Nehemiah 2:11-18 “I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem … Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem … they replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So they began this good work.”
On my Bible map this looks like a 5-mile inspection tour. The size of Jerusalem in those days was small compared to today. It was bottle shaped with the wide part of the bottle housing the temple. An exploration team could make the trip in a couple of hours.
Principle: Personal observation with the management team is a good way to begin a major project.
James Hackett was the president and CEO of Steelcase, a leading furniture designer and manufacturer, for nearly 20 years. Hackett’s workspace was a 48-square foot booth about one-fourth the size of his secretary’s workspace. He escaped to his desk about an hour a day to do his personal planning.
Outside the booth was a table and bar stools that served as a spontaneous conference area and a place where any of one of Steelcase’s 8,000 local employees might schedule a meeting with Hackett. He designed the workspace around the idea that a company is a team structure. Hackett said, “It’s not a fad; it’s a fact that information is more important than the hierarchy. My day is spent all over this geography. A private office for an executive really does not serve all the tasks that they are going to be asked to do in a given day.” How did a small workspace signal that Hackett was in charge? Hackett said that office size doesn’t matter. He believed personal observation, availability, and dialog were more important than status symbols.
How available are you? Do you get away from your desk and ask questions? Should you dig a little deeper and double-check your conclusions with a few reliable people? Try some walk around management. Pray for wisdom. Trust God to direct your steps.
Discussion:
1. What could a “field trip” around your marketplace reveal about your operational or product knowledge?
2. What are the advantages of a secluded, protected office for you?
3. What are the downsides of easy availability?
