a publication of UNIVERSITY of the CUMBERLANDS

September 2011 Volume 2 , Issue 3

Stephen Covey

Dr. Covey is a respected author, leadership authority, family
expert, teacher, and organizational consultant. His books have
sold over 20 million copies. Perhaps his best known book was
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which has been referred
to as the #1 most influential business book of the Twentieth
Century.
A recipient of awards ranging from International Man
of Peace to the National Fatherhood Award, Dr. Covey is continuously engaged in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding through reading and through interaction with the diverse,
inspirational people he encounters the world over.

The following is an adaptation from a speech presented at University of the Cumberlands on April 8,
2008 in the Principle-Centered Leadership Series sponsored by the Forcht Group of Kentucky Center
for Excellence in Leadership.

Lighthouse Principles and Leadership

Dr. Covey began his address with an illustrative story embodying the thesis of his
presentation.
It was a dark and stormy night.
Crewmember: Captain, Captain, wake up.
Captain: Well?
Crewmember: Sorry to wake you, sir, but we have a serious problem.
Captain: Well what is it?
Crewmember: Theres a ship in our sea lane about twenty miles away, and they refuse to move.
Captain: What do you mean they refuse to move? Just tell them to move.
Crewmember: Sir, we have told them; they will not move.
Captain: Ill tell them.
The signal goes out: Move starboard 20 degrees.
The signal returns: Move starboard yourself 20 degrees.
Captain: I cant believe this. Well, I mean Im a captain. Let them know who I am. Im important.
Signal goes out: This is Captain Horatio Hornblower XXVI, commanding you to move starboard
20 degrees at once.
Signal returns: This is Seaman Carl Jones II, commanding you to move starboard 20 degrees at
once.
Captain: What arrogance? I mean, what presumption? Here is a seaman commanding me, a captain.

We could just blow them right out of the water.

We could just let them know who we are.
Signal: This is the Mighty Missouri, flag ship
of the 7th fleet.
The signal returns: This is the lighthouse.

Every morning my faith is restored when I

see the clean cut, mannerly, hard working,
mountain students walk with purpose,
with head held high, body erect and with
pleasant smiles on their faces.
Thats a true story. Its found in the

President Jim Taylor
Naval Proceedings Magazine, where a lighthouse

was literally interpreted as a ship.

I like that story because it teaches that
there are lighthouse principles which cannot be
violated with impunity. For instance, if I were
to step off this stage up here I would be governed
by gravity, a natural law. I may want to do it to
impress people. That may be my value.
Values drive behavior. Principles drive
the consequences of behavior. I may want to
impress you in a particular way or sell something
to you. But, if I dont talk straight and dont tell
you the truth, and you know that, the natural
consequence is you will not trust me.
Trust is the product of trustworthiness.
So I have to live with the lighthouse principles.
We dont break them. We only break ourselves
against them. Heres how I came to realize how
universal and also how timeless they are.
Our organization is in over 132
countries. We have international conferences
from time to time, where people share the value
statements of their clients. All value statements
are the same. People may use different words
because they come from different cultures or
nationalities, but they are all basically the same.
Value statements originate in four parts
of our being: our body, so that the idea of fairness
or equity or justice is involved; our heart, which
has to do with how people treat each other, with
kindness and respect, and love; our mind, so
they focus on the idea of constantly learning,
growing, developing and utilizing our talents;
our spirit, which has to do with our desire to
serve, to contribute, and connect to the infinite.
God is the source of all these principles. I find
that I can teach these principles everywhere.
To live a life of integrity means your
life is integrated around principles. Integrity,
or principle-centered living, is, in turn, derived
from other principles. Humility is the mother,
I suggest, of all principles. Humility says you
are not the source, you recognize God as the
source. This avoids the egoistic attitude of life.

The opposite of humility is arrogance. Nothing

derails peoples careers or their organizations
more than arrogance.
The father, I suggest, is couragethe
courage even to swim upstream, if necessary,
when it is very tough and youre tempted to
violate a principle. The opposite of courage, to
live true, is cowardice.
Integrity is the child. That means
your life is integrated around principles. The
grandchildren are wisdom and the abundance
mentality. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior
said, I have come that they might have life, and
that they might have it more abundantly.
Most people grow up with a
comparison-based identity. When man found
the mirror, he began to lose his soul. He became
more concerned with his image than with his
self.
As people go through life, they are
surrounded by social mirrors that constantly
compare them to othersacademically,
athletically, and economically. They begin to
build their security on the comparisons, robbing
themselves of their true identity.
Most people think identity theft means
that someone has taken your wallet, and they
now have access to your cards and so forth. But
true identity theft comes from being immersed
in comparison systems, where people gradually,
little by little, lose a sense of their true nature.
Our true divine heritage is that we have
a common father in Heaven. How great Thou
art! And we have a model and a mentor in the
Savior and Redeemer of the world. Again how
great Thou art!
When people move slowly away from
this source, little by little something happens to
them. They begin to define themselves based on
being compared to others. They might even say
to someone, Im happy for your success, but
inwardly theyre eating their hearts out. This is

what happens to many people, in fact, as I believe,

to most people. They become comparison based.
Observe, if you would, a compass. I
dont have the foggiest notion, by the way,
which way north is. But notice that compass.
Now notice the dark line there. Those are like
principles. They stand for natural laws, or
principles that are foundational, like lighthouses.
You cannot violate them with impunity.
They
govern.
Like
the
Ten
Commandments, they represent principles. The
tenth, thou shalt not covet, is often the avenue
through which the other principles are violated,
simply because of a comparison-based identity
and the tendency to compare, to covet. It leads to
the violation of other principles. Ultimately, we
pay a terrible price, like the opening illustration
with the ship.
Many lives have no moral center.
Theyre not based on principles. Theyre just
based on short term expediency and what gets
what I want now. And you gradually lose all
sense of principles. In navigational language, its
called vertigo. You have no sense of where the
land is; the dials arent working.
Many times, in organizations, there are
structured systems not based on principles. They
are misaligned. They often talk cooperation, but
they reward internal competition.
I think we need new compasses. If youre
only off one degree and try to circumnavigate
the world, youll end up five hundred miles away
from where you started. Thats why you have to
be exact and have total integrity.
Today, were living in an entirely new
age. This is the knowledge worker age. Do
you believe that this age will out produce fifty
times the industrial age, the previous stage of
economic development? I do. Were just barely
beginning to see it.
You see, the primary drivers of
economic prosperity in the industrial age were
machines and capitalin other words, things.
People were necessary but replaceable. The
problem is even though we are living in the
knowledge worker age, so many of our modern
management practices come from the industrial
age.
Think about the impact of that
psychology on almost everything. With the
industrial-age approach, people are managed to

a job description. Theyre fit into a slot. In the

knowledge worker age, people are led toward
their greatest unique contribution.
The industrial age manager sees people
as employees or subordinates. Motivation is
external, carroting and sticking. If you
produce, you get the carrot. If you dont, you get
the stickthe great theory of human motivation.
In the knowledge worker age, people are
treated as volunteers, associates, and partners.
The industrial age mindset is one of control,
controlling people. The knowledge worker
mindset is one of release, a form of directed
autonomy. Bottom line: we manage things, but
things dont have the power to choose. We lead
people who do have the power to choose.
Speaking of our day, the late, brilliant
management thinker, Peter Drucker [19092005], wrote prophetically, When the history
of our time is written, the most important
event those historians will remember is not
technology, not the internet, not e-commerce,
but the unprecedented change in the human
condition. For the first time, substantial and
rapidly growing numbers of people have choices.
For the first time, people have to manage
themselves, and we are totally unprepared for it.
Were unprepared because unleashing
the potential of this age will require a
fundamental break from the control paradigm.
It will require leaders to embrace what I call the
whole person paradigm.
Human beings are four dimensional:
our body, our mind, our heart, and our spirit.
These four dimensions also represent the four
basic needs and motivations of all people. For
the body, to live, survival. For the heart, to love
and build strong relationships. For the mind,
to learn, grow, and develop. And, for the spirit,
to leave a legacythe need for meaning, for
contribution and for integrity.
In the final analysis, leadership is not
about control. Its about unleashing the whole
person toward compelling, inspiring, and
worthwhile goals. As a leader, you have a choice;
you can choose to perpetuate the practices of the
industrial age or to adopt the mindset, skill set,
and tool set required to lead successfully in the
knowledge worker age.
Once you have something invulnerable
at your core, because its based upon principles,

People I Met at
University of the Cumberlands

At Homecoming 2009, Dr. Robert Michael Duncan

(History and Political Science alumnus, 1971) gave
a speech entitled Five People I Met at Cumberland
College. Duncan, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, a recent Chairman, and
currently serving on the Board of Directors of the
Tennessee Valley Authority, spoke of several lasting
friendships he made at Cumberland. This is the final
part of this series to appear in Morning in America.
One individual who made a tremendous impression on Duncan was a freshly minted Ph.D. from
Ohio State University, Jerry Davis. He was a young
man who came to Cumberland to teach in the Biology Department. In the first semester, students
flocked to his classes. But, by the second semester,
Dr. Davis was recruiting students for his classes. His
classes were so difficult. Duncan believed that
Dr. J.M. Boswell, former President of Cumberland,
must have counseled with Davis about tolerance
and patience with his students. Duncan asserted
that I avoided his classes but embraced his passion
for excellence. Davis would hold many positions at
Cumberland including that of Vice President. And,
when the position of President came open at Alice
Lloyd College, a small school in eastern Kentucky,
Dr. Boswell recommended him for the position.
Davis became President in 1977 and Duncan joined
the Board of Alice Lloyd in 1978. Duncan asserted
that Jerrys passion for Appalachian students and
excellence in education started a wonderful journey for me that included chairing Morehead State
Universitys Board [Morehead, Kentucky] and being
acting President of Alice Lloyd College and serving
as chairman of the Board for over twenty years.
Jerry Davis left Alice Lloyd and is currently serving
as President of the College of the Ozarks in Port
Lookout, Missouri.
Two individuals that met on the campus of Cumberland College have remained life-long friends.
And both men have contributed greatly to society.

you can afford the risk of being open and

vulnerable. As a result, you can love other people
unconditionally and serve even those who reject
you. Because, ultimately, service is the rent we
pay for the privilege of living upon this earth. It
is the ultimate source of true joy and happiness
not of pleasure, but of lasting joy and happiness.
Pray for those who despitefully speak
about you and use you. Like our Savior taught,
youre turning the other cheek. Youre not a

product of people and the social mirror; youre

a product of the divine mirror, a deep inward
sense of your true identity as a child of God.
And then your potential, capacities, and abilities
are unleashed when you get a clearer focused
purpose. You live by principles, so that you can
afford the risk of being open and vulnerable.
[Mohandas] Gandhi [1869-1948],
the father of India, never held a position. True
leadership is moral authoritymeaning living
by principles to garner the respect and esteem of
others. Management is formal authority. Many
who are managers and lack moral authority
will build a broken culture. But, if you live
by principles and develop moral authority,
even though you have no formal position or
authority at all, you can influence your culture,
your organization, and your family. You can
stop bad things from going from generation
to generation. Gandhi had the vision of an
independent country. His people identified with
him.
I had a personal visit just a short
while ago with South Africas Nelson Mandela
[1918-], who got his moral authority in prison,
over a twenty-seven-year period at Robben
Island. I asked him how long it took to get rid of
the bitterness over the way he had been treated.
If you read his autobiography, The Long Road to
Freedom, youll know the torturous experiences
that he had. He said it took about four years.
I said What happened? He said I began to
see how they talked to and treated each other. I
realized they, too, were victims of this apartheid
system.
Former United States Secretary of State
Colin Powell said one of the most exciting and
thrilling inspirational experiences of his whole
life was to go to Nelson Mandelas inauguration
as the first president of the new South Africa.
Mandela came down the center aisle. There,
on the front row on his left side, were his loved
ones. On the front row on the right side were his
former jailers. He bows to them, Good morning
gentlemen. Then he brings the ANC [African
National Congress] Choir to sing the Afrikaner
anthem and the Afrikaner Choir to sing the
ANC anthem. Then he appoints Bishop Tutu
as the chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission to bring together the victims and
the victimizers to process their experiences and

learn to forgive.
Learn to make reconciliation, or get
buried with what I call the six metastasizing
cancers that result when we are mistreated
by others or when we live according to a
comparison-based agenda. The metastasizing
cancers are: criticizing, complaining, comparing,
competing, contending (which means an angry
form of contention), and cynicism.
These cancers, which make us feel as if
we are victims, can be replaced by the principles
of forgiveness, gratitude, and abundance. The
abundant mentality is happy for the successes
of other people, but it comes from being deeply
principle-centered. And God is the source of
those principles, so it makes us God-centered,
then we have security from within. Were not a
function of other people.
I was so intrigued with Muhammad
Yunus [1940-] of Bangladesh, whose work
embodies these same principles. Hes the father
of microcredit. He received the Nobel Peace
Prize last November. Through his leadership
with the microcredit movement, 500 million
people have escaped poverty. As soon as a
woman receives credit (money) to establish
some business or tradeand 95% are women
they become members of the loan committee to
evaluate the next applicant. So the moral of the
story is, if you receive money, you pay it back.
And the payback rate totally shocks
bankers: 98.9%. These loan recipients are the
poorest of the poor. Im speaking soon at a big
conference where all of these Mohammad Yunus
people are joining together to see if we can also
eliminate 500 million more people from poverty,
not by a handout, but by a hand up.
Im also working on a project to build
on the West Coast a Statue of Responsibility, one
of the same scope and size as the Statue of Liberty
on the East Coast. It was a vision of Victor
Frankl [1905-1997], who was imprisoned in the
death camps of Nazi Germany, and who learned
to change his question from Why should I have
to suffer so? to What is life asking of me?
He became the father of logotherapy and had
this vision that liberty had to be combined with
responsibility so, when people use their freedom
and liberty responsibly, they see great things
happen.
The Statue of Responsibility project will

Gary Lee Price, sculptor, and Daniel Bolz, President and

CEO of the Statue of Responsibility Foundation.
www.sorfoundation.org; Photo by Kenneth Linge

include an international walkway and a museum

so all other nations who want to contribute can
do so. It will be on its own island, kind of like
Ellis Island, and about the same longitude and
latitude of the Statue of Liberty.
Whatever you do, remember the
principle: always seek first to understand
before seeking to be understood. Restate to the
satisfaction of others their points, their concerns.
The key to having any job you want is to have
your homework done so you can describe their
problems and show how your experience or skill
set may be helpful in dealing with their problems.
So learn that principle. Learn the
principle of integrity, of service, of leadership.
The definition of leadership is affirming people.
Its communicating their worth and their
potential so clearly that they are inspired to
see it in themselves. These are vital lighthouse
principles.
I thank God for the source of the
principles. To Him, I give all credit and honor
and glory. I love Him with all my heart, and He
inspires me to love His other children. I close
in the language of the great French philosopher
Teilhard de Chardin [1881-1955], who wrote
We are not human beings having a spiritual
experience; we are spiritual beings having a
human experience.

Mountain Outreach, a student led volunteer construction ministry, has built over 100 houses
for the less fortunate in the area where University of the Cumberlands is located. During the
summer 2011 they have built three more homes.
As Dr. Covey asserted, service is the rent we pay
Construction Underway
for the privilege of living upon this earth.
Roofing a House

House Nearing Completion

Editor
Eric L. Wake, Ph.D.
Contributing editor
Oline Carmical, Jr., Ph.D.
Advisory Committee
Bruce Hicks, Ph.D.
Al Pilant, Ph.D.

Choose Cumberlands

University of the Cumberlands has been in
existence since 1888, providing an educational experience for the Appalachia area and beyond.
While largely a liberal arts school, we provide over
forty majors and minors for our undergraduates.
We also include many advanced Education degrees and certification programs such as the MAT.
In 2008, the University launched the Ed.D program. We also offer an MBA degree and a Physician Assistant Studies program. Recently we have
started an MA in Christian Studies and an MA in
Professional Counseling. Most of our graduate
courses are taught on-line.

Do you know someone who might be interested in our program? If so, please contact our director of Admissions, Erica Harris at 606.539.4241
or email her at erica.harris@ucumberlands.edu.
She will be happy to provide you with information
and an admissions application. We hope to have
the opportunity to serve you.
6

Graphics Editor
Meghann Holmes
Production Manager
Jennifer Wake-Floyd
Staff Assistant
Fay Partin
Copyright 2011
UNIVERSITY of the CUMBERLANDS
The opinions expressed in UC Morning in America
are not necessarily the views of
UNIVERSITY of the CUMBERLANDS
Permission to reprint in whole or
in part is hereby granted, provided
the following credit line is used:
Reprinted by permission from
UC Morning in America, a publication
of UNIVERSITY of the CUMBERLANDS.

Remember Cumberlands
You can remember Cumberlands in your will or trust, or you might want to create a charitable gift
annuity to provide you with a lifetime income as you assist deserving students.
With charitable gift annuities:
The rates are significantly greater than bond rates and certificates of deposits.
Annuity payments are fixed and based on the age(s) of the annuitant(s).
Annuity payments are extremely favorably taxed.
The donor is entitled to an income tax charitable contribution deduction.
Appreciated securities given to Cumberlands for a charitable gift annuity are valued on the
date of the gift; capital gains taxes are not immediately due as they are when securities are sold
by the donor.
A gift annuity is the simplest of all split-interest planned gifts.
A Charitable Gift Annuity will not only provide you a fixed income, guaranteed for life, but also
will create a significant legacy here at University of the Cumberlands.
University of the Cumberlands offers numerous planned giving vehicles guaranteeing income for
the remainder of life. Some have established trusts and deferred gift annuities naming a loved one
as the income beneficiary.
With the low payout rates
Yearly
Annuity
Charitable
Age
currently on certificates
Rate
Payment
Deduction
of deposit (CDs) and
65
5.5%
$ 530.00
$3,063.20
the volatility of the stock
market,
deferred
gift
70
5.8%
650.00
3,605.40
annuities are becoming
extremely popular for
75
6.5%
650.00
4,162.30
young adults who will not
80
7.5%
750.00
4,685.10
be retiring any time soon
but want to plan and secure
85
8.4%
840.00
5,446.80
a steady, fixed income that
will begin when they retire. *based on minimum age of 65; a gift annuity of $10,000; figures for
For instance, a 45-year-old annual payment & IRS discount rate of 3% as of May, 2011.
can defer a gift annuity
for 15 years and receive
income at a rate of 10 percent for life. The charitable gift tax deduction would be immediate (during
working years when your tax bracket is higher) and the income would not begin until you are 60. As
with regular gift annuities, the entire amount of the annuity would be backed by all of the Universitys
assets.
If you are considering the establishment of a Charitable Gift Annuity to provide life-long income
for yourself and vital support for University of the Cumberlands, please contact Jim Taylor at
presoff@ucumberlands.edu.
Remember, as a financial supporter of Cumberlands, you are encouraging todays students as you
also demonstrate your continuing commitment to the Universitys mission to educate individuals for
lives of responsible service and leadership.
7

6191 College Station Drive Williamsburg, Kentucky 40769

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Good Tax-Wise News Regarding Your IRA

Consider your IRA? Would you like a very tax-wise way to support University of the Cumberlands
and at the same time avoid paying income taxes on 100% of those donated funds up to $100,000?
If you are 70 or will be prior to December 31, 2012, a part of the new tax law of 2010 includes
good news for you concerning charitable gifts made from your
IRA. A special provision of the law allows those 70 and older to
direct gifts from traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs to University of
the Cumberlands or any other designated charity through the end
of 2011. Such gifts fulfill some or all of the minimum required
distribution required at age 70 without increasing your taxable
income.
For more information, contact me at 606-539-4201 or at presoff@
ucumberlands.edu.

President, University of the Cumberlands

6191 College Station Drive
Williamsburg, KY 40769