Principles or People?

Episode 46:  George

Frank:      There’s one of “those” in camp.

Trapper:    One of “those” Frank?

Hawkeye:    Which one of those “thoses” do you mean?

Frank:    One of those types that don’t like girls.  Get it? Private Weston.  Patient came in this morning, knows some of those guys in his outfit.  I think it’s disgusting.

Hawkeye:    What business is it of yours, Frank?

Frank:      Don’t you understand?  The man is not normal.

Hawkeye:    What’s normal, Frank?

Frank:      Normal is everybody doing the same thing.

Hawkeye and Trapper take a stand against the prejudices of Frank Burns by blackmailing with his own hypocrisy to try and stop him from obtaining a dishonourable discharge for a wounded homosexual soldier recovering at the 4077.

The same-sex marriage debate has exposed the polarised views about homosexuality in Australia, amplifying the need for inclusiveness of all people, despite their sexual orientation or lifestyle choices.  For those leading in an environment where social and spiritual values are at odds on this issue, the challenge of inclusiveness is complicated by the gap that exists between people and principles.  While our principles may differ, we share a common humanity which must define the way we treat people if we are to foster an environment that truly values people in a way that transcends our differences.  Mother Teresa is quoted as saying, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”  Jesus demonstrated non-judgemental love for people by leading in the tension between principles and people through a perfect balance of grace and truth that put a higher value on people over principles.  Putting people first allows leaders to openly discuss and debate principles on a foundation of mutual respect instead of prejudice.

Don't Panic

Episode 45:  Crisis

Hawkeye:    What’s the idea of the gun, Frank?

Frank:      It’s classic.  The enemy cuts off your supply lines, you get cold and hungry, then they go right for your soft underbelly.  That’s why the rifle fella.

Trapper:    Just like you to panic, Frank.

Frank:      Who’s panicking?

Hawkeye:   Well, do you see anybody else pressing the soft-underbelly button?

When the supply lines are cut to the 4077, the officers rally to respond to the crisis by taking on rationing responsibilities, putting the camp under extra stress while they try to function on limited supplies.  The crisis brings out the best and worst in the personnel under the difficult conditions.

Having worked in Christchurch as part of the earthquake recovery team I witnessed some amazing displays of resilience by people who lost most of their possessions during this disaster.  The crisis brought out a variety of responses from people who were under stress and were experiencing significant personal loss.  There were those who rose up and overcame adversity and others who were overcome by their circumstances.  Leadership expert John Maxwell explains how “one of the major keys to success is to keep moving forward on the journey, making the best of the detours and interruptions, turning adversity into advantage.”  Adversity is unavoidable and crisis is inevitable in the unpredictability of life.  Panic usually results from being crippled by crisis, when you are unable to see a way through, whereas, resilience comes as a result of persevering through crisis because you hold fast to the belief that there is a way through. 

What's The Idea?

Episode 44:  As You Were

Henry:     Being as how we’ve got so much spare time on our hands lately, I thought I’d deliver the required commanding officer’s monthly orientation lecture this morning rather than wait for another time, which while we have it, why not use it?  So if you guys are ready, why, we’ll start with today’s subject.

Trapper:    Which is what Henry?

Henry:      I’ll answer questions later, McIntyre.

Hawkeye:    Can you give us the subject first, just in case we can’t tell what it is from your talk?

During a lull in the war, Henry delivers his monthly orientation lecture resulting in hilarious interjections from the officers who try and lighten up an awkward topic, making the task almost impossible for their leader.

Have you ever sat in a lecture and wondered what on earth you had just spent the last hour listening to?  Or have listened to a sermon and have struggled to pull all the disjointed pieces together to nail down the main point of the message?   As a leader and a preacher I understand how important it is to ensure that I don’t bombard people with so much information that they miss the point or to complicate it so they don’t understand it.  Authors Chip and Dan Heath provide some powerful and practical strategies in their book ‘Made to Stick’ to ensure the ideas we are seeking to communicate take hold and positively impact your audience.  In summary, they share the following six principles to help make an idea stick:  keep it SIMPLE, attract interest through the UNEXPECTED, give CONCRETE examples, refer to CREDIBLE authorities, appeal to the EMOTIONAL, and use STORIES.  If an idea is worth communicating, then it is worth making the effort to effectively present it in a way that maximizes its impact.

Clear Communication

Episode 43:  The Chosen People

Frank:      Captain Pak.  You are here as a medical observer,    

            not to give us language lessons.

Hawkeye:    Frank, by a strange coincidence, the inhabitants of 

            Korea communicate in Korean.  It wouldn’t hurt us to 

            speak their language.

Frank:      I speak American.  And I can go any place in the 

            world.

Trapper:    We can have you packed in 20 minutes.

Hawkeye:    We’re living in Korea, Frank.

Frank:      Not me, fella.  I’m part of the American military 

           establishment.  I eat in an American mess.  I shop in   an American PX.  All I want to do is save these 

            people and go home.

Capt. Pak:  And we thank you from the bottom of our bomb craters.

The 4077 compound is taken over by a Korean family claiming it is their farm.  Radar is blamed for fathering a child with a Korean girl.  And Frank demonstrates his cultural insensitivity towards the reality of living in Korea during the war.

There is an amazing event in the Bible where God’s Spirit empowers the followers of Jesus to speak in the languages of the nations gathered at a religious festival in order to fulfil His commission to “go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”  The result?  “About three thousand were added to their number that day.”  Whatever your leadership context is, those sorts of results demand your attention!  Clear communication is key to effective leadership and successful mission.  There was a time in my ministry when I realised that I wasn’t reaching a particular group in our church very well with our vision.  While we were casting it consistently through verbal, written and visual means, we were not speaking their language.  We learnt that understanding our message wasn’t enough; we had to understand our audience to effectively reach them with our message. 

Against Regulations

Episode 42:  Operation Nose Lift

Henry:      Cosmetic Surgery is against army regulations.

Hawkeye:    Another good reason to do it.

Trapper:    Henry, do you know who’s a major down at Tokyo General?  You ever hear of Stanley Robbins?

Henry:     Yeah, sure, the plastic surgeon.  He does all those Hollywood people.

Trapper:    We could have him here in an hour working on Baker’s beak.

Henry:     Don’t tell me.  I don’t want to know about it.  You guys have my full permission, and I never said that.  I mean, I’m not even here, so how could I?

An enlisted man come to Hawkeye and Trapper for a nose job, however, plastic surgery is against regulations in the army.  Not deterred by regulations, Hawkeye and Trapper covertly arrange for the surgery to help out the troubled soldier.

Is there ever an occasion when it is okay to break the rules?  What happens when rules and regulations get in the way of progress?  Is there a difference between appropriate legislation and inhibitive legalism?  What about the ethics of the philosophy “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?”  These are challenging questions to wrestle with while trying to effectively lead when the system seems to get in the way of getting things done.  Thomas Edison once said, “There ain’t no rules here. We’re trying to accomplish something.”  I don’t think I would want to live or lead in a society that isn’t governed by rules, but I do pray for wisdom and courage to lead in such a way that I can influence those who make the rules.  Leaders have a responsibility to lead up as well as leading down and to appropriately challenge anything that gets in the way of accomplishing something of significance.