Whether the task was the building of a tabernacle or the creation of the universe, God has always demanded and exhibited excellence. His attributes emanate perfection at the highest level.
Quality if ignored will slip away. Max DePree warned about losing the commitment to quality in his book Leadership is an Art. He identified twenty signals of entropy, which he defined as “a tendency to deteriorate.”
• Tendency toward superficiality
• Tension among key people
• Lack of celebration and ritual
• No distinction between rewards and ritual
• Absence of tribal stories
• Oversimplification of business difficulties
• Inconsistent understanding of responsibility or “service” or “trust.”
• Problem-makers outnumbering problem-solvers
• People confusing heroes and celebrities
• Leaders controlling rather than liberating
• Day-to-day operations eliminating concern for vision and risk
• Preference for business school rules over “contribution, spirit, excellence, beauty and joy.”
• Customers /members becoming an imposition, not an opportunity to serve.
• Manuals.
• An urge to quantify.
• An urge for ratios.
• Reliance upon structure instead of people.
• Loss of confidence in judgment, experience and wisdom.
• Loss of grace, style and civility.
• Loss of respect for the English language.
DePree concluded that any organization that wants to be as good as it can be needs to constantly be on the alert for the signs of entropy.
Taken from Leadership is an Art by Max DePree. Copyrite 1987 by Max Depree. Published by Doubleday, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
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