Curtis Wallace - Elevating Excellence: 10 Defining Choices that Lead to Relevance

Copyright 2013Curtis Wallace

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ISBN 13 TP: 978-0-7684-0343-5

ISBN 13 Ebook: 978-0-7684-8494-6

For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A.

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ENDORSEMENTS

Curtis Wallace, a trusted source for leadership and strategy, enriches the pursuit of transformational change in his book, Elevating Excellence. This provocative work encourages us all to exude excellence without excuse and to experience the exhilaration of exponential outcomes.

BISHOP EDGAR L. VANN

Second Ebenezer, Detroit, Michigan

If you read only one memoir concerning excellence, make it this one. Wallace resurrects the narrative of a lost art.

PASTOR KEION HENDERSON

Lighthouse Church, Houston, Texas

Nothing is worse than failing while trying but not knowing why. In this book, Curtis Wallace answers that question for ministry leaders. Thanks for filling the gap!

BISHOP JAMES DIXON

Community of Faith Church, Houston, Texas

Curtis Wallace is emerging as one of todays anchor voices on leadership. He gets it! In Elevating Excellence he provides a clear road map to stay current and relevant in our fast-paced world.

TIM CLINTON, ED.D., LPC, LMFT

President, American Association of Christian Counselors

No matter what business you're in or what kind of leader you are, Curtis' book will help you make an impact, make a difference and make the most of the blessings you've been given. If you're looking for a way to inspire for higher, Elevating Excellence is it! Whether it's running my production company or my charity, Curtis insights and examples of leadership have given me lots of tools to put to use right away.

LEEZA GIBBONS

TV & Radio Show Host
New York Times Bestselling author of Take2

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

O ne of the things I like to say about Bishop T. D. Jakes is that as good as you think he is on the stage in front of 50,000 people, he is exponentially better one-on-one. I have had the unique opportunity to have more than my share of that one-on-one time over the last 12 years of working with him. In those times he has poured so much into my life. I want to acknowledge him here and thank him for that.

I also want to thank my dad and mom, Jimmy and Joyce Wallace, for all of their sacrifices, and for making sure I always knew I was loved and that I could achieve anything I wanted. They also taught me the value of work. Growing up, I saw my dad get up early and go to work six days a week. That example had an impact on my life and my own work habits. Moreover, they continue to do the same for my children and I am grateful for that. I may be an executive, movie producer, and an author, but a librarian and a barber are the ones who have lived true lives of relevance.

I ve had the absolute privilege of spending the last 12 years of my professional life working with Bishop T. D. Jakes at TDJ Enterprises. Ive worked on projects ranging from gospel stage plays like Woman Thou Art Loosed and Behind Closed Doors to movies like Jumping the Broom and Sparkle, as well as various music projects, books, and conferences. It has truly been an incredible ride.

One of the great personal benefits of my time with Bishop Jakes has been the tremendous diversity and quality of people I have worked with and developed relationships with over the years. Having worked with such a diverse array of talented and successful people from varied worlds and perspectives has given me the unique opportunity to see, close up, what success and relevance really mean.

Executives are different from musicians, who are also different from actors. They each have their own unique perspective on what it takes to create meaningful success in todays world. When I combine the influence of all of these talented and driven people with the best opportunity of allthe chance to spend extended amounts of one-on-one time with Bishop Jakesit has given me a perspective that I believe few people will ever have.

Im currently moving into the next phase of my professional life, making the transition from COO of TDJ Enterprises to president of Ascension Advisory Group where I will be focused on what we call elevating excellence. To me, elevating excellence simply involves working with great people and organizations, helping them achieve higher levels of success in their business, ministry, and life.

As you read this book, you will notice that it is really about two simple yet often elusive concepts: relevance and choices. Based on my experience, relevance is what the search is for. At the end of the day, more than money or power or anything else we may attain in life, we all want to know that our life and our work matteredthat is was relevant. In turn, I believe that it is the choices we make every day, both the big and small ones, that determine whether we lead lives of relevance or not.

I will be discussing throughout this book ten characteristics I believe are shared by great leaderspeople who have achieved relevance in a world seemingly too full of meaningless, insignificant fluff. In a world where you can now be famous for just being famous, these are the ten characteristics that separate the relevant from insignificance.

Youre probably wondering now where the choices come into play, for it is about relevance and choices. Very simply, it is the choices we make every day that determines whether we are exemplifying these ten characteristics or not. Life is cumulative. Every spending decision we make, no matter how small, will over the course of a lifetime add up to our fortune or lack thereof. Some decisions to spend add to the fortune (our investments) and some spending decisions (those fun but sometimes unnecessary purchases, such as frivolous shopping sprees) take away from it. The same logic applies to incorporating these ten characteristics into your personal and professional life.

While this book is written to and for everyonebecause I believe that we all are leaders in some capacityyou will notice that in most chapters I have included a Special Note for the Church. These notes are included because I believe that part of my calling is to help churches and other charities develop extraordinary leaders. The reason is simple: our churches and non-profits have an incredibly difficult mission to accomplish. It will take special leaders to help them declare Mission Accomplished. While these sections are labeled as being for the church, I hope that everyone reading this book will read these sections and take them to heart. The situation or circumstance may be church specific, but the principles are universal.

I hope you enjoy the journey.

T hroughout this book Im going to discuss in detail ten specific characteristics I believe todays leaders need to understand and incorporate into their decision-making process. If we embrace these concepts, they will naturally start to become reflected in the cumulative effect of the multitude of decisions we all make each and every day.