John Perkins Shane Claiborne
Our future journey
My wife and I have a long way to go. We have set goals in our business where people will benefit. We want to be successful, and we want to share our successes with people in order to celebrate together. We have worked hard to change old paradigms in order to understand how to help people better.
The book Follow me to Freedom (2009) helped me realize the importance of listening to people carefully. In order to become a good leader, I must listen to people’s needs. If I do not talk to them, I do not hear their desires. People need to understand that one person is not more important than another (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). Everyone deserves equal attention and understanding. Therefore, I need to always pay attention to people’s comments to know how I can lead more efficiently.
Our relationship with people is important because “we can nurture each other” (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009, p. 209). Everyone has special skills and aptitudes, so we all can learn from each other. Sometimes we can lead and other times we must follow. Flexibility will help us learn from different perspectives.
Portal Gourmet, LLC will be successful if we form a team where different people participate and lead. We know we cannot lead alone. People’s skills and cultural backgrounds are important in today’s world. We do not have all the necessary skills to run a business. If we form a team, our skills and knowledge will benefit the business and the community as well.
Bibliography
Claiborne, S. & Perkins, J. (2009). Follow me to freedom: Leading and following as an ordinary radical. Ventura, CA: Regal.
Working together with excellence
As citizens of the world, we have the responsibility to help and encourage people to use “their gifts to help others” (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009, p. 185). As entrepreneurs, one of our goals is to encourage a community where everyone supports each other. In order to succeed, we must not allow mediocrity. Perkins (2009) stated, “in order to connect with people, we must study the hearts, dreams, hurts and voids of the people” (p. 184). Therefore, knowing their necessities will allow us to help efficiently based on their real circumstances and not on our ideas.
A successful change needs everyone’s help and collaboration (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009, p. 185). A successful change takes time, effort and patience. Perkins’ effort to community development took 10 to 12 years to build. Some projects may take less time, and other projects may take longer to accomplish.
Nevertheless, the difference will consist in the stability and consistency of our work and behavior (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). A commitment to be consistent brings people with similar visions together. We understand that we can help at a certain level, but people from the community will have a better impact. Claiborne mentioned, “we need indigenous leadership… we need to live and grow roots in the neighborhoods and make sure the people that live there are at the table, or even leading the conversation”. Providing help to those leaders is important for a successful change. Therefore, we must help in any way we can.
In our efforts to help the community, we must take the role of a leader and the role of a follower. Our mission focuses in working together. Portal Gourmet, LLC is not just a business that focuses on us. It is a business that wants to give back to the people it serves. We want to see people working together to solve problems. Perkins stated, “God made us weak so we are forced to rely on the support of each other and, of course, God.” Part of our success as entrepreneurs will be reflected when the community is enriched by its citizens and grows together.
Bibliography
Claiborne, S. & Perkins, J. (2009). Follow me to freedom: Leading and following as an ordinary radical. Ventura, CA: Regal.
Our goal is your goal
Early in my life, I was introduced to the concept of civil disobedience to learn how to envision a better future for people. Mahatma Gandhi envisioned a respectful life for Indians. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned people of different races working together as brothers and sisters.
Without a vision no one can succeed. A vision or a goal marks the path of a person’s life and gives an intrinsic motivation to move forward (Kotter, 1996). A clear understanding of a goal helps people find or look for opportunities that help them reach their goals.
My wife and I feel the necessity to help our community. We noticed that families are separated and many kids walk around the neighborhood alone. We want to make a difference in their life and we are working toward that goal. Claiborne & Perkins (2009) mention that after a prayer, an action must follow. We want to see a community that helps each other and benefits from their good deeds. We believe that creating jobs in our community will change the circumstances. Nevertheless, we need to ask people about their real needs to find out how to help effectively (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). We want to keep families together, but all will depend if certain families want to or not. Considering their priorities are very important. We believe that once those priorities are met, our help will facilitate aspects related to family bonds and family values.
Leadership is to take action and help those in need (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). It is to encourage others to participate and collaborate for a noble mission. Leadership is to enter into the pain of people and help (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). Our community is in need of help, and by contributing all together, we can make a difference. Following good principles and God’s intentions will make our goal come true.
Bibliography
Claiborne, S. & Perkins, J. (2009). Follow me to freedom: Leading and following as an ordinary radical. Ventura, CA: Regal.
Kotter, J. (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Behind the scenes of Portal Gourmet, LLC
When my wife and I started to think about Portal Gourmet, LLC, we considered social responsibility as one of our drives to do business responsibly. Right in the beginning, we thought about how beneficial our business would be to people in the community. Different visions crossed our mind, but we concluded that what we would like to see is a community that enriches itself and contributes to the well-being of others.
In order to reach this vision, we reflected on social responsibility programs that benefit people. We considered programs that set an example for others to imitate (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). John Perkins stated (2009) “it’s not just about us” (p.103). Our business is about everyone, it is about “getting our hands dirty or making words into flesh” to demonstrate that we all can contribute to something bigger than ourselves (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009, p. 78).
We believe that Portal Gourmet, LLC must be concerned about the people we serve (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). Therefore, a program was developed to start leading a positive change: “Stop Yelling in the Kitchen, Please”. The program is directed to kitchen staff to help them maintain calmness while they work in different areas of a restaurant.
Popular understanding to kitchen staff is that yelling to others in difficult times is common. While some people get used to being yelled at or yelling at others, not everyone can avoid the negative symptoms that carry this negative circumstance. Yelling is “to cry out or speak with a strong, loud, clear sound” (Dictionary.com, 2010). Yelling is a connotation of negative emotions such as anger, pain, or fear. In some circumstances, yelling indicates surprise or enthusiasm; however, in busy working environments, such as a restaurant, it is perceived as an indicator of a negative environment and a negative social connotation.
“Stop Yelling in the Kitchen, Please” teaches kitchen staff that they can communicate constructively without yelling. When stress is not caused by yelling, people can perform their duties with more efficiency, enthusiasm and effectiveness. Even though other stressing factors exist, by getting rid of the yelling, it decreases employee’s stress which is important for their well-being. “Stop Yelling in the Kitchen, Please” reminds kitchen staff that as humans, we all feel, think and reason. It reminds them that team work is founded upon the necessity of helping each other.
We believe this program will make an impact in the restaurant industry, and many people will accept it as a result of the vision that encompasses a noble mission (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). This program will benefit kitchen staff, the patrons and the restaurant industry as a whole.
Bibliography
Claiborne, S. & Perkins, J. (2009). Follow me to freedom: Leading and following as an ordinary radical. Ventura, CA: Regal.
Dictionary.com (2010). Retrieved November 8, 2010 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/yel
Vision, Leading and Following
Extensive research shows that anyone can be nurtured into being a leader. People can possess different leadership skills, but if they do not have a clear vision and goal to conduct themselves, people will not accomplish anything (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). Efficient leadership must have a clear mission, vision and purpose of change; Claiborne and Perkins (2009) suggest, people follow vision. Hence, interpersonal or social skills are not enough to let others know our distinctive purposes and roles in life.
My vision is founded upon unity, and it starts at home; with my wife, my mother, and my in-laws. Throughout my life, I have seen many “broken families” where people recur to drugs and alcohol to find comfort and escape. This is wholly due to a lack of unity fundamentally as a family. My wife shares this vision with me. We want to be an example for others to follow. During our interaction with friends, we explain not only why we are together, but also share our story; how we met, and how we live our lives as a happy couple. Many people find comfort in our stories because they see family values rooted in our unity as a couple. Our stories have helped friends improve their interaction with their families and acquaintances.
My wife and I are extremely happy we are leading friends with our vision. We have noticed that they tend to repeat our stories in order to help lead others (Claiborne & Perkins, 2009). We are glad friends share our family values to help those in need.
As aforesaid, everyone leads a different role and serves a different purpose thus, in our group of friends we are not the only ones who lead all the time. Many friends are very talented; hence, each one of us knows that no one person can lead the group. Claiborne and Perkins (2009) explain, a leader recognizes the person who can lead better in certain circumstances, so a leader lets others take control. Everyone is a leader and everyone is a follower in the group. For example, a friend that specializes in economics will contribute his knowledge when another friend has financial problems. When a friend wants to start a business, business owners or human resources specialists help using their experience.
We all help each other and understand that one person cannot solely lead the whole group. Different necessities and circumstances inhibit one person to be efficient in fulfilling all roles and responsibilities. We are together because we complement each other, and we plan to continue helping each other to benefit our lives.
Bibliography
Claiborne, S. & Perkins, J. (2009). Follow me to freedom: Leading and following as an ordinary radical. Ventura, CA: Regal.
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