All Posts By

Ken

do what you love

By Leadership
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.
Read More

sell dreams, not products

By Leadership
Another insight from the review of "The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs" over at Leading Blog. Sell Dreams, Not Products. Think differently about your customers. To Jobs, people who by Apple products are not “consumers.” They are people with dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Jobs builds products to help them fulfill their dreams. "Some people think you've got to be crazy to buy a Mac. But in that craziness, we see genius" says Jobs. How do you see your customers?  Or your worship attenders?  Or even your classroom students? By tapping into the dreams, hopes, and ambitions of our volunteers, we are providing them with an environment to thrive.  This requires alignment: matching their hopes and dreams to the mission or purpose of the service or ministry. Selling products can get old after a while, even when they are faith-based "products."  Selling dreams is a different matter.
Read More

dent in the universe

By Leadership
I read a good review of "The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs" over at Leading Blog.  Here's the first thing that struck me.  I'll share more over the next few days. Put a Dent in the Universe. Think differently about your vision. Jobs attracts like-minded people who share his vision and who help turn his ideas into world-changing innovations. Passion fuels Apple’s rocket, and Job’s vision creates destination. I love the phrase "put a dent in the universe."  As pastors, parents, business men and women, teachers, coaches ... are we here to fill up space or put a dent in the universe?  Perhaps one reason non-profits, churches included, may struggle to recruit and retain volunteers is that we haven't made the connection between what they are doing and the dent they are making in the universe.
Read More

tweeting and preaching

By Church, Preaching
I've been on Twitter for a few years now (@kenhensley, if you care to join the conversation).  Over time, I've come to appreciate a few things regarding Twitter and preaching.  Here are just a few observations: Using Twitter forces me to be concise in communicating a thought.  With only 140 characters at your disposal -- including spaces -- you have to trim the fat.  In some ways, it reminds me of Fred Craddock's approach to preaching: you should be able to summarize every sermon in one sentence. Using Twitter allows me to follow thought leaders in various fields.  On any given day, I am getting Tweets from Guy Kawasaki, Max Lucado, Dave Ferguson, Leo Laporte, Ed Stetzer, Don Miller, and many others.  These tweets give me a real-time perspective into what they are thinking, reading, and doing. Using Twitter allows me to easily extend my own influence.  Granted, I only…
Read More