Successful = effective?

I recently heard an interview with business leadership maven Stephen Covey, whose mega-seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has changed the way many think about leadership and productivity. While there is much about the book that I would recommend, an aspect of the interview that is not directly addressed in the book caught my attention.

Covey was asked why he chose the word “effective” for the title instead of “successful.” He replied that the idea of success in today's language conveys so much outward achievement-- career advancement, financial gain, social esteem, etc.-- but often still leaves us empty. He wanted to carefully avoid falling into that category, as his principles (or habits) allow for a truly genuine success. He therefore chose the word “effective” because he believed it conveyed this in a way that success could not.

I think Covey has a great point here. I wanted to point it out because I intend to adopt his rationale and begin discussing placement in terms of effectiveness, where I previously would have called it success.

I also wanted to clarify in this way: when I have referred to “successful” placement in the past, my intention has been to speak to a kind of placement where worldly measures of success (such as those that Covey bucked against) were not the primary benchmarks. Rather, the kind of success I intend in placement-- if you will, effective placement-- is measured by three key ideas: fulfillment of the pastor's calling (and the congregation's); a multiplying or self-replicating ministry; and the fulfillment of the full term of God's call.

As I look back through my blog archives, I realize that I haven't really said much about any of these. Over the coming weeks, therefore, I'll try to develop these ideas more fully.