Book Review: Entreleadership

Before the thought burrows into your mind let me address it now – yes, this book review is a departure from the usual book reviews I write.

On my own, this would not have been my first pick in books. I tend toward classic works of fiction and spiritual development. But I enjoyed every page and already have recommended Entreleadership to several of my friends and colleagues.

Here are a few lessons from Dave Ramsey’s “play book” that he communicates in his book:

• To build a successful business, you need team members, not employees. Team members are self-motivated and share common goals whereas employees clock in and out to get the paycheck.
• Sell to people the way they want to be sold to. If your customer has a tight deadline, don’t bog them down by reading every last detail. Likewise, if your customer is extremely analytical, review the facts and don’t just skip those pages and force them to sign the final page.
• Compensate fairly and frequently. Don’t wait until a year-end review and give a standard raise. Inspire your team members and instantly reward them for a good job.
• Treat others the way you want to be treated. Give grace to team members in difficult times. When you are loyal to them, they will be loyal to you.
• Involve your spouse. Run major decisions past them. And if a spouse can’t trust your team member, neither can you.

Yes, this book’s primary audience is the owner of a business. But the secondary audience is all of us.

We are all leaders in one capacity or another. Some  may be bosses, leaders of class projects, parents, or even babysitters. Whether we have consciously considered it or not, we all have a leadership style. Many people confuse power and authority with leadership. Leadership causes you to view the people around  your differently. You set them up for success whereas a person of power only sets up themselves.

In our Christian walk, our faith is to be evident in every aspect of our lives, not just in the category of church attendance and radio stations. It is encouraging to read books by unapologetically Christian authors who clearly and concisely share their business plan.