Leadership principles can be found everywhere! While attending a conference for non-profits, I came across the book, Spirit to Serve:  Our Stories,  in my hotel room.  Written by Bill Marriott Jr., it describes the foundations of their success.

Bill states that his father, the founder of Marriott, would say, “Success is never final.” Through the years they’ve been able to build a culture of excellence based on a spirit to serve and passion for quality.

Based on the core values that formed the foundation of the Marriott hotel chain they’ve been able to adopt what they call the “Twelve Rules of Success.”  These management philosophies are a simple but powerful part of their culture and have created a living tradition of values and beliefs that they use with their staff around the world.

Perhaps these twelve rules may help you develop a foundation for success in your church or ministry.

1. Continually challenge your team to do better.

2. Take good care of your employees, and they’ll take good care of your customers, and the customers will come back.

3. Celebrate your people’s success, not your own.

4. Know what you’re good at and mine those competencies for all you’re worth.

5. Do it and do it now. Err on the side of taking action.

6. Communicate. Listen to your customers, associates, and competitors.

7. See and be seen. Get out of your office, walk around, make yourself visible and accessible.

8. Success is in the details.

9. It’s more important to hire people with the right qualities than with specific experience.

10. Customer needs may vary, but their bias for quality never does.

11. Eliminate the cause of a mistake. Don’t just clean it up.

12. View every problem as an opportunity to grow.

Which one of these success indicators is most needed in your church? In your life?