January 7; Follow The (planned) Paper Trail
MANAGEMENT BY THE BOOK:
365 Daily Bible Verse &
One-Minute Management Lessons For The Busy Faithful

7 January

All this I have in writing

from the hand of the LORD upon me,

and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.

1 Chronicles 28:19

Follow the (planned) Paper Trail

Take Note

Students of military leadership often note that the Navy seems to have better after-action reports than the Army. It is simpler to evaluate the decisions of those leaders afloat than the judgment of those afield. There is fog on both land and sea but the ‘ground-pounders’ seem to complain more about the “fog of war” than their naval cousins.

Does the Navy have better leadership than the Army?

My dad served in the Navy. Your Business Professor served in the Army, which produced a friendly inter-service intra-family rivalry where the finer points of tactical management were discussed.

Conclusion: It’s not that the Navy has better leadership. (Maybe.)

It has better note-takers.

In the evaluation of the movements of a fleet there is a complete record of orders given and received. Ships at sea have all in-bound and out-bound communication meticulously logged in. In contrast, armies do not have radiomen acting as scribes capturing every transmission. Even as the ground-pounders Move-Shoot-Communicate, an army does not write down radio traffic on the move in the mud.

Every new manager knows well to ‘plan, organize, lead and control.’ So how does the manager evaluate the performance of his unit? How can he best control?

Should he look to the Navy? The Army?

Or First Chronicles?

Wartime leader King David turned from battle-plans to building-plans in architecture in his later years. His detailed plans were written down. Just like the Navy in the middle of a battle.

All this, David said in 1 Chronicles 28:19, I have in writing from the hand of the LORD upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.

Write it down. Now. Then by keeping an accurate after-action report, your team will learn and improve performance in the future.

Write down Your Plan. Chronicle Your Plan. Then evaluate.

Write it down.

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