Weekly Thought Archives > How's Your Heartbeat

How's Your Heartbeat

Vitality is not static. You cannot take a snapshot of an organization and immediately read the level. One may sense the presence of life, yet not know if it is ebbing or flowing. The impact of vitality is delayed, but definite.

Too many people confuse vitality with enthusiasm. One is the lifeblood while the other is the fruit. Enthusiasm may fluctuate like the spirit of a sporting event from play to play. If it isn’t properly directed, enthusiasm can misdirect an organization like the man who gets lost and doubles his speed.

Vitality is more than good morale. Personally, I prefer the term "Productive morale." Just having good feelings doesn’t necessarily equate with productivity. I once belonged to a sales organization that prided itself on high morale. The numbers continued to fall off, however. Management found out their enthusiastic, high morale sales people were spending crucial selling time having coffee and lunches with each other!

Vitality is the life force. It is what sustains soldiers in unspeakable danger. It is what keeps us as Americans from submitting to tyranny and the brainwashing of enemy thought. It holds our families, our churches, and our businesses together in the hardest of times.

Pearl Buck, the great writer, once divided people into two classifications: those who accept challenge and those who accept inertia. Dr. Howard Rome studied the Marines of Guadalcanal to determine the difference between heroes and cowards. Howard said they both had the same motivation: fear. The heroes went forward and the cowards went backwards. Some accept the challenge; others accept inertia.

Vital organizations and vital people have:

1. Mission focus -- there is clarity.

2. Joy of Accomplishment -- people want to produce success rather than merely enjoying the fruits.

3. Sense of significance and meaning -- work is for more than just money.

4. Self-generating motivation -- energy is internal, not external.

5. Simplicity of programs -- bureaucracy focuses people on the process, not the problem.

6. Limited psychological barriers -- there is no room for a "can’t be done" attitude.

7. Direct communications -- the shortest line is always followed.

In assessing any organization, look for vitality just as a doctor looks for a pulse. They both measure the heartbeat.

This week carefully consider: 1) Where am I experiencing the great vitality? 2) What would make my business more vital? 3) Who can I vitally encourage?

Words of Wisdom: "One may sense the presence of life, yet not know if it is ebbing or flowing."

Wisdom from the Word: "For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive." (1Corinthians 15:22 NET Bible)