Board of Directors

I have served on some board of directors and it was not always pleasant. I don’t feel like it’s my strong suit. I am a bit of a “triage” person. I have an opinion about how to fix things and how to get things moving. I’m not very patient when it comes to getting deep in the weeds of what makes the organization tick. I feel like I’m better at a “fly-over” than to sit in a bunch of meetings.

I think King David had a board of directors. They were close to him and gave him counsel. They also protected him from any enemies. Check this out….

²³ Now Joab was the commander of the army of Israel. Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. ²⁴ Adoniram was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian. ²⁵ Sheva was the court secretary. Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. ²⁶ And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was David’s personal priest. (2 Samuel 20:23-26 NLT)

As I was reading through this list, I could see David’s “secretary of defense” and his “interior secretary”. I also noticed his “secret service” and his “spiritual advisors”.

I do think it’s wise to have a personal board of directors. I first heard of this idea from Andy Andrews, a favorite author of mine. He proposed assembling a personal board of directors in a way that you didn’t have to pay them money to come to a board meeting of sorts. He recommended making a list of significant people of influence in my life. There is a “litmus test” of sorts before serving on my board. I want people to speak into me, who are Christ followers. This is certainly not a conclusive list for me, but here is part of my board….

My wife is Chair of the board. My parents and my wife’s parents are direct personal advisors. My kids are kept up to date with any significant happenings or changes. They occasionally attend my board meetings.  My pastor Shannon Lovelady speaks into my life on weekly basis.  I also have Andy Stanley on my board as he is a great spiritual teacher, leader and communicator. Dave Ramsey is all things financial. Brian Buffini is my business advisor and holds a significant seat on my board. Donald Miller helps me keep my message clear and simple. Seth Godin is constantly refining messages and speaking in a way that makes me think. I can’t leave off my board members emeritus – Zig Ziglar, Earl Nighingale, Og Mandino, Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie.

I want to grow in wisdom and depth of understanding. I believe that the people I spend time with and listen to will profoundly influence my thinking as well as my activities. I want to read the wisdom that is timeless and principled. I want to keep seeking the Word of God for the baseline which all other wisdom must be measured against.

Pressing On!

Dwayne