Clay in the Hands

Several years ago, back when we still used dial-up internet service and thought that was amazing, we decided to upgrade at the office and move to a blazing 768 mbps service.  It was a new technology for our area and operated via an antenna on top of the building that connected by radio signal to a tower 1/4 mile away.  As we met with the sales person in setting up the installation, I asked  the simple question, “How will the antenna be mounted to our building?”

You see, before entering ministry, I spent a considerable amount of my working life in the roofing industry (and oh, the stories I can tell about those days), and as such, I did not want a monstrosity affixed to our building that was going to be the cause for roof leaks and head aches down the road.  I was assured that the antenna was a simple mast with a small box on top of the pole.  I asked my follow-up question, “How will it be fastened down?”

Here was the answer I received: “We use non-penetrating roof anchors.” I thought to myself, “non-penetrating roof anchors huh?  Never heard of it!  Must be new.”

Finally, the day arrived for the installation – we were finally going to move into the world that allowed more than one person to be on the web at a time (that sounds comical when I read that statement).  The installers arrived and I escorted them to the roof.  A few hours later I went to check on them and also to see for myself what a non-penetrating roof anchor looked like.  I wish I could say that what I saw was an amazing piece of scientific engineering.  But alas, it was as I expected.  The mast was a shiny, galvanized 1″ pipe about 8 feet tall.  At the top of the mast was a small rectangular, tan box – the receiver.  At the bottom of the mast were three legs and at the base of each leg was a . . .  you guessed it – a brick.  The non-penetrating roof anchors were concrete block bricks – what an amazing piece of technology!

I tell this story to make a point, we can spin anything we want to be anything we want.  We have become masters of accentuating the positive and diminishing the negative – ok that was an example of the very thing I am talking about.  In reality, what I meant to say was we have a way of blowing the positive out of proportion and sweeping the negative under the rug.  It all depends on what we are trying to accomplish.

The non-penetrating roof anchors did hold the antenna in place – but they were still just bricks.  The next time I needed something from my sales person, I took what they told me with a grain of salt.

As leaders, all we really have to stand on is our word.  Without the trust of the people we lead, we will not make it very far.  So tell the truth.  Don’t spin the facts to paint a different picture.  Find an honest way to motivate people and they will follow you – every time!