PIC No. 57:
• Title: Everyday Influence
• Author: Bill Butterworth
• Publisher: Redemption Press (April 23, 2015, 172 pages)
• Management Bucket #9 of 20: The Team Bucket
Welcome to Issue No. 57 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system.
The Secret Sauce for Greater Influential Effectiveness
Oops! Back in 2015, when I was invited to write an endorsement for Everyday Influence, I wrote, “Bill Butterworth is always poignant, positive, and powerful. Wit and wisdom are at it again in this very special book.”
Why the “Oops!” remark? When Butterworth sent me a signed copy of Everyday Influence, I misplaced it. Now, eight years later—I discovered it on an overlooked shelf in my garage! The good news: Butterworth was in good company on that bookcase—surrounded by the likes of Max Lucado, Ruth Haley Barton, Eric Metaxas, John Grisham, and Walter Isaacson. (Watch for those reviews!)
But there’s also bad news: I never reviewed Everyday Influence on Amazon or on my blogs. (Sorry, Bill!) And that is bad—because the book is so good.
So…I’m praying in God’s timing that maybe—just maybe—you’ll read this review now and discover that it is the perfect book for you right now, or a family member, or a friend or colleague.
Let me begin by saying that there are few exceptional speakers who are also exceptional writers. Bill Butterworth, somehow, is both. While many of today's cool kids (and adults!) are chasing after misdirected "influencer" fame, Butterworth turns the tables and writes that "influence arrives in the simplest of ways." His wordsmithed vocabulary—stunning. His own youthful stories—classic Billy Butterworth! His 12 short chapters (all starting with "C")—memorable. His heart for God—eye-opening.
And…if you’re thinking about writing your own story (or at least your own obituary), Everyday Influence showcases a brilliant way to package your life stories around a substantive theme—allowing the Lord to inspire you with shareable insights, as Butterworth has so competently modeled.
Life stories? You’ll laugh-out-loud at Butterworth’s follies, but (warning…) you may also get teary-eyed. Bill is so, so transparent. I used three P’s: “poignant, positive, and powerful” in my endorsement. Now after reading the book again in 2023, I’ll add three more P’s: “patient, persistent, and pastoral.”
The story behind the typewriter on the cover of Everyday Influence packs a poignant punch! Think eight-year-old Billy at his father’s railroad office on Thanksgiving Day: “Boy in chair, paper in typewriter, all systems were ‘go.’” His writing career is launched and more than 10 books later (and more than 20+ ghost-written books later), Butterworth is still writing.
But also—years later—a counselor helps Bill understand his father. Whew. (By the way, just this week, I learned about the auction of “The World’s Greatest Typewriter Collection.” I wonder if Butterworth somehow has that Underwood magic machine?)
Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame? Butterworth writes, “That’s a fascinating concept, but it’s simply not true.” (I love a contrarian!) He adds,
“We are all called to influence because, as human beings, we are all constantly impacting those around us. Sometimes our influence is good, sometimes it is bad. Influence is rarely neutral. Sometimes the influence is in big chunks, but most times the influence is in small, bite-sized tidbits, and therein lies the secret sauce for greater influential effectiveness.”
Butterworth wraps his true tales around 12 segments of everyday influences: the Calling of Everyday Influence, the Commencement, the Conversations, the Choir, the College, the Components, the Consciousness, the Consistency, the Circumstances, the Caring, the Companions, and the Celebration. He concludes with the Culmination of Everyday Influence.
It's tough to pick my favorite chapter. Will I go with the poignant ones—or the hilarious ones? (Note: read about his angst at being best known for his humor.) One thing for sure: from this day forward I’m praying I will be more intentional with those bite-sized opportunties for influence. Butterworth lets us in on dozens of simple, non-headline moments when a conversation or a question moved him in a signficant direction. (Stunning, actually.) Oh, Lord—make me an instrument of Thy peace.
The one-liners are abundant by this incredibly-gifted writer and communicator:
• Upon moving to a new town and church in Pennsylvania, “…but let’s face it, convenience trumped theology every time, so we converted from quiet Presbyterians to quiet Baptists.”
• “I was a tenor, the youngest tenor, in a choir made up of teenagers, the musical world’s most dangerous grouping.”
• His youth pastor: “…we ended up calling his leadership style: Ron Von’s gift is that he has no gift.”
• “…I thought I had a shot at winning Class President. In what would end up being a pattern for me throughout college, I came in second place, thus I was easily elected Freshman Class Vice President, which was Student Government lingo for close, but no cigar.”
• (Page 101): “If you’ve made it this far in the book, you must be a person committed to being a man or woman of supernatural influence. And you realized this sort of influence most often comes through the little things.”
Wake-up Call! The Butterworth family (now five adult children, their spouses, and grandkids) now rally around the annual NFL season—guessing winners and losers for every game. A “Perpetual Plaque” commemorates the annual winners.
The tournament was launched when Bill excitedly shared the weekly results from his office football pool. But then one of his kids laid it on the line: “We don’t want to hear about your fun at the office. We want to have fun with you here at home.” (Oops!)
Don’t skip Chapter 11, “The Companions of Everyday Influence.” Those poignant pages put you right at the luncheon table as Butterworth’s narrative honors the 10 people in the room (influencers)—and why. (If you’re writing your own story, I’m sure Bill would be honored if you borrowed this creative device.)
Bill’s wife, Kathi, leveraged one of his book titles to “inspire” him to stop whining and get creative about engaging more intentionally in his family’s spiritual development. (Is that even legal— throwing your spouse’s book title back at ya? LOL!) The result: Butterworth writes an inspirational email every day to his family members.
Today Bill Butterworth’s business card reads, “Keynote Speaker, Author, Ghost Writer, and Personal Coach for Speakers.” He’s still in good company. Butterworth was awarded The Hal Holbrook Award by the International Platform Association, whose past and present members include Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, Bob Hope, and Elizabeth Dole.
In his note to me back in 2015, Bill Butterworth described his book as “a mini-memoir with a message.” That’s perfect! I hope the timing is right for you to read this. (Don’t leave it in the garage!)
P.S. I’m not the writer that Bill Butterworth is. Tell me—did I use “poignant” too many times?
PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of more must-read books in the Team Bucket plus the 19 other buckets/core competencies.
[ ] The Short List: In a Life Full of Choices, There Are Only Four That Matter, by Bill Butterworth (read my review)
[ ] On-the-Fly Guide to Building Successful Teams, by Bill Butterworth (read my review)
[ ] Open This Letter in Ten Years: Life Lessons from Dad’s Love Letters, by Linda DeHoff and Bill Butterworth (read my review)
[ ] The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, by Daniel James Brown (read my review). Note: In my review, I give credit to Bill Butterworth for recommending this bestseller. (And...watch for the major motion picture coming Dec. 25, 2023.)
[ ] The Promise of the Second Wind: It's Never Too Late to Pursue God's Best, by Bill Butterworth and Dean Merrill (Order from Amazon)
[ ] The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right, by Gorick Ng (read my review)
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Everyday Influence, by Bill Butterworth. And thanks to the author for sending me a review copy. For more book reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting.
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