I recently finished reading "Bonhoeffer", a biography of Dietrick Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas. For those who may not know, Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was part of the conspiracy to overthrow Adolf Hitler. Unfortunately, he was executed in a concentration camp only two weeks before the camp was liberated by the Allies. Bonhoeffer emphasized personal devotions as the means to connecting with God. He didn't want to know about God; he wanted to know God. He would begin and end each day with thirty minutes of meditating on a single passage of scripture. Bonhoeffer knew that we could be busy with "religious" activities and still not know God: "If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction." What gave Bonhoeffer the strength to act in public were the things he practiced in private.
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As I layout what I need to accomplish during the work day, I try to organize my thoughts (and notes and actions) around three concepts: To Do. What are my tasks? What do I need to read, research, write, etc. Connect. Who do I need to reach out to? Return an email or phone call? Meet. Who do I have to meet with that day?
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I just read a great article entitled, "What Makes a Great Entrepreneur?" over at Venture Beat. As I usually do, I read business articles through my pastoral lenses. In other words, substitute "church planter" for "entrepreneur" and see what I mean. Here are the highlights: Guts. The entrepreneur world is not for the timid. You have to have the guts to pull the trigger, to quit whatever you’re doing and to jump into the abyss (and believe me, this is easier said than done). Most people just talk; few execute. Guts is quitting Harvard, like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg did. (Picture that phone call to their parents: “Hey Mom, Hey Dad, I have some good news, I’m quitting Harvard…”) Desire. How badly do you want success? How much are you willing to sacrifice? Great entrepreneurs make their venture the number one priority in their life; in short, they become…
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When it comes to effective communication, we've all been told that we need to be good listeners. If we were listening, then we know that. But there's another part of communication that often gets overlooked: watching. A good communicator will not only listen to the other party but will watch them, too. Non-verbal cues may help you understand what the other person is really thinking, not just what they are saying. Listen and watch. A good combination.
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In Jim Collins book, Good to Great, he compares the hedgehog to the fox. The hedgehog does one thing well. The fox, on the other hand, jumps from strategy to strategy. In the end, the hedgehog wins. It's tempting to jump from fad to fad; it can also be ineffective, if not dangerous. On the other hand, it takes discipline, patience, and belief to be a hedgehog. Are you a hedgehog or a fox?
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