E-M8 Entrepreneurial Management for Eternal Mission

Fear is devastating. It increases the cost of doing business and makes it impractical to implement many otherwise excellent ideas. Unfounded and exaggerated fear causes people to either freeze or make rush decisions. To be sure, there is a place for healthy fear. It serves to mobilize our resources. Yet, it should never be our primary motivator, since if we are overcome with fear, the fear will consume us.

The good news is that we can overcome fear. As a society we can create an environment of purpose. But first we must look the problem squarely in the face. Not only is fear one of the key roots of poverty, but it is also the root of incompetence and inefficient bureaucracy. A person who is  afraid of their future will most certainly be impoverished, since their fear will cause them to not do the very things that would otherwise prepare them for the future. Much of what we call incompetence is just another expression of fear. I have never met a person who was deathly afraid of math, yet was very good at it. It is unknown that we fear the most, while often we should fear those who think they know. Fear of admitting failure, or fear of asking for help, fear of learning, or fear of trying something new, we can label our fears any way we like, but they all result in the same incompetence.

Inefficiency of all sorts, and especially in our bureaucratic process is also largely driven by fears. The people involved would rather protect their hide than get anything done. They follow rules and procedures designed to avoid minor problems. Meanwhile the same rules destroy possibility of major solutions. Jesus referred to it as straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel. Turf wars, and office politics thrive on fear. The net result of it all, is a deadlock that ensures that even the best solutions do not get through.

My mentor, Rex Lewis, shared an example of this with me that highlights this problem: Conversion to long lasting lights that generates positive cash flow from the day one is either rejected or stonewalled by organizations as diverse as local governments and Universities. The approach has proven itself in a number of cities across the country. The results are well documented. The upfront costs are paid for by a low cost loan that is repaid from the savings in the electricity usage. Yet, most local governments are talking about running pilot studies and revisiting it in a few years.

This fear is costing the taxpayers money and causes us to die a slow death. The system works this way: Elected officials, to carry out their duties and to make themselves look good, seek to create cost savings. When they see an opportunity, such as this way of reducing electric bills, they ask that the management investigate and implement these improvements. The managers rightly assume that few years from now these elected officials are either not going to be around or will not remember to follow up. Now they are faced with the dilemma: if they do nothing, nothing that goes wrong can be blamed on them; on the other hand, if they do something and something goes wrong they might be out of a job. Cushier the job, greater the fear. Why rock the boat that they are in. By doing the pilots, they can show that they were diligent in their jobs, while still avoiding the commitment to any kind of action. And as the entire society gets used to think like that our country will grind to a halt, since nothing is more debilitating than fear.

The only thing that is scarier to these mid level managers who are paralyzed with fear than action, is a person who urges that action. They cannot understand it. Why would somebody help us out? What is their angle? They struggle with the concept that somebody is doing it just because, or out of the kindness of their heart. They are just as bothered when they know that those people stand to gain something in return. Even in the biblical narrative, it is because of fear that people have crucified Jesus. This problem is dire and has to be overcome.

Yet most common potential solutions is greed. Greed works. While greed is not pretty, it can often serve to overcome fear. In the market economy fear is offset by greed, thus making private businesses engage in actions even in spite of fear. Greed is better than fear, but not by much. Just as fear destroys, greed hoards. Greed even occasionally causes us to overreach and then works with fear to create a real panic. After all, greed is nothing but fear in the inverse. But fortunately, there is a better solution: purpose.

When people have a purpose that is bigger than them, they can often overlook fear. As they do, they learn trust. Trust becomes a habit and soon fear is put in its proper place. Provided that the purpose and the trust is not built out of hallow hope, which has no substance, it has the capacity to transform people in to creators of value. People who have the capacity to bless one another.

Thus, we have only two ways to get fearful people to act. One is to scare them with fear that their names will be made known to general public. Another, to ignite the passion in their hearts. Admittedly, the second choice is more long term, but it has also a greater promise of a life long difference.

To find out more about the light replacement programs go to http://greenstreetlights.com. To learn about the life full of purpose check out the book E-M8: Discovering Purpose Through Business.