Mark Williamson's Blog, page 5

Batman Leadership Lessons

Are there any Batman leadership lessons? What can be learned from the infamous caped crusader?

One day between Christmas and New Year me and five (male) friends watched all three Christopher Nolan Batman films (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises) back to back. We talked and prayed after each film, discussing what it means to be a man, and what it means to be a leader. Here’s some of the wisdom we gleaned:

We may consider our identity to be one thing, but most people wi...

What’s the Purpose of Prayer?

What’s the purpose of prayer? Why bother with bothering God about anything? Is there any purpose in prayer?

There are two errors I tend to find people believe that cause us to ask this question of why pray. The first is that God will always have His way, so why bother praying about anything. And the second is that praying is us getting God to change His mind on a course of action He’s already decided on.

So firstly, God does not always have His way. World War II, the 1994 Rwandan massacre and...

Best Biographies of 2016

This is the last in my three part series covering the best books I read in 2016; this time we’re looking at the best biographies. I read huge numbers of biographies – these are the top three from last year that taught me the most about leadership.

Team Spirit by Brendan Hall

Top of the list is undoubtedly Team Spirit. It’s actually one of the best biographies I’ve ever read regarding leadership. Brendan Hall was the youngest captain on a round the world yachting race in 2009-10. With each ca...

Top Three Spiritual Formation Books of 2016

Last week I shared the best three books on leadership I read in 2016. Now here are the top three spiritual formation books I read in 2016. All three books are much older than 2016, it just happened that I finally got around to reading them last year.

Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl was an Austrian Jew working as a psychologist in the 1930s, and a contemporary of Sigmund Freud. During the war he was arrested and placed in a concentration camp by the Nazis, and survived...

Top Three Leadership Books of 2016

Each year I read dozens of books, many of them on leadership. Here are my three top leadership books of 2016. Note that these aren’t necessarily books that were published in 2016; they’re books that I read and have been impacted by in 2016.

The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber

This is an old book that I finally got around to reading last year, having been recommended it by several friends. It would benefit from being shorter, less repetitive, and cutting down on the fable in the first half of the b...

Most Popular Posts of 2016

These are the three most popular posts on the One Rock blog throughout 2016. They consistently had the most hits to the website through search engines. If you’ve not yet read them, maybe you should check them out at the start of 2017:

The God Who Sings Over You – A look at Zephaniah 4:17, and how God rejoices over us with singing.

What’s The Purpose of Vision? – What’s the point of vision, and what makes up a good vision statement?

John Wesley: 12 Rules for Leaders – The twelve rules that Joh...

What Restores Your Soul?

Recently me and Joanna have been asking each other a fascinating question… what restores your soul?

There are certain things that make each of us come alive. Or to use a Stephen Covey phrase, they provide genuine re-creation. They bring true joy to us, so much so that our souls become refreshed and restored through doing them.

Once you discover what restores your soul, you can then include some of those practices into your rhythm of life. We tend to think of this for being purely ‘spiritual’...

Can You Say It In One Sentence?

Can you say it in one sentence is a great phrase to bear in mind when you’re trying to clarify vision and strategy.

Last night I was talking with a friend who wants to write a book. We were talking through the core idea he wants the book to get across, and although there was some good stuff there it was still quite vague. “Can you say the purpose of the book in one sentence?” I challenged him. He couldn’t then, but he will go away to reflect on it. And that clarity will make the eventual book...

Three Team Killers

Here’s three team killers that can quickly destroy your team environment:

Lack of Clarity: When team members don’t have clarity on the roles they should each be playing, or clarity on the overall vision they are working towards and reason for the team’s existence, they will quickly lose motivation. Lack of Skill: When team members don’t have the skills to perform their roles well, they will quickly become demotivated, and so will their team mates. On a football team no one wants to pass to a...

Patience – The Force Within You

Patience is not indifference, inaction, and nor is it impossible… it is a powerful force within us.

It is a stable concrete structure that supports your inner life from collapsing when people mock you for your dreams, don’t appreciate you for your efforts and want to bury you alive.

Patience is a fruit… no, not in a fruity, crazy kind of way… though in some situations patience will ask you to do crazy things (such as to wait, a much forgotten practice in today’s world). It is a ‘result of the...