At the 2014 Convene Summit, guest speaker Nancy Ortberg told the audience of her first encounter with Patrick Lencioni. Ortberg asked Lencioni: “What are your core values?” Lencioni didn’t hesitate. He told her his core values were humble, hungry and smart. Ortberg decided right then, this was someone she could consider working with. As Lencioni’s success has demonstrated, these three values, lived out well, can provide a path to success. Not surprisingly, these values, grounded in truth, have proven to produce a significance beyond success.
A missionary named Paul wrote a letter to a church in Philippi and demonstrated the worth of these values.
Paul addressed humility in his doctrine of kenosis. He instructed us to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” and to “look to the interest of others”.
A man once approached Winston Churchill, puffed up his chest and said: “I am a self-made man”; Churchill said: “You have relieved God of a very solemn responsibility”.
Paul himself demonstrated great hunger – hunger for knowledge of Christ, hunger to press toward the goal, hunger to win the prize that God has called us to, and created us for.
Smart? Paul knew how to leverage all he has been given. He found power and confidence beyond himself. He gained and knew the secret of contentment. He had the confidence that he could “do everything through Him who gives me strength”.
The extraordinary athlete Bruce Lee said “empty your cup”.
Humble, hungry, smart…..do these three words capture your soul?
Lencioni’s three core values. They have gotten Lencioni more than a few book sales and speaking engagements. For the early church, for Paul, they were a key part of ultimate success, of lasting significance.
Maybe those three words, lived out well, can help you and I get to what God has destined us for.