"If you give in to "just this once," based on a marginal-cost analysis, you'll regret where you end up. That's the lesson I learned: it's easier to hold to your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold to them 98 percent of the time. The boundary—your personal moral line—is powerful because you don't cross it; if you have justified doing it once, there's nothing to stop you doing it again." -- Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School
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A black hole is a "region of space-time where gravity is so strong that nothing that enters the region, not even light, can escape" (Wikipedia). Black holes are the enemies of good ideas. A father can become a black hole if he puts down every suggestion. Children want to be affirmed, to feel valued. No one wants to be constantly put-down. The easiest way to avoid a put-down? Offer no suggestions. A boss can become a black hole if he or she believes every good idea must originate with them. Employees who offer ideas only to see them dry up or go unused will eventually stop offering ideas. A friend can become a black hole if they treat opinions with sarcasm. Not every opinion is equal. Not every opinion is correct. But every opinion is personal, even the most hair-brained idea. Sarcasm communicates a lack of appreciation -- not just for the…
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Yesterday, Forbes Online had a great article about serial entrepreneurs -- those men and women who love to start things. It's part of a series on entrepreneurship. If you're a church planter, I'd encourage you to read the entire series. Here are the three characteristics they highlighted. Serial Entrepreneurs: Believe that talented and motivated teams are the entrepreneur’s most valuable asset. They know that the persistence, expertise, ideas, and foolishness that they went though on their journey are all required. Tend to ask more questions and make fewer assertions. Often realize that the chase itself is the reward. Are you a serial entrepreneur or church planter?
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Several times in the New Testament we hear the phrase (or a variation), "come to your senses." The prodigal son "came to his senses" (Luke 15:17). In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes "come back to your senses as you ought" (v. 34). It's an interesting phrase. It could literally read, "Come back to your right mind." In other words, there are right minds and wrong minds. Right ways of thinking and harmful ways of thinking. There are times when we are thinking straight, and other times when our thinking is clouded and foggy. When a person returns to their senses, they are returning to their right mind. A change in behavior is often precipitated by a change in thinking. Unless you change the way you think, you'll likely stay in the same ruts. When a person "makes no sense," there is something out of alignment between their thoughts, words, or…
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Yesterday afternoon, while driving home from a radio interview, I got word that Junior Seau had died. The initial reports were saying it was a suicide; a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. For those who don't know, Junior Seau was an All-Pro linebacker for the San Diego Chargers for many years. I never met Junior Seau, though we were once in the same room together (that is, if you consider Jack Murphy Stadium/Qualcomm one big room). But his reputation and image were well-known and much loved in San Diego. All deaths are tragic. Every person who dies was someone's son or daughter. But if it's true that Seau committed suicide, I have to wonder why. Why would someone so well-loved and so active in the community get to the point of taking their own life? One news report (in USA Today) said this came with "zero warning." These sorts…
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