Count the cost
Jesus on the unfinished tower
Jesus draws a picture every leader recognizes: a man begins building a tower without first sitting down to calculate the cost, runs out of money halfway, and leaves an embarrassing half-built monument to his poor planning, with everyone mocking. Which of you, he asks, does not first count the cost?
Proverbs gives the same order: prepare your work outside, get your fields ready, and afterward build your house. Wisdom counts the cost before breaking ground, not after. The leader who launches on enthusiasm without calculating what it will actually require sets himself, and everyone following him, up for a public failure.
“Which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and count the cost?”
— Jesus — Luke 14:28 (WEB)
Count the cost before you commit. The wise leader calculates what an undertaking will require before breaking ground, not after.
“Prepare your work outside, and get your fields ready. Afterwards, build your house.”
Jesus commends the one who counts the cost before building. A leader formed here calculates honestly what an undertaking demands before he commits to it. He resists launching on enthusiasm alone. The inner work is the discipline to count before you start.
Honestly calculate the cost — time, money, energy, people — before committing to an initiative. Prepare the groundwork before breaking ground. Resist launching on vision and enthusiasm without a sober count. Lead your team to finish what they start by counting the cost first.
Leaders launch on enthusiasm without honestly calculating what an undertaking will require, leaving half-built towers. The blind spot is mistaking vision for a plan you can finish.
Take one thing you're about to start. This week, sit down and honestly count its full cost before you commit — and only break ground if you can finish.
Vision and enthusiasm launch things; wisdom counts whether they can be finished. Many leaders break ground on initiatives they have not honestly calculated, and the half-built tower — abandoned, over budget, embarrassing — is the predictable result.
What are you about to break ground on that you haven't honestly counted the cost of — and can you actually finish it?