94 THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
(company headquarters)—maybe one week a month. Otherwise I travel
to our facilities and gather local management around me. We talk and
talk; I explain to them what we are doing and they question me.’’^7
In the early days of the business, Sam Walton of retailing giant Wal-
Mart established Saturday morning meetings of key executives. This
type of focused communication became even more essential as the
company grew (as it no doubt did as the children of Israel grew from a
tiny band to a conglomeration of twelve large tribes).
‘‘The Saturday morning meeting is where we discuss and debate
much of our philosophy and our management strategy,’’ writes Walton
in his autobiography,Made in America.Like Joshua and Ezra with their
elaborately staged presentations, Walton was a master at making com-
munication more dramatic. The Saturday morning meeting was rarely
just a straightforward business discussion. Like the ancient Hebrews and
the modern Japanese, Walton often encouraged his executives to sing
in these meetings. He would also bring in an executive from another
company, an athlete, or even an entertainer or comedian. He reasoned
that the more forms in which a message is communicated, the more
powerful it becomes.^8
COMMUNICATING THEMESSAGE
It is one thing to understand the importance of communication. It is
another to communicate a message effectively. A message must be com-
municated in language the audience understands. The audience must
be made to believe that they can achieve whatever goals are being com-
municated. The message needs to be repeated, but not in the same exact
words every time, and not so often that it gets tiresome rather than
motivating. And often, the most powerful messages are communicated
indirectly, using allegory, symbols, and stories.
But no matter how carefully crafted, the message will not be believed
if the source lacks credibility. This was true in the time of Pharaoh and
it continues to be true in modern business, politics, or civic affairs.