It is not often that you get to meet a leader whom you respect and admire. I had that opportunity in 2017 when I, and two members from my board, attended the Capital Campaign University event hosted by Injoy Stewardship Solutions. Brian Dodd is an author, a leadership consultant, and the director of ministry partnerships for Injoy Stewardship Solutions. He has one of the top read leadership blogs in the world and was voted by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 100 speakers on leadership. In other words, this dude is big time. And I had the amazing opportunity to meet him and, as a result; my life, my leadership, and my church have never been the same.
Some people build companies, some build organizations, some build churches; Brian Dodd builds people. Within the pages of his latest book, Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices of Apex Leaders, Brian shares ten practices from within the trenches of leadership. Stories, principles, lessons learned, characteristics, and timeless practices that, if applied, have the potential to turn you into an Apex Leader.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
- Think about what propels companies from the startup stage to something truly significant. At the heart of the matter, it is all about your people. Who you surround yourself with makes all the difference. Your team is your primary difference maker.
- Pride is such a foolish personality trait.
- Great leaders are great readers.
- Hard work will always beat talent and competence when talent and competence don’t work hard.
- Time is one of a leader’s greatest assets because once it is spent, it can never be recovered.
- It only takes one mistake, one miscalculation, or one error in judgment to lose all your influence.
- Your ability to lead at a high level is predetermined by how well you lead yourself when no one is looking.
- Leaders should always use their influence and platform for shining the spotlight on others and improving the lives of as many people as possible.
- Leading by example means building bridges, breaking down walls, making phone calls, walking across the room, extending a friendly hand, and being willing to back down.
- There is one thing which will stop a leader’s ability to deliver results more than anything else. Believe it or not, it is his or her health. Once health is lost, a leader ceases to be effective.
In chapter ten, Brian asked a question that all Apex Leaders can answer: “Did you get the job done?” I hope you will get this book and read it because, at the end of a leader’s day, there are only two things that matter — relationships and results. This book will help you be successful at both.
For El Paso,
JT
If you would like to read the whole book you can purchase it here.