A leadership principle that I do on a consistent basis is, I remember to relax. I remember to relax. At a previous job I had, I worked for a supplement company, at a packaging facility. Now to get our products that we sold packaged, the process was to take large amounts of bulk product and to separate this bulk product out, and to put it into individual bottles. We did herbal supplements, vitamins, and a variety of minerals. And we used a variety of different machines to get these products into these bottles, which would ultimately end up being capped, labeled, sealed, and put into boxes and shipped out to our customers. So the main focus at the plant was to keep the packaging lines up and running with as little down time as possible.
However, this didn’t always go down so smoothly. Many times we would get defective product, or components that would jam up or even break these machines. Some machines were just old and worn out. Then there is the human element. Some personnel didn’t always fully grasp or understand how to operate the equipment and set it up appropriately. And then you had folks that let’s just say, didn’t totally buy into the process. These were the people I had back space with a few choice words. The “crazy Kay’s” if you will.
Whatever the case, there were many obstacles and many deterrents to overcoming these inefficiencies. The main goal was to produce effectively. If you’ve never worked in a manufacturing or packaging type environment, let me just tell you, it’s very fast-paced, very hectic, and can be stressful at times. Persistent breakdowns in processes will often lead to much consternation, and layer upon layer of frustration. So what do I do as a leader, I set myself a reminder on my phone. It’s not too complicated. Each morning I have a recurring reminder that goes off at 8:45. This reminder just simply says “Put on the Word”. When I’m at work, this reminds me in the midst of what may feel like pandemonium, to just chill, to relax, and to think about God’s Word. This reminder simply says “Psst, hey Greg, relax”. When available, I will open up an app on my phone and I’ll find a verse or verses to contemplate on. I put the Word on in my mind, because that is really where all the frustration lies.
The best part is that I get to share the Word too. I get to help others have this peace of mind that I get from it. A fellow associate that worked behind me he would get to have to listen to me talk about God and the Bible sometimes. And many mornings I would share with him what I was reading and offer some words of wisdom from above. Thankfully for the most part he was pretty receptive, so that definitely helped. And I worked there for three years and after three years of speaking the Word to this gentleman I told him that I had been presented with a new opportunity with a new company and that I would be leaving. And he looked at me with a sad countenance on his face and he said “Well, who’s going to teach me the Bible?”
To me that made all the craziness at work that we dealt with worth it all. II Timothy, chapter 1, verses 8-10 says: “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”
These verses tell me that God has had this whole thing we call life, figured out. And He’s had it figured out for me since the very beginning. Jesus Christ, on the cross said, “IT IS FINISHED”. If it’s done, it’s done! I can relax. There’s no need to worry or stress about anything in life. Things are not such a big deal when I put them in perspective, and know that in the whole scheme of things, I stand approved before God. I know that death has been abolished, and that I have eternal life. And it’s not because of me or my works, or because I purposed it, or anything that I did or do. But it’s because of my Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ, and what he did. Because he loves us. As a leader I remember, as a leader I relax. And as a leader, I remember to relax.
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