A Life in the Day Of

 

Issue No. 536 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Nov. 15, 2022) asks if you've preserved your memories and defining moments for future generations? Six ideas on why "You Should Write a Book!" And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), and click here for my two-part review of Henry Kissinger’s new book, Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy.    Don’t wait until it’s too late. You should write a book now!   You Should Write a Book! Looking back, I wished I had asked my grandparents more questions. Learned more about their Swedish heritage. Their defining moments. Their joys. Their mistakes. Their Christian faith.  I do have a framed black-and-white photo of then U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon talking with my Grandpa Carlson (1889-1966) at the Bit of Sweden Restaurant in Portland, Ore. I do remember my grandpa’s hand-written Sunday morning letters to Nixon and President Eisenhower! Oh…to have copies today of those weekly epistles! If only…my grandfather had written a book. How about you? Are any of those memories and defining moments preserved for you? Perhaps you could still inspire your parents or grandparents to write a book—sharing their hopes and dreams for the next generations. (David Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby, is thinking ahead to five generations: his great-great-great-great-grandchildren.) In this issue, I’ve curated a collection of sample books and methodologies to inspire you, your family, your colleagues, and maybe your boss—not to write the Great American Novel, but something more personal and meaningful. Enjoy reading how others have blessed the next generations of lifelong learners and listeners. Six ideas and templates: YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK #1:  Fasten Your Seat Belts! Some years back, I was in the crowded jetway for a full flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Next to me was a tired, middle-aged passenger—a double for Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. He was talking to a young, uniformed soldier and as we boarded, he gave this serviceman a poignant benediction: “Young man, thank you for your service —and please enjoy yourself. These years will be the best years of your life.” I thought of that moment when reading Ed Sabol’s page-turning narrative from his U.S. Air Force service years (1954-1958). While Sabol had a very meaningful life well beyond those post-high school years (FAA leadership roles, consulting, and more)—you’ll be amazed at the sights, sounds, and serious reflection that this short chronicle delivers. I couldn’t put it down! A Life In The Day Of: A Strategic Air Command Veteran's Memoirs of The Cold War invites us back to the 1950s. Fasten your seat belts! • The Flying Coffin. More than 200 crew members “lost their lives in the B-47 and RB-47 by crashing or being shot down by the Soviet Union.” (Your odds: “One in eight airman would not return to base.”) • SAC. You’re onboard in the cramped quarters of the most modern planes the Air Force used in the 1950s for reconnaissance missions for the Strategic Air Command. • See the World! Sabol’s passport in his four action-packed years was stamped in Japan, Okinawa, the Marshall Islands, Alaska (not yet a U.S. state!), Turkey, England, and other stops. • Fill-‘er-Up! Imagine this: gas was 18 cents per gallon in 1955! Hush. Hush. One dark night in Turkey, Sabol returned to the base with two airmen to finish a project for a morning flight. Yikes! An overzealous guard, protecting the RB-47 planes, fired at Sabol and his buddies! (They survived.) Why? “At three different times during my tenure on this base, Soviet spies dressed in Turkish uniforms were caught on base asking questions related to the U-2 and our RB-47s. They were all caught when they were asked questions that a Turkish military man would have known.” There’s so much more in this quick-reading book, including almost 100 photos. When you read the last page, you’ll be grateful for the thousands of young men and women who enlisted during those perilous Cold War years. My five grandchildren are now reading this fascinating book because it was written by their other grandfather, Grandpa Ed Sabol. (Thank you for your service, Ed, and thanks for the autographed review copy!) To order from Amazon, click on the title for A Life In The Day Of: A Strategic Air Command Veteran's Memoirs of The Cold War, by Edward D. Sabol.    YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK #2:  And God Did It!   Pastor Robert Palmer is now in his 90s and his family is so grateful that he and his wife, Eleanor (1927-2018), wrote this labor of love in 2017 for family members, the legion of church members they served, and pastors everywhere. (Yikes! Being a pastor is tough duty and often involves a moving van or a church member’s pick-up truck!) Just 140 pages and populated with family photos and memorable stories, Faithful: The Robert & Eleanor Palmer Story is the perfect template for other pastors and ministry leaders who are inspired to write their stories. There are many highlights, including: • “I was very young—only 18—when I became a pastor. I had so much to learn…” • His prayer: “I prayed for a wife who could play the piano, sing alto, and love me.” (She did so much more!) • In 1943, Palmer’s father was the Caretaker/Manager for FA-HO-LO Park—the Assemblies of God camp meeting grounds now called Faholo Conference Center (Faith-Hope-Love). “At that time, we had a 1941 Plymouth. The gas ration board allowed us gas stamps for only 60 gallons of gas. Mother and I drove the whole trip from Kansas…to Grass Lake, Michigan, at 35 miles an hour, and averaged 25 miles per gallon.” SERMON TOPICS!  • While pastoring in Galena, Mo., Palmer was bi-vocational and worked at the courthouse—a strategic location for meeting people. The church invited a young evangelist to preach. “There was some interest because some people didn’t believe in women preachers. So, one night she preached on ‘Should a Woman Preach?’” • He pastored 11 years in Lee’s Summit, Mo. His first Sunday’s sermon title: “Expectations: What You Can Expect From Me, What We Can Expect From You—What We Can Expect From God.” (Brilliant!) • While pastoring in Ottumwa, Iowa, Palmer hosted the “Happy Hunters.” Charles and Francis Hunter preached on “Divine Healing: Baptism with the Holy Spirit and Deliverance From Smoking.”  92 BOARD MEETINGS! • Clearly a lifelong learner, Pastor Palmer attended the “Pastor’s School” in Hammond, Ind., where Jack Hyles was pastor at First Baptist Church. (And yes, Palmer’s church then started a bus ministry with four buses and two vans.) • Upon retiring in 1992 from their pastorate in Santa Maria, Calif., the Palmers ministered widely to Assemblies of God pastors and churches. He writes, “In one given year, I attended 92 board meetings.” Oh, my! • Working across the globe in their “retirement” years, they visited almost 50 countries, including Egypt, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Russia, and Ukraine. What a gift this book is to the next generation of Palmers and Christ-followers. My big take-away? Frequently, throughout these inspiring pages, the memorable stories conclude with one line: “And God did it.”  To order from Amazon, click on the title for Faithful: The Robert & Eleanor Palmer Story, by Robert E. Palmer and Eleanor M. Palmer. (And thanks to Paul Palmer for sending me a review copy.) YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK #3:  Grandpa Conversations on Character Traits     Picture this! A fictional grandfather engages with his twin grandchildren, Nate and Nancy, in a robust conversation that germinates their Top-30 list of character traits. In the process, they learn about the YOUquation toolbox and “the universe’s simplest and most magical secret formula”—and why traits like love, self-respect, control, humor, curiosity, and gratitude are essential for a happy and successful life (What a great exercise with your children or grandchildren!) The learning is two-way and the twins add a creative wrinkle to “The Serenity Prayer,” retitling it, “The Serenity, Courage & Wisdom Prayer.” That conversation prompted me to search for this toe-tapping number, “The Serenity Prayer Song.”   Listen to "The Serenity Prayer Song" (4 minutes). Bonus Video! By the way, you’ll also appreciate this hilarious/poignant sketch by The Skit Guys, “The Serenity Prayer” (13½ minutes). Click here. To order the book from Amazon, click on the title for YOUquation: Living Your Dream—Your Happiness + Your Success, by Thomas M. Dean and  Linda B. Awar. (And thanks to John Moorlach for inspiring Tom Dean to send me a review copy.) YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK #4:  Weekly Emails = Keepsake Book Last month, The Wall Street Journal featured a “write-your-own-book” process from Storyworth. The headline: “How to Preserve Your Family History, No Awkward Interviews Required. Instead of having to make sense of a recording or spending your weekends digging through public records, try Storyworth, a service that gets your loved one’s memories down in writing.”   Storyworth fashions the process “like a conversation.” Step 1: Once a week, choose a question to inspire them to write. Step 2: They'll simply reply with an email, which is shared with you. Step 3: At the end of a year, their stories are bound into a beautiful keepsake book. (Current price for the process and one book: $99.) Visit Storyworth. YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK #5:  “Reach Millions!” Amazon’s company, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), promises that you can “self-publish eBooks and paperbacks for free…and reach millions of readers on Amazon.” (Well…maybe not millions.) I’ve self-published on KDP (Mastering Mistake-Making, 100 Must-Read Books, Buckets Workbook, etc.) and it’s fast, free, and easy—even for an old, non-tech guy like me. OK, I did have a little help from my son, Jason.) Visit KDP and view the how-to video here:   View the 2-minute video on Kindle Direct Publishing.   YOU SHOULD WRITE A BOOK #6: Fill-in-the-Blanks on 52 Topics! Here’s the fastest/simplest/niftiest version of passing along your history, wisdom, and faith to the next generation. Our son, Jason Pearson, teamed up with prolific author Doug Fields, to write THIS, as in… “I just want you to know THIS.” Beautifully designed as a tool (really a treasure) for parents and grandparents to think, write, and then pass along to each child or grandchild—you’ll be prompted to share meaningful messages on 52 topics in this fill-in-the-blanks journal.(Read my review.) To order from Amazon, click on the title for THIS. 52 Ways to Share Your World With Those You Love, by Jason Pearson and Doug Fields. YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) While Steve Macchia has written many books, including his latest, The Discerning Life, he waited until he was 60 to write Legacy: 60 Life Reflections for the Next Generation. Chapter 3, “Mistakes Regretted,” is perfect for sharing with teenagers and helping them to avoid a few of life's pitfalls! So…should you write a book?  2) Judges 2:10 (MSG) reads, “Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn’t know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.” How are you inspiring the next generation to know God, as described by J.I. Packer?        Mastering 100 Must-Read Books Part 2: Books-of-the-Year Book #7 of 100: Doesn't Hurt to Ask For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #7 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.    Doesn't Hurt to Ask: Using the Power of Questions  to Communicate, Connect, and Persuade  by Trey Gowdy Books #6 through #21 spotlight 16 books that I named the Book-of-the-Year from 2006 to 2020. Trey Gowdy’s book shared the 2020 honors with Book #6. • Read my review. • Order from Amazon: Doesn't Hurt to Ask • Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson) Trey Gowdy, who served eight years in the U.S. Congress (2011-2019), confesses, “The mistakes made early in my career were many and largely rooted in two areas: not understanding the dynamics of persuasion and not understanding the nature and characteristics of those I was trying to persuade.” His book is persuasive, not political. Although Trey Gowdy interjects numerous stories from the House committees he served on (or chaired), including Judiciary, Oversight, Intelligence, and the Select Committee on Benghazi, this book is not political—it’s persuasive, in the same way Rumsfeld’s Rules (Book #69) is not political.                     PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. OK, you just refreshed your website—but is it persuasive? Your elevator speech: clever and concise—but is it persuasive? Your Rotary Club talk: short and sweet: but is it persuasive? We can help you persuade! Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social). 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 • PODCAST: John Pearson's Buckets Podcast NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon. INSIDE MARINE ONE The World’s Most Amazing Helicopter.What's not to like about a 10,000-foot view of four U.S. presidents from the cockpit of Marine One, the president's high performance helicopter? Read Inside Marine One: Four U.S. Presidents, One Proud Marine, and the World’s Most Amazing Helicopter and you'll have dozens of quotable facts and fun for impressing your friends. Read more on the Pails in Comparison blog.

Boards That Make a Difference

  

Issue No. 226 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (August 11, 2011) alerts you to a controversial board governance issue (The Approval Syndrome) from John Carver’s classic book on policy governance. And this reminder: check out my Management Buckets website with dozens of resources and downloadable worksheets for your staff meetings. [New in 2026: View the AI-generated "explainer" video summary of this review on YouTube.] John Carver urges boards to focus on the big picture (the forest) and avoid micro-managing the task of individual tree inspection! Dysfunctional Board Control If you want to spark some healthy conflict in your next conversation with nonprofit CEOs or senior pastors, throw this verbal grenade into the discussion: “Hey! What do you all think about policy governance?” According to Policy Governance Guru John Carver, “Governing by policy means governing out of policy in the sense that no board activity takes place without reference to policies. Most resolutions in board meetings will be motions to amend the policy structure in some way. Consequently, policy development is not an occasional board chore but its chief occupation.” I mention this because I consult frequently with nonprofit boards—and still have two governance webinars and two governance workshops on the calendar yet this year in 2011.  And even though the majority of boards I work with say they function as “policy governance” boards, I don’t believe them—because their micro-managing practices are so blatant. For example, consider John Carver’s insight on what he calls the flaws of “The Approval Syndrome.” They include: reactivity, sheer volume of material, mental misdirection, letting staff off the hook, unfairly putting staff on the hook, short-term bias, lack of clarity in the board’s contribution, and fragmentation (“a sequence of disconnected and unmanageably voluminous vertical slices of the whole…instead of a holistic, manageable fabric of horizontally connected policies”). He adds, “We all profess that boards should deal with the big picture, but it is difficult to picture the forest by inspecting one tree at a time.” One of my favorite Carver counter-intuitive commentaries describes what happens when a board delivers a “vote of confidence” for the CEO during a crisis situation. In Carver’s policy governance bible, Boards That Make a Difference, he writes, “Curiously, there are times when the board goes through the approval process not intending to withhold authority from the CEO but to confirm it. A board might declare its supports for the CEO by cloaking some controversial executive decision with the prestige of the boardroom. Board motivation is usually expressed thus: ‘We want the staff (or others) to know the board is really behind the CEO on this.’ As long as the board and CEO understand that the decision is truly the CEO’s, this approval not only seems harmless but appears to be a healthy show of solidarity.” Then Carver adds this zinger: “However, such a gesture of board support is called for only if the board has been sending weak signals about the nature of delegation. This kind of support is rarely warranted if the board has made it clear to all that all CEO decisions that are within board-stated bounds are always supported by the board. Official support of a specific action implies that such sporadic backup is necessary, or conversely, that the general philosophy of delegation is weak.” Carver notes—in his massive 340-page hardback, with another 80 pages of resources and references—that “Board approvals are an unnecessary and dysfunctional method of board control, then, regardless of the ubiquity of the practice.” He goes on—in succeeding chapters—to build the case for “a more proactive, fair, and detrivializing approach to fulfilling the board’s moral and legal obligation to control the organization.” If no one on the senior team or board of your nonprofit organization or church is familiar with Carver’s brand of policy governance (he invented the term), this is the starting point. Whether you agree or disagree that this board approach is right for your organization, it’s important to understand the continuum of choices available—and to seek consensus on defining your current reality and where your preferred governance future lies. Interestingly, the book includes an excellent “ends” policy (a big Carver term) from Lancaster County Bible Church. To order this book from Amazon, click on the graphic below for Boards That Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations, by John Carver.   Note: If 340 pages are a tad too much for you, Carver has a series booklets, focusing on niche policy governance issues. Another option is to check out the “lean and mean” approach, favored by many including myself, of a 10- to 15-page Board Policies Manual, as described in the book, Good Governance for Nonprofits: Developing Principles and Policies for an Effective Board, by Frederic L. Laughlin and Robert C. Andringa. Read my 2007 review. See also my list of "18 Best Board Books" (including Carver and the book by Laughlin and Andringa).  Your Weekly Staff Meeting Questions: 1) Board members can’t always be blamed for governance dysfunction. Sometimes CEOs and senior team members invite confusion when they bring agenda items to the board, in essence begging the board to micro-manage.  Is it clear, in our organization, where the line falls between board decisions and staff decisions? 2) Carver writes, “…my counsel to boards minces few words. I am hard on boards simply because I know how good they can be.”  On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is extraordinary), how good is our board? ____________________________________________________ Don’t Nit-Pick! - Insights from Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit One of the big ideas in the People Bucket, Chapter 7, in Mastering the Management Buckets is that there are four different social styles and your unique style—whether you are a Driver, an Analytical, an Amiable, or an Expressive—will regularly bug the other three styles. For example, here are six “Don’ts” when working with Expressives:    --DON’T put down the Expressive’s enthusiasm and excitement.    --DON’T be cool and impersonal.    --DON’T be impatient with side trips and creativity.    --DON’T be too serious.    --DON’T give too much detail.    --DON’T nit-pick. For the list of six “DO’s” when working with Expressives (example: “DO illustrate concepts with stories.”) and the Do’s and Don’ts for the other three styles, visit the People Bucket webpage and download the worksheet, “Do’s and Don’ts for the Four Social Styles.” 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 • PODCAST: John Pearson's Buckets Podcast View the AI-generated summary of this book review. NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon.

Reconstructing Faith - 365 Days to Reconsider Jesus

 

Issue No. 685 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (July 1, 2026) gives the OK to read a 365-day book beginning on July 1. Plus, click here for back issues posted at the new location for John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my recent review of Ancient Secrets to Project Management: How to Lead and Thrive in Your Professional and Personal Life, by Robert M. Schraeder. Also! Check out the new podcast summaries of previous book reviews. PLAN A: Catch up on 181 days of reading all on June 30. PLAN B: Relax! Begin your reading (a page a day) on July 1. (Graphic: ChatGPT)   Jesus Isn't Afraid of Your Questions “I am inviting you,” writes Dick Daniels, “to spend a few minutes every day for an entire year rediscovering Jesus.” And whether you’re a believer, an atheist, or an agnostic, Daniels has a simple 365-daily-dose plan for reconstructing your faith. “If you are in a season of questioning, you are not alone and you are not a disappointment, even in God’s eyes. Maybe a disappointment in your church or your family or your circle of friends, I do not know, but definitely not with God.” Reconstructing Faith:  365 Days to Reconsider Jesus by Dick Daniels (Jan. 22, 2026)   “Jesus isn’t afraid of your questions,” this leadership guru affirms. “You may actually be closer to spiritual renewal than you realize.”  [Pearson! You’re a bit late to the party! Today is July 1, not January 1. You’re asking me to start reading a 365-day book half-way through the year? Is that even legal?] LOL! You’ll appreciate the breaking-news headline last week in the Babylon Bee, “Reminder: If You Read Half The Bible Today You Can Catch Up On Your Year-Long Reading Plan.” On June 22, the editors announced: “Reminder for all you Christians who started a one-year Bible reading plan in January: it might be time to start that thing. The good news is that if you read half of the entire Bible today, you'll be completely caught up!”   So, yes. It’s legal to speed-read and catch up—or do what I did recently—skip ahead to July and enjoy a month of insights from July 1 to 31. (But first—I should back up a bit.) I’ve reviewed numerous leadership books by Dick Daniels, including two book-of-the-year picks:    • Leadership Briefs: Shaping Organizational Culture to Stretch Leadership Capacity    • Leadership Core: Character, Competence, Capacity (Leadership Multipliers)    • Hardwiring New Leadership Habits: Does Development Develop?    • The 365 Day Leader: Recalibrate Your Calling Every Day  Daniels can say more in 50 words than most leaders (and preachers) can communicate in 5,000 words (or 30 minutes). Example: in Leadership Briefs, he warns about “the danger of the 15%.” Read this twice! “Some people can be right 85% of the time. It is a powerful gift. The danger is when they assume they are right 100% of the time. They become relationally dangerous 15% of the time when they are wrong but think they are correct.” So…are you 100% right about matters of faith and eternity? Any questions or lingering doubts about the Bible, Jesus, heaven, hell, and your purpose on earth? What if you’re off by 15%? Suggestion: leverage Daniels’ humble approach to this daily exercise—maybe the most important book you’ll read all year. (This reminded me, a bit, of the Alpha course.) It only takes the author 20 pages (not 25), plus a chart on page 21, to set the stage: “I am inviting you to spend a few minutes every day for an entire year rediscovering Jesus. Come at this with the honesty of an open mind along with curiosity, grace, and a sense of humor. Notice along the way how hope may awaken where you may least expect it, where faith once felt fractured. Rediscovering Jesus leads to asking and answering three persistent questions: What? So what? Now what?” (I love those three questions—and he drills down deep on how to use them.) Rather than deconstructing your faith (he defines what that looks like), he urges us to reconstruct our faith—using nine actions on this “adventurous journey.” (See page 16 for the definitions of: Considering, Introducing, Exploring, Reminding, Understanding, Choosing, Applying, Living, and Anticipating.) You’ll love this one: “Living – This isn’t about trying to live a perfect life or one without challenges, but it’s the experience of the abundant life Jesus promises (see John 10:10). It’s living with a sightline to the Sovereign God who is working out his purposes in spite of the choices made by imperfect people living in a broken and fallen world.” 9 RELEVANT INSIGHTS. Daniels sets the mileposts for this 365-day trek—noting he will spotlight “nine relevant insights in the Old and New Testaments.” (Pop Quiz! If you’re a long-time Christ-follower, what nine insights would you include? Write them down—and discuss. More coffee?) 365 DAILY DOSES. Again, whether you’re a person of faith—or a skeptic—you’ll appreciate this January 1 to December 31 journey: a page-a-day. And reminder: it’s OK to begin on July 1, or any date. (What’s the wisdom on the page for your birthday? On the date for my birthday, I discovered a book, The New City Catechism, with 52 questions and answers.) Daniels is quick to point out that what he’s written “…is not my personal account of Jesus. It’s not my religious philosophy. It’s not my spin on what the Bible says, and what I think it means. It’s simply capturing 365 puzzle pieces that make up the Bible’s record of God’s amazing and grace-filled account…”  His goal: “…the full unfiltered story of Jesus.” Where are you—or your friends and family members—in the “Stages of Reconstructing Faith?” Daniels suggests three possibilities:    [   ] REJECTION OF FAITH: The Certainty of Disbelief    [   ] REEVALUATION OF FAITH: Asking Hard but Honest Questions    [   ] RENEWAL OF FAITH: Learning to Follow Jesus DAILY TEASERS. I jumped into July with both feet, but you may prefer to start in January, or just skip around and enjoy this smorgasbord of probes, questions, insights, and wisdom:    • Questions Jesus Asked (Jan. 25)    • Worry Wart (Jan. 27)    • In a Boat Without a Paddle (Jan. 30)    • The Nitwit, Dimwit, and Half-Wit (Feb. 5)    • Do I Have to Go to Church? (Feb. 10)    • No One Ever Told Me I Was Gifted (March 8)    • The Strategy of a Great Leader (April 13)    • Would Jesus Have Picked You for His Team? (May 7)    • Parenting 401: Training for a Lifetime (June 19) JULY INSIGHTS. Many of the months begin with a Bible verse and the lyrics to a meaningful song. (July’s song: “The Prayer.” Listen here.) My July favorites include:    • “The Lord is near…” (Psalm 145:18)    • The Old Testament Closes with 12 Final Prophetic Words (July 15 includes a one-line summary for each of the 12 Old Testament “minor prophet” books).    • In Suffering, Hope Anchors the Soul (July 17)    • Blessed Beatitudes (July 25 reminds us that “each Beatitude contains a present condition and a future promise." See Matthew 5:3-12.)    • Why Are there Four Accounts of the Gospel Story in the New Testament? (July 26)    • Coincidence Is Just Providence in Disguise (July 28)    • Discernment (July 31 uses three Bible verses to explain discernment: What? So What? and Now What?) Yikes! Why did the author invest his time in this massive project? “Reconstructing Faith grew out of Dick Daniels’ decades of serving and working in local churches, theological education, and more recently in corporate executive coaching in a great variety of industry sectors. He’s walked with people of deep faith, people who once believed but drifted away, and people who have never been sure what they think about God at all. Their questions, struggles, answers, and hopes shaped this book.” And get this: Daniels is eager for feedback from readers—and includes his email address on page 18, “Finally, let me know your comments, your questions, and your decisions along the way in this 365-day journey—maybe to take one last look at Jesus.” TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for Reconstructing Faith: 365 Days to Reconsider Jesus, by Dick Daniels. (Note: Speaking of January 1, see my list of “12 Inspiration Resources” I recommended for 2026.)     View the new series, John Pearson's Buckets Podcast, with AI-generated summaries of John's book reviews, including Podcast #10, "Your Manager Playbook," a 7-minute digest of Dick Daniels' book, The 365 Day Leader.   YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) Reminder: “Some people can be right 85% of the time. It is a powerful gift. The danger is when they assume they are right 100% of the time. They become relationally dangerous 15% of the time when they are wrong but think they are correct.” The August 17 page is titled, “Pride Blinds When Humility Sees.” Question: How would you help a friend (maybe even a narcissist) who is 100% sure that there is no God? 2) The full-page entry for September 17, “What’s on the Inside Shows Outside,” highlights Proverbs 15:13, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” (That’s the whole page! Nothing else! Just those 19 words!) Question: What kind discipline does it take for an author not to add their “two cents worth” to every topic? Oh, my! FURTHER READING:  • GOD: The Science, The Evidence—The Dawn of a Revolution, by Michel-Yves Bolloré and Olivier Bonnassies (Read my review.) • Is God Real? Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life, by Lee Strobel (Read my review.)        SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books You have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time! Book #53 of 99: Eisenhower 1956 For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #53 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. Eisenhower 1956:  The President’s Year of Crisis— Suez and the Brink of War David A. Nichols (3/8/2011)   There’s one big reason you should read this book: crisis management (The Crisis Bucket).  Nichols summarizes this stunning account—and Eisenhower himself—on the book’s last page with this one-liner, “By any standard, his was a virtuoso presidential performance—an enduring model for effective crisis management.”    • Read my review (Issue No. 221, June 30, 2011).     • Order from Amazon.    • Management Bucket #13 of 20: The Crisis Bucket. After a heart attack and surgery, President Eisenhower was told to take it easy—and in that we get a humorous picture of Ike. He wrote a friend that he had been ordered “to avoid all situations that tend to bring about such reactions as irritation, frustration, anxiety, fear and, above all anger.” So he had snapped at the doctors, “Just what do you think the presidency is?”   CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN      For more on the Crisis Bucket, read Chapter 13 in Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook, and also read my review of Book #59, How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions in Mastering 100 Must Read Books. NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon. Is Your Board Crisis-Ready? Board work is problem work! Of the 80 governance questions answered in The Nonprofit Board Answer Book, I found13 questions that addressed board problems. It comes with the territory. Read my blog at the ECFA Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations. See also this post. 250 Years of USA Books! See the list of books about U.S. presidents and American history, “250 Years of USA Books.” You’ll read at least one book on America during our Semiquincentennial, right? See more book reviews at the Pails in Comparison Blog. 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 • John Pearson's Buckets Podcast

How Ike Led

 

Issue No. 453 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting  (Nov. 24, 2020) features a timely new book by Susan Eisenhower on her famous grandfather, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. My grandfather (less famous, but an Oregon delegate to the 1956 GOP convention), ensured that I proudly wore “I LIKE IKE” buttons during Ike’s campaigns. (My sixth birthday was just two days before Ike’s 1952 landslide victory.) And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies) and click here for my 2016 review of The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity. [2026 Update: See the list of 250 years of U.S. presidents and American history.]   “Let’s not make our mistakes in a hurry.” Attn: Grandparents! Could one of your grandchildren write a 387-page book about you? A fascinating book? A book about leadership? Attn: Grandkids (and Parents)! Read Susan Eisenhower’s account of her famous grandfather, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the U.S. (1953-1961). (Then tell your Grammy that when she becomes U.S. President, you’ll write a book about her!) How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions covers some tumultuous decades in the world, including World War II when “Ike” was a five-star general in the U.S. Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. But, as Susan Eisenhower relates, the war hero turned politician wasn’t really a politician at all. (Sounds good! Tell me more!) Both Democrats and Republicans vied for his loyalty and Ike, reluctantly at first, agreed to run as a Republican. He championed the “Middle Way” and defeated Adlai Stevenson twice to serve his nation eight years as U.S. President. And speaking of ballot counting, look at these stunning Electoral College numbers:    • 1952 Electoral Votes: Eisenhower (442) vs. Stevenson (89)    • 1956 Electoral Votes: Eisenhower (457) vs. Stevenson (73) The author wastes no time in describing the principles that guided Ike’s leadership style. While his military background obviously influenced him, he didn’t surround himself with “Yes” men. She quotes Gen. Andrew Goodpaster (“Ike’s trusted White House staff secretary and defense liaison”), noting the President’s bias toward “the long haul.” Gen. Goodpaster: “It is critical to determine which of all the areas of national affairs are the ‘long poles’ and which ones are the ‘short poles.’” She adds, “It should be noted that the long poles, if they are not kept sturdy through reinforcement and timely maintenance can bring down the whole tent.” (Memo to self: use this metaphor!) Goodpaster, who worked with the author at the Eisenhower Institute, often recalled Ike’s maxims:    • “All generalizations are false including this one.”    • “Let’s not make our mistakes in a hurry.”    • “Take your job seriously, but never yourself.” And the question most often asked by the President at cabinet meetings:    • “What’s best for America?—for the country as a whole?” SOUL-WRACKING PROBLEMS. Ike gave a 1960 speech “in which he eloquently recalled the airborne and the weather decisions he had made on the eve of the Normandy invasion, only sixteen years earlier. He noted that ‘for years thereafter I felt that only once in a lifetime could a problem of this sort weigh so heavily upon a man’s mind and heart . . . but I know in this age the President encounters [such] soul-wracking problems many times in a single term of office.” (Memo to self: pray for our presidents.) CHARACTER CLUES. “Corporate boards, consulting work, accepting speaking honorariums ‘I could decline out of hand,’ he wrote later. ‘I did not believe it fitting for me, a man who had been honored by his government with military responsibilities, to profit financially for no other reason than that my name was widely known.’” His granddaughter adds, “Aside from writing, this was a policy he adopted in the immediate aftermath of victory in Europe and retained for the rest of his life.”  COMRADES, NOT CRONIES. A cabinet official described Ike’s relationships with his team members, “We were comrades in arms, but not cronies.” And Ike leveraged the nuances of word choice. Susan Eisenhower writes, “The respect the president afforded his colleagues could be discerned in the way he would respond to an issue. Ike did not say at press conferences, ‘I have directed the Secretary,’ but rather, ‘I have approved the Secretary’s proposal.’” Ike once said, “It is better to have one person working with you than three working for you.” (Italics added by the author.) DON’T BE CUTE. The author notes that Jim Hagerty, Ike’s press secretary, recalled that Ike had several fundamental rules for press conferences: “[One], if an error [is] made, admit it in detail and spell it out so that it [tells] the complete story of the error, and two, . . . show a plan for preventing the recurrence of any such error. Then stand your ground. Be dignified but tough. Say it was an error. Say it won’t happen again and don’t say anything else. [And three,] Don’t try to be cute or cover up. It you do, you will get so entangled you won’t know what you’re doing.” DON’T CRITICIZE PUBLICLY. “As his presidency progressed, the president would also refuse to counter his critics, and would not criticize them publicly.” (Memo to self: practice this!) A FEAST! This book (published in August 2020) is a feast of leadership principles. I wrote 35 notes—all important—that I wanted to share with you, but I’ve run out of room. For example, the family snippets from Susan Eisenhower are poignant and memorable:    • The letters between Ike and his younger brother, Milton (president of three universities including Penn State), are revealing. When Ike encouraged Milton to skip athletics and be the family’s intellectual, Milton later told Susan, “In effect, your grandfather gave me permission to be myself.”    • “…the Gettysburg vegetable garden at their personal farm, often yielded produce that Ike and Mamie [the First Lady] sent to the White House, at no cost to the taxpayer, for state dinners as well as family meals. Mamie clipped coupons for the White House shopper and could often be heard to say, ‘Don’t run it on the eagle’—which meant not to waste taxpayers’ money.”    •  And don’t skip the “baby letter” account on pages 115-116. During the 1952 campaign, Ike personally signed as many letters as humanly possible—including hundreds to proud parents who wrote, “Our little Herman looks exactly like you!” At whistle-stop rallies, supporters would shout out, “General, we got your letter!” The “battered letters” had been “all over town—to various clubs and churches so others could see the general’s reply.”    • And LOL! The Republican National Committee complained about Ike’s excessive postage budget! After a second complaint letter from the RNC, “he quipped that [an aide] ought to write to the RNC and ask them: ‘How long has it been since you had a winner!?’” (Ike was the first Republican to win the White House since Herbert Hoover in the 1928 election.) My grandfather, Arthur B. Carlson, urged Scandinavians to vote for Ike. He often wrote weekly letters to the President and Vice President and received numerous personal responses. Note the 1960 first class four-cent postage stamp! While there’s little mention of Ike’s VP, Richard Nixon, be sure to read why the touted “missile gap” in the 1960 Kennedy vs. Nixon campaign was actually fake news. And if you want to go deeper on the 1956 global crisis over the Suez Canal (see Chapter 11, “Principles and Tenacity in Times of Crisis”), read Eisenhower 1956: The President’s Year of Crisis—Suez and the Brink of War, by David A. Nichols. (Read my review.) Plus, ponder Ike’s deep insights about the Holocaust—and how he strategically illuminated the horror. Finally, learn how Ike balanced risk and reward in the Delegation Bucket, when—addressing Far East issues early in his career—he dispatched an entire division (15,000 – 20,000 men) to Australia without asking for permission. “Rather than taking offense at this, [Gen. George] Marshall determined that Ike was exactly the kind of man he was looking for: someone who could make decisions and live with the consequences.” On behalf of grandparents everywhere, thank you, Susan Eisenhower, for a spectacular book! I like Ike—even more. (And thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.) To order from Amazon, click on the title for How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower's Biggest Decisions, by Susan Eisenhower. Are you a listener? Listen to the book on Libro.fm (12 hours, 24 minutes), narrated by Bernadette Dunne and Susan Eisenhower. (This includes a newly remastered version of President Eisenhower's 1961 Farewell Address.) YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS: 1) Ike’s military staff engaged brilliant wordsmiths to draft the “victory” press release—signaling the end of World War II. General Eisenhower rejected every self-serving draft and, instead, he wrote one sentence to the Combined Chiefs of Staff! “The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945.” So…when should brevity punctuate our successes in our organization? 2) Susan Eisenhower quotes General Goodpaster who once said to President Eisenhower, “It must take guts to delegate.” Ike’s reply quoted the 19th century German general Helmuth von Moltke, “Centralization is the refuge of fear.” So…on a scale of one to five (five is excellent), how gutsy are we in the Delegation Bucket?   "You Can't Do a Thousand Things" Insights from Mastering the Management Buckets Workbook  Speaking of presidential transitions (Oh, my!), here are two excellent books that all leaders in transition (now or later) should read: #1. To read my review and order from Amazon, click on the title for The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duff.   On President Lyndon B. Johnson, the authors note: “He moved Eisenhower’s portrait to a more prominent position, so that it would be visible in the background of pictures of Johnson greeting various White House guests.” #2. President Jimmy Carter’s chief of staff called his position, “Chief Javelin Catcher!” Here’s another must-read book. Jam-packed with leadership insights, I wrote two reviews for The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, by Chris Whipple. To read my review and order from Amazon, click on the title. When Erskine Bowles served as President Bill Clinton’s second chief of staff, he “carried around a card with the president’s top priorities written on it—and rebelled when Clinton tried to go off script. ‘One day the president came out of his office and he had another one of his great ideas,’ he recalls. ‘And believe me, they were unbelievably great ideas. And I turned to him and said, ‘Mr. President, you have got to go right back into that Oval Office, right now! “‘You’ve got to look at this list of things that you and I agreed you wanted to get done. Not that I wanted to get done, but you wanted to get done. If you will stay focused on those three or four things, I can set up the organization and the structure and the focus to make ‘em real. But you can’t do a thousand things.’”     For the master list of my book reviews (segmented within the 20 buckets/core competencies), visit the Book Bucket.                    NOTICE! Effective Oct. 1, 2025, all 657 eNews issues, previously archived on Typepad.com are slowly (!) being moved to a new website here. New book reviews will also be archived at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. Or, click here for John’s recent book reviews on Amazon.    JASON PEARSON: UNEXPECTED CREATIVE. Ever had outside eyes give you frank feedback on how you’re positioning your leader and your senior leaders on your website, in eNewsletters, or in print? Check in with Jason Pearson at Pearpod Media (branding, digital, print, and video).  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 TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL!  When is the last time you pushed PAUSE and sincerely said “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” to your board members? Read John's suggestions at the ECFA blog.