Dr. Parrott’s new book, Opportunity Leadership, presents a paradigm for destination planning at odds with current planning practice. His argument is that instead of putting together multi-year strategic plans, which largely fail or limit the organization, waiting on, and expecting God-given opportunities, can have tremendous results. The key to destination planning is the expectation and anticipation of God-given opportunities, regardless of when they come. Dr. Parrott lays the framework for understanding which opportunities are more likely God-given than others, and ways to discern which opportunities to embrace and which to pass. With a strong emphasis on mission fulfillment and openness to calculated risk, this is a book that will shake your understanding of traditional strategic planning and, perhaps, open up new avenues of consideration of how God can work in your organization. Opportunity Leadership also touches upon many excellent leadership principles and practices that will work in any setting but contextualize them specifically to this new paradigm. The last part of the book shares multiple stories of individuals who grasped opportunities and how doing so changed their lives and their organizations, further supporting the paradigm.
Here are some quotes:
“Opportunity Leadership is grounded in waiting in anticipation for God-given opportunities to develop that mesh seamlessly with our mission, giving, and capacity – propelling us to destinations that are heavenly ordained.” P. 19
“As leaders, we’re responsible for helping to sort out good ideas from bad ones, prioritizing them and energy, and using our muscle of position to push past the objectives, fears, silos, and possessiveness. And then, we set a high standard for implementation.” P. 31
“I am advocating the abandonment of predicting futures through planning structures. Instead, I’m encouraging a deeper investment in implementation planning.” P. 31
“Unless you are way outside the norm, what is significant is rarely envisioned through a formal planning structure.” P. 47
“I am convinced that most people would rather live in mediocrity than grapple with a change that pushes them into uncertainty.” P. 54
“Your attention should be laser-trained to recognize God-given opportunities that crack open new doors close to home as you lead your ministry into this new outlook.” P. 56
“The Lord won’t deliver every new opportunity to your doorstep in a package as if ordered online. He will use the inspiration, wisdom, intuition, and experience of you and others to reveal His direction. P. 70
“One of the essential skills to be developed by Opportunity Leaders is the wisdom to know when to look past the immediate and anticipate several moves ahead on the chessboard.” P. 93
“Leaders must be willing to get out in front to lead when opportunities are presented. … The Key is to lead the band as a drum major that inspires others to follow, but also to make sure the band is still with you.” P. 104