Tag: Past

Preventing Emergencies

Recognizing problems in advance and preventing them from becoming emergencies both provide powerful benefits.

What can a leader do to recognize these problems in advance?

Accept that problems will happen. Living in denial, ignoring, or hoping a problem will go away is an invitation for an emergency.

Practice good communication. Many problems could be detected sooner if leaders listened more carefully.

Ask appropriate questions. At the first sign of a problem, learn to ask the right questions.

Learn from the past.
Lessons learned from previous experience are a foundation for the future.

There are no exact lists to resolve every problem in advance. However, these few will help.

Future of Leadership

While growing up it was common to hear, “Son, when I was your age I used to…” The idea spoke of fond memories from the past. Do you remember the good ole’ days?

We may look to the past with regret over words or actions, or we may look with hope to greater opportunities for the future.

Leadership is not about the past, but the future. Leaders do not lead people where they have been, but where they need to go.

Do not allow the past to dictate direction. Acknowledge it. Learn from it. Leave it where it is, and focus on the future.

Powerful Communication

How can leaders ensure their message is understood?

Have a clear understanding of the past, present, and future. How did you get here? Where are you now? What direction are you headed?

Prepare a strong defense as to why you are communicating this specific message at this specific time.

Plan how the destination will be reached and communicate it often to ensure no one forgets.

Implement a confirmation brief, which means you ask others to explain what they heard you say.

It takes time and effective communication to get everyone on the same page.

Past, Present, and Future Lessons

Several years ago, I came across a quote that I loved. It simply said, “The past is where you learned the lesson. The future is where you apply the lesson. Don’t give up in the middle.”

Based on the lessons learned, the wisdom gained directs the decisions, attitudes, and actions of our future. Here, we apply the lessons gained from past experiences.

The challenge is learning to never give up in between learning the lessons which are connected to our past and recovering enough to make the proper application of those lessons in the future.

Leaders do well to learn and apply accordingly.

Perseverance

A common phrase to encourage perseverance is “hold on.” Holding on a few more minutes can make the difference in securing hope, gaining a measure of strength, finding the answer, or reaching the goal.

When we consider giving up, the question becomes, “hold on to what?” Success seems elusive and passion has dwindled to little more than an ember. What can we hold on to?

Reflect on the past.
The past holds a key to how we move forward.
Remember we are not alone. Avoid the Elijah syndrome. God is there.
Realize faith in the vision. Without vision, there is no direction.

Learning From The Past

The past introduces a number of challenges to life. Regardless of the good or the bad, our past often influences who we are and the direction of our future.

The only way to win with the past is to learn from it – good or bad – and use the lesson to help shape a better direction for the future.

For Paul, nothing was more valuable than knowing Jesus. The value of knowing Jesus gave Paul purpose and direction. He did not allow his past to dictate the direction of his future. Instead, he was able to reach forward with hope in the resurrection.

Leading into Tomorrow

More than a few people struggle with past mistakes. Guilt makes us wish we could return to the past and make corrections, even though we know it is impossible.

The challenge is overcoming the desire to live in the past and not allowing the mistakes of the past to dictate our future.

We must learn from the past and realize that our future is determined by the choices we make today to shape a better tomorrow.

If we make decisions built on a spiritual foundation, the direction of tomorrow is one that ensures a future with eternal significance.

Redirecting Our Focus…

We are all molded by the events of the past, whether teaching, experience, or influence. Each of these take on both a positive and negative trait.

Paul’s family heritage, academic credentials, knowledge of scripture, and zealous attack against the church left a mark he did not forget from his past.

However, he did not allow the past to dictate the direction of his future. Paul had a new spiritual focus.

Leaders must learn from the past in order to prevent repeating areas that hinder our Christian influence.

The challenges of yesterday are past. We need to redirect our attention toward a spiritual future.

Leadership Instant Replay…

Instant replay slows down the action to examine every angle of a tackle or pass, a pitch or batter’s swing, a three point shot or gliding slam dunk, and the same is true with other events.

Think about a leadership instant replay.

How would it change our leadership if we could review our words and actions? 

What would the future look like if we could carefully examine each play?

While we cannot change the past, we can evaluate and make changes. Learn from mistakes of the past. Recognize warning signs. Think before speaking and acting, especially if angry.

In some ways, it is a leadership instant replay.

Learning from Yesterday…

I am aware we cannot live in the past, nor can we return and change it. If we all had a chance to live yesterday over I am sure there are areas we would change.

Yesterday provides a benefit to our leadership in several ways.

1) We learn from the successes and failures.
2) We plan a better future based on history.
3) We establish measures to prevent duplicating mistakes.
4) We lead others on a straighter course.

I know we all strive to survive the present with an anticipation of the future. However, we also need to stop occasionally and benefit from the past.