July 17, 2026

Business by the Book

I Chronicles 12:24  The children of Judah that bare shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, ready armed to the war.

The second leadership trait that we see in the men who assembled to make David the King of Israel is that they were trained for the job.

These men were …ready armed to the war. Not only did they have weapons of war, they were trained on the use of those weapons. Notice the wording, they were not just armed to the war, they were ready armed to the war. They were ready. These were not novices they were well trained men ready to go to war with the shield and spear. Training is a necessary part of leadership and leadership development.

Training takes time, it takes money, it takes energy, it takes communication, it takes thought, and it takes planning. Yet, training is the best possible remedy against failure. Tricks of the trade often make the difference between profitability and loss. Someone though must know those tricks of the trade and teach them to others; in its most simple form this is training.

From experience as a leader I know that almost every failure is because of my lack of training a follower. Notwithstanding laziness, slothfulness, carelessness, forgetfulness or other unforeseen circumstances, each and every failure can be largely attributed to a lack of proper training.

Leaders are trainers. They know the tricks of the trade and they pass that knowledge on to others. Whether the training is formal or informal doesn’t matter. All it takes for training to be effective is a well versed trainer and a willing learner.

An old Apothegm says:

He who knows not and knows not he knows not, he is a fool – shun him;

He who knows not and knows he knows not, he is simple - teach him;

He who knows and knows not he knows, he is asleep – wake him;

He who knows and knows he knows, he is wise – follow him!

Dr. William Howe