Ground Rules - A Basis for Beginning

It has been a month since this blog (or web log - online journal) began.  I am thankful to www.squarespace.com for the product that they have provided.  It is a great, easy engine that allows me to simply write.  Their customer service is incredible and their prices are really fair.

Since the first day of this blog, I have been clear that the format is "direct, no mincing of words, straight truth."  I have been careful to tell people that the point is never to offend but the point is to share leadership truths that have been passed, taught and that are all Biblically based.  "Awwww!", the business man just said, "I don't want sissy Biblical leadership truths."  Wrong again!  You do want Bibliclally based truths.  The Bible is the most archaeologically proven historical record of all time.  It is the most widely published, most widely translated and has the fewest variances among its thousands of translations.  The leadership truths (not to mention the other truths) when applied have been scientifically observed to work for both the believer and the unbeliever.  It is like the law of gravity to leadership truth - constant, without question, affecting everyone.  Beyond those facts, the Bible is the only book containing prophecies over thousands of years that have a 100% success rate (as highly touted as Nostradamus is - his success rate is in the teens).

So this blog is based on the Bible - on God given truths that have been proven to be effective throughout time.   The truths are the result of God.  They are real - you can read them.  They are true - you can observe them.  They are important - you can see their positive result.  The leadership prinicples find their surety, constancy and stability in an author who is constant and stable.  God.

This blog will never be about anyone but the reader.  The articles are meant to touch, challenge and reach the reader.  The site is not a soapbox to make points or to teach specific people.  The site is not a place to vent about things that bother me as a leader.  The articles are humbly offered (none of the truths are mine) from a leader who is still alive and kicking in the hardest arena of any leadership: the not-for-profit, volunteer based, donation supported religious arena where there are no solid rules governing the service of others nor the tenure of the leader.

So why do I write today about the ground rules - because it helps people to understand what we are trying to do here.  It helps them to understand the purpose, the desire to not offend but to not worry if the truth offends, the desire to help, and the basis of this blog.

This article also reminds us all that those who follow us need to know the ground rules.  The ground rules don't need to change every day.  The ground rules need to be solidly based.  The ground rules are the foundation upon which those who follow you build every day.  It is our job as leaders to periodically remind our followers of the ground rules.  It is our job to teach them to the new followers.  It is our job to know the ground rules, to ensure their quality, to champion their consistency and to follow them religiously.