Max De Pree Quotes and Questions

Quote

“As I get older, I’m more and more convinced of one thing: What really counts in our lives is not our technical competence, but the quality of our relationships.”

—Max De Pree, “The Heart and Soul of Leadership in a Changing Context”
 

It takes a lot of dedication, time and effort to master a skill. Most of us would agree that doing something well is a worthwhile investment. But how many of us pay as much attention to achieving relational competence as we do to mastering technical competence?

Developing and maintaining relationships cannot, of course, be reduced to a mere skill or technique. Much like leadership, there’s no strict formula to creating healthy, solid relationships. But it is safe to say that developing and maintaining quality relationships requires time, effort and dedication. Maintaining relationships is an intentional activity.

Max De Pree understood this well. Although the topics of his books involve leadership, he is really writing about relationships and how to make those relationships work on an individual and corporate or organizational level. If relationships are really that important, don’t they deserve more of our focused attention?

Questions

Much could (and will) be said about De Pree’s ideas on relationships and his wonderful concept of people that formed the basis for the way in which he regarded, respected and related to others. For now, however, it might be a good time to do you own relationship audit.

How would you rate the quality of your relationships?

At home?

At work?

In your community?

Are they healthy, or could they use some work?

Focus on one or two relationships that need some attention. What can you do today to begin to improve them?