The Perfect Executive

   Christmas is an appropriate time of year to examine the management style of Jesus of Nazareth. The results Jesus achieved were second to none. In only three years he defined a mission and carried it out. He recruited and motivated 12 ordinary men to become extraordinary. He molded their diverse personalities with different appetites and ambitions and internal disagreement into a glorious company.
   He organized Christianity which has grown to have 1.5 billion proponents and branches in all the world and 223 countries. Jesus didn't use the hard sell bulldozing people into his ways of thinking and doing nor did he use the soft sell hoping to influence them on the sly.  Rather he wooed and courted his listeners, never forgetting their needs. He faithfully motivated and practiced the most important principle of motivation. People want to know how much you care before they care how much you know.
   He brought out the best in people by pulling not pushing them along. Jesus was committed to a caring approach to managing his disciples. He didn't see his disciples as objects to be manipulated for his success but rather as human beings to be inspired and developed.
   However, he never let their unethical conduct go unchecked or poor performance go unnoticed.  He addressed them directly and openly and always supported and encouraged individual changes of heart. He stressed teamwork promoting a spirit of cooperation.  He lowered himself to wash his disciples' feet. It is through this concern for others that management can make its greatest contribution for the growth of people and the success of a business.
   We are and always will be operators in an imperfect world, but we do have a perfect example.

(The Wall Street Journal, December 18, 1989)