I always take a little time in December to “review and renew,” evaluating where I got it right and where I got it wrong in the year.

This year, I'm reminded of a charge my father the minister once issued to his staff shortly after taking the helm as their new leader. He said, “Our expectation here is simple: Be loyal, be faithful, be productive or be gone.” I was only in high school then, but even a teenager had to be fascinated by what happened next.

Four senior staff members heard that charge. (This was the same staff on whose watch the organization had steadily declined.) Within months, three of them were gone. They decided they couldn't pull off loyal, faithful and productive.