The Importance of Standards

The Importance of Standards

I got this story from one of my study booklets. I found it interesting and wanted to share it with you.

There was a farmer’s son in Ethiopia. He was very bright, but his parents saw no need to send him to high school. After all, why would a farmer need so much education? But the son had a burning desire to study, and because his parents recognized his special gifts, they allowed him to enter secondary school. He was older than most students in high school, but he was determined to do well.

The secondary school was some distance from home, so he rented a small house in which to live. Every weekend he returned home to see his parents and to help on the farm. When he returned to school, his mother made sure that he had enough food to last a week.

He noticed that many students at the secondary school were Christian. He had seen their churches in the neighborhood and wondered what they believed. He listened as students shared their beliefs with him. He was curious about some of their beliefs. His Christian friends invited him to visit the church in town, and he accepted the invitation. Soon he was attending regularly. His friends taught him about the beliefs that he was curious of and in time he joined the baptismal class.

He began telling his family and non-Christian friends what he had discovered. Some, including his father, thought he was crazy; but others listened to what he said and how he had changed in dealing with his behavior. However, when he was baptized, his parents sent him away from his home. His friends saw how he was treated and noticed that he did not retaliate when treated badly. One by one those with whom he had shared his faith followed him to the church.

STANDARDS

What is your state of mind?

Where do you stand?

When you are on the pathway to where you are headed in completing the goals you have set up for yourself, have you considered the standards that you will go by? Have you considered how far you will go and what lines not to cross?

The young boy in the aforementioned story set some Christian standards that he would go by. He would still act in love to those who even treated him badly. What are your standards in your search for work, wealth, acknowledgement, etc?

If you have a career goal set for yourself, I hope you also have a standard by which you measure yourself. You see, some people will decide that they will make it to the top no matter whom they step upon. Some people decide that it is ok to “fudge” a little on their taxes or tell a “little white lie” here and there to get what they think is ahead of the game. Some people think that if they don’t get it now at all cost, then it never will happen. What are the things, no matter how small, that you do to get by that may be questionable in dealing with your standards and the type of person that you choose to be?

When building a career or business, it is extremely important to be honest in your dealings with others. You will gain their trust and their business in return. If you are “fudging” here and there a little along the way, eventually you will be found out and will lose their trust and their business. In dealing with families, your word is your bond. It must be trustworthy and followed through. If you speak and give your word and don’t keep it, your family, especially the children, will not respect you and will remember it and bring it back up to you one day.

When setting up goals for a business, set up the standards that you, and all you employ, will go by. Stick to that so that all will see that you are an upright person. Your standards identify your character… the type of person you are. Everyone will see that by your words and actions. High Standards is something that is missing in the business world today. Be strong in your decision to be fair and to do what is moral. Step out of the mold of this dog-eat-dog society and have a state of mind that says I will go this far and I will go no further.

The decision to have integrity and high standards will bring joy to your family and friends, customers to your business, put money in your pockets, and give you a feeling deep down of satisfaction, knowing that you made it and you did it the right way.

Self-Reliance - Part 2

We have been discussing the importance of being self-reliant. 

The synonyms for self-reliant are:

1.  Autonomous

2.  On one's own

3.  Self-contained

4.  Self-governing

5.  Self-sufficient

6.  Self-supporting

7.  Self-sustaining

Having these qualities are important in anyone and being self-reliant is good.  However, as you probably also know, satan has a counterfeit for being self-reliant.  It goes to both extremes of either not being reliable at all or being "over" self-reliant.

Question: Is there such a thing as being “Over” Self-Reliant?

Answer: Yes, definitely and it is something that has damaged families, friends, churches, and businesses over the millinnia of time.

Being over self-reliant is NOT good.  It is when we feel as though we cannot rely on others. How will we gain the trust to rely on someone else to accomplish what needs to be done if I feel uncomfortable with anyone else doing the work except me? You have heard of the famous phrase, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” Although that makes your self-esteem soar, it means that you are fighting alone. Do you really want to go at it alone, without any support system, without any help, without anyone to have your back, without anyone to talk to about your progress, etc.?  If so, what a lonely world you choose for yourself to be in when it can be so much better than that.

I found a phrase online that I like better. “If you want something done right, and you have to do it yourself, you probably are not a very good communicator.”  However, I like this one the best:  "If you want something done right, you can do it yourself.  But, if you want a lot of things done right, communicate!"

God did not create you as an island unto yourself.  Everything you do in lift affects you and everyone who comes in contact with you.  God created you as a personable being.  If you succeed in this world, you did not do it on your own, someone would have helped you to your success whether you want to admit it or not.  The questions is, why try to do it on your own when you have many people who love you and want to see you succeed and probably are willing to help.

Question:  Is there something wrong with being self-reliant?

Answer:  Of course not! It is very important to be self-reliant, dependable, independent, able to take care of your own business.  However, the problem comes in when you think that YOU are the ONLY reliable one and that no one else is dependable.  It may mean that you have a problem delegating tasks.

Do you have delegation problems?

To delegate takes skill and trust.

What is “delegation”? It is the ability to get things done by effectively assigning task responsibility and authority to others. This is something that is crucial for survival as a manager, supervisor, or anyone who is trying to own their own business or just to get ahead.  Team play must come into effect.

Instead of trying to do it all yourself, learn to ask yourself a question AND ANSWER IT AS HONESTLY AND AS OBJECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE!

Ask: Who is the right person for this task?

Answer: you will find there are specific people who are busy out of necessity.  They must be extraordinarily organized, able to prioritize, and focus on finishing tasks.  So if you want to make sure something gets done, just give it to someone who gets a lot of things done.

Problem: If you always think that you are the only one who can get it done right, you are limiting yourself because you are overloading self and preventing more work from getting done by more people. You set a limit on yourself by this type of thinking because you can only do but so much, therefore, your family, your friends, your job, and your health will suffer because of that selfish type of thinking.

As leaders, the only way to leverage our efforts is to inspire the efforts of those around us.

What is leverage?

“Leverage is the use of a small investment to gain a very high return." If you have to do everything yourself, you get no leverage. However, if you inspire those around you, if you communicate instructions well, and if your colleagues buy into your desired outcome, you will, collectively, achieve results far beyond what one person alone could accomplish.”

             The 10 commandments on How to delegate

                  1. Choose the right person – Can this person do it atleast 80%

                     as well as you can or can you train them to?

                  2. Decide which part of the work they will do.

                  3. Communicate the desired outcome and the steps necessary

                      to reach that goal.

                  4. make sure that you will be able to monitor the progress

                      of task execution and know if the task is actually completed.

                  5. Be supportive so they can accomplish what they set out

                      to do and be willing to answer questions… if asked.

                  6. Don’t be an over-the-shoulder watcher watching their

                      every move; Let them go about the task the best way they

                      see fit and give them a chance to correct their own errors.

                  7. Be patient to see the overall outcome, don’t rush them or

                      it may not be as well done.

                  8. Be respectful even when it isn’t quite how you wanted it.

                  9.  Be positively affirming that they are doing a good job.

                  10.  Realize that it may not be exactly as you would have done

                         it but it is still a great job done and is just as good as your

                        work would have been and the desired outcome has been achieved.

What do you do in turn for those who you have been able to rely on?

Well, an idea would be to help them with something that they are trying to accomplish. It is kind of like a win/win exchange.

Try being self-reliant this week and AVOID being over-reliant.  Let your significant other help you out if they want to.  If you are overburdened, seek help from your loved one(s).  Don't wait for them to ask, you ask for the help needed.  You will be surprised how much they want to help you to succeed.  Including your family and friends in your efforts will keep the bonds of the relationship empowered and strong as you work together to fulfill a common goal.

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