he’s not going to do this appraisal stuff the next day.’’
Notebaert could easily have ‘‘set his face like jello.’’ The appraisals
were just one part of the program, and a successful revolt against them
could have jettisoned the entire effort. He could have backed down and
eliminated the appraisals. But Notebaert took the courageous route. He
told Knowling, ‘‘Look, I’m not sure this will be good either. I, like you,
have never done it before. But the difference between me and you is
that I’m going to try it. If I don’t like it, I won’t do it again, but I am going to try.’’
Faced with this courage and resolve, Knowling agreed to participate
in the sessions. After they were over, he made a statement that rivaled
Notebaert’s in courage. ‘‘I was wrong,’’ he said in front of the entire
‘‘Group of 120.’’ He admitted that much of his resistance to the evalua-
tions was symptomatic of his resistance to the whole change effort. He
reaffirmed his commitment to the company and to the new direction it
was taking, and he asked any others in the room who might be ambiva-
lent to make the same commitment.10
Sometimes, when swords clash in honest and courageous disagree-
ment, the light engendered is greater than the heat.
Fred Smith of FedEx is another leader who has constantly stood firm
with the courage of his convictions. If he hadn’t, the company would
literally never have gotten off the ground: Smith hatched the idea of
Federal Express as a business school case study. His now-famous ‘‘hub
and spoke’’ delivery method (in which all packages are funneled into a
central airport and then dispatched to their destinations) was dismissed
as unworkable by the professor to whom it was submitted. Smith be-
lieved in his idea so much that he sunk his entire life’s savings into his
new company.
Courage
163
But it has not been continuously smooth sailing for Smith and
FedEx. He has had his courage tested several more times along the way.
During the Christmas season of 1998, traditionally a ‘‘make or break
time’’ for package companies like FedEx, the pilots threatened a strike,
claiming their wages were too low and there were too many work rules.
FedEx was well aware of the economic damage a strike could cause:
Competitor UPS had suffered a similar strike in 1997, during which
FedEx had increased its business by 11 percent. It was not looking for-
ward to having the tables turned on it.
Smith was faced with a choice: Grant the pilots’ demands and avert
any major short-term damage, or stand by his convictions. He chose
the latter, gauging that to give in to the pilots might have disastrous
long-term effects on the company. Smith had already offered the pilots
terms that were at or near the top of the industry, and he did not want
to give them the idea that they could hold the company for ransom.
It was a courageous step, and the outcome could have gone either
way. Smith risked splitting his company right up the middle (similar to
Solomon proposing to divide a baby to settle a ‘‘custody dispute’’ be-
tween two women). Thousands of employees demonstrated in support
of Smith, saying that he had been fair to all and that the pilots’ demands
were out of line. In response to the consensus of their coworkers, the
pilots backed away from their strike, and FedEx had its best Christmas
season ever, united, not divided.11
Another leader who has shown the ability to courageously stand firm
is George W. Bush. Confronted with the World Trade Center attack
less than a year into his administration, Bush ceaselessly trumpeted his
resolve to resist the enemy and protect the people and infrastructure of
the United States.
After a brief period of ‘‘evasive action,’’ Bush decided to return to
Washington so that he could orchestrate the U.S. response to the terror-
ism and to show his own people and the enemy that he would face this
crisis with personal courage. Speaking just a few days after the incident,
he said:
And you know, through the tears and the sadness, I see an opportunity.
And make no mistake about it, the nation is sad. But we’re also tough and
164
THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
resolute, and now’s an opportunity to do generations a favor by whipping terrorism, hunting it down, binding it and holding them accountable . . .
This country will not relent until we have saved ourselves and others from the terrible tragedy that came upon America. 12
Bush’s statement is reminiscent of Ezekiel 2:6: ‘‘Do not be afraid,
though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpi-
ons.’’ His courage inspired all those around him—his immediate staff,
the entire country, and the foreign leaders whose help he enlisted in
repulsing the ‘‘briers, thorns, and scorpions.’’ Although he did not
quote the Bible exactly, many of Bush’s words were in consonance with
the words of Chronicles: ‘‘Do not be afraid or discouraged . . . for there
is a greater power with us than with him.’’ (2 Chron. 32:6–7)
Mary Kay Ash founded an amazingly successful and unique company,
but courage has been as essential an ingredient as the fragrances, pow-
ders, and creams her organization sells. It is easy to point to Ash’s recent success, but when she first envisioned her company, her attorney’s discouraging message was, ‘‘If you are going to throw away your life’s
savings ($5,000), why don’t you just put it directly in the trash can?’’
Her accountant had a similar message.
But Ash had a strong vision backed up by a strong sense of courage.
She put every cent she had into the business and recruited her husband
to be in charge of ‘‘administration,’’ a term that must have seemed
laughable when ‘‘company headquarters’’ was the kitchen table. Her
‘‘heart’’ was tested even further when her husband had a heart attack
and died at that kitchen table a month later.13
Her husband’s death would have been the final blow to someone
with less courage. Surrounded by the ‘‘briers and scorpions’’ of doubt
and ‘‘certain failure,’’ Ash had lost her chief ally and staunchest business supporter, in addition to her life’s partner. But she continued to pursue
her dream. Today, the company she founded has sales of over $1 billion,
employs 3,500 people, and has over 500,000 direct sales consultants. Of
Ash it can truly be said, ‘‘You were wearied . . . but you would not say,
‘It is hopeless.’ You found renewal of strength, and so you did not
faint.’’ (Isa. 57:10)
Courage
165
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego exhibited great courage by letting
King Nebuchadnezzar tie them up and place them in a fiery furnace to
demonstrate their faith in God. The three men proclaimed their faith
in their protector, but further stated that, ‘‘even if he does not . . .
rescue us from your hand, oh King . . . we will not serve your gods.’’
(Dan. 3:17–18) These men had the courage of their convictions, what-
ever the result.
A modern leader who had the courage of his convictions was Rick
Roscitt of AT&T Solutions, a company that started out as a ‘‘brain-
storm’’ and went to billions in revenue in just five years. Roscitt de-
cided to launch this division, dedicated to network outsourcing, when
the company had no plan to enter this marketplace and very little
proven expertise. Moreover, he did it without his getting his boss’s sup-
port, or even consulting the boss, who was on vacation: ‘‘My boss was
mad as hell when he came back,’’ recounts Roscitt. ‘‘He said we were
entering into an arrangement we didn’t understand, and that we didn’t
know what the hell we were doing . . . And you know what? He was
right!’’14
Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Roscitt was cast into the
fiery furnace of oblivion. He was given little support by the main orga-
nization and was treated more like an orphan. But he had a strong sense
of courage and belief in himself and his mission. Of course, it helped
that a major client, Chase Manhattan Bank, had given him their ‘‘bless-
ing’’—he had managed the outsourcing of their telecommunications
network, and now the bank was asking him to launch a unit dedicated
to network outsourcing.
A person with a lot of courage needs only a little encouragement and
resources. He also ‘‘makes his own luck.’’ After his first successful proj-
ect with Chase, Roscitt needed a little less courage as the parent com-
pany supported his now highly profitable ‘‘maverick venture.’’
A courageous leader sticks to his beliefs, and does not back down
even if it appears to others that, short-term, the wrong choice may have
been made. Peter and John were asked by the authorities in Jerusalem
to stop healing the sick and stop teaching in the name of Jesus. Their
answer was that ‘‘we cannot help speaking about what we have seen