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From the Commander of Kadosh - April |
How is everyone doing? I hope the start of the New Year is treating you well. The first couple of months are very busy especially with my Shrine duties and visitations.
I want everyone to mark the 18th of April on their calendar. This will be our first of two "super breakfast" events for our Valley at the El Bekal Shrine Center. We will be using the new kitchen that was just completed. Very shortly you will be getting tickets in the mail for this event and if you need extras I will have them at the stated meetings. Additional information will be forthcoming.
As I mentioned in my last article, I will be discussing the book by John C. Maxwell, "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." In this article I will discuss three laws beginning with the Law of the Lid.
The "Law of the Lid" is actually a very easy law to understand and starts with your leader. The leader has a rating which is based on his actual level of effectiveness. This law is a good example of how McDonald's came about. There were these two brothers, Dick and Maurice, who were very successful in business, but could not take it to the next level. Along came Ray Kroc who sold machines for making milk shakes. He saw a real potential in the restaurant so bought the franchise rights and using it as a model prototype recruited people with the right leadership qualities, trained new people and formed teams which began marketing and selling other franchise locations.
Eventually Mr. Kroc bought out Dick & Maurice and McDonald's became McDonald's Corporation. The ability of a great leader and his effectiveness is based on his ability to inspire dedication among members of his team, allowing them to rise above the "lid." If you hold the lid down on your group no one will be able to improve unless they go out on their own. In an organization such as ours, all volunteers, we have a new leader each year. So for one year the lid could be low, medium or high. That is why we must all work as a team so that the lid can be raised.
The next law is the "Law of Influence." This is one that every leader needs, as John Maxwell says, "If you can't influence people, then they will not follow you." An example of influence is the story of Mother Teresa, a frail little nun dedicated to serving the poorest of people. She eventually was instrumental in forming the foundation "Missionaries for Charity" which spread to twenty-four countries and five continents. When Mother Teresa spoke, people listened, she was a real leader. "It is not the position that makes the leader, it is the leader that makes the position."
The last law I want to discuss is the "Law of Process." The best way to explain this law is a quote from one of his books "becoming a leader is a lot like investing successfully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you're not going to be successful." Ms. Anne Schelber, retired from the IRS at the age of 51 in 1943. She was earning $3,150 a year and was able to save $5,000 which she began to invest in the stock market. In 1995, at the age of 101 she passed away and for over 50 years of investing had amassed a fortune worth over $22,000,000 which was donated to Yeshiva University. The President, Norman Lamm had never heard of her. She had not been a student there, so she became a legend overnight. "The process of becoming a good leader does not happen overnight, it takes several years." It doesn't matter if you are a Potentate for Shriner's, Master of your Blue Lodge, Exalted Ruler of an Elks Lodge or Venerable Master of our own Valley, through the law of process it takes team work and cooperation.
I hope you have enjoyed my articles as much as I have enjoyed writing them. If we take advantage of what is offered to us and apply it, we can become a better person, husband, father, grandfather and leader.
Don't forget to support our ladies organizations. We have LOSNA and Daughters of the Nile installations throughout the month. Our ladies do a lot in support of us and the various organizations we support so let's return that favor and support them as well.
John Rider, 32ยบ
Commander of Kadosh |
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Council of Kadosh