George Müller: Open Books

George Müller, a series in two parts. Part 1: The Thief Who Was Trusted · Part 2: Open Books

The moment

The work at Ashley Down grew for twenty years. By 1870 there were five homes, with 1,722 children living in them. Over Müller’s lifetime, more than ten thousand orphans were cared for and educated.

What he did

He did not ask for money. Müller made a rule never to appeal to individuals for funds and never to go into debt. He prayed, and reported afterward what had come in.

He published the accounts. Each year he printed a report of the work. A supplement listed every donation received, and the accounts were open to anyone who wished to examine them. By the time of his death the institution had received and spent well over a million pounds.

He kept little for himself. He took no salary from the institution. Gifts sent for his personal use grew large in later years. He kept a modest sum to live on and gave the rest away.

He educated the children. The orphans were taught and then placed in trades and in service. Some critics said he was raising poor children above their station. He continued.

He handed over the daily work and kept serving. In 1875, at about seventy, he began seventeen years of preaching tours that took him more than two hundred thousand miles, to Europe, North America, India, Australia, China, and Japan. He died in Bristol on March 10, 1898, aged ninety-two.

What leaders can take from this part

Open books are the foundation of trust. Anyone could see what came in and where the money went. He did not ask people to take his word.

Rules made in advance protect a leader. No debt and no appeals were decided at the start, and those rules settled a thousand later questions.

Report after the fact. He told the public what had happened, not what he hoped would happen. A leader who reports results honestly does not need to promise much.

A fair question remains. Some observers have pointed out that a detailed annual report, widely read, is itself a powerful form of appeal. Müller would have said he was giving an account, not asking. Readers can weigh that for themselves.

For a team practice built on this theme, use the Quarterly Integrity Review.

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