Yesterday while scarfing down a quick lunch, I zipped over to the NY Times on my phone and read the techology section (ironic, I know). I came across this interesting article entitled "Study Shows People Ignore Generic Photos Online." The premise is simple: people are more likely to interact with photos of people they know or recognize than with generic stock photos. Using eye-tracking software, Jakob Nielson discovered that generic stock photos are largely ignored; even more so, they are considered to be annoying. What does this mean for websites that are in the "people" business? Stock photos are counter-productive. They not only do not contribute to the message, they may actually be subconsciously working against the message. It may take a little more time, effort, and coordination, but utilizing "real" people from your church, business, or organization may produce unseen (pun intended) benefits.
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One of the things I enjoy about living in Colorado is the changing of seasons. Don't get me wrong: having an average daily temperature of 70.5 degrees (as we did in San Diego) is not all that bad. But I enjoy the turning of leaves, a crisp morning, and a fireplace at a night. I'm not necessarily a big fan of shoveling snow - nor do I expect it to grow on me. Just as the world around us goes through seasons, we experience seasons in life. It might generational seasons, such as youth, adolosence, middle age, etc. It might life-stages such as marriage, parenting, or retirement. Spiritually-speaking, seasons may come in the form of dry bouts where we pray but nothing seems to happen. Or it could be a season of growth, a time of seeing God work in ways we never imagined. Leadership has its seasons, too. Any…
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Have you received a flu shot yet? The change in season brings a new round of sniffling, sneezing, and wheezing. If you catch a cold, remember to wash your hands. Most of the time it's not a good thing to be contagious. The folks around us may love our sense of humor but they're not big on our germs. It's why wash our hands, cover our mouths, and stay home when we're really sick. (Unless you're a parent, then you send your kid off to school). But there are times when it's good to be contagious and one of those is when it comes to being generous. We may not wish to receive someone's germs, but receiving their generosity is another matter. And as far I can tell, spreading generosity is a socially-acceptable thing to do. Barry Cameron's book, "Contagious Generosity: The Key to Blessing", makes a…
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Another excerpt from the review of "The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs" at Leading Blog. Say No to 1,000 Things. Simplify. Think differently about design. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, according to Jobs. From the designs of the iPod to the iPhone, from the packaging of Apple’s products to the functionality of the Apple website, innovation means eliminating the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. Jobs: "I'm as proud of what we don't do as I am of what we do." I've met many pastors who struggle to say no. No to meetings, no to appointments, no to people. By not saying no, they overstretch and over-commit. Eventually they might even burnout. The same is true in our approach to ministry, be it evangelism, education, or worship. We sometimes say yes to too many things. We try to fit everything into a calendar, or shoe-horn multiple elements into a…
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Another excerpt from the review of "The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs" at Leading Blog. Do What You Love. Think differently about your career. Jobs advises, “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. ...My goal wasn't to die the richest man in the cemetery. It was to go to bed at night saying, we've done something wonderful." You can tell when a person loves what they do. And you can tell when they don't. If you're going to spend 40-60 hours a week at a job, it should be about more than just earning a paycheck.
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