Episode 104 - Peter Greer - Leaders on Leadership
We all have our moments as leaders sometimes. However, without knowing it, we get into this Us versus Them mindset that we can’t help but create that self-imposed divide between us and the people around us. This is a different price to pay in leadership that we brought on ourselves. Providing a unique spin on the wisdom from the book, Price of Leadership, Peter Greer, the President and CEO of HOPE International, joins Dr. Tracey Jones in this episode. Here, he talks about self-imposed loneliness and weariness and what he does, not only in his professional life but in his personal as well, to help get past them. As the author of Mission Drift, Peter then gives us a peek into his book, sharing some wisdom on how we can avoid drifting away from our mission as our business goes to new levels and takes on new devils.
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Peter Greer - Leaders on Leadership
Our guest is one of my heroes, Peter Greer. Peter is the President and CEO of HOPE International. Many of you have heard of that and he's also the author of one of my all-time favorite books titled Mission Drift. You are going to love reading what Peter has to say about what it takes to pay the price of leadership.
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I'm excited because I have one of my heroes that I have the honor of interviewing, and that is Peter Greer. He is the President and the CEO of HOPE International. Probably a lot of you guys out there have heard of it or supporting one of their children. HOPE International is a Christ-centered microenterprise development organization and is serving through Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Peter has co-authored over ten books, including Mission Drift, which is how I came across this incredible individual.
If you haven't read Mission Drift, it was selected as the 2015 Book Award winner from Christianity Today, and I say a hearty amen to that. Also his book, Rooting for Rivals, was selected as the 2019 Leadership Resource of the Year in Outreach Magazine. More important than his occupation is his role as a husband to Laurel and dad to Keith, Lily, Myles and London. Peter, I am excited to have you on this program.
The privilege is mine. I'm looking forward to our conversation.
For those of you that are local readers, Peter’s organization, he can talk about that more than at the end, he's headquartered in Lancaster. Mrs. Tremendous was from Lancaster. That's where dad met my mother in Lancaster. A lot of tremendous things are going on. Lancaster Bible College, where I finished my PhD program. Peter, I’m thrilled to have you on. One of the things that my father always talked about was leadership and he had a speech called The Price of Leadership, and it’s one of his top speeches. In it, he talks about four things that a leader is going to have to pay in order to call themselves a leader and be a leader not playing the title.
The first one that he talks about is loneliness. We've all heard that term, “It's lonely at the top.” Can you share with me your extensive background and what you've done differently in aspects of your life? What does loneliness mean to you as a leader or maybe a time that you went through loneliness? What you would say to encourage some of our leaders that may be reading that are in that season of loneliness?
I'm going to take a little bit of a different take on that question if that's all right. The first thought that came to mind was early in my time at HOPE. I believe there was an element of self-imposed loneliness different from the price of loneliness that is real. What's self-imposed loneliness? For me, it maybe was best embodied by the fact that when I joined HOPE International, on my wall, I had a graph. On that graph, I had the growth rate of HOPE International and where we were supposed to be, and I had that compared to the growth rates of other organizations. What did that do? If that was my driving metric, and I was looking at growth as the equivalent for it. This is the indicator that is measuring our success and I put the other organizations and said, “How are we doing?”
If we're doing well, that's going to make me feel good and if it's maybe not going as well as someone else, that's going to cause me maybe not be. There's this great proverb about how envy rotten the bones. That element of whenever we make someone else's success or make someone else the arbiter of how we are doing, we are having a faulty comparison, a faulty measuring stick, and we are on a path that will not end well.
When it comes to loneliness, what does that do? If you look at other organizations in your space in your sphere, and you say, “They are the competition.” That means if there are trade secrets, you're going to hold on to them. If that means that you are somehow in some way looking at them as doing well, maybe you’re not going to be eager to be generous and open-handed with them. I think about this self-imposed loneliness that at its core was rooted in an unhealthy attitude of an Us versus a Them.
Whenever we define others as Them, as those people, and whenever we think that our work is somehow to be measured against other organizations, as opposed to what if we had a bigger and grander vision of what we are doing together to accelerate the end of extreme poverty in our lifetime? What if together, we had visions, we had dreams that were impossible because they were big and audacious that they couldn't be accomplished alone? Those things would draw us closer together. I think about the unhealthy way that looking at other organizations causes an element of isolation and loneliness that I am glad that those walls have been torn down.
Even in this crazy world that we're living in now, we long in the midst of this moment to say, “We need friendships in the midst of our challenges. We need an alignment. We need to be in this together.” Also, think about the changed attitude that there is no, “You're not the competition,” and allowed relationships to grow with other organizations that have been so enormously helpful, beneficial, and critical during this time. We've been open-handed, sharing, we've been having calls with other leaders, and it has been so life-giving. That’s the first piece. There's enough loneliness from the decisions that need to be made from the complexities of the jobs that we have. Let's not add any additional isolation that comes from an unhealthy relationship of what the competition is.
I don't know if it's Robert Louis Stevenson but somebody said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I always remember that, because if you're doing better, then pride puffs you up because it's part of our nature and if you're not, then you start going into depression. Especially when we're in kingdom work. We're all joint-heirs. I understand in the private sector because I am in the private sector and I get a little bit more, but even there, there are no competitors. We're all collaborators, especially in this world. We're all here to make a difference and make the world a better place. I love that you said don't add to the loneliness, because there's plenty of it to go around.
That’s from CS Lewis. It’s a great quote, the quote that you gave that.
That was loneliness. The next thing my father talked about was weariness. We've got these bodies, these shells and until we get our new presence, we're going to be rundown. Especially when there's so much riding on you, and you're dealing with stuff in the world that should not be but is because of the fallen nature of the planet that we're on but you're victorious. How do you stay replenished though because you've got to stay at the top of your game? How do you stay refreshed?
Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy has this great quote. It’s something about, “You cannot step into the challenges of this world without it also impacting you.” For him, the work that he does on death row, and you better believe that he bears an element not the complete, not all of the aspects, but if you do the dangerous work of loving others, it is going to impact you. For me and my work, we're doing global poverty alleviation. We're working in some of the most challenging places on Earth and absolutely, there's an element that it does when you love deeply you feel a little bit of the hurt but not all of it.
Weariness is a real issue. For me, I think about the global team that has a far more difficult job than I have in terms of every day going into communities and trying to work to bring hope, healing, and fullness in these communities. It is hard work. A couple of practices for me is, one, do you have a not-to-do list? One of the dangers of a growing organization is if you keep doing everything that you used to do, and add a little bit more.
Mission Drift: The Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders, Charities, and Churches
If not, every time you take on something new, figuring out what you stopped doing, if you don't have a stop-doing list and only have a to-do list, you are eventually going to be overwhelmed and unable to carry all of the weight that you're carrying that maybe you don't need to. The benefit of that, for me, at this point every time I say yes to something new, it has to come with an accompanying no, because I'm not getting any more hours in the day.
Anytime I say yes to something, it has to come with a no to something else and that helps keep a little bit of equilibrium. The best part is when you start letting go of things, you realize probably there are other people on your team who are even more capable of doing that work than you are anyway. It allows you to spend more of your time on the things that you're good at that bring joy in life and to give others that are uniquely gifted to do those other things better than you were doing anyway. That's one that we stopped doing is super important.
The second thing is when I think about the last few years, I think about this time in my life where the kids were in bed, and my wife and I were having a conversation. She said, “Peter, I love you and I'm committed to you.” We've been married about nine years at that point and she said, “Peter, I feel nothing for you anymore.” She unpacked that more and it was because I was giving my family leftovers. I was prioritizing work and never realizing that when I said in our marriage that I would love and cherish you above all else, I only thought that was above other people. I never realized that you could love a mission or an organization. You could love even a good cause more than the one that I pledged to love and cherish above all others.
The second piece in getting that level of equilibrium is, do the people that are closest to you know that they are your priority. They're the barometer of how well you're doing in your weariness and if you have nothing left to give to the people that are closest to you, my guess is you are also carrying too much. It’s a simple thing. Maybe someone needs to go home after work. Maybe someone's reading on their way and to the people that are closest to them say, “Do you know that I choose you first? Do you know that more than my vocation, more than my whatever it is, fill in the blank, do you know that I choose you?”
I think about the third one is the benefit of limits. Andy Stanley has this great series about Guardrails, and there's a whole lot of wisdom in that. For me, a guardrail of saying, “I am going to be home by dinnertime or it counts as a night away and I only have a certain amount of nights away every month that I am allowed to do.” Having that benefit of limit allows me to say no to good things so I can say yes to the best thing. Those are some of the habits that help with weariness. If you can't remember the last time your phone was physically separated from you, that might be a life-giving thing as well. For me, when I get home part of that being home for dinner is that my phone goes in a drawer and I do not touch it until after the kids are in bed. That is life-giving back to my family. Those are some of the practical things.
In one of our classes, in the beginning, was in the program was about the Sabbath thing. I hate to confess this, up until a few years ago, I didn't Sabbath. I wasn't intentional about it. I also love that you talked about that you're in that marriage. It's not about having somebody there but what that person in that covenant relationship and your children can be for your sense of purpose and advocating for you. Here you are with this mission. It’s like, “God, this mission has to be first.” I grew up in that generation where our dads were traveling 300 days a year. We’ve got it. They had to do the work thing but there are trade-offs for everything and not realizing the replenishment and that refreshment you get from your life partner that God put you with. It’s the triangles. Go closer to God and go closer to each other.
I’ve learned from a book, as opposed to from experience. I wish I could have learned it another way of experience. Thankfully, there's a whole lot of grace, changes and we're all learning what it looks like to love well.
Also, you were open to hearing it and not saying because granted, you are going to be together forever but you didn't take that as, “This is the way it is.” It's like when I was in the military, “You married somebody in the military.” When I get the call, I get that and that's true. When you marry somebody in the military, they get the call. You took that and you said, “We need to adjust accordingly.” The stronger your family unit is, the stronger you are and it all it's not a matter of prioritizing. It's all congruent. It’s one big ball stuffed together.
One of the things you hit on is you talked about Andy Stanley and Guardrails. Henry Cloud has one of my favorite books called Boundaries and Necessary Endings, which is all about, “Stop. Don't go here. Don't even think about it. Stay here. Stay in your lane.” You hit on with weariness, the next topic, which is abandonment. I know people are like, “Fear of abandonment.” Abandoning a child or a relationship has a negative connotation. In the price of leadership my father talked about every day you're going to have to abandon something that you want to think about in favor of what you need and ought to think about. He defines it as this real hyper-focus. Every day, you count everything and stay intentional about it.
I'm going to put a plugin for Mission Drift. This is what Mission Drift is all about and I read it in one of my classes. It was good for me because coming in running a second-generation business. Is it me? Is it my dad? Is it books? Is it speaking? Is it writing? What is it? I was all over the place. You helped me get clarity on what is the core DNA that I need to stay true to and how do I guard that? There are other things I can play with and create in the creative space, Lord willing that he guides. For every leader out there, get it because once you start growing and going, it’s the new levels, new devils. You're starting to get these things that sound good but they're going to pull you off focus even one megahertz and people can't hear what your mission is anymore. I love the book so much. It's one of my top ten. Can you talk to us about abandonment?
It's fun to know how the book has been helpful to others. Part of the reason why we wrote it is because we looked around and we saw that there are far more examples of drift than there are of organizations, multigenerational issues, multiple generations of faithful leadership, and faithful impact. We said that we want that to be our story. We don't want to follow the well-worn path of drift, so what do we do? It became this research project trying to find organizations that stayed on a mission and those that drifted and tried to figure out, what did the organizations that stayed on a mission do differently? I love what you said because that in many ways is the core. Is there clarity of what your mission is? Oftentimes, there's a level of assumption with generation one. There's a level of assumption, “Everyone knows what our core mission is.”
Over time, the means that we use to accomplish the mission, sometimes get cloudy in our thinking. It’s like, “Is our means the way?” “What is our core mission?” Everything comes down to that question of do you know your mission? I don’t say that is true at an organizational level and it's true at a personal level. If you don't have clarity of what is the main end of your life, what is the purpose of your life. Also, what are the things that you believe God has given you to do in the years that you have life, health, and breath, then we're not going to be able to answer the then question of, “If that is true, then what do we do?”
Clarity of mission. Everything starts with that and intentionality of practice. That's what we see in you, in the writings of your dad and in this conversation. It takes work if you're not willing to roll up your sleeves and dive in to pay the price when things are hard. If you don't have clarity on what your mission is, you don't believe in the mission or know what the mission is, it’s going to be hard for you to be willing to pay that price. Coming back, do you know, with clarity, here's what I'm about. Therefore, this is what I do with intentionality in the daily, weekly, and annual habits, patterns, and practices that are going to allow us to live and to run the race that we have and finish it well. Also, to pass on that baton to the next leader that's going to get ready to run as well.
With HOPE, how do you stay dialed into that mission because the world changes and all these things? How do you stay spot on because you have stayed so pure and true to what the original intent was? How do you do that?
Wouldn't it be wonderfully ironic, my colleague and I wrote a book on Mission Drift, and we become a case study in a few years? There's a little bit of internally imposed and hopefully don’t put me on the pressure that we put on ourselves with that. That’s the challenge. This is part of the research, we were looking for those, “Show me the one big thing that we can do that will make an impact.” I love your example of what you said if you're 1 or 2 degrees off, it doesn't make a difference if you're going three steps. If you're 1 or 2 degrees off and you're taking a flight from Boston to LA, you better believe that 1 or 2 degrees make a big difference. You're not going to end up in the right place.
That similar principle is that you've got to constantly know what your true north is and constantly be doing course corrections. It’s the idea of drift. It’s this idea of currents. You're not standing still. You are moving right now. The currents are taking you and the question is, are you doing the hard work? Say now, the decisions that I make personally, the decisions that I make organizationally, am I finding my true north? Am I changing my approach to get back in alignment?
That comes to the hiring decisions that we make, the personal practices, the culture that you're creating as an organization, measurements, where you pursue your funding, and what you say yes to. All of those things in and of themselves are one degree of separation but you’ve got to make sure that those little decisions are not little when compounded by time. Constant change and reevaluation of every decision in light of who you are and what mission you've been given.
Price Of Leadership: There's a wonderfully freeing and powerful way that when we extend our gaze beyond our current term, it will change the way that we lead now.
Do you have a ministry partner with you at HOPE? Did you say that?
Just that the book was written with Chris Horst, my colleague.
Who is Chris?
He was born and raised in Lancaster. He is our chief advancement officer and a dear friend. We've written several of the books together.
Why I drilled into that is probably a lot of people reading are solopreneurs, small or like me looking for the person to grow with the next level. Can you tell me how you dial that in? You need those people who have an idea and you have an idea. How do you harness that to get that synergistic growth? Do you have any recommendations for us on that?
Much of the work that we do, and the joy, or the lack of joy that we have is directly related to the people that we show up and spend time with at work each and every day. Number one is before, during and after those hiring decisions, get on your knees and pray for God's favor in the hiring decision. It is important. I think about a simple 2x2. When about Chris and others, there are 2x2 quadrants where you have two different ideas.
The two ideas are, do you trust the individual’s heart, their core motivation, who they are, and do you trust their head and their competency? If you have someone that you have the highest level of trust in their heart, they're here for the mission. It's not about an ego trip, they're here for the reasons. Also, you have the highest degree of confidence in their competency and how they are going to do if you find those individuals that score highest in heart and head, get back on your knees and you say thank you as well.
I have the enormous privilege of having not only Chris but also a team of colleagues that trust their heart, head and we're in this together. The Gallup Survey, the twelve questions that they have based on all of their data and all of their research, they state one of the questions in terms of job satisfaction as, do you have a best friend at work? Whether you could argue with that term, “Is that the right term, best friend?” If you talk about, do you have someone at work that you absolutely trust intimately? That will make an impact on your day and joy. That will address the loneliness question that we started with and all of these things we've been talking about.
When I think back over the history of HOPE, it’s nothing but gratitude for the group of individuals that I get to work with. Willingness to say when we get it wrong in the hiring process and to not be afraid, and this is the isolation or the difficulty weariness. There are some decisions that weigh heavily on you. None should weigh more heavily than the difficult HR discussions and decisions that impact real people that appropriately should weigh on you. It should not stop you from doing what is going to be for the long-term health and vitality of the organization.
You don't get to the good stuff without also some of the pain and willingness to know when you didn't get it right and to call that when that happens as well. Those are some of my greatest regrets and some of the most challenging moments, but also grateful that we were able to make some difficult decisions to realign ourselves and to make sure that we are a team of committed people. That trusting head and trusting heart and high level of trust as an organization.
I am thankful you said that because people like me, and I know if I'm doing it, I know everybody else is doing it, is looking at you going, “Peter is spiritually gifted. He's changing the world. He has this team. If I had one good person, I could do it.” Thank you for your transparency and for letting us know that you can't get it without the right people. My dad used to say that, “My problem isn't motivating me, it's keeping everybody else from demotivating me.”
Even in your own innermost circle, you either have people that are with your heart and your head and everybody's got to be committed. You’ve also got to keep checking in to make sure they stay committed because of mission drift. Somebody can be all in one year and the next year something's changed, ecclesiastics the season is over. For leadership, the biggest thing is watching the moving people pieces and getting on your knees and giving it to God, and having difficult conversations.
You said it better than I did.
Thank you for sharing that because when we’ve got all these successful people on here, and they've been quite transparent about it. We have to make those tough decisions like you. I know for our readers out there and even for me that gave me great clarity and a great confirmation from the Lord.
Anyone that is in a leadership role of any sort, that does not talk about challenges or failure is not talking the truth. Every single one, there are challenges and failures that we have.
Rooting for Rivals: How Collaboration and Generosity Increase the Impact of Leaders, Charities, and Churches
The last one after abandonment was vision. A lot of times we look at people and go, “I don't have a vision. You’ve got to have this sixth sense or this pole blinding light whatever it is.” My dad always said that vision is nothing more than seeing what needs to be done and doing it because a lot of people see what needs to be done, but they don't do it. Can you talk to me about how you hone your vision? We talked about staying true to it but the world never stays the same. How do you craft that vision and how do you stay open to the slight tweaks or reinventions that we have to do?
I love your dad's one-liners. No one got complex truths in a more concise way. I know some of them, but you shared some new ones that are awesome.
He had a way of saying stuff and he said it backward. He'd flip wisdom and you’re like, “What?” “He’s right.”
That's Proverbs 29:18, “When there's no vision, the people perish.” If we don't know where we're going, we're going to start turning in on ourselves. Aligning it relates to mission drift, “Do we know where we're going?” If you cannot articulate that moment, then we have challenges. I wonder, in light of 2020 and all of the challenges, my guess is the organizations that have been able to survive or thrive in the midst of changes are those that have come back to a clear and compelling vision of why they exist as an organization.
Those that haven't had that ability to clearly articulate this is where we're going. My guess is this has been a much more challenging year for them. There's something so powerful and aligning about a clear and mutually owned vision for individuals. How do you keep coming back to that? The simple word that comes to mind is repetition. You have to keep on stating it and keep on talking about it. By the time that it sounds old in your ears is probably the time that it's being heard and understood.
For leaders to say a small number of things and to keep saying them that is probably more powerful than to have an arsenal of different ideas that can cause organizational whiplash to keep going bouncing different ideas, as opposed to every time I speak, you're going to hear me say these things because this in this season is what matters most. It’s going to come back to reinforce and to repeat even at the moment that it starts to sound maybe stale in your own ears. It probably still is having a powerful aligning impact on the organization.
How has the pandemic affected you? How has that changed on how you've operated?
This has been the most challenging season of our organizational history. I don't think there's been a lot of attention in the United States and the media about the impact of COVID on the most vulnerable around the world.
I have friends over there but if you don’t, you won’t know what is going on.
We're thinking about schools and there's a lot to think about with that. We're thinking about health, the economy, and all those things, but truly the people that have been impacted the most are people that are living close to the edge already. For us as an organization, that's where we work. What do we do? How do we respond? For us, it's coming back to that mission. What do we do as an organization to live out our identity and our mission in the way that we respond in these times?
For us, the three things that we did are, first, we do not typically do this, but we pivoted our program to do immediate relief in the communities that were impacted the most. The reason is when the economy shuts down, our core mission is about investing in entrepreneurs, helping them start and expand small businesses, and sharing the hope of Jesus. As we do that, that is impossible to do when the economy shuts down. While there was a full shutdown, there was no food in certain areas so we responded with relief. It’s something that we don't typically do. The second piece is how we can live out this mission at this time.
For us, it was all about we're going to walk with entrepreneurs that at the end of this, they're going to know that the team of HOPE International was with them. That made creative ways of adapting programs, doing more digitally, connecting virtually, and doing more. Many of the entrepreneurs that we serve ended up manufacturing face masks as part of their business and adapting and adjusting. We provided grace periods during this time. The third is additional capital once economies open up to jump-start their businesses.
It was based on listening to the families that we serve and letting them tell us what they need now and what is going to be the most loving way for us to walk with them during this time. The power of showing up, praying together, and reminding each other that in the midst of all the challenges, we still are people of hope. Let's figure out how to walk through this together with our eyes on where we're going and knowing that God is in the midst of all of this, even in the midst of the current challenges as well. There are many ways for us to be a respondent.
I love how you pivot on that and it reminds me of the reach out by the small business and the president to small businesses, which is the backbone of this country, during that time to get us through. It’s like, “I’ve got to get you through this period.” I'm like, “As a small business owner, that was brilliant.” For our readers out there, when you go over to some of these areas, I'm going to spend a lot of time in Eastern Europe and Africa. If people don't work, they don't eat, get unemployment, and don't get government checks. Talk about living close to the edge. They're the most industrious people. They're willing and they'll do whatever it takes to get water and anything.
When you locked down, that's it. We don't know that because we don't hear this. When you lock down an economy where if people don't work, they don't eat. What do we do? We get unemployment and we order off on Amazon. It's not ideal, but it's not life-threatening so to see how even supporting over there. Anybody out there and Peter will talk at the end. If you can support any of his work or anything out there, what $100 a month can do out there for somebody like that. You have no idea how you get to bless them and help and help them get through this. Because right now we want to preach, teach, and exhort but we got to live now. I’m thankful for you that you had the clarity and the wisdom to see that and say, “We do need to pivot, tweak this, and get these guys through this.”
I appreciate that and thank you for your heart, for individuals in our community and individuals around the world as well. I do think this is a moment for all of us. Let's roll up our sleeves. Let’s hone for courageous compassion in the midst of all of the challenges that we are facing.
I know there’s so much we can do especially with the technological infrastructure we have going on now and they're all 5G over there, too. When you go to Africa, I’ve got to put a cell phone service. In Eastern Europe I’m like, “I can't,” but I go to Africa, I'm whirling. You can send stuff all over the world to help people right this second. Don't let that hold you back. Peter, is there anything else you want to share with our leaders, any other leadership thoughts, or takeaways that you'd like to leave them that we maybe we haven't hit on?
Succession: Seven Practices to Navigate Mission-Critical Leadership Transitions
The only other thought that I have is, during this time that we've been living through, I do find that I process ideas through writing so that has been fun. I launched a book called Succession and the piece that was so interesting in this is coming to terms. Every single one of us, we are all interim leaders. Every single one of us no matter what our role, no matter how long it truly is interim. The greatest question is not what happens while you are there but what happens two years after you've left the organization. To be intentional, not only about your own leadership journey but to say, “What am I doing now to pour into the next generation of leaders? What am I doing now to build something that intentionally outlasts me and my tenure? What am I doing to have a culture that says, ‘It is about the cause it is not about the personality in this current moment?’”
There's a wonderfully freeing and powerful way that when we extend our gaze beyond our current term, it will change the way that we lead now and maybe it might be part of the antidote for some of those feelings of burnout. Maybe if we are looking about how we can empower the team around us, we won't carry quite as much and it might lead to more health. Maybe as we think about the long-term vision of the organization, we're going to release certain things that are going to allow us to do our job better and to set the organization up for better, long-term success. That's the only thought because I've been thinking about it a lot. The greatest gift that we can give the organizations is how we leave when that moment comes and it's too important to leave it to chance and hope that it goes well.
The Bible even says we're a breath. When people talk about this COVID, I'm like, “Did somebody tell you that you're not a mortal, because you sure acted you had no idea that any moment you’re gone?” Figure it out. Either you're okay with it or not and if you're not, you’ve got to figure on it. Unpack it. That part of the thing. It was the old Elijah with me and Dad. I'm like, “This is not him. This is not mine. This is God's.” Once I got my head wrapped around that, I was like, “Whatever happens I'm going to do the best I can and the Holy Spirit's going to take care of the rest. He's going to have this go on forever or we'll leave little seeds for it to hybrid off into something else.” I saw the new book coming out on your Facebook page. Peter, where can people get in touch with you, get your books, get Succession, hear more about HOPE International, all that good stuff, and stay in touch with you?
HOPE International is HopeInternational.org. For the books and if anyone wants to connect with me on social media, it’s @PeterKGreer is where I'm at. I blog also. It’s PeterKGreer.com and that's also where you can find information on the books. If I could be of any help to the readers, I’d love to do it. We are part of a giant family and I love being with others. My website is the best place to find me.
For our readers, if you like what you read, please hit the subscribe and like button. Leave us a comment. Drop me or Peter a comment. Peter, thank you for sharing your wisdom, for what you're doing for the world, and the encouragement that you have given to me and I know everybody out there reading.
Thank you. It's so much fun to connect with you.
Thanks to our tremendous readers for tuning in. Thanks for being part of our Tremendous Tribe. Have a tremendous day.
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About Peter Greer
Peter Greer is the president and CEO of HOPE International, a global Christ-centered economic development organization serving throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.
Prior to joining HOPE, Peter worked internationally as a microfinance adviser in Cambodia and Zimbabwe and as managing director for Urwego Bank in Rwanda. He received a B.S. in international business from Messiah University and an MPP in political and economic development from Harvard's Kennedy School.
Peter’s favorite part of his job is spending time with the entrepreneurs HOPE serves—whether harvesting coffee with farmers in Rwanda, dancing alongside savings groups in Haiti, or visiting the greenhouses of entrepreneurs in Ukraine.
As an advocate for the Church’s role in missions and alleviating extreme poverty, Peter has co-authored over 10 books, including Mission Drift (selected as a 2015 Book Award Winner from Christianity Today), Rooting for Rivals (selected as a 2019 Leadership Resource of the Year in Outreach magazine), The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good (selected as one of the top 40 books on poverty by WORLD magazine) and Created to Flourish (which his mom reviewed with five stars and a smiley face emoji).
More important than his role at HOPE is his role as husband to Laurel and dad to Keith, Liliana, Myles, and London. While his sports loyalties remain in New England, Peter and his family live in Lancaster, PA.