From the Mind of MandoRon

I just finished reading Popes and Bankers: A Cultural History of Credit and Debt, from Aristotle to AIG by Jack Cashill, so I guess it’s time to post the review.

Popes and Bankers is an incredibly fascinating read.  And just like the title infers, it’s a cultural history of credit and debt.  It caught my eye because of the recent credit and banking crisis that has tanked the U.S. economy.  Popes and Bankers attempts to explain how we ended up in this crisis by exploring society’s views on usury (a.k.a. lending at interest) throughout world history.  Cashill also discusses the people that had major impacts on our views of moneylending - the authors, the philosophers, the rulers, the businessmen, the crooks, etc…  Interestingly, the book is written from a Christian worldview.  So a lot of time is spent exploring and commenting on the Jewish and Christian influence on society.

The list of interesting topics is too long to list…  But, for me, there were a few key things that really made the book worth reading.  First was reading how Charles Ponzi got a scheme named after him.  (Very timely, I know.)  Second was learning about all the bubbles and financial meltdowns of different societies throughout the centuries. 

Third…  I’ve always heard the anti-semitic comments about “jewish bankers”, but I’ve never really understood where these thoughts come from.  Interestingly, they partially go back to Mosaic law which allowed the Jews to lend money at interest to strangers.  And Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice didn’t help either. 

Fourth, it seems that all financial troubles generally result from greed - either people wanting more than they have or people trying to make money without doing anything of tangible value.  And lastly, I found it interesting how our unique American culture and politics brought about this recent collapse.

There were also a few things that I didn’t like about Popes and Bankers.  I have a bachelor’s degree in engineering, a master’s degree in business, and I usually win at Scrabble,  but I found the first few chapters nearly incomprehensible.  I didn’t know half of the words that Cashill used, and I really felt like he was trying to compete with Virgil and Shakespeare while crafting his prose.  Fortunately, what I did understand was interesting and I pressed on.  Once you get over that mountain, the rest of the book is very readable although there are still quite a few post-doctoral words to be found.

Legal stuff:  I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

After somehow ending up on the Dr. Martens website yesterday, I clicked on their “history” page out of curiousity.  (Note: I did a buy a pair recently so it wasn’t totally random…)

This is clearly a company with a vision.  And they have created a corporate culture that they are proud of.  Interestingly, the vision and culture has changed over time as their customer base shifted from working class people to rebellious youth.  They have come to embrace the rebelliousness and individualism of their customers.

I recommend reading the Dr. Martens history.  A small part of it describes where they came from, the rest lays out their vision in a very creative, very passionate manner.  (Warning: there is an f-bomb buried in there.)  There is no doubt that they know what kind of company they want to be and how they want to impact the world.

This is something that other companies, as well as individuals, can learn from. 

Understand who you are, understand who you want to be, and understand how you want to impact others.

Yesterday, I embarked on a journey to read through the entire Bible in 2010.  (I’m using the Life Journal Reading Plan on YouVersion.com, in case you’re curious…)  Part of today’s reading was Genesis 3.

Something in verse 6 really jumped out at me.

“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.”  Genesis 3:6

I had never noticed this before, but Eve was looking for a shortcut to wisdom…

How many times do we get in trouble because we take a shortcut? 

We think we need a new TV or sofa or jeans today, so we buy them on credit rather than taking the time to save up the money.  We buy the house of our dreams at 30, and our quality of life and finances suffer because we bit off too much.

We want to get in shape and lose weight but rather than hitting the gym and eating right, we go to the store and buy the latest “Exercise in a Bottle” pills.  We invest in the latest “3-Minute Workout” videos.

Discontent to work our way up the corporate ladder, we work 60+ hours at work, constantly switch jobs, and backstab our peers to get ahead faster.

Unwilling to invest our money smartly and wait for wealth to accumulate, we lose our money in Ponzi and other get-rich-quick schemes.

Eve was unwilling to gain wisdom over the course of a lifetime’s worth of experiences.  She wanted it now.  And she suffered.  

We all suffer.

Instead, maybe we should all pray for patience and ask the Lord to bless us in His timing…

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I was recently offered a copy of Bill George’s latest book, 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, to review.  I heard Bill speak at the Leadership Summit in 2008, so I jumped at the chance.  Just in case you don’t know who he is… Bill George is a  professor at Harvard Business School and former CEO of Medtronic, as well as being an author and blogger. 

In 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, Bill uses the recent financial crisis to explore how leaders should respond when faced with a crisis.  Perfect timing!  This recession has put a lot of people in some tough spots.

While I don’t think there are any Nobel-prize winning ideas in the book, there is a lot of very useful and challenging advice.  Leadership isn’t rocket science, but it’s not easy either.

It’s important to know how to effectively lead in a crisis, because a crisis is a sink-or-swim situation.  As Bill points out, there exists both danger and opportunity.  The key to succesful leadership in crisis is being able to seize the opportunity without succombing to the danger.

Here are some of my main takeaways from 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis:

• Leaders must be willing to face reality in a crisis
• The best leaders are not afraid to fail.  (While I’m not afraid of small failures, I have to acknowledge that I’m afraid of failing big…)
• Leaders need to be able to express vulnerability.
• Assume that the situation is going to get worse.
• Things will probably never return to the “old” normal.  Stop waiting for normal to return.
• Don’t declare victory too soon.  Bill points out the epic example of George W. Bush landing on the USS Lincoln back in 2003 to declare the War in Iraq over.
• “Never waste a good crisis!”  A crisis provides the opportunity to create major change in the organization.
• “Keep your head up during a crisis rather than hunkering down.”

7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis is definitely a must-read for any leader.  It’s inexpensive and only 127 pages.  How can you beat that?  Be sure to check out Bill’s blog too.

I shared these verses with the band earlier this week, and I thought I should share them with you, as well.

10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

1 Peter 4:10-11 (NLT)

We’ve all been given gifts, talents, and abilities from God.  Sometimes, identifying those gifts can be difficult.  But once you’ve discovered your gifting, these verses challenge us with two things.

1. Am I using my gifts to serve myself?  Or am I using my gifts to serve other people?
2. Am I letting God multiply my gifts by using them within His plans?  When we’re serving within His will, he provides “strength and energy” to do more.

Thoughts?