Page 136 - Harnessing the Strengths

Dilemma 5: Specifi c Versus Diffuse ■ 119

ventional wisdom that you must choose either a large cus-
tomer base, or fewer customers with specialized, complex
problems and high service needs. His ability to bridge these
concepts establishes him as a servant-leader.
The connection he created was just as powerful as it
was simple. Through direct sales via one-on-one telephone
or Internet contact, he integrated breadth with depth and
complexity. The attraction of the Direct Selling Model via
the Internet is that you have a constantly growing number
of potential customers and that you can use the Internet to
give them directed information.

Work Versus Private Life

The servant-leader is attuned to the idea that one’s work
is in harmony with one’s private life. Leaders are often so

busy that they fi nd it difficult to maintain their personal
lives, a reality supported by the fact that the divorce rate is
higher than average for this group. It seems that the specifi cs
of work take precedence over everything else that is called
“life.” Servant-leaders will do all that they can to avoid fall-
ing into this trap; for example, by making sure that what
they strive to do is in tune with how they are at home. One of
the characteristics of servant-leaders is that their actions and
behavior are in line with “who” they are. In other words, they

do not act the part for someone else’s benefit, but stay true
to themselves wherever they go. The beauty of this is that, in
the process, they are eliminating one source of stress.
It is often said that work and private life should be in
balance, but this is exactly not what the servant-leader strives
for. Balance is actually an example of a compromise and,
therefore, never the optimal solution. It is much like the idea
of having more time for your private life by answering half