Michael Perry
Married to Denise Perry, we have four children. I work at SpringHill serving as it's President and CEO. I love my family, reading, cooking, coaching my kids and fishing. I'm also a student of organizations and those who lead them. All of which leaves little time to get into trouble.
Keeping Your Eye on the Ball
I grew up playing baseball, basketball and football (in which for many years I was a receiver). One of the most common instructions I’d heard from my coaches, regardless of the sport, was “Perry, keep your eye on the ball.” This meant, whether playing third base or wide receiver, to focus entirely on the ball until I had it completely in my control.This instruction, on the surface, seems to be easy enough to follow, except for that linebacker ready to put a hit on me the moment I touch the ball, or the man on second base waiting to advance to third as soon as I made a throw to first. Then what became easy was to “take my eye of the ball” and try to see, at the same time, more than just that ball coming my way. When I did this it almost always led to me missing that ball and still getting hit or the guy still advancing to third.
Keeping my eye on the ball required discipline, focus and courage. It’s probably why I heard so often my coaches yell “Perry, keep your eye on the ball” and why it’s now burned forever into my consciousness.
Looking back I’m thankful for my coaches’ consistent instruction and the fact that their words continue to be front of mind now that the “sports” I’m participating in have changed and become more significant. Mishandling the ball, be it SpringHill’s mission, vision and values, the stewardship of my health, my role as father and husband or my relationship with Christ, has significantly more serious consequences than that ground ball that went through my legs.
And it requires even more discipline, focus and courage, three qualities I continue to ask God to provide so I will never take my eye off these important balls.
The One Quality Every Enduring Leader Possesses
I’m a student of leadership. I read leadership books, listen to leadership gurus and read leaders’ blogs. I’ve especially gained much insight by reading biographies of leaders from many fields, walks of life and historical periods such as Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.
In addition, as a benefit of my work at SpringHill, I have the privilege of spending time with incredible leaders from many leadership contexts and places in the world. And over the last couple of months I’ve been with more leaders than usual which moved me to ask “is there something all these leaders have in common?”
Through all my study and observation I became convinced there’s one quality every effective and enduring leader possesses.
It’s that they’re intensely curious. They desire (and maybe more accurately “need”) to learn and grow as people and as leaders so they can lead their organizations better and see those they lead grow as well.
I can’t think of an effective and enduring leader I’ve studied, seen or interacted with that didn’t have this quality as part of their being.
Just as every leader’s different, this quality – the desire to learn and this intense curiosity’s expressed differently.
Some leaders learn through experience such as benchmarking other organizations.
Most leaders read, which explains why the cliché “readers are leaders” resonates as true.
Many use coaches, mentors and other advisors to help them learn, grow and improve.
Yet regardless of the method of learning this quality’s still the same – they have this intense curiosity and an endless thirst to learn.
And for this reason it’s also the one quality that I will fight to have in my life for as long as I live.
Why I Journal
Why do I journal? Why do I keep a journal of my workouts and health, a fishing journal, a work journal and a journal of my spiritual life? Simple answer – I can’t help myself.
But there are reasons I can’t help myself. They’re the things I’ve experienced over the past 30 plus years of journaling.
First journals have created a record of the activities and events I’ve been a part of and the associated reflections I’ve had so I can refer back to those moments at a later date.
Second, writing helps me process what I’m thinking and experiencing by bringing clarity to a topic, situation or season of my life. Some people talk things out, I write them out.
Finally, for what it’s worth, I’ve created a record of my life that one day my family and friends may want to experience and share.
More recently I’ve converted some of my journals from written only to photo journals with some writing. For example I’ve converted my fishing journal to a series of photo journals because capturing the moments of a fishing trip in pictures has become more important than creating a detailed record of the number of fish we’ve caught, the type we caught and where and how we caught them. I use Shutterfly to create these journals and I’m happy with the results.
In my written journals, apart from this blog, I still write them out with a pen in an actual journal. Somehow it feels more intimate and authentic doing it this way. Plus my handwriting reflects my mood, physical condition and the environment I’m journaling in, making my entries more reflective of the moment.
So now you know why I journal. It’s really not a compulsion in my life; it’s more like the act of breathing.
What to Ask the Person in the Mirror
“The most successful leaders are very good at knowing how and when to ask the critical questions…” (Kaplan, p. 12)As part of our recent Chicago 7 gathering we read What to Ask the Person in the Mirror by Robert Steven Kaplan.
Kaplan’s a former Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs Group, Inc and currently professor of management practice at Harvard Business School. After being assigned to read Kaplan’s book by John McAuley of Muskoka Woods the first thing I did was to scan the description of Kaplan and his professional background. I don’t judge books by their covers but I do often make snap judgments based on their authors.
In this case I mistakenly believed What to Ask the Person in the Mirror would be a theoretical book best suited for very large organizations.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. In a very clear, concise and practical way Kaplan lays out the key questions leaders must ask and the critical roles they must play if they’re to effectively lead an organization – large or small, profit or not-for-profit.
The book begins with questions related to the articulation of the vision and priorities of an organization. This discussion becomes the foundation for the rest of the book with the topics working together to build a comprehensive plan for a leader and an organization to follow.
The topics include time management, receiving and giving feedback, succession planning, delegation and evaluation. Then Kaplan concludes with an important discussion of leaders as role models and the importance of a leader understanding their “talents, personality, values and passions.”
It’s an appropriate conclusion to a very practical and insightful book, a book that I will continue to sit on desk so that I can reference it in my ongoing efforts to becoming a more effective leader.
Always a Return on Time Invested
I’ve posted in the past about the peer learning group I’m a part of we call the Chicago 7 (click here for my post on its purpose and benefits). This week we finished one of our semiannual meetings and once again I walked away challenged, encouraged, inspired and thankful for such great friends and the time we have together.
We studied two books simultaneously – What to Ask the Person in the Mirror by Robert Steven Kaplan (look for my post on Sunday for a review of this great book) and the biblical book Philippians. The combination created powerful moments of dialogue between the seven of us.
The following are a few of the statements made during our dialogues I recorded in my journal. They provide a glimpse into the topics and tone of our discussions.
“Through their life every leaders telling a story of what they value”
“Affirm the virtue in the values of people today but discern the vulnerability of those same values.”
“Feedback is the breakfast of champions.” Ken Blanchard
“Mentoring is internal, coaching is external.”
“Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.” Jackson Brown
“Many things we perceive as problems to be solved are really polarities to be managed.”
As a result of these discussions I always end up with a long list of “to do’s” for myself and for SpringHill. These “to do’s” spring from the ideas shared by others, new learning’s I’ve encountered or simply the new insights into issues I currently face.
So every time I walk away from a Chicago 7 meeting I’ve grown and SpringHill’s benefited. It’s one of the best “return on time investments” I make each year.
Drawing Our Mission
Mission statements are normally expressed in words. But yesterday I had the opportunity to articulate SpringHill’s mission through a drawing supplemented by words not used in our actual statement.
As you can see from the photo I’m no artist but my lack of talent didn’t diminish the power of this exercise. The power came in the challenge of thinking through how to communicate our mission in a drawing as opposed to the words of our statement. This 20 minute process provided me a different perspective on a mission we’ve had for decades.
During the act of illustrating I began to see the role the SpringHill Experience plays in the life of a young person in a different way. Having a mission statement that’s often referred to and memorized can lead to a bit of staleness – illustrating it made it fresh again.
Which led me to, once again, affirm the importance of our mission and the need to assure its continuing effectiveness.
The exercise also provides an alternative way to communicate our mission to our key constituency groups by providing them with a fresh perspective as well.
So on my “list of ideas we need to do” from this week with the Chicago 7 (a peer learning group of CEO’s from similar camps) I’ve added “#15. Have our marketing team create a quality illustration of our mission.”
By the way our peer learning group’s meeting this week’s at the very cool The Leadership Studio at Muskoka Woods in Ontario Canada. It’s CEO and a close friend, John McAuley, is a part of our group and facilitating our time together. If you and your organization need a place for a retreat where you can do some great work you need to check out The Leadership Studio. I guarantee you’ll come back with more than just a drawing of your mission statement.
Being a Higher Purpose Organization
Photo by my friend Mike Smith Working for SpringHill, a not-for-profit organization committed “to creating life transforming experiences where young people can know and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ” can be heady stuff. It’s easy to believe that there’s no higher purpose than our mission.
Yet over the last couple of years I’ve been challenged with the question “is our mission ultimately our highest calling or does SpringHill have yet a higher purpose?
An article by Russell Eisenstat and Tobias Fredberg of the TruePoint Center for Higher Ambition convinced me that SpringHill should have a larger purpose. So I’ve modified slightly Eisenstat and Fredberg’s language and began to think in terms of SpringHill being a “higher purpose organization.”
What does “higher purpose” mean? It means SpringHill’s called to make a larger impact in the world than it can do on its own by being a significant part of a world-changing movement.
By implications this means that the movement’s larger, more significant and enduring than SpringHill itself. Now it’s easy for SpringHill to understand its connection to the higher purpose of Christ and His Kingdom. But the deeper and more tangible question centers on understanding “what’s Christ’s unique higher purpose for SpringHill and how does it fit into His Kingdom?”
I don’t have the answer yet (to find the answer’s an act of discovery) but I have some preliminary thoughts on our higher purpose.
I believe it will involve the spiritual growth of all kids and that we’ll enable others to serve kids better. Finally our higher purpose may center on being an organizational role model that helps other not-for-profit’s be more effective in their work.
So please share your thoughts and insights into what you believe SpringHill’s “higher purpose” might be. I’d love your input.
Never Underestimate the Power of a Team
Today I had the privilege of facilitating a discussion on the subject of teams with the staff of Workplace Chaplains, U.S. during their annual retreat at Young Life’s Timberwolf Lodge in northern Michigan.
This diverse and committed team of professionals provided such a lively and inspiring discussion about teams that I thought you’d appreciate some of their insights.
To the question “What’s the advantages of being a team?”
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”
“It refines you as a person – ‘iron sharpens iron'”
“Provides discipline and accountability”
“Teams are better image bearers of God than individuals”
To the question “What’s the qualities of a great team?”
“Raise people up to another level”
“Teammates trust each other”
“Unselfish teammates”
“Share a common goal”
“Win”
This team described “the types of people who make up great teams”
“Dedicated to the team”
“Committed to a shared goal and mission”
“Loyal, love and respect each other”
“Elevate people around them”
“Prepared to perform and ever improving”
“Intensity and strong work ethic”
“Self aware and coachable”
Finally we discussed the work of Patrick Lencioni found in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team which provides the following outline for creating a great team:
- Trust
- Constructive conflict
- Commitment
- Accountability
- Attention to Results
As you can see from our notes we had a great time together and one I pray will make a difference in their work and in the lives of the people they serve.
By the way if you’re responsible for the care and development of people in an organization you need to consider Workplace Chaplains whose mission is to “partner with client companies to provide care, counsel, and crisis management services for their employees from a Christian perspective.” You will be providing a great service to your people and helping to improve the performance of your organization.
The Moses Temptation in Creating Vision
There’s nothing more heroic than the leader who goes off to some lonely place and comes back after an extended period of time with a clear vision for the organization and people they lead.
It’s what I call the Moses temptation of vision creation. In the Moses temptation the leader believes he or she’s to go off to the mountain, meet God, receive divine direction and return to the people with a vision so solid and unmovable that it’s written on tablets of stone.
When God used this process with Moses the results were stunning – a set of 10 “laws” which are still the basis of much of the today’s legal system. Yet it’s also the root of the Moses temptation – believing we’re Moses and our vision’s equal to the Ten Commandments.
But the issue for lesser yet important visions and their creation is that the process doesn’t allow for dialogue and debate necessary for building a committed team of stake holders. How can you debate a message from God “engraved in stone”?
Transparent, honest and humble dialogue’s necessary if stake holders are to have true buy-in and a long-term commitment to a vision. It’s not enough for an organization to have a charismatic leader who can inspire followers for a season; sustainable vision requires a sustainable community of people whose commitment’s built on their involvement in a vision’s creation.
And one last thought. Doesn’t a truly inspiring vision, one that compels us to long-term sacrifice, need to be significantly larger than a single person? I know I want to be a part of and lead an organization with a vision bigger than any single person, including me.
What about you? What’s your take on the Moses temptation? What kind of vision inspires you to a long-term commitment to seeing it through to reality?
Why I’m Still in School
Wednesday mornings this school year I’ll be in class finishing up my MA in Ministry Leadership. I’m not sure I’m the oldest student in class but, if I’m not, I’m certainly near the end of the age curve.
Which is no big deal, but it has caused me to think…
Or when I’m doing homework – reading many pages of theology or writing papers – instead of let’s say, steelhead fishing or working on house projects, I’ve thought more than once….
Why am I doing this?
But it doesn’t take long to fill in the blanks, because I’ve always known the answer.
It’s simply because I love to learn. It’s one of my personal core values.
That’s why I read what I read, it’s also why I’m occasionally taking up new hobbies and it’s why I’ve committed myself to finishing this portion of my education.
I believe learning’s a lifelong pursuit because God and the people and the world He’s created are His gifts to us and the best way to appreciate these gifts (and Him) is to continually learn more about them.
Also, truth be told, I’m a bit afraid of growing stale. I’ve convinced myself that if I continue to pursue learning I can stop the cobwebs from gathering and keep my mind and spirit young even as my body grows old.
Then there’s the stewardship God’s given me here at SpringHill. One of our core values is “we’re a learning and mission-driven organization”. So if this value’s to be a part of the fabric of SpringHill it needs to start with me. We can only be “a learning organization” when I’m “a learning leader”.
So why am I still sitting in a classroom? Well, for all the reasons above and, simply, I just can’t help myself.
