Jeff Henderson wants to be known by what he’s for rather than what he’s against.
That’s why his 2019 book was titled Know What You’re For: A Growth Strategy for Work, an Even Better Strategy for Life.
It’s also why the former Chick-fil-A executive and pastor now runs a company with a one-word name: “For.” He advises clients that “it’s not about being the best in the world; it’s about being the best for the world.”
His new book continues the theme, titled What to Do Next: Taking Your Best Step When Life Is Uncertain.
“The idea for the book came with watching people go through the Great Resignation and wanting to know what to do next in their lives” he said in an interview. He started asking around to see what people planned to do next with their lives after coming out of COVID.
“When you’re moving toward a season of next, you should be moving toward something, not moving away from something.”
“When you’re moving toward a season of next, you should be moving toward something, not moving away from something,” he said. “And again, it depends on everyone’s situation. There are some who may be in a really dysfunctional situation and they need to move away from that. I get that.”
However, most people should take inventory before determining what their “next” should be, he advised. He’s taken that step himself, and looking back, he’s glad he did.
After leaving the corporate world, he helpd North Point Church in Georgia launch a new campus. And then he launched his own brand as a consultant and author.
Had he never taken the risk to do those new things, he would have missed out on what God had for him, he said.
“I’ve had a lot of people ask me, ‘Hey, how can you eliminate risk in the next season?’ I tell them I have good news and bad news. The bad news is you can’t eliminate risk. It’s just a part of life. If you are wanting to eliminate risk, you’re never going to move.
“But that leads me to something else, too. Sometimes the riskiest thing isn’t leaving; sometimes the riskiest thing is staying. We all know people who stayed maybe a little bit too long. And maybe the reason was because they just couldn’t deal with the uncertainty of what if this doesn’t work. So, I get all that but you can’t eliminate risk.”
However, he does believe people should leave where they are better than how they found it. “I’m called for seasons when it comes to my occupation. So, I want to leave things better than when I found them and to leave people better than when I found them,” he said.
Moving to your “next” requires faith, he admits. “The hardest part of the next season is not the income part of this or how do you get health insurance when you go out on your own. It’s really letting go of your security and your identity and letting it reinforce what your true security and identity is.
“Some people have allowed their identity to define who they are,” he said. “Security and identity is some stuff you will have to wrestle with. It’s so hard and it’s so healthy. … If we are what we do, we’re not when we don’t. So, you got to be really careful.”
He adds: “At some point you won’t be doing what you’re currently doing. And that’s why seasons of next can be a real gift to you emotionally and spiritually and mentally if you allow it.”
Getting to your “next” may not be a direct path, Henderson said, citing what he calls the “waiting room phase” of life and career. People can feel like they’re being forgotten even when they’re not.
“When you wait actively, you wait to believe you’re being prepared, that you’re being prepared for something even if you don’t know what it is. So, what do you do when you’re in a season of preparation? Well, you start getting better.”
Those periods of being shaped by God often open new understanding of God’s calling, he said.
