Strengthening the Organizational Heart: 15 Timeless Lessons from Legendary YMCA Leader John R. Mott

After five decades of work with non-profit organizations, John R. Mott--YMCA trailblazer, youth advocate, Nobel Peace Prize winner, evangelist, and advisor to statesmen--summed up all he’d learned in fifteen basic statements. Today, almost fifty years later, sixteen YMCA leaders rediscover Mott’s life lessons and apply his simple and spiritual precepts to today’s challenges and a new generation. Writing from their hearts, these leaders each take one lesson and share personal experiences that demonstrate how Mott’s basic, timeless principles can strengthen an organization and keep its heart and purpose strong.

With a foreword by Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus and endorsements by Max Lucado, S. Truett Cathy, and Laurie Beth Jones.

W. Tracy Howe is a senior vice president of operations for the YMCA of the Triangle. He has worked in various roles in the YMCA for more than twenty-three years. For the past eight years, Howe has chaired the John 17:21 Conference, a spiritual renewal conference for YMCA directors. A graduate from Purdue University, Howe lives in Cary, NC with his wife, Pamela, and three children: Ryan, Austin, and Kylie. Nancy Reece is senior vice president of leadership development at the YMCA of Middle Tennessee and has held various leadership positions over her twenty-plus-year career with the YMCA. She has a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Evansville and a masters degree from Indiana University. She writes a column for the Association of YMCA Professionals journal, Perspective.