The acronym WOWSE became a vital affirmation for me when I was starting my own company. Like too many others, I had tried to get assistance from banks and was continually turned down. Every time I was rejected, I would say to myself "WOWSE," which means "With or Without Someone Else." "I will build this company with or without someone else," I would repeat to myself as I licked my wounds. The acronym WOWSE became a vital affirmation for me when I was starting my own company. Like too many others, I had tried to get assistance from banks and was continually turned down. Every time I was rejected, I would say to myself "WOWSE," which means "With or Without Someone Else." "I will build this company with or without someone else," I would repeat to myself as I licked my wounds. As time went on, more and more people did step forward to help me. But the first few years were rough, at least as far as financing was concerned. This turned out to be a blessing, since I had to learn rather quickly how to generate cash flow. (My affirmation in those days was "WOWSE." My mother’s was "Please God, send her cash flow.") A leader must be so committed to a project that she is willing to do it with or without someone else. David did not turn to see if the troops were following him when he went out to meet Goliath. He was not even a king but merely a shepherd boy at the time he took on the giant. He became king after he went out alone. Jesus was committed to healing, teaching, and preaching regardless of whether His crew came along. He would have done the job set before Him with or without Peter and Mary Magdalene. One of my partners, Dominic, impressed me when I saw him handle the mail and make cold calls for a business in which he was the majority owner. A very wealthy man who employed more than 350 people, here he was at the post office hand-stamping 1,500 pieces of mail. "Dominic," I said, "why not send one of the staff to do that?" "Everyone else was in meetings," he said good-naturedly, "and this mail had to go out today." Later he told me he had been raised on a farm where everybody pitched in to do whatever needed to be done. "When a cow needed milking, my dad didn’t care whose turn it was to milk it—the job just had to get done." Businesses would run much smoother if everyone felt this way. The lack of this "just get the job done" attitude is one of the reasons true customer service is in such critical shortage and demand. People are so busy checking their job descriptions that they do not have time to do the work they need to do. One of the primary rules of good business management is that managers should not ask their employees to do anything they are not willing to do. Time is wasted when managers wait for help to arrive. Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the greatest leaders of our time, personally supported a number of students financially. I once read an article that said a young man remembered getting checks for $75 a month, made and signed by Eleanor Roosevelt on her personal account. He said he received those checks for years, even after she ceased to be the First Lady. It would have been much easier for her to refer him to some giant scholarship committee, maybe even write him a nice recommendation letter. However, she was personally committed to education and suporting students she felt were worthy. She supported more than 25 students out of her personal funds. She was willing to help the students with or without someone else. Jesus practiced the WOWSE concept. What commitment are you willing to make happen with or without someone else? Laurie Beth Jones has written multiple national best-selling books, including Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership. The book, and those that followed, spent more than 13 months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list, and have translated into 12 foreign languages, with worldwide sales nearing 1,000,000 copies. For more inforamtion, visit lauriebethjones.com.