Leadership Summit

It has been 10 days since my last post, and I hope this doesn't become habit. There was a lot going on this past weekend, and early this week. Last weekend was the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. For those of you who don't know, this is an annual event at Willow Creek Church in Chicago that is simulcast all over the country. They attract some of the greatest leaders and educators in the world to help educate the people on leadership philosophy, the power of leadership, etc... Anyway, this is a great event that I look forward to each year, it charges my batteries.

One of the speakers was Colin Powell. I have always respected the presence that he commands. Big news to all that I don't know the guy, but he is someone that I find myself respecting and wanting to get to know more about. He spoke on his "Powell Principles" and hearing him speak wanted me to find out more about him. In the next few months I will try to follow up on that desire. Although I really enjoy the academic aspect of leadership, and I think you can be taught leadership principles. I think you can get the most from someone who has lived the role. The problem with that is that there are a lot of good leaders, but they don't know how to communicate what they do. I found with Powell, he was an effective communicator too.

Another of the speakers was Michael Porter. He is world renown for his teachings on strategy and is a Harvard professor. I was very excited to hear his session. Last year they had another Harvard professor speak and he stole the show. I have to say I was thoroughly disappointed with his session. This conference is geared more toward a church leader (although applicable to all leaders). Porter knew this and tried to tailor his discussion accordingly, but it was a miserable failure. His overriding theme was that a church is spread to thin when it comes to offering services to people in need. He said that churches should only focus on their strengths and everything else should be redirected to another program which provides the same social aide. On the surface I agree with him, but the reason this was a bust is because he doesn't understand the role of the Christian Church and its programs. The church doesn't do these things only to be socially responsible and to provide a better world for all. The church does this to help people who may not have a personal relationship with Christ. Example: A church sponsors the Royal Family Kids Camp at $250 per person. The YMCA offers a camp at $50 per person. Porter would say use the Y camp and you get 4 times more output. But what he doesn't know is that the RFKC is sharing the gospel with the children and the counselors are showing them a love that they might not get at the Y camp. There are other details, but you get my point.

Additional items:
Impressed with Carly Fiorina (former HP CEO) and some of the things she said about leadership. Felt a little uneasy about other things she said though.

Have a healthy respect for Jimmy Carter. Don't necessarily agree with his politics or things he has done, but he does have some good leadership philosophies, and is a strong believer.

Overall, great conference, great people, great learning, great experience.