Here's a clever video from Dan Heath ("Made to Stick") on how to overcome decision paralysis.
Read More
I love this post from Will Mancini. "The System Down the Hall Trumps the Mission on the Wall" This line is from the stellar strategist, Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church. When my friend Caz McCaslin (founder of Upward sports ministry) first heard the “systems talk” at the Catalyst Reverb conference ( I think it was 2007), he called me and we discussed it for what seemed to be hours. As a piece worth pursuing, here is Andy Stanley’s flow of thought: God created systems Systems create behavior Our leaders and volunteers action are guided by the systems we inherit, adopt or create We overestimate our ability to guide change, when we are not thinking on the systems level Systems have embedded expectations, rewards (lack of), consequences (lack of), communication styles, and behavioral patterns of the people in charge The idea of integrating the mission and vision into the systems of…
Read More
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I adopted Andy Stanley's approach to outlining your message a few years ago. One reason I really like his approach is the attention and focus it puts on the listener while not minimizing God's voice. To refresh your memory, the basic outline is: me, we, God, you, and us. Each part ties into the one main point of the message. When a message moves from me to we, I am beginning to develop how the main point relates to the listener. In my preparation, I'm asking questions such as: Why should they care? What need does this address? What problem does this resolve? What question does this answer? What hurt or hang-up will this message help with? Many preachers work really hard at understanding their text. We may dig into word studies, commentaries, and other helpful books. If our goal was simply to…
Read More
How do you determine whether or not a person has leadership potential? It's simple ... watch what they do when they don't have to do anything. Last night at church we cancelled our children's program and adult classes due to a fierce snow storm that dropped on us. Within the span of about thirty minutes the street in front of our church building was snowed over and cars were spinning out trying to climb the hill. As I'm inside answering questions, three guys went out and began pushing cars. Even more amazing, one hadn't been at church but came when he noticed the snow storm. When I finally could, I went out and joined them. For the better part of almost 90 minutes, these three guys directed traffic, coached drivers, and crawled under cars. It was a sight to see! When we ask, "What does a leader do?" we're assuming…
Read More
When I worked as the ecommerce manager for Blue Haven Pools and Spas Supplies Direct, our customer service manager turned our leadership team on to a book called "212°" (that's 212 degrees). Here's the basic concept of the book: “At 211°, water is hot. At 212°, water boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive. The one extra degree makes the difference.” We often think that transformational change (or success) is a matter of making a major overhaul. Could it be that the difference between where you are now and where you want to be is simply a matter of one degree?
Read More