Ok, the title has nothing to do with this post except the word persuasion…and I happen to love the song.
Although many believe the name came from the picture above that was taken by Apollo 7, the truth is when Tommy James was asked what persuaded the name, he said that it was from the Book of Revelations chapter 19; “Yes, it is. It’s out of the Bible. The imagery was right out of Chapter 19 of the Book of Revelation, about the lake of crystal, and just what John sees. The imagery was just right there. ‘Crystal blue persuasion,’ although those words aren’t used together, it was what the image meant to me.”
I do want to talk about persuasion though. There’s an old saying, “You can’t push a rope, you can only pull it.” In EntreLeadership we talk about the difference between positional power and persuasive power. Positional power is that boss who tells you exactly what you’re going to do. It’s also the same way with parenting. If you resort to, “You’ll do it because I said so!” then you’ve already lost in your leadership of being a parent.
By Webster’s definition, to persuade means: to move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action. The way we like to say it, it’s a way of convincing somebody to do something that they might not do on their own. As a parent, it’s your job to make sure that your children are raised in a way that they can be a productive part of society. That they treat people with respect and love. That they make smart decisions like not getting in a car drunk, or with someone who is.
That they spend their life working hard because “the diligent prosper”, not living with a victim mentality. That they find joy in real love, instead of being destroyed by someone who only cares about their self. Therefore, it is your responsibility to persuade them to do those things that are right. It’s your responsibility to guide and direct them through life knowing the pitfalls to avoid, the battles to fight, and what it means to be selfless. You let rope out day after day, year after year, and eventually someday…you let go of the rope.
Funny thing is, it’s the same with leadership. Any good leader eventually realizes that part of leadership is being a parent. Once you hire a person, you have now taken on the responsibility of making sure they are successful with what they do. It’s your job to make sure that they have everything they could possible need to do what it is that you’ve asked them to do.
You have to be there to answer questions, and ask questions of things that they aren’t thinking yet. You need to persuade them through tough decisions and hard times. And day after day, year after year, you let the rope out till eventually all you have is the end. The only difference between parenting and business is that in business, you never let go of the rope.
Question: How well do you do with this principle?
