My Eulogy (Part 4)

This is the final post in a series inspired by two men who have inspired me. I was recently listening to a podcast by Andy Stanley where he referred to a challenge that he read in the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. In the book, Mr. Covey challenges readers to write out what you would like people you know to say at your funeral: your spouse, your children, your parents, your boss, your coworkers, and etc. The reason for this, is that you must decide what you want to be before you decide what you want to do.

Today, I am sharing what I would like to have my coworkers say about me:

Daryl was someone we will miss a lot. He worked hard and enjoyed what he did. He was unselfish and was willing to take the difficult part of the job. He was dependable and we could always count on him keeping his word. He was always open new ideas or criticism. He didn't feel threatened by the success of people who worked under him. He encouraged growth and was quick to delegate in order to give people new opportunities and skills. He had little time for seniority. Instead, he felt that we each should be promoted based on our strengths and performance. He always kept the company striving for continuous improvement, and he led by example. He was always humble and led by serving. His greatest leadership role model was Jesus. His goal as a leader was to make himself unnecessary. As he accomplished this goal and promoted more people to "take his place," he gave more and more of his time to missions, church and other good causes. He didn't work as many long hours as some of us because he valued his family very highly. He believed that there should be no difference between personal values and business values, and he lived out his personal values every day at work. In relating to customers and coworkers, he was always honest and transparent. Because of this, he earned the trust of everyone around him. Because he "worked himself out of a job" and surrounded himself with people who stood for the values he did, things will continue to flow smoothly at work. Yet, we will always remember his legacy and miss his inspiring leadership.

Wow, these posts sound like a lot of bragging! That's not at all what I want them to be. These are my goals, and by God's grace, I want to continue to refine them throughout my life. I want to reach the ones that are right and eliminate the ones that are not.