Before you go off on this title thinking I’m being ‘snooty,’ consider some great leaders who subscribed whole heartedly to the law of the inner circle…
- King David had some hand-picked men even among the mightiest of his mighty men. And, finally, there was his best friend, Jonathan
- General Robert E. Lee attributed most of the South’s early dominance to his trusted ‘inner circle’ of generals.
- Even great athletes in team sports usually have something special and rare with 1 or 2 teammates who make the magic happen on the field. Kurt Warner has Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston as an Arizona Cardinal, but before that he had Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt as a Ram. Without the ‘inner circle’ Kurt would still be bagging groceries.
- And the best of all time, “Jesus,” the Son of God. Even begin God He still developed 3 disciples more than any of the others—Peter, James and John. His example enough ought to give us pause to consider the ‘Law of the Inner Circle” (as John Maxwell calls it).
It’s not that you like these people better than everyone else who is not in your inner circle—it’s just that you learn who best complements your strengths and the overall strengths of the team—and you move with the movers in order to achieve the best results. So, rather than considering this inner circle stuff elitist, why not consider it…BEST. If everyone had an inner circle in life, LIFE would be a whole lot better for everyone.
Provided it’s a godly inner circle. There have been plenty of criminals, meglomaniacs and mobsters throughout history who have also had strong inner circles.
So this can be a law applied to living a life for good or evil. Your choice.
Back to the law…
Maxwell gives several pointers toward the goal of putting the right team of trusted comrades together:
- Do they have high influence with others?
- Do they possess strengths in my areas of weakness?
- Do they add value to me and my organization?
- Do they positively impact other inner circle members?
Simple, huh?
See you on the inside track!
* Remember to invite for this weekend as we enter 3 straight weeks of ‘hot topics’ in our journey through the gospel of John! Click here for details.