Maximizing Stewardship

Article by Guest Blogger - J.T. Robinson

While some say stewardship is the management of what we have been entrusted with, I believe it is a higher standard. It is more than just maintaining the status quo. Stewardship, rather, is the maximization of every opportunity in our lives and organizations. To maximize means to make the greatest or fullest use of. In maximization, there is no room for waste, mediocrity or untapped potential. It is a call to excellence in every area of life, including at home and in business.
Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A’s Sr. Vice President of Operations, teaches that success is not the standard; excellence is. Success is your performance compared to others, or doing better than the competition. Excellence, though, is a higher calling. It is maximizing your own performance compared to your own potential.

You can be successful but not excellent. You can outpace the competition but still have room for improvement. Stewardship calls us to excellence—to be the very best we can be no matter where we are in relation to others. It calls us to take a deep look at every area of our personal and professional lives and replace untapped potential, mediocrity and waste with excellence.
What should be maximized? Stewardship calls us to maximize every opportunity—every day, every relationship, every resource, every talent, every challenge, every ability, every loss - in life and in our organizations. Maximizers seek to make the most of everything! They seek excellence in every area of life and business and are not satisfied until every opportunity has been maximized.

The term “opportunity” can be defined as a chance for progress or advancement.

Where can you or your organization make progress? In what areas are you successful when you could be excellent? In what areas is your organization successful when it could be excellent? Where is waste happening? Where is mediocrity tolerated? Where does untapped potential exist?

Maximizing stewardship forces us to answer these questions and take action. I encourage you to begin at the top. Live it out, maximize every opportunity and watch your life and organization grow from successful to excellent.

Posted on September 17, 2008 in Leader Development