Jennifer Mitchell Earley

Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." This is as true in business as it is in life. Organizations whose leaders have no vision are doomed to work under the burden of mere tradition or to chase ill-conceived illusions of grandeur. They cannot prosper and grow because they are either reduced to keeping things status quo or because they have failed to realistically “count the costs” by vetting all outcomes. Leadership entails, “holding and casting” the vision. “Holding" the vision means taking full accountability for the job of keeping the vision alive. Leaders are charged with inspiring confidence in everyone in the organization at all times. Leaders are charged with the task of “writing the vision and making it plain…” (Habakkuk 2:2). You know it is alive when people are continually excited, inspired and committed to its achievement. If they are stressed, weary, overloaded and resigned, they've lost it. It's a leader’s job to...

Picture life before democracy: a world ruled by tyrants, people arrested for unknown reasons, unequal rights for different classes, and death to those who opposed unreasonable tyrants. How could this happen? Why weren’t these rulers questioned? History shows that Kings gave these tyrants rule without question, despite their lack of morals and principles.   As a result, the people of Europe were oppressed and impoverished, with no way of escaping.   Fortunately, on the horizon, a different government was arising: a government comprised of the people, by the people, and for the people. People began to think about their most basic rights as human beings, their inalienable rights. People throughout Europe realized that their kings were not above reproach and, most importantly, had no right to continue governing without input from the people. As the Europeans established their colonies in America, they aspired to create a new form of government, one that would give the people a ...