It’s that time again. Here’s the best stuff I’ve run across on-line this week. If I missed something great, leave a link to it in the comments!

On Leadership – An Interview With Wess Stafford

Wess is the president of Compassion International (Did you know he’s retiring this year?). The interview with Wess regarding leadership is worth the read even if only for Wess’ thoughts on authenticity…

When I grew up in that little African village, we had a tribe nearby with craftsmen who would carve things out of wood. Every Wednesday they would bring their little elephants and other statues up to our marketplace.

They would set up in the shade under a mango tree. These were shrewd businessmen. But we had learned that not every carved elephant they were selling was perfect. They had become very good at hiding flaws. They would take wax, mix it with the tree sap, and blend it in the cracks so that in the cool shade of the mango tree everything looked perfect.

We learned to ask: “Is this statue without wax?” The colony I grew up in spoke French, and “without wax” in French is “sans-cire.” Some have speculated that our word sincere could be linked to that phrase. What you appear to be is what you are. They would say, “Oh, this is sans-cire!” And we’d say, “Oh, good, can we take it out into the tropical heat to look at it?” And they would go, “Oh, no, no …”

Well, in the heat of battle the wax will melt and flaws will be clear as day. In the bright light of the sun you will see cracks that have been filled with wax. No one expects you to be perfect as a leader, but they do expect authenticity.

Read more.

Screwy Art

I saw these amazing 3D portraits made of painted screws after spending hours driving screws into a piece of furniture I was assembling. I can’t imagine getting that many screws in straight, much less at the right depths and then painting them on top of it all. I’d run out of expletives…I mean, if I were someone who said them.

Ahem. Moving on.

For Alcoholics & People Who Love Them

Emily Freeman’s piece about her father had me in the first four sentences.

This is not a post about whether or not it matters if you have a glass of wine with dinner. I’m not writing about how to help a loved one who is an alcoholic or how to get help for yourself or how to anything, really.

This is a post about hope. And for alcoholics and the people who love them, hope can be a hard sell.

And by the last sentence I was hopeful – for the first time in a very long time – that friends languishing in addiction today may not be tomorrow. Thank you, Emily.

Tough Love From Animals

No one in my life thinks this is funny. Maybe I have the wrong people in my life. Maybe you’re the right people.

The Rubens – My Gun

Jon Acuff may have the best musical taste of any non-musician I know. Like this gem I discovered when he posted the album cover on Instagram.

Kelly Says The “S Word”

Remember that post I wrote about why women are so much more generous than men? Well it got my friend Kelly thinking. And then writing. And daring to say the “s word” on the internet. Worth reading along as Kelly shares her thoughts on the role women play in their man’s generosity.

What Did I Miss?

Got a great link to share? Leave it in the comments and, who knows? Maybe it’ll end up on next weekend’s Best Of The Net.