How now shall we live?
Last week was a heckuva week – and I must admit, I’m still processing…
On Friday, my morning started with a livestream from Men’s Golf Fellowship for the kickoff of the 2021 series, hearing from Franklin Graham. It was a neat interview to hear more about his life and the important work he does around the world. And while we share a common faith, I was troubled by some of what he shared when the conversation turned to current events and policy around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over lunch, I had unique opportunity to hear from another recognized leader, @Simon Sinek. It was an exclusive interview for Vistage Worldwide members and chairs, hosted by Vistage CEO Sam Reece. I appreciate Sinek’s perspective and I think he’s become a leading voice in shaping leaders’ perspectives. I expected the interview to be a bit of a Cliff’s Notes of Sinek’s lastest work, The Infinite Game, as that seems to be what most authors do when they hit the circuit. Boy was I wrong! He went way beyond that in responding to Sam’s questions and had many important things about the application of concepts from the book. My wheels were really turning.
My Friday concluded at home with movie night with my wife and teenage sons. For various reasons, we decided to watch Argo. It had been on our watch list for some time and we thought given the events of the week, we’d introduce them to a bit of history. My wheels began to turn again as the opening images of the crowd outside the U.S. Embassy in Tehran looked eerily familiar to the images at our nation’s Capitol Building on Wednesday. Change the setting, the words and faces on the posters, and the wardrobes, you pretty much have the same event minus the hostages.
I took the title of this blog from Chuck Colson’s book How Now Shall We Live? Colson, ironically, was a top advisor to the White House in another tumultuous time in our nation’s history. Written at the turn of the millennia, this book’s title is a question I think of critical relevance for today’s leaders. While 2020 was the year of the “unprecedented”, the opening week of 2021 suggests the landscape isn’t changing anytime soon.
A CEOs and business owners, we’re considering our place on the rebound curve, trying to understand round 2 of stimulus legislation, anticipating widespread availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, and anticipate the implications of an administration change just to itemize the headlines. As parents, we’re working to help our kids process what they’re experiencing at school and what they’re seeing on TV. As citizens, we want to remain safe, to prosper, and regain some sense of control that we once enjoyed.
In each case, we must resolve the question of “how now shall we live?” It’s the now in this question that makes it so extraordinary. As I process, let me offer what’s on my mind:
· Leadership matters – a lot! What we say, how we say it, the context of when and to whom all matters. Given our “now”, leadership matters more than ever. We must accept the responsibility that comes with leadership.
· We should be asking more questions than making declarations, particularly when we find ourselves in disagreement. Seeking understanding is an essential step to informing our perspectives.
· We need to accept the challenge that we will do our part to restore civility and decency in our human to human interactions. I think if we stopped long enough to ask ourselves, “Is this helpful?” before speaking or acting, it would make a world of difference.
· We need to embrace being role models – to our kids, to our team members, and really anyone we come in contact with. We are shaping history – of our now and in some ways, what is to come.
· We need to actively pursue people and activities that will grow and shape us. The landscape ahead is simply too difficult to go it alone.
I don’t claim to do all of this as well as I should or that I have all the answers. Yet, if the points above have any merit, I would suggest that each involves a choice – a choice that is all our own and a choice where we do still have control. A choice that will answer Colson’s question daily: how now shall we live?