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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Is 'servant leadership' right for you?
Have you ever won
dered if you should
investigate the con
cept known as “servant lead
ership”? Do you know what
changes would be required
if your organization chose to
adopt servant leadership?
Would you’ like to under
stand servant leadership
in terms of a contrast with
a more traditional style of
leadership?
I invite you to a lunchtime
seminar at Wesleyan College
next week. Tuesday at 12:30
p.m, Bill Turner will share
his observations from living
a lifetime of servant leader
ship.
We in middle Georgia
may not be familiar with
Bill Turner, but if we lived
85 miles west, in Columbus,
we’d certainly know his
reputation! Bill was chair
The legal look at marriage
Dear Mr. Rockefeller, I
am marrying after the
New Year, what do I need
to know about prenuptial
agreements and such?
Dear Reader,
Congratulations! I wish you
and your spouse a long and
happy marriage. Your ques
tion is certainly interesting;
let’s take a look at it.
Contrary to recent politi
cal chatter about the defini
tion of “marriage,” the law is
unconcerned with the grand
Vanity Fair or solemn reli
gious event (or the drained
bank account!); all the law
considers is its cold contrac
tual nature. A marriage is
essentially a contract with
mutual promises of love and
fidelity as its “price,” just as
we bargain for the purchase
of a house - of course, with
less spectacular results!
The status of marriage
brings certain rights and
responsibilities upon which
you may want to reflect.
Marriage means you each
have unique medical deci
sion-making authority above
and beyond what a family
member might want. As the
Terri Schiavo tragedy illus
trated, her hufeband had this
power trumping the wishes
of her parents. So, if you
want your family to make
your medical decisions, in
the event of your incapac
ity to do so, you need some
thing called a “Living Will,”
designating this author
ity in someone other than
your spouse and/or stating
your specific wishes about
extraordinary life-saving
efforts.
You might have heard the
ditty, “What’s mine is mine
and what’s yours is mine.”
Well, there’s actually some
truth in both parts of this
saying. For example, if there
is a bank account just in
your name, even after mar
rying, it yours and not your
spouse’s; although it can be
subject to equitable division
during divorce. However, if
the bank account (or real
estate) is in both spouses’
names, it “does” belong to
both of you and, upon death,
it may automatically devise
to the other spouse without
a will.
Financial consequences of
marriage have evolved with
time. Many years ago, women
were (or could be) saddled
with their husband’s debts,
post-divorce and/or even
RFCU sponsoring kids event
Special to the Journal
Children who are admitted
to The Children’s Hospital
at the Medical Center of
Central Georgia in Macon
will be treated to sweet
dreams thanks to employ
ees and members of Robins
Federal Credit Union in
Warner Robins.
That’s because they
donated more than 750 pil
SuMe today!
Cal 987-1323
man of Synovus Financial
in 1998 when Fortune maga
zine selected that company
as the best place to work in
America. Last year, Fortune
named Synovus one of 22
“Hall of Fame” companies
for having been on its “top
100 list” every year since its
inception.
In 2000, Bill published
his experiences and per
spectives in The Learning
of Love: A Journey Toward
Servant Leadership. Hoping
to stimulate your interest
to learn more about servant
leadership, and wanting to
serve those of you not able
to attend his live session
next week, I’ll share some
descriptive quotes from his
book.
“As I understood the old
traditional management
paradigm, the leader was
post-death; but, this would
no longer be true, unless a
wife affirmatively agrees to
take responsibility for her
husband’s debt (in divorce)
or there is a “joint” obliga
tion for a debt, like both
signing on the mortgage. Of
course, if there is a credit
card in the wife’s name, and
the husband as an autho
rized user, then whatever
the husband charges will be
the wife’s sole responsibil
ity!
Another modern advance
ment is
that, gen
era 11 y,
spouses
share in
each oth
er’s social
security
benefits
and some
retire
ment. Life
Jta
Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
insurance,
however, requires a specific
beneficiary named and passes
outside a will, which means
that the spouse receives the
proceeds if named a ben
eficiary or, possibly, in the
unlikely event there is no
named living beneficiary. Be
careful, since many retire
ment vehicles pass through
the estate, upon death, sub
ject to the direction of a
will.
Ultimately, a divorce is a
dissolution of this partner
ship, just like a business
partnership is dissolved. A
“prenuptial” contemplates
the possible future finan
cial aspects of this dissolu
tion. Interestingly, once you
are married, it is illegal to
enter into an post-nuptial
agreement anticipating a
divorce (unless one of the
spouses has actually filed for
divorce).
The reason you enter into
a prenuptial agreement is
to protect certain assets or
property from being sub
ject to either a divorce or
an estate action after your
death.
But, if a will contradicts
a prenuptial, the will may
invalidate it. Of course, you
should only burden yourself
with negative thoughts of a
possible divorce if you have
lots of assets; otherwise, just
enjoy the wonders (and rig
ors) of sharing your life with
your better half.
Warner Robins attorney
Jim Rockefeller is the for-
lowcases to the “Pillowcases
For Kids” campaign held
Sept. 4-29. According to a
release from RFCU, the cam
paign was devised to “make
a child’s stay in the hospi
tal a little more comfortable
and a little more like home.”
Children who are admitted
into the hospital will receive
a new and unwashed dec
orative pillowcase in their
admission kit.
at the top of the hierarchy,
and many below wanted the
position. Driven by ego to
seek posi
tion and
power,
they man
aged by
coercion.
This
caused
them to
claim
credit for
things
that went
Dennis Hooper
Leader* Building
Leader*
well and to blame others
when things went wrong.
My experience with being
at the top of the tradition
al organization was that it
was a very lonely position.
When people were nice to
me, I never knew if they
really liked me...or if they
were just seeking favor to
mer Chief Assistant District
Attorney for Houston County,
and a former Assistant State
Attorney in Miami. Owner
of Rockefeller Law Center,
Jim has been in private prac
tice since 2000. His website,
THURSDAY THRU SUNDAY!
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LOCAL
enhance their own position.
I felt my major responsi
bility was to motivate and
manage (manipulate) those
who were doing the tasks.
Everyone’s focus in this
kind of organization is on
pleasing the leader.”
“Based on the tenet that
servant leadership is a com
mitment to love and serve,
the ... leader’s primary
responsibility is to meet the
needs ... of those who serve
the organization. It involves
listening to others and
together shaping a vision
that everyone can own. The
servant leader becomes a
funnel that creative ideas
come to naturally from
others who are themselves
becoming servant leaders.
Servant leaders are encour
agers, communicators, and
cheerleaders.”
www.rockefellerlawcenter.
com. offers more answers
to your legal questions and
archives of past articles. E
mail your comments or con
fidential legal questions toaj
r@rockefellerlawcenter.com.
Peebles
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Selection varies by store. Interim martrdowns may have been taken. Entire stock only where indicated.
“The servant leader
never ignores ideas. Lack
of response drives creative
people up the wall. Tactfully
turning down a creative
person doesn’t stop creativ
ity. The creative person is
already thinking of a better
way or a way around your
objection.”
“When I assume the man
tle of a servant leader, I also
assume the responsibility to
help people grow, and if I
am to succeed in doing this,
I must give up control ...
Listening, hearing, under
standing, healing, building
community, and discovering
meaning will cause people to
change and to grow, which
is the goal of a servant lead
»
er.
Register for the seminar
at www.wesleyancollege.edu/
community /lane%2ocenter/
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
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d,—.fc ORDER TOLL FREE
TpiP 1-800-743-8730
tor delivery, right to your door!
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2006 ♦
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237
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jgL
sleadership.pdf, or call Dr.
Catherine Meeks at 478-
757-3800.
The cost is $25 and
includes lunch, which begins
at 12:30 p.m. in the Oval
Hall of the Candler Alumnae
Building.
You might be thinking
that servant leadership gen
erates merely a “feel good”
company. Let me point out
that Synovus is a S3O billion
company with banks and
offices in Georgia, Florida,
Alabama, South Carolina
and Tennessee - with a
vision to be the finest finan
cial services company in the
world!
Dennis Hooper is a
Certified Leadership
Development Coach, helping
leaders build organizations
of excellence. E-mail him at
dhooper2@juno.com.
dhooper2fejuno.com
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