The Learning of Love

Brief Description

In this highly personal book, William B. Turner and Delane Chappell chronicle Turner’s life and the spiritual journey that led him to embrace the concept of servant leadership. The journey began on his eighth birthday when his grandfather, industrialist W. C. Bradley, anointed him the future leader of two large corporations. He resisted the expectations that were set upon him and was led by the examples of his predecessors (grandfather and father) and by God to adopt the principle of servant leadership.

William Turner’s contribution of servant leadership, which is based on spirit-filled love, is the hope of the future because it leads to God. Fortune magazine named Turner’s Synovus Financial Corporation the “Best Company to Work for in America.” More important than the accolades he, his associates and companies have received however, is the daily evidence of people caring about one another and of people’s creativity being unleashed as they explore who they are and what they can do in the workplace.

Within these pages you will walk through the tapestry of Turner’s journey that threads together family, church, business, and community to create a pattern for living and practicing servant leadership.

About the Authors

William B. Turner is chairman of the Executive Committee of Synovus Financial Corporation, Treasurer of the Bradley-Turner Foundation, Chairman of the Pastoral Institute, and former Chairman of the W.C. Bradley Company. He served on the University of Georgia Board of Regents for nine years, was a Trustee of Emory University, and was a Senior High School Sunday School teacher for 52 years. He and his wife, Sue Marie, reside in Columbus, Georgia.

Delane Chappell is a Representative of the Business Resource Center of the Pastoral Institute and a freelance writer. She holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Alabama and is a former staff writer for the Columbus Ledge-Enquirer. She volunteers with Leadership Columbus Alumni, Columbus Hospice and the American Cancer Society.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – A Firm Foundation
Chapter 2 – How I Got to Where I Am
Chapter 3 – The Navy – A Call To Serve
Chapter 4 – Learning Through Love
Chapter 5 – Doing the Right Thing
Chapter 6 – Filling the Empty Places of My Soul
Chapter 7 – What Love Can Do
Chapter 8 – First, Be a Servant
Chapter 9 – The View from Where I Sit – The Legacy