I am always looking for good and useful books. I am a bit of
a slower reader, but normally have three or four books on the go time. I have
one of the car, one beside the bed, one of the office (well, to be honest,
there are few hundred in the office), one of the living room, and who knows
where else. I am also a stubborn reader, and even if I find a book boring or a
very technical read, I tend to make myself finish it. However I would not say
it was finished in a timely manner.
One of the things that I find difficult is knowing what
books are actually good, and what ones are waste of money, before I buy them.
And so, I thought that from time to time on this blog I would insert my opinion
on some of the books that I have read.
The book that I most recently completed reading has a rather
strange title to be attracting a pastor’s interest. But bear with me (no pun
intended), and give the book a chance. The book is by Patrick Lencioni entitled
Getting Naked: A Business Fable… About Shedding the Fears That Sabotage
Client Loyalty. It was published in
2010 by Jossey-Bass and is 220 pages in length. If you have a good evening to
sit and read, it is readable on one session, and interesting enough to want to
do so.
I found this book to be a refreshing read. It is marketed
primarily to business consultants, public resource managers, life coaches, and
the like. However, I think that it applies to people of all walks of life, and
maybe very specifically to pastors and church leaders. His driving focus is
transparency and humility. Therefore, the “naked” that he is speaking about
really as most to do with honesty, transparency, humility, removing barriers to
be trustworthy to the people we serve.
The bulk of his book is told as a story of an executive who
has been working for a large consulting firm in the San Francisco area. It is a
national firm with offices in other parts of the country. This large firm has
been frustrated by the competition they have had from a small firm that only
services the San Francisco area, and seemingly has no desire to grow, but has
regularly and successfully taken business from the large firm. This small firm
is bought out by this national company, in an effort to eliminate the
competition. The executive is then
tasked with the chore of going into this small firm, gleaning the profitable
parts for the parent corporation, and making a recommendation for how it can be
absorbed. The story then explains the significance of the lessons learned by
this executive. It is told in an engaging and interesting manner, and drives
home some very deep lessons. I found the book hard to put down.
What I found particularly worthwhile is how human the
presentation is. He does not shy away from telling the truth, but does so in
such a way that it is memorable and inoffensive. He cuts straight to the chase
and tells the reader there are three fears that hold us back from success. It
seems to me that each of these fears have self-preservation in mind. However,
the reality is that allowing these three fears to dominate actually results in
loss, a lower success rate, and likely ulcers. The three fears he cites are: 1.
The fear of losing the business, 2. The fear of being embarrassed, 3. The fear
of feeling inferior. He explains each of these in detail, both in the story and
in a section of the back of the book. I found it very helpful that at the back
of his book there is a section of talk about the three fears, and then a number
of points to give practical advice and application to overcoming these fears of
the way that provides for success.
It is my belief that, even in the church, these fears can
hold us back. Sometimes, we pastors get so concerned about keeping people happy
that we do not offer them the best service. Sometimes people need us to speak
the truth in love and gently, rather than avoiding it and skirting around the
issues. If done well, people will be more loyal than they are by us simply telling
them what we think they want to hear. And let’s face it, money is never an easy
thing in a church. Pastors and church leaders are often so concerned about
money that we are scared to death with the fear of losing the business, or more
specifically, people stopping their financial support. Many times this fear
causes us to make decisions that actually result in the loss of financial
support. People are far more loyal, require more giving, far more attracted to
a church that is honest, transparent, and real. I think this book, one that was
written for the business world, has some lessons for us to in the church.
Highly recommended for church pastors, boards, deacons, elders, and other key
leaders.
I could see this book being used as a part of a training
exercise for a Board of Deacons or Church Board. It lays out several smaller
points that are even more significant than the three fears. But how many times
a deacons board meeting do you hear the resounding words, “What if people do
not like this and stop attending church?”
Lencioni is not recommending anything radical or negative, but rather
leadership that is honest, transparent, humble, real, and open with one
another. Doesn’t that sound like the way church should be?
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