Entrepreneurship and how to adapt
Mr. Kilmartin did an excellent job last class when he was able to come and speak on his experience as both in ministry and as an entrepreneur. From his talk, there were several takeaways that I would like to take this time to shed light on. First and foremost, I loved his analogy over the Radical vs Apathy idea. For anyone with a vision to make significant change, they must not remain in the category of Apathetic. For that matter, I would even go as far to say that the status quo does not allow you to make significant impact. As for Mr. Kilmartin, he was radical in what he was convicted about. This radicality is crucial for leadership.
In addition, I was very impressed with how Mr. Kilmartin was able to contextualize his work in Tyron PA, but then also make significant impact in Baltimore. In these places, one could not see more distinct differences. For example, in Baltimore, there is a greater number of democrats and ethnic diversity rather than where the Kilmartin family was previously in Tyron. This difference impacted Mr. Kilmartin to change his leadership style, but not his leadership convictions. In ministry, many times you do need to pivot. This pivot is very necessary, but the message should never change.
Finally, something I have been learning is the importance of conviction behind leadership. As a leader who is driving to make change, simply having charisma and personality is not enough. There must be a deeper conviction that will drive each and every decision that you make. This conviction is so engrained in you that it begins to shape your reflexes and intuition without you even consciously thinking about it. As for Mr. Kilmartin, his deep conviction on helping the needy and spreading the gospel has absolutely helped blaze the trail he has left today.