you willing to face the discipline of being uniquely yourselves and developing your core strengths?
If you are CRYSTAL CLEAR on this, your sales and profits will ALWAYS be higher than if you’re unclear.
You’ll win those deals you used to lose.
Clear, concise, and direct beats murky, convoluted and vague EVERY time.
That’s it, right? That’s the MAIN THING.
RIGHT?
So…when was the last time you worked on your CORE business purpose?
Is your mission statement full of vitality, spark, and promise?
Is it short and to the point so your people remember it?
Do they BELIEVE it?
Here’s the way to tell: if your people are making decisions to do one set of things, and not another, based on what the mission says, keep going. Otherwise, it’s time for a re-think.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
BUILT TO LEAD 