The Means Is Necessary To Be Effective And Efficient

Is there a football team without a weakness?  No.  However, the team with the most means (talent, health, good manager and assistants, and most complete team) has the best chance of the Superbowl.  The same is true of any company.

You must have the means available (employees, machinery, and time) to get the job done effectively and efficiently .  You can't accomplish more than the means allow.  If you made mistakes, make note of it and rectify the problem.  If there’s a problem you can fix, fix it as soon as you can.  If the circumstance or situation is outside of your control, notify your manager.  Report the pros and cons of your recommendations when letting your boss know what you think is required to make the operation more effective and productive.  Involve your employees and include them in your circle of decision-making.  If you’ve done everything possible to make things work and they don’t, realize it’s no longer in your control.

You must have the means available (employees, machinery, and time) to get the job done effectively and efficiently.

You have a set number of employees, machinery, and time to get things done and unless you can change one of these variables, it’s out of your control. An experienced supervisor generally knows what’s possible, especially when they have tried everything they’ve thought of. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep trying, just that you shouldn’t beat yourself up needlessly. Always try, but don’t allow yourself to feel that you’ve failed.

For example, I agreed to help a Plant that was having a slough of different problems, including delays, service issues, and labor problems.  It didn’t take long to see the many causes behind the problems.  They included:

• Serious lack of communication
• High overtime rates (17% +) that had become the norm. 
• High absenteeism rate (6% +)
• Workplace bullies
• Burned out supervisors
• Cases of harassment
• Shortage of employees – there weren’t enough to staff operations adequately
• Incompetent supervision
• Lack of labor knowledge
• No weekend staffing

Through time, all of these were getting much better except for the overtime rate and a shortage of employees. Continued efforts for hiring approval hit a dead end with the District and Area levels.

Despite the numerous problems, this office still carried the highest productivity in the District. Unfortunately, the high rate of overtime was leading to increased absenteeism, accidents, and morale problems. I requested additional modifications to existing machines to make them more efficient, but the District denied these requests. In the end, there was nothing to do except admit defeat. The means weren’t there to do things the right there, nor any assistance provided.

Basic Principles Exist in All People

God created humans with the expectation that they would follow basic principles.  Although we have the freewill to make our own choices, our success depends on the good decisions we make.  Guilt and remorse result from our deviation from our values and principles.  Self-esteem, confidence, and integrity result from maintaining our value system and following established principles.  While good value decisions build us, bad value decisions tear us down.  In order to grow as humans and leaders, we must build more than we destroy. 

Good and bad decisions are not equal in value.  A person can make many good decisions just to destroy it all with one bad decision, like lying, cheating, or stealing.  Remember the fallout for President Clinton after he lied about his involvement with Monica Lewinsky.  He literally shattered the revered respect, integrity, and honesty that so many people had for him.  Sadly, the lie became bigger and more damaging than the actual affair itself.  President Clinton should have immediately confessed, taken accountability, and asked for forgiveness.  By taking personal ownership of the problem, the general population would have been more understanding.  It just goes to prove that you can’t make a problem better by more lies.

The Declaration of Independence is arguably the greatest doctrine written by human beings anywhere, anytime on the globe.  This document created our country’s mission statement and blueprint by interweaving Christian principles with manmade laws.  It was responsible for guiding our country out of slavery, racial discrimination, and gender bias.  Many 19^th century historians believed that the constitution was handed down by God.  The Declaration of Independence is our country’s written guarantee that our personal freedoms are ours. 

The important words inscribed on our currency are “In God We Trust.”  This phrase is the foundation upon which this country was founded.  God’s laws are embedded in our laws, our constitution, and our daily lives.  It defines our lives, both personally and publicly.  We trust God to deliver us from evil that keeps us down and distanced from him.  We trust God to deliver his promise of eternal life for our faith in him.  We trust God to protect us and keep us from harm.  We call upon him as our Father, knowing that he always has our best interests in mind.  And like a father, there are negative consequences for succumbing to temptation, evil ways, and immorality.  Without consequences, we wouldn’t learn good from bad, and waver from the path chosen for us.

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.   -- Proverbs 22:6.  Ordinarily, those who are started done the right (moral) path of life will not abandon it.

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Proverbs 3:  ¹¹My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke.  ¹²because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Is there a difference between discipline and punishment?  (3:11-12) - - The goal of discipline is to teach.  Punishment is intended to inflict consequences for past misbehavior.  Through discipline God wants us to instruct his people about himself.  Its purpose is to enhance our character and strengthen our faith (Psalm 119:17).

Psalm 119:18 - - Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

What makes the law wonderful?  (119:18) - -  Just as God’s miracles and creation inspire amazement and wonder, so does his law.  Those who look carefully into God’s law will discover its order and design for living and, as a result, will be filled with awe.  Not only does God’s law guide us to live in a way that pleases God, it also offers us what we need to know to get the most out of life – for now and eternity.

Strong moral values expand your influence while immorality restricts. To read more about this book or purchase it now, click here for "Secret Techniques of the Successful Moral Manager."

Buy Secret Techniques of Successful Moral Managers now...

True Success Is Only Possible By First Being Virtuous

No person can find true success without first being a person of virtue.  How many have fallen from grace because they caved to the temptations of the flesh and/or power.

It is a grand mistake to think of being great without goodness and I pronounce it as certain that there was never a truly great man that was not at the same time truly virtuous. Benjamin Franklin

To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society. Theodore Roosevelt

"God... has formed us moral agents... that we may promote the happiness of those with whom He has placed us in society, by acting honestly towards all, benevolently to those who fall within our way, respecting sacredly their rights, bodily and mental, and cherishing especially their freedom of conscience, as we value our own." --Thomas Jefferson to Miles King, 1814. ME 14:197

"Peace, prosperity, liberty and morals have an intimate connection." --Thomas Jefferson to George Logan, 1813. ME 13:384

"The order of nature [is] that individual happiness shall be inseparable from the practice of virtue." --Thomas Jefferson to M. Correa de Serra, 1814. ME 19:210

"Without virtue, happiness cannot be." --Thomas Jefferson to Amos J. Cook, 1816. ME 14:405

"Truth is certainly a branch of morality, and a very important one to society." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Law, 1814. ME 14:139

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." --Thomas Jefferson to Nathaniel Macon, 1819. ME 15:180

"Honesty, disinterestedness and good nature are indispensable to procure the esteem and confidence of those with whom we live, and on whose esteem our happiness depends." --Thomas Jefferson to Francis Eppes, 1816. ME 19:241

"The moral sense [is] the first excellence of well-organized man." --Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, 1823. ME 15:418

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Psalm 10:5 - - His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.

Why do the wicked always prosper? (10:5) - - Some poetic statements like this are generalizations. Here the psalmist expresses frustration because a person who does live by a moral code can often deceive others and coerce from them valuable possessions, disregarding social decency or divine standards. When sin and injustice twist the fabric of society, only God’s final judgment, for which the psalmist pleads, will fully restore justice.

Strong moral values expand your influence while immorality restricts. Buy Secret Techniques of the Successful Moral Manager now...

The Bible Holds More Answers than all other References

Whether you are an atheist, religious follower of another faith, or still undecided, the Bible carries the many truths of all walks-of-life. The focus of this book will be limited largely to characteristics of leaders and the many examples of leadership found within the Bible. This is not the first book on leadership, success, and winning making references to the Bible and certainly not the last. Some of the many books including the Bible in its bibliography and/or index are: The Success System That Never Fails (W. Clement Stone), The Psychology of Winning (Dr. Denis Waitley), and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey).

Jesus gave everything to his cause, trained his seven disciples to carry on after his absence, and founded the movement of Christianity that thrives today. He displayed true leadership in every verbal and non-verbal manner, responded wisely to rhetoric and actions, and shared infinite wisdom. The world thrives on a higher, natural order and when we engage them and make them our own, we will improve our chances of success.

Jesus is unequivocally the greatest leader that ever walked the Earth. His words and actions have been tested and tried through thousands of years and stand unscathed. He persuaded the people around him that he was the son of God and that Heaven existed for the faithful. Jesus was the only one to cross over into death and return. Jesus shared the promise God gives everyone that believes in him, eternal life in Heaven.

He convinced others through miracles and his teachings. He reinvigorated the Christian movement that lasts yet today. No other leader comes remotely close to this achievement. Imagine for a moment how carefully and meticulously scrutinized his teachings have been and how they still stand today unchanged. They form the basic building blocks of all civilization, including its rules of conduct and behavior. When you employ these teachings to every extent possible, you will have the most complete life possible. You will enjoy more success, contentment, and fulfillment than ever imagined. That is not to say that there won’t be times of sacrifice and suffering. There will be. Humans must endure these times and learn the lesson that comes from them. They are necessary if one is ever to experience the thrill of success. What is good if there is not evil? What is success if there is no failure? What is happiness without unhappiness?

And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6

Jesus is the ultimate teacher of ethics, morals, integrity, honesty, and fairness. He showed favoritism to no one, demanded little, and gave everything. He built relationships and lifted up the oppressed. He taught others how to deal with their enemies, love their neighbor, and live a righteous, moral life. As important as teaching, Jesus showed people how to live morally by the way he lived his own life.

The bible is the ultimate self-help book available. Only Jesus and God himself could give the right answer to all questions the first time, immediately.

Every management book in existence relies on the principles and guidelines of the bible, the true source of management, leadership, and happy living skills. The closer we walk with God the more we began to understand the driving forces in life.


Psalms 23:3 - he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

How does God guide us? (23:3) - - God does not reveal every detail of his plan for our lives. Nevertheless, there is an inner assurance that comes when we do his will. Developing a close, dependent relationship with the Lord will help us follow his way. And if we do the things we know God wants us to do, we’ll discover more details about his will for us.

Proverbs 20:7 – “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.”

Does blameless mean we must measure up to a list of rules? (20:7) - - Blameless does not imply perfection but integrity. Someone with integrity believes in God and strives constantly to align his life with God’s will.

To read more about this book or purchase it now, click here for "Secret Techniques of the Successful Moral Manager."