Last night as I watched Lindsey Vonn ski downhill and realize that on the last part of her run she was skiing on one leg I was truly inspired. She didn’t let anything stop her from winning that gold medal.What courage, what determination what enthusiasm!
When she won, she was overcome with joy. I wondered what it would mean to her 10 years from now.
It made me think about our effort and enthusiasm for our “God medal”. How are we pushing ourselves to reach that eternal ending? The reward we have is ever lasting!
A New Perspective on Success.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A Matter of Honor
A Matter of Honor
By Audrey McLeod
“Honor (from the Latin word honor, honoris) is the evaluation of a person's trustworthiness and social status based on that individual's espousals and actions. Honour is deemed exactly what determines a person's character: whether or not the person reflects honesty, respect, integrity, or fairness.” Source: Wikkipedia
Last week, we saw the Japanese President of Toyota come out bowing and apologizing for the problems they have experienced with their cars. It was obviously an embarrassing and humbling moment for this man. As a nationalistic country, Japan is proud of their country, companies and families. In fact, when something goes wrong in the country or the company, the family suffers. Failure means embarrassment, which is, for the Japanese, a deep emotional feeling. They live the golden rule of doing unto others and when someone is let down, they feel guilt to the point of suicide. In fact, many senior high school students have jumped in front of a train when they got bad grades because they embarrassed and dishonored their families. It’s cultural.
My husband, who worked in Japan for a number of years, had this perspective: “As a company, Toyota will now work day and night to fix the problem because there is a value demanding that it’s done right and they work until it is corrected.” In a Japanese company, everyone approves the plan. There is a document called a “Ringi” (American translation) that is a plan for something the company is planning to do that circulates in every department of the company. Everybody has input on this new product or solution and they all must agree, disagree or comment. Comments might look something like: “We can’t do that in the time allotted.” Once the Ringi has passed through all the departments and all have agreed and signed off, production can start the next day. Everyone has responsibility for their part because they agreed on the Ringi. In effect, nothing comes down from the top because everyone is in agreement.
The president of a Japanese company has the role of servant leadership. He has advisors consisting of employees that look at the ideas and, like the head of a family, have ears open to input from everyone. They take the input, digest it and say: “Here’s what we’ll do.” Much like the head of a family, they take on the leadership role and are embarrassed for the people when something goes wrong. In Japan, the brand is the people and the honor of the country, company and family is at stake. “
The prediction is that they will have the problems fixed quickly and come out stronger as a company because they’ll put more emphasis on quality control. They can’t afford to be dishonored any further.
At the Wedding Feast of Cana, Jesus was asked to turn the water into wine because if the wine ran out, the host would be embarrassed and their hospitality would be questioned. He performed one of his first public miracles to protect the honor of the family. We know from that incident that honor was also important for the people in His time.
What can we learn from the Japanese and Jesus? First and foremost, we must have the ethical standards of honoring others and protecting them from embarrassment. And we must strive to have the integrity and fortitude in our companies to do the right thing. When something goes wrong, admit it, apologize and try to fix the problem, even if it takes a miracle.
Second, we are called to lead like the head of a family, taking everyone’s input into consideration and valuing each of them, but also holding them accountable for the problem and fixing it.
Third, we are to take our businesses and the way they affect people so seriously that no one can ever look at us and say we didn’t care—practice the golden rule of doing unto others what we would have them do unto us.
By Audrey McLeod
“Honor (from the Latin word honor, honoris) is the evaluation of a person's trustworthiness and social status based on that individual's espousals and actions. Honour is deemed exactly what determines a person's character: whether or not the person reflects honesty, respect, integrity, or fairness.” Source: Wikkipedia
Last week, we saw the Japanese President of Toyota come out bowing and apologizing for the problems they have experienced with their cars. It was obviously an embarrassing and humbling moment for this man. As a nationalistic country, Japan is proud of their country, companies and families. In fact, when something goes wrong in the country or the company, the family suffers. Failure means embarrassment, which is, for the Japanese, a deep emotional feeling. They live the golden rule of doing unto others and when someone is let down, they feel guilt to the point of suicide. In fact, many senior high school students have jumped in front of a train when they got bad grades because they embarrassed and dishonored their families. It’s cultural.
My husband, who worked in Japan for a number of years, had this perspective: “As a company, Toyota will now work day and night to fix the problem because there is a value demanding that it’s done right and they work until it is corrected.” In a Japanese company, everyone approves the plan. There is a document called a “Ringi” (American translation) that is a plan for something the company is planning to do that circulates in every department of the company. Everybody has input on this new product or solution and they all must agree, disagree or comment. Comments might look something like: “We can’t do that in the time allotted.” Once the Ringi has passed through all the departments and all have agreed and signed off, production can start the next day. Everyone has responsibility for their part because they agreed on the Ringi. In effect, nothing comes down from the top because everyone is in agreement.
The president of a Japanese company has the role of servant leadership. He has advisors consisting of employees that look at the ideas and, like the head of a family, have ears open to input from everyone. They take the input, digest it and say: “Here’s what we’ll do.” Much like the head of a family, they take on the leadership role and are embarrassed for the people when something goes wrong. In Japan, the brand is the people and the honor of the country, company and family is at stake. “
The prediction is that they will have the problems fixed quickly and come out stronger as a company because they’ll put more emphasis on quality control. They can’t afford to be dishonored any further.
At the Wedding Feast of Cana, Jesus was asked to turn the water into wine because if the wine ran out, the host would be embarrassed and their hospitality would be questioned. He performed one of his first public miracles to protect the honor of the family. We know from that incident that honor was also important for the people in His time.
What can we learn from the Japanese and Jesus? First and foremost, we must have the ethical standards of honoring others and protecting them from embarrassment. And we must strive to have the integrity and fortitude in our companies to do the right thing. When something goes wrong, admit it, apologize and try to fix the problem, even if it takes a miracle.
Second, we are called to lead like the head of a family, taking everyone’s input into consideration and valuing each of them, but also holding them accountable for the problem and fixing it.
Third, we are to take our businesses and the way they affect people so seriously that no one can ever look at us and say we didn’t care—practice the golden rule of doing unto others what we would have them do unto us.
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