7 Seconds to Success

 

Issue No. 262 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 8, 2012) highlights a new tool for relating to the four distinct social styles on your team: Thinkers, Tellers, Touchers, and Talkers.  And don’t miss the link in this issue to the six short humorous videos detailing how all four styles celebrate Christmas.  Plus, check out my Management Buckets website with dozens of resources and downloadable worksheets for your staff meetings. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Ready-Aim-Aim-Aim-Aim Syndrome If you’re a long-time reader, you know I embrace “The 3 Powerful S’s” because to ignore the synergistic impact of Strengths, Spiritual Gifts, and Social Styles is to ignore the amazing creativity and uniqueness of the people we live with, work with, worship with, and yes, cringe with. So when a new quick-reading tool on social styles appears, I’m all over it.  Written in the popular novelette/story format, this week’s tool (just 143 pages) can be read in about 90 minutes.    Forget the 16 grids and confusing letter combinations of Myers-Briggs (ENTJ, INTJ, etc.).  Skip the four animals system (“I can’t remember—am I a collie, a muskrat or a hippo?”)  Don’t waste time on the personality color systems, unless everyone in your circle is a color zealot (and they’re not).   If you want to effectively relate to people, literally in an instant, then order 7 Seconds to Success. It’s a fast read and co-authors Bob Phillips and Gary Coffey have a new, easy-to-remember slant:    •Analyticals are Thinkers    •Amiables are Touchers    •Drivers are Tellers    •Expressives are Talkers   The Four T’s are descriptive and memorable and the story builds the case for understanding these styles—and why it’s so important that you do. (Heads up all spouses, leaders, pastors, account reps, fundraisers, teachers, trainers, volunteer coordinators, CEOs, managers—and those who must “manage” their managers.)   The authors remind us that there are three key factors in effective communication:    •Content (7%)    •Tone of Voice (38%)    •Nonverbal Behavior (55%)   “It’s easy to get into sloppy habits when it comes to dealing with customers, clients and prospects. We need to become more alert in reading the people we meet. Lord Chesterfield said, ‘Look in the face of the person to whom you are speaking if you wish to know his real sentiments, for he can command his words more easily than his countenance.”   And this zinger: “When it comes to our own behavior, we judge ourselves by our motivations. When it comes to other people’s behavior, we judge them by their actions and words.”   You can recognize styles—in an instant—by observing pace and priority. Two pairs have the same priority:    •Thinkers and Tellers focus on tasks.    •Touchers and Talkers focus on relationships.   Two pairs have the same pace:    •Thinkers and Touchers tend to be slower-paced.    •Tellers and Talkers tend to be faster-paced.   Where’s the conflict? Yikes! Two pairs have nothing in common:    •Thinkers and Talkers: huge potential for conflict!    •Touchers and Tellers: neither pace nor priority in common.   Can you really read a person’s style—and make them comfortable—in just seven seconds? Yes. I’ve been a student of social styles for more than 30 years—and the authors are correct. You can relate to people in an instant, and by doing so, you’ll advance the relationship by leveraging (not manipulating) a person’s style.   If you’re in the already-convinced circle of social style evangelists, you’ll still benefit with one more tool. I’ve counted at least a dozen more insights (and PowerPoint slides) I’ve gleaned from just one quick read:   Advice for Thinkers: “Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality of a good leader.” Don’t fall victim to what T. Boone Pickens calls, the “ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire.”   Who are the Talkers? Bob Hope, Jay Leno, Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, Donald Duck, and the apostle Peter. “If a Talker’s house was on fire, he would say, ‘Since the house is on fire, let’s warm ourselves.’ They’re very charismatic, friendly and enthusiastic.”    What annoys Tellers? Boredom, details, excuses, indecisiveness, small talk, and taking orders. (The book has the master list of annoyances for all four styles.)   What do Touchers value? Approval, coaching, comfort, compassion, friendliness, kindness, loyalty and peacefulness. (Each style has a very distinct list of what they value.)   I’ve reviewed other social styles books previously, including two by prolific writer Bob Phillips (11 million books in print). If you’re new to social styles, start with this latest one. Just go to Amazon and click on the title for 7 Seconds to Success: How to Effectively Relate to People in an Instant, by Gary Coffey and Bob Phillips.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions: 1) The authors say you can relate to the four social styles by remembering the 4 P’s. “With Thinkers, be precise. With Tellers, be practical, With Touchers, be personal. With Talkers, be positive.”  List three people you work with (including your boss or board chair) and identify their style—and how, by being versatile with your style, you will bless them and make them more effective. 2) Tracom Group, “the creator of Social Style®,” features the “Social Style Tip of the Day” on their website. For your staff Christmas gathering this month, select one of the six short videos showing how each Style might behave during the holiday season. Then ask, “Which style makes the best party planner—and why?” ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Meetings for the 4 Social Styles Insights from Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit One of the big ideas in Chapter 20, The Meetings Bucket, in my book, Mastering the Management Buckets, is to plan meetings with all four social styles in mind:      --Drivers (Tellers) prefer shorter, get-to-the-point meetings. Give each Driver a crystal clear “To-Do” at the end of each meeting.    --Amiables (Touchers) are disappointed when meetings ignore relational issues—and there is no time to get better acquainted with the people next to them.    --Expressives (Talkers) are motivated in meetings when there is a focus on the future—and there’s fun, humor and EXCITING topics!    --Analyticals (Thinkers) appreciate advance agendas, information, time to reflect, and a well-organized meeting process.   When you plan a meeting solely around your own style, you’ll disappoint and alienate 75 percent of your participants. Instead, become a student of the people in your room and engage all four styles. Good luck at your next meeting!    Read Chapter 7 (The People Bucket) and Chapter 20 (The Meetings Bucket) for more details and check out the resources on the Meetings Bucket webpage, including Resource #20.4, “My Annual Professional Development Plan (PDP)” template.       MORE RESOURCES: • BLOG: Pails in Comparison • SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews • JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon  • WEBSITE: Management Buckets • BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations • PODCASTS: John Pearson's Buckets Podcasts  NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here at John Pearson's Buckets Blog. ECFA Blog on “Governance of Christ-centered Organizations”   Add your thoughts to John's latest blog post, "Impending Deterioration."

2 Generosity Books

 

Issue No. 327 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (June 23, 2015) recommends two short books on inspiring biblical generosity—with very practical tools to enhance your board’s role in development.  And this reminder: check out the 20 management buckets resources. The Generosity Oxymoron  Imagine this! You work or volunteer for, or serve on the board of, an exciting nonprofit organization. You care deeply about your cause—but the charity needs more money to do more good. An influential person has assembled a large group of potential givers—and you’re up. You have 15 minutes to make your case. What would you do? If you’re a long-time reader here, you already know that this opportunity will be enhanced by the wisdom from a book. But today’s your lucky day: two books! First, for the context and foundational approach, read the new book, Development 101: Building a Comprehensive Development Program on Biblical Values, by John Frank and Scott Rodin (148 pages).  Then—and this is a must—order 100 or more copies of the 79-page gem, Ignite Your Generosity: A 21-Day Experience in Stewardship (now with a small group guide), by Chris McDaniel. Here’s the oxymoron on inspiring generosity: It looks easy (“Joe would be a great fundraiser—he’s a people person!”), so we don’t become students of biblical generosity or time-tested development principles. Then it becomes hard because our misinformed methodologies poison the well. We go from glad, to sad, to mad.  Here’s the prayer I wrote as my endorsement for Development 101: “Lord, forgive us. We’ve borrowed secular funding methodologies, added prayer and sweat—and then bargained with You to bless our mess. What grace you’ve given us, anyway! But now, we have no excuse. Thank you for the detailed and God-honoring treasure chest of insights, case studies, theology and checklists—served up in this readable, wonderful ‘101’ book. Thank you, Lord, for gifting John Frank and Scott Rodin with the ability to communicate wisdom and practical help. May a Kingdom ripple effect be the result!” Their book is unrivaled—literally nothing like it. It’s detailed, but short enough that board members will read it. The 30,000-foot view is panoramic and motivating (“I could do this!”) and the in-the-weeds details are amazing. Consultant-types don’t give away the store in print. They did!  Example: “The Role of the Board in Development” (chapter 3) has four keys and four cautions to help board members be successful development partners. “Review your Board Scope of Work (or whatever documents articulate your board policies and procedures) frequently at board meetings to reinforce the work everyone agreed to take on when they joined.” If you think you’re beyond a “Development 101” title—don’t! It’s comprehensive as the subtitle promises, including: theological foundations, the key role of relationships, “Ten Components to Your Comprehensive Annual Development Plan,” the strategic plan, volunteers, capital campaign strategies, planned giving, and three short pages/words-of-wisdom on how and why to hang in there.  Remarkable! A six-page resource, “An Example of a Theology of Development,” is worth the price of the book. (But…really…I could say that about each chapter.) OK. That’s the context for your 15-minute talk. But how do you inspire potential givers. What do you say? Here’s where Ignite Your Generosity will serve you.   Published originally under another title by ECFAPress, now Chris McDaniel and InterVarsity Press have included a small group guide and a free “Generosity Challenge” resource. McDaniel also has other stewardship resources posted here. This 21-day journey to help Jesus-followers experience the joy of generosity will impact your head, your heart, and your wallet with 21 short stories and call-to-action ideas like: Day 13: (You gotta read this one!) In the late 1800s, a young girl in a Pennsylvania church, Hattie May Wiatt, was prompted by God to begin saving money for a larger church building. Yet she dies in her youth. Good news: the pastor took the 57 cents she had saved and inspired his congregation to multiply that into $250—and the multiplication continued so that by 1912, the church had expanded and grown to over 5,600 members.  So what if…instead of hassling givers, manipulating givers and shaming givers, our churches and nonprofit ministries actually INSPIRED givers and challenged their heads and hearts with Scriptures and stories—so that their check writing and online giving would be prompted by their attentive ears to the Holy Spirit’s nudges? Light the fire and share this powerful mini-book with your generous givers and those who have not yet experienced the joy of giving. To order these books from Amazon, click on the titles for:  Ignite Your Generosity: A 21-Day Experience in Stewardship, by Chris McDaniel (Note: bulk pricing is available from InterVarsity Press.) Development 101: Building a Comprehensive Development Program on Biblical Values, by John R. Frank and R. Scott Rodin Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions: 1) Development 101 asks:  “Have we provided everyone who speaks publicly (and perhaps all staff and board) with a set of talking points they can use to craft ‘elevator speeches’ and other communications?” Turn to the person next to you—you have 60 seconds to share our organization’s elevator speech. Go! 2) The study guide in Ignite Your Generosity suggests: “Think of someone who models cheerful giving. Briefly share about that person and what draws you to this conclusion about them.”    Generous People Will Also Be Generous Board Members  As we cycle through the 20 buckets, here is an insight from the Donor Bucket, Chapter 11, in Mastering the Management Buckets. “One way to get a healthy culture,” says Miles McPherson, “is to hire healthy people.” In the same vein, I would add, “One way to have a generous board of directors is to recruit generous people—people who have already demonstrated that they have prioritized their giving so your organization is already in the Top-3 of their total annual giving.” But let’s be clear—just mandating this won’t do it. Read “The Donor Bucket” chapter and the two books in today’s issue. Many organizations have cracked this code by addressing it at the front end. For more resources on inspiring givers to be generous—visit The Donor Bucket webpage.   MORE RESOURCES: • BLOG: Pails in Comparison • SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews • JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon  • WEBSITE: Management Buckets • BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations • PODCASTS: John Pearson's Buckets Podcasts  NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here at John Pearson's Buckets Blog. ECFA BLOG on “Governance of Christ-centered Organizations” – Add your thoughts and comments to John Pearson’s latest blog, "Boardroom Body Language."

Leadership Secrets of The Salvation Army

 

Issue No. 167 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Dec. 11, 2009) reminds smaller ministries that shrinking smaller is rarely the way to sustainability.  Consider The Salvation Army, “the most effective organization in the U.S.” And this reminder, check out my Management Buckets website with dozens of resources and downloadable worksheets for your staff meetings. 

Think Shrink?

In my consulting practice—and in my management workshops—I sometimes hear the protest, “But you don’t understand! We’re just a small ministry. We couldn’t possibly implement the best practices of those much larger organizations.”

Hopefully, my response is gracious—but direct. “Is God leading you to be small for the next 10 years? Is your mission about reaching and serving more people, or less people? Do you need a workshop on how to stay small or how to shrink further? Probably not! So what should you do?”

I recommend that organizations create a rolling three-year strategic plan. Build an annual planning cycle that ruthlessly evaluates the last year and then adds one more year onto the rolling three-year forecast. And…face the growth question with courage, time-on-your-knees, and outside wisdom. Part of that outside wisdom is looking at larger organizations. How did they grow? How do they innovate? How do they build in capacity and sustainability? 

One excellent and very unique model is The Salvation Army, the second largest nonprofit charity in the United States (according to the annual Philanthropy 400 list published by the Chronicle of Philanthropy). According to their 2009 annual report (now published only online along with a video report), they spent $3.05 billion serving people in 2008. Wow.

They are evangelical Christian in beliefs—yet coalesce wider public involvement and support in meeting human needs. Their crystal clear mission statement (on their website) is unequivocal: “The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”

Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, called The Salvation Army “the most effective organization in the U.S.” He added, “No one even comes close to it with respect to clarity of mission, ability to innovate, measurable results, dedication, and putting money to maximum use.”

Hmmm. They might be worth studying. So let me commend to you this week’s book on “leadership secrets of The Salvation Army.” Consider using this book (published in 2001—but maybe even more relevant today) at your next four or five weekly staff meetings. Delegate the reading and reporting on these fascinating chapters to your direct reports:
   • The “Business” of The Salvation Army
   • Engage the Spirit
   • Put People in Your Purpose
   • Embody the Brand
   • Lead by Listening
   • Spread the Responsibility, Share the Profits
   • Organize to Improve
   • Act with Audacity
   • Make Joy Count

Co-author Robert A. Watson served 44 years as a commissioned officer in The Salvation Army, four of those as the national commander, the highest-ranking officer in the U.S.  This is no puff piece—it’s an insider’s insight on a remarkable organization and very much worth the read.

To order this book from Amazon, click on this title: The Most Effective Organization in the U.S.: Leadership Secrets of the Salvation Army, by Robert A. Watson and Ben Brown.

Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions:
1) Watson writes, “To grow from a start-up to a much larger enterprise, to thrive over the long term without losing either mission focus or creative energy, requires skills that aren’t nearly so apparent or crucial when an organization launches. In fact they may be skills that are quite the opposite of those required to get off the ground.” What do you think some of those skills are—and how effective is our organization at building those competencies in our team members?

2) On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is high), rate our “creative energy.”

Annual Volunteer Goals - Insights from Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit

One of the big ideas in the Volunteer Bucket, Chapter 12, in Mastering the Management Buckets, is to view volunteerism in four distinct segments—and to annually evaluate your effectiveness in all four areas.

In FY2007/2008, The Salvation Army engaged over 3.4 million volunteers in their work, plus more than 55,000 local advisory organization members. Whew! That doesn’t happen without a clear plan (in writing) and a focus on the four steps of volunteer management:
   • Cultivation
   • Recruitment
   • Orientation
   • Engagement

For more books, insights and resources on this, visit the Volunteer Bucket webpage and download Worksheet #12.1: "The G.N.O.M.E. Chart: Annual Volunteer Goals." This will help you summarize your annual volunteer plans (Goals, Needs, Objectives, Methods and Evaluation) on one page and enhance volunteer satisfaction and mission results.

MORE RESOURCES:

• BLOG: Pails in Comparison
• SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews
• JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon 
• WEBSITE: Management Buckets
• BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations
• PODCASTS: John Pearson's Buckets Podcasts 

NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here at John Pearson's Buckets Blog.

The Imperfect Board Member - 2026

 

Issue No. 693 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Sept. 30, 2026) admits we all must work with “imperfect” board members—but Jim Brown has refreshed ideas for you. Plus, click here for back issues posted at the new location for John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my review of two new leadership books. And check out these bite-sized book summaries (7- to 9-minute videos)—perfect for your weekly staff meeting.   The Imperfect Board Member is the perfect book for your next board retreat or your "10 Minutes for Governance" slot at your next board meeting. 10 Boardroom Shifts Since 2006 Brilliant idea! Take a great book that I’ve recommended to every board I’ve consulted with since 2006—and enrich that book with more resources and practical help. Congrats to Jim Brown for this 20th anniversary expanded edition—just published. The Imperfect Board Member:  Discovering the Seven Disciplines of  Governance Excellence  (20th Anniversary Updated & Expanded Edition) by Jim Brown (Sept. 29, 2026) I’m often asked by nonprofit CEOs and board members, “What’s the best board governance book we should read?” (You already know my answer: “It depends.”) That’s why in 2018-2019, I created my list of “18 Best Board Books.” The Imperfect Board Member is Book #2. (Read my 2006 review. See the list of 18 board books, plus five “bonus books.”) Jim Brown, the founder of OrgHealth, consults with corporate boards, nonprofit boards, and church boards (he’s one brave guy!)—and knows his way around the boardroom. Here are seven reasons you’ll appreciate this 20th anniversary update: #1. Board Members Will Read it! The “fable” format is real life. David, the CEO in this story, wakes up in a cold sweat—six nights, six nightmares. Board members will read and identify with the organizational challenges at work—and at home. (Spoiler alert! A pastor mentors this corporate guy on governance excellence!) #2. Lencioni Loves It! Patrick Lencioni, who wrote the foreword to the book, writes: “Finally, a book about boards that isn’t boring!” (High praise from an author who knows something about writing business fables.) #3. Twenty Years of Change Explained. What’s different now in 2026 versus 2006? Must-read: Chapter 14, “Twenty Years of Change in the Boardroom.” (Brilliant!) #4. Memorable Model. Part 2 of this expanded book drills down on Brown’s “Secret Formula for Organizational Effectiveness” (not secret anymore!) and “The Seven Disciplines of Governance Excellence.” (A colleague who read the book in 2006 can still quote the seven disciplines—because they’re memorable.) #5. New Coaching Highlights. “Compass icons” in the fable spotlight 10 coaching highlights (with application) in Part 3’s short chapters. You’ll be tempted to read these first: “Manipulating the Board,” “Forgiveness Versus Permission,” “Handling Conflict,” and “The Power of Owning Mistakes.” #6. New Nonprofit & Church Board Insights. Read the very practical chapter on “Governing Churches and Charities,” including an affirming section, “What Churches and Charities Can Teach Corporations.” #7. More Book Recommendations! Brown includes a recommended reading list of 15 titles—plus short paragraphs for each book explaining, “Why this book?” (Brilliant.) SO INSIGHTFUL! Brown details 10 shifts in the chapter, “Twenty Years of Change in the Boardroom.” (Why doesn’t every second edition of a book do this?) He notes that the shifts “…form the backdrop for everything boards must navigate today. Each represents both progress and a new layer of complexity.” Aligned with the new coaching highlights in this 2026 update, the shifts address board culture, chair leadership, and the complexity of governing organizations with multiple owner groups. Here are five of the 10 shifts over the last 20 years. (Each shift includes a lesson to be learned.)    • From Compliance to Strategic Stewardship    • From CEO-Controlled Agendas to Shared Leadership at the Top    • From Not Enough Information to Too Much at Once    • From Technology as Infrastructure to Technology as Strategy    • From Annual Evaluations to Continuous Board Learning BOARD BOOK/BOARD RETREAT. If I were still a CEO (I’m saying that a lot lately), I’d create a discussion guide for The Imperfect Board Member and inspire the board to make this their book-of-the-year; or use the guide for pre-reading prior to the next board retreat. (See Tool #13 from ECFA, “Board Retreat Read-and-Reflect Worksheets.”) MORE RESOURCES! Jim Brown also publishes two eNewsletters: [  ] The Imperfect Board eNews (subscribe here) [  ] The Imperfect Church Leader eNews (subscribe here) THE IMPERFECT CEO! Jim Brown is one busy guy. Also in 2026, he wrote The Imperfect CEO: Making the Climb to Organizational Health. [   ] Read my review. [   ] Order from Amazon. [   ] View the interview with Jim Brown on the “Life After Ministry” podcast (31 min.) . [   ] View the summary video (7 minutes) of my review of The Imperfect CEO.   THERE’S MORE! Raise your hand if your board chair has a business card that reads, “Cultural Architect.” Brown believes that every board member helps shape culture, “but the chair is the architect. The best chairs are more than meeting managers. They’re facilitators, tone-setters, and bridge-builders." He adds, “And the chair’s work doesn’t stop when the gavel drops,” because board chairs “see culture as a living system that needs constant tending." This reminded me of David McKenna’s book, Call of the Chair (read my review). He defines nine roles of the board chair: Missionary, Model, Mentor, Manager, Moderator, Mediator, Monitor, Master, and Maestro.  Should the CEO also serve as board chair? (This is common in some companies and organizations, very uncommon in others.) Brown confesses that when he wrote The Imperfect Board Member in 2006, he “sidestepped one of governance’s most loaded debates.” Now in 2026, this gutsy guy writes an entire chapter: “To Chair or Not to Chair: Why Splitting the Roles Makes Sense for Most." (Don’t skip pages 205-206, “Four Common Risks of CEO-Chair Duality” and “Recognizing the Dark Side.”) Bottom Line for Me: The Imperfect Board Member (2026 edition) remains on my “18 Best Board Books” list. Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, president and CEO of Compassion International, calls this new update “an indispensable guide to governance.” I just ordered the book for the elder board at our church. TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for The Imperfect Board Member: Discovering the Seven Disciplines of Governance Excellence (20th Anniversary Updated & Expanded Edition), by Jim Brown.    YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) What book did you read 20 or more years ago that needs an updated and expanded edition now in 2026? 2) In the foreword to The Imperfect Board Member (2006), Patrick Lencioni wrote, “The author—a friend of mine—often jokes that a greeter at WalMart gets more orientation than most board members ever do. We all know that’s no joke. It’s true for boards of every description. And it’s appalling. Although it sounds extreme, management guru Peter Drucker wrote, ‘There is one thing all boards have in common . . . They do not function.’” QUESTION: How would your three newest board members evaluate the recruitment and orientation process they endured? (There’s help!)          SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time! Book #60 of 99: $50 Fine for Boring Meetings! For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #60 of 99 in our series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books (and articles) still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring. Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival,  Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (Nov. 16, 2010)   Wait…what? Yes…I’m recommending the page-turner, Unbroken, as an antidote to boring meetings. Learn why.     • Read my review (Issue No. 308, Oct. 2, 2014).    • Order from Amazon.    • Management Bucket #20 of 20: The Meetings Bucket $50 Fine for Boring Meetings! After 30 years of CEO work, I turned in my keys and credit cards at the end of 2005, and there are days I wish I could rewind the video—and get a do-over on my leadership years. For example, I would institute a $50 fine for every boring staff meeting—and I would double the fine for myself if anyone caught me leading an uninspired, ho-hum meeting. Today, I would follow “Pearson’s Radical Wall Poster Team-building Exercise: 4 Easy Steps.” One idea: plan a “Book-of-the-Quarter” event.  P.S. Oops! By the way, if you’re taking notes, in my 99-book journey through “Second Reads: Reread to Lead,” I mistakenly spotlighted Thinkpak - A Brainstorming Card Deck in both #60 of 99 and #23 of 99. (My bad!) So, this is a substitute blog for #60 of 99. (At least I admit my mistakes!)   CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN     View the video summary of “Mistake #4: Not Learning How to Listen. Way too late in life, I’m learning ‘the case for listening’” (8 min.). (Lee Strobel was talking. I wasn't listening. LOL.) See the workbook, Mastering Mistake Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—and What I Learned (10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson. NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here at John Pearson's Buckets Blog. The Imperfect CEO View the summary video (7 minutes) of John’s review of The Imperfect CEO: Making the Climb to Organizational Health, by Jim Brown. (Read the review.) BONUS! As of today, 32 video podcasts (7 to 9 minutes each) are posted here. Perfect life-long learning snippets for your weekly staff meeting. MORE RESOURCES: • BLOG: Pails in Comparison • SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews • JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon  • WEBSITE: Management Buckets • BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations • PODCASTS: John Pearson's Buckets Podcasts  Transforming Church Boards “Perhaps the most important difference between corporate governance and church board leadership is the task of discernment.” That’s from Book 3 of 3 in the series, Transforming Church Boards: For Churches in Transition (read my review), by Dennis Baker, David C. Fisher, and John Vawter (yes, the same guy who wrote the hilarious golf book!). For more book reviews, visit the Pails in Comparison Blog.

3 LOL Books

 

Issue No. 480 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (July 14, 2021) recommends three LOL books for your summer lite reading from a comedian, a best-selling joke book author and cartoonist, and a historian. And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies) and click here for the new book from John Pearson and Jason Pearson, Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned. See Mistake #6 below. What book will you pick? Funny, funnier, or funniest? 3 LOL Books for Summer Lite Reading! It’s summer here in the Northern Hemisphere—and time for some lite reading (or listening). Pick one of these three LOL rib-ticklers: LOL #1 - A COMEDIAN’S PRAYER BOOK British comedian Frank Skinner pairs his superb imagination to his faith journey and delivers (okay I’ll say it) a laugh-out-loud 106-page delight, A Comedian’s Prayer Book. He confesses, “The title is a worry, isn’t it?” But no worries. No lightning strikes if you read it. It’s deep and wide—LOL-funny with poke-in-the-ribs (pie-in-the-face?) theological musings. He prays: “One of the joys of prayer is that you get all my references. I could do a joke about El Greco or Efrem Zimbalist Jr, but there’ll never be any need for footnotes. It’s beautiful. You’re the audience I’ve always dreamt of.” Using theatrical terminology, Skinner sets the stage: “…I’ve tried to retain the bare candour of the simple rehearsal-room improvisation, but infused it with all the production values required to make it a passable public entertainment. I’ve taken my convictions, my questions, my fears, my doubts, my elations, and presented them in what I think is an eavesdropper-friendly form. Hell, judgement, atheism, money, faith and the X-Men all feature.” “So, this rich man, camel, eye-of-a-needle thing.” It’s probable that this thinking-man’s comedian has plumbed the depths of Matthew 19:24 far deeper than most of us. In his prayer, he admits “Yes, I have a few bob in my pocket…” so looking for loopholes, he wonders, “Imagine if there’s one word missing from the Gospel text, an exhausted scribe rendering an understandable error.” Maybe it really reads, “It’s easier for a camel eyelash to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into Heaven? At last, I could enjoy some of this money I’ve worked so hard for.” Noting that the TK Maxx stores in Britain sell bargain buddhas (yet also flyswatters!), he suggests to the Lord, “So why didn’t I see a single Jesus for sale? I’m not here to lecture you about marketing, but it worries me that we’ve lost so much ground with the I’m-up-for-a-little-bit-of-spirituality crowd.” His prayer continues: “I know our biggest seller is the crucifix and, of course, it’s been a Christian symbol for two thousand years. It is an enormous inspiration to me, personally, and I have, more than once, wept as I’ve knelt before it. I just wonder if it’s a symbol with something of a specialist appeal? Has an interior designer ever suggested a room needed something torture-themed?” (He suggests a more “user-friendly” symbol for people outside the Faith.) He prays for “the chosen, the accepters and refusers. This is the kind of work I feel suited for, petitioning you on behalf of the heroes and the deserters, my eyes to the floor, last-three-pews.”He’s comfortable (but with guilt)—like many of us—with a self-conscious level of church involvement: “I’m a last-three-pews Catholic. I don’t want to be organising the Harvest Festival. I put money on the plate, but I don’t even want to be the guy who takes the plate around.” Warning: your second read through A Comedian’s Prayer Book delights/convicts even more:    • The honesty—extraordinary.    • The humility—quotable.    • The humor—off-the-charts. (I’d fly to London for an evening of conversation between Frank Skinner and Father Darrin Merlino, CMF, author of 30 Days Unplugged: How a Catholic Priest Turned Off His iPhone and Took a Call From God.) On the Lord’s Prayer (“It’s that bit when you conduct an impromptu prayer-workshop, offering advice and examples for the would-be kneeler.”), this comedian prays: “When someone asks me, directly, about doing a charity gig or opening a fete or something, I always tell them to speak to my agent. It gets me off the hook. I like the idea that, when you returned to Heaven, the Father said, ‘Did you tell them about prayer?’ and you said, ‘Yes. I told them to call you’. I imagine there was a resulting loud creak, like an oak tree splitting, as the Almighty’s eyebrows were raised, followed by a hurricane-like sigh.” Enjoy this special book—and don’t miss Skinner’s running gag, “The Devil has all the best tunes,” deployed humorously across a hundred LOL pages. Click here to view a six-minute interview with the author, excerpted from the BBC’s Song of Praise telecast. Click here to view a BBC interview with Frank Skinner (6 min.). To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for A Comedian’s Prayer Book, by Frank Skinner. LOL #2 - LAUGHTER THERAPY: GOOD MEDICINE TO MAKE YOUR HEART GLAD After COVID (we pray it’s “after” asap)…we’ll all need therapy and—just in time—my favorite joke book guru and bestselling author, Bob Phillips, has teamed up with cartoonist Jonny Hawkins to deliver the perfect summer read, Laughter Therapy: Good Medicine to Make Your Heart Glad. Here’s a funny one from the 168 pages of hot-off-the-press jokes and cartoons: SHOCK! “A minister was asked to inform a man with a heart condition that he had just inherited a million dollars. Everyone was afraid the shock would cause a heart attack and the man would die. “The minister went to the man’s house and said, ‘Joe what would you do if you inherited a million dollars?’ Joe responded, ‘Well, Pastor, I think I would give half of it to the church.’ “And the minister fell over dead.” To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for Laughter Therapy: Good Medicine to Make Your Heart Glad, by Jonny Hawkins and Bob Phillips. And thanks to Bob for sending me this hilarious review copy! LOL #3 - HUMORISTS: FROM HOGARTH TO NOEL COWARD Here’s a third LOL option for your summer reading. Humorists is a very satisfying book/comedic journey from historian Paul Johnson who channels W.C. Fields: “We know what makes people laugh. We do not know why they laugh.” (Read my review from April Fools’ Day 2015.) Johnson, with his unique style of short historical chapters, elegant writing, and deep insights, delivers a cavalcade of comedy—while spotlighting an amazing list of humorists and their secret formulas for making us laugh.  3 CLERGYMEN DON’T WALK INTO A BAR. If you’re looking for a joke book, this is not it. If you’d enjoy a deep dive into a British historian’s hunches on humor—have at it. Johnson profiles 15 humorists including Benjamin Franklin, G.K. Chesterton, Toulouse-Lautrec, W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, James Thurber, Noel Coward, and others. He includes Groucho’s famous line, “I don’t want to belong to a club which would have me as a member.” I started at the back of the book with Johnson’s four-page color commentary on how he came to write Humorists. Fascinating! (And...my thanks to David Curry, who often makes me laugh, for recommending this and all of Paul Johnson's books.) To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for Humorists: From Hogarth to Noel Coward, by Paul Johnson. Are you a listener? Listen to the book on Libro.fm (7 hours).  YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) Comedian Frank Skinner prays and affirms Jesus’ request that “when we do charitable works, we should do them in secret.” His prayer acknowledges, “This advice makes complete sense, but it has, nevertheless, almost certainly cost me an MBE [Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire].” LOL! Okay, colleagues—let’s have a gut-check discussion about our motivations for charitable giving and acts of service. Is our generosity genuine? #2. Skinner prays further, “Early Christianity feels like a thin person’s game. Hence ‘enter by the narrow gate’. That would certainly explain why five loaves and two fishes was more than enough for the five thousand—‘Thanks, but I don’t really do bread’. I wish the Bible gave a name to the first fat Christian. It must have been like when Heaven’s entrance-conditions were broadened to include the Gentiles.” LOL! Do your prayers include humor? Does God laugh?     In 2004, the staff at CMA (now CLA) awarded John the first ANNUAL MEATLOAF AWARD—not exactly an honor (per Pearson’s Mistake #6).   MISTAKE #6 of 25:  Prioritizing Convenience Over Generosity  Insights from Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned “I failed to inspire and give permission for the staff to call audibles.” That’s the subtitle of Mistake #6 in the new book by John Pearson with Jason Pearson. Too focused on production, John had not yet read the mistake-making insights from Leadership for Dummies, and this wisdom from Ken Blanchard and Don Shula: “Winning coaches make their teams audible-ready.” For Mistake #6, John shares what he learned from two books:    • Leadership Smarts: Inspiration and Wisdom from the Heart of a Leader, by Ken Blanchard    • The New One Minute Manager, by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, MD   Click here to view the list of all 25 mistakes and read the introduction to Mastering-Mistake Making. To order this book from Amazon, click on the title for Mastering Mistake-Making: My 25 Memorable Mistakes—And What I Learned (10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning Workbook), by John Pearson with Jason Pearson. For supplementary resources, click on John's  "Bucket" book and workbook below.                      JASON PEARSON: UNEXPECTED CREATIVE. Do your communication pieces include appropriate doses of humor—or is it stale, corny, or confusing? To explore the art and science of appropriate humor, contact Pearpod Media (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).  NEXT ISSUE! MISTAKE #7: Minimizing Murphy’s Law. I was not yet a believer that “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Order from Amazon.  MORE RESOURCES: • BLOG: Pails in Comparison • SUBSCRIBE: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews • JOHN'S BOOK REVIEWS: on Amazon  • WEBSITE: Management Buckets • BLOG: Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations • PODCASTS: John Pearson's Buckets Podcasts