Issue No. 531 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting spotlights the immense legacy of nonprofit books and resources available today because of the vision of Dan Busby (1941-2022). We miss him. And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 500 book reviews, and click here for my review of Dan Busby’s new book, Before and After Jackie Robinson. Will the Dodgers face the Yankees in the 2022 World Series?
Dan Busby (1941-2022) authored more than 70 editions of 14 different books—nine of them written when he was in his 70s, including Trust: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness.
Many leaders and readers of Your Weekly Staff Meeting have graciously reached out to me upon hearing the sad news that my close friend, Dan Busby, lost his battle to cancer on Sept. 28, 2022. He was 81. Heaven’s gain! (Read ECFA’s tribute here.)
So in this issue, I’d like to spotlight and remind you of the immense legacy Dan left for leaders and readers. As a CPA, then a denominational CFO, Dan served ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) for 30 years as a volunteer, senior staff member, and then president from 2008 until his retirement in 2020. He was ECFA’s sixth (and to date, longest-serving) president.
Click here to view the video recording of the one-hour Memorial Service for Dan Busby, Oct. 21, 2022, from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
ECFA’s tribute noted that by his retirement from ECFA, Dan “had authored or co-authored more than 70 editions of 14 different books—nine of them written when in his 70s. He also published many ECFA eBooks.” I’m spotlighting five books below, including four that I had the huge privilege of co-authoring with Dan.
[ ] Trust: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness, by Dan Busby (2015)
• Read more.
• Order from Amazon.
In the opening chapter, Dan describes “The Low-Trust Penalty.” In low-trust organizations, Busby warned, you’ll see:
• Internal dissension. “Without trust, the office dissension machine runs at full speed—and divides a ministry against itself.”
• Disengagement. Staff work in silos and “they shift from joyful service to turf protection.”
• Turnover. “When trust is low, turnover is disproportionately high—ministries lose the people they least want to lose.”
• Fraud. “Low trust encourages a small theft; if they don’t get caught, they may take it to the next level.”
The quotations are numerous and memorable—click here for 100 trust quotes for your PowerPoints, speaking notes, coffee break conversations, and tweets, including this from Richard Blackaby: “Our problem as leaders is we do everything we know to do. That’s not enough. We need to do everything God wants us to do.”
[ ] Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: 40 Insights for Better Board Meetings (2nd Edition), by Dan Busby and John Pearson (2018). Lesson 1 asks, “Would you trust a surgeon who stopped learning? How about a board member who stopped learning?”
• Read more.
• Order from Amazon.
• Read the 40 guest blogs.
[ ] More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: Effectiveness, Excellence, Elephants! by Dan Busby and John Pearson (2019). In Lesson 39, we quoted Donald Rumsfeld, “Meetings are a good place to discover whether an organization might be suffering from groupthink. If everyone in the room seems convinced of the brilliance of an idea, it may be a sign that the organization would benefit from more dissent and debate.”
• Read more.
• Order from Amazon.
• Read the 40 guest blogs.
[ ] Lessons From the Church Boardroom: 40 Insights for Exceptional Governance (2nd Edition), by Dan Busby and John Pearson (2019). Lesson 3, “Guarding Your Pastor’s Soul,” quotes Andrew Murray: “Humility is the only soil in which the graces take root; the lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect and failure.”
• Read more.
• Order from Amazon.
• Read the 40 guest blogs.
• View the short videos.
[ ] ECFA Tools and Templates for Effective Board Governance: Time-Saving Solutions for Your Board, by Dan Busby and John Pearson (2019). To introduce the 22 tools, we quoted Peter Drucker: “Although I don’t know a single for-profit business that is well managed as a few of the nonprofits, the great majority of the nonprofits can be graded a ‘C’ at best. Not for lack of effort; most of them work very hard. But for lack of focus, and for lack of tool competence.”
• Read more.
• Order from Amazon.
• Read the 22 descriptive blogs.
• Download the tools and templates.
2 More From Dan Busby—The Baseball “Ticketologist!”
Like all great leaders, Dan Busby also enjoyed hobbies and interests outside of his demanding leadership roles. (Donald Rumsfeld wrote, “I lean toward people who have lives outside of work—an interesting hobby, perhaps, or fluency in a foreign language, for example.”)
Dan's friends described him as a baseball “ticketologist” because of his research, stunning ticket collection, and authorship of books about baseball tickets. I’ve reviewed two of his baseball books.
[ ] Before and After Jackie Robinson, A Story of the Brooklyn Dodgers Told Through the Lens of Tickets and Passes, by Dan Busby (August 2022). Just barely, the Lord gave Dan time to finish this 400-page full-color gem before his homegoing. Noting the colorful history of the Brooklyn Dodgers (including rare photos and even rarer baseball tickets), only Dan Busby could also carve out 10 leadership principles (with commentary) in a book about baseball! It’s the perfect coffee table book for your office or home.
• Read more.
• Order from Amazon.
• View the short YouTube videos.
[ ] Before and After Babe Ruth: A Story of the New York Yankees Told Through the Lens of Tickets and Passes, by Dan Busby (2018). In the 1950s, Dan began collecting World Series programs (the mail order company attached actual World Series tickets!). Inspired, Dan upped his game and in 1962 began collecting opening day tickets from every major league baseball team. He often consulted with the National Baseball Hall of Fame concerning memorabilia acquisitions. I've told friends, “Dan was in a league of his own—he was a walking Wikipedia!” You’ll love this book on the Yankees.
• Read more.
• Order from Amazon.
• View the short YouTube videos.
ONLINE MEMORIAL SERVICE. Join Dan’s family and friends on Oct. 21, 2022, for the online memorial service, where along with Gary Hoag and Steve McVey, I will also have the privilege of sharing some brief comments about my very special friend.
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 1: How to Read a Book!
Book #2 of 100:
My Ideal Bookshelf
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #2 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
Your “Leaders Are Readers Champion” can suggest this format: a five-minute summary and then one or two questions for a five-minute discussion. (See the study guide in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.) Your team will love Book #2:
My Ideal Bookshelf
by Thessaly La Force and Jane Mount
The book’s big idea: invite over 100 leading cultural figures (Malcolm Gladwell, James Patterson, and others) “to share the books that matter to them most; books that define their dreams and ambitions and in many cases helped them find their way in the world.”
• Read John’s review.
• Order My Ideal Bookshelf from Amazon.
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list.
The authors quote David Sedaris: “Tobias Wolff is America’s greatest short-story writer. Sometimes I meet ministers, and I always say to them, ‘If I had a church, I’d read a Tobias Wolff story every week, and then I’d say to people, “Go home.”’ There’s nothing else you would need to say. Every story is a manual on how to be a good person, but without ever being preachy. They’re deeply moral stories; the best of them read like parables.”
NOTE: See Part 11 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books. “Hall of Fame Sports Stories” features reviews of five sports books including Dan Busby’s Before and After Babe Ruth. Busby’s latest, Before and After Jackie Robinson, is included in the “Index to Bonus Books,” a curated list of 91 additional books you can read—once you complete the 100 Must-Read Books!
CHURCH & NONPROFIT FINANCIAL GUIDES Do you know the “10 Biggest Tax and Financial Mistakes Made by Churches and Nonprofits?” Read ECFA’s 2022 Church & Nonprofit Tax & Financial Guide, and the 2022 Minister's Tax & Financial Guide, both by Michael Martin. The nonprofit guide also includes a list of "10 Must-Read Lessons…” and "10 More Must-Read Lessons…” for board members—featuring content from the Busby and Pearson books. Read more on the Pails in Comparison blog.
PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. We had the very special privilege of designing book covers for Dan Busby and ECFA, including the Trust book and four board governance books. We also produced the videos and designed the read-and-engage viewer guides for the ECFA Governance Toolbox Series No. 1, 2, and 3. Do you need some video or design ideas? Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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