best franchise in the January 2002 issue of Entrepreneur magazine. This women-only fitness center franchise started out with one location just
six years ago, going to 250 the next. ‘‘This year [2002], we’ll finish with 5,000 units,’’ says Heavin.
Ironically, Heavin says, ‘‘I was forty years old before I realized what
my purpose was.’’ At age thirteen, Heavin walked into his mother’s
bedroom one morning to find her dead. She had suffered from high
blood pressure and other illnesses that could have been cured by better
diet and a program of exercise. Curves for Women was founded so that
hundreds of thousands of women can live healthier, longer lives.
Curves for Women has expanded so rapidly that it is now interna-
tional. ‘‘I did an interview in Spain, where we are building a strong
franchise network,’’ says Heavin. ‘‘I told the reporter, ‘Our goal is to
46
THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
catch McDonald’s—they export high-fat foods, we’re going to export
health.’ ’’17
None of the leaders discussed in this chapter, whether biblical or
corporate, had an ‘‘easy’’ time of it. Purpose is so important because
running a business or leading a group of people is fraught with obstacles
and difficulties. If the goal is not mapped out in clear, desirable terms,
the obstacles frequently blot it from view.
The Bible is full of exhortations to stay ‘‘on purpose’’:
‘‘We boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions you are enduring . . . So then, brothers, stand firm and hold on to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.’’ (Paul’s
letter to the believers in Thessalonica, who were becoming so impatient for Christ’s second coming that they had ceased working and were simply
waiting, 2 Thess. 1:4)
‘‘Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us . . .’’
(Heb.12:1–3)
‘‘And now, compelled by the Holy spirit . . . I am going to Jerusalem,
not knowing what will happen to me . . . I consider my life worth nothing to me . . . if only I may finish the race and complete the task.’’ (Paul, quoted in Acts 20:22–24)
Today’s modern business leaders, especially those who have achieved
Big Hairy Audacious Goals, all have their own strong sense of purpose,
with which they are able to inspire their followers:
‘‘A Coke within arm’s reach of everyone on the planet.’’ (Roberto
Goizueta, former CEO, Coca-Cola)
‘‘To become the company most known for changing the worldwide poor
quality image of Japanese products.’’ (Sony mission statement)
‘‘A computer on every desk in every home, running Microsoft soft-
ware.’’ (Bill Gates)
‘‘I feel like every day I’m . . . working to preserve the rainforests.’’
(Maureen Martin, communications coordinator, Ben & Jerry’s)
Purpose
47
Our best modern experts on management have constantly empha-
sized the steadying role of purpose (often using terms like vision and mission) in achieving organizational success:
‘‘The single defining quality of leaders is their ability to create and realize a vision.’’ (Warren Bennis)
‘‘All the leaders I know have a strongly defined sense of purpose. And
when you have an organization where the people are aligned behind a
clearly defined vision or purpose, you get a powerful organization.’’ (Marshall Loeb)
‘‘Detached from values, money may indeed be the root of all evil.
Linked to social purpose, it can be the root of opportunity.’’ (Rosabeth Moss Kanter)
When we read quotes like these, we may first think of Bill Gates,
Steve Jobs, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, and Roberto Goizueta.
The managers of the Bible did not have the benefit of modern manage-
ment consultants and business theorists. But they intuitively knew that
dedication to purpose was the secret of organizational and individual
success. The above quotes could just as easily have been written (in
Aramaic or Hebrew, of course) by Moses, Nehemiah, Queen Esther,
King Hezekiah, or the apostle Paul. Fortunately, their original message
of purpose and mission has been preserved in the pages of the Bible.
You just have to know where to look.
BIBLICAL LESSONS ON PURPOSE
Purpose can empower people to reach greater goals than they
ever thought possible.
Great goals are seldom achieved without confronting internal
obstacles and external opposition.
48
THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
Adversity can quickly stop a leader who lacks purpose, but it
only ‘‘fans the flames’’ of leaders with a strong purpose.
Think big. Even if you fall short, you’ll still have accomplished
a lot.
Talk about purpose and people will listen, but to get them to
follow, you must act with purpose.
Purposeful organizations are exciting, inspiring places to work.
Purpose inspires even the most mundane task with meaning.
Constantly communicate your purpose, your dedication to it,
and the expected rewards of achieving it.
C H A P T E R
T H R E E
Kindness and
Compassion
‘‘Did I not cry for those in trouble?’’
—J 29:16
‘‘Oh king, be kind to the oppressed . . . It may be that then your prosperity will continue.’’
—D. 4:27
indness and compassion have not always been considered
necessary components of business leadership. Until about a
generation ago, the paradigm for American business was
‘‘command and control,’’ otherwise known as Theory X,
whose assumptions included:
❖ People are naturally lazy and need the threat of punishment to
make them work.
❖ Kindness to employees will too often be interpreted as an invi-
tation to slack off from the achievement of key business results.
The leaders of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, often seem
to subscribe to Theory X. The Bible is full of episodes where misbehav-
49
50
THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
ior or inattentiveness to the task resulted in swift punishment, including
exile, torture, and death.
But the Bible is also full of examples of Theory Y management. The-
ory Y posits that people naturally want to achieve (if you can determine
and hook into their desired goals), and that leaders who exhibit kindness
and compassion will not necessarily be ridiculed and ignored the mo-
ment their backs are turned. They may even be admired and emulated,
particularly once the employees have tested the compassion and found
it to be sincere and lasting. Many modern leaders have been able to
permeate their workplaces with kindness and compassion without sacri-
ficing the achievement of business goals.
THE GOLDEN RULE
Cynics believe that Jesus’ words, ‘‘Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you,’’ are an ideal that belongs only in an ‘‘ideal environ-
ment,’’ such as a Sunday School or monastery. They argue that the real
‘‘Golden Rules’’ of business are ‘‘Them that has the gold makes the
rules,’’ and ‘‘Do unto others before they can do unto you.’’
No one would pretend that combining compassion and results-
orientation is easy to achieve, particularly if short-term results are
paramount. But a number of modern business leaders have found that
without compassion and kindness to employees, customers, suppliers,
and even competitors, short-term results can’t be maintained into the
long-term. And perhaps more important, without kindness and personal
consideration the workplace becomes a mechanistic environment in
which employees (and managers) become dispirited. Performance lags,
many ‘‘retire on the job’’ or become bitter, and others go off in search
of a more ‘‘human’’ environment.
‘‘Clothe yourselves with compassion and kindness.’’ (The apostle
Paul, Col. 3:12)
‘‘Be kind to one another.’’ (Eph. 4:32)
Kindness and Compassion
51
A number of businesses and leaders are operating by these simple yet
powerful guidelines, some of them for overtly ‘‘religious’’ or ‘‘spiritual’’
reasons, others because it’s the right thing to do or because they have
seen the negative effects of cruelty and coldness in their business and
personal lives. But all seem pleased with the long-term results.
The insurance industry, with its emphasis on bureaucratic proce-
dures, risk ratios, and exclusionary clauses, would not seem to be a
likely home for kindness and compassion. But USAA, a large auto and
home insurer, believes in the Golden Rule so much that it added a
‘‘rider’’ to it, creating USAA’s ‘‘Two Golden Rules’’:
1. Treat each and every person the way you would like to be
treated.
2. Treat each and every employee the way USAA expects you to
treat the customer.
CEO Robert McDermott adds, ‘‘The Golden Rule can only be lived
if in fact you first love yourself and then love your neighbor.’’1 This
love obviously extends to the employees. A few years ago, jobs at
USAA were the modern version of building the pyramids, but without
the variety. One person spent all day opening envelopes, another sorting
the mail, another reviewing a particular type of claim. Today, no one’s
job is that narrow; jobs have been broadened so that employees feel
more like human beings whose collective judgment is important and
less like robots performing mindless, repetitive tasks.
With the rapid proliferation of Starbucks, the service and products of
this amazingly successful franchise are well known. What is not so well