Over the last several years I have become a very big fan of Dave Ramsey and especially his "Financial Peace University" 16-week course for personal/family financial planning. Dave Ramsey is a personal money-management expert, a popular radio personality (I enjoy his show when I get a chance to listen) and author of several books you may have heard of: The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace, and More Than Enough. Dave Ramsey is very outspoken (read: "loud-mouthed" and obnoxious!) on a lot of things like politics and elections and the government and pretty much just says whatever comes to his mind. I don't always agree with everything he ever says and teaches but I really respect most of his core teachings and fundamental principles. I even subscribe to text message notifications of his Tweets!
On April 1st, Crossroads Friends Church Lead Pastor David Norman and I attended his "EntreLeadership" 1-day simulcast seminar. The basic premise is that we don't need just leaders anymore but entrepreneurial leaders, or entreleaders as Ramsey calls them. The concepts and material covered in the seminar will be similar to his new book that he'll be releasing in September. Anyway, it was all really good stuff and some of it was very challenging.
I just wanted to include a few highlight of his quotes and concepts:
- organizations are never limited by their opportunity or their team; they are limited by their leader.
- dreams only become reality when they become your vision. Vision that is ready to go to work is called a goal. Goals convert into energy. Goals that work must be specific, measurable, yours, have a time limit and be in writing.
- "to ever accomplish anything in life you will need to be temporarily out of balance. Think over the scope of 1-2 years when you think of balance, not necessarily every day. Think "ebb and flow". The myth of the perfectly balanced day is a bunch of crap."
- the borrower is always slave to the lender. Even in business! Borrowed money drastically increases risks. Borrowed money magnifies mistakes. Borrowed money hurts or even destroys cash flow.
- the three most important traits in a leader are 1. Integrity, 2. Work ethic, and 3. Coachable
- Ramsey says to his employees: "your raise is effective when you are".
- a good reprimand is short, uncomfortable for everyone, where the problem is being attacked – not the person, private, and gentle.
- "Sanctioned incompetence demoralizes." –John Maxwell
- indecision is caused by one thing: fear.
- take time (to make decision) proportionate to the impact of the decision; the larger the impact of the decision, the more time you take.
- Options give you power!
- 90% of making the correct decision is gathering information.
- don't let your principles change, but frequently change your processes. If not then you become a bureaucrat! Shoot the blasted sacred cow!
- an expert is someone who has done it lately, not someone who has an opinion!
