In 2019, I was honored to be the final speaker for the 2019 National Float Conference. This conference is for the floating industry and I spoke on my personal experience with floating. I spoke about how floating has helped me be a better follower of Jesus.Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Looking for a Speaking Coach? The most successful people are not always the smartest people. But they have one thing in common: they communicate well. I'd love to help you become a better communicator. Click here. Professor at Warner University church planter with Stadia former former president, Church Planters of the Rockies masters in business administration (mba) helped start 2 for-profit tech companies Need a Speaker or Presenter? Interested in having me speak for your church, conference, or organization? Follow this link to learn more.
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2020, the year of COVID-19, racial unrest, economic challenges, and political uncertainty. In other words, the year of chaos. Any leader who leads long enough will eventually encounter a period of chaos - it might last a few minutes or even days. Every now and then, it might even last for an extended season. In the normal course of life and leadership, moving forward means tackling challenges or overcoming obstacles. What about chaos? Training, education, and experience can help prepare you for the common challenges and obstacles an organization might face -- financial, staffing, etc. In many cases, challenges and obstacles (while tough) often follow predictable patterns or share common characteristics. Chaos is, well, chaotic. As we've learned in 2020, chaos is unpredictable. It shifts for no reason, stopping and starting when it wants to. It is more likely to creep up on you than to raise warning flags along…
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A few years ago I led a group of people through the leadership principles of Moses, which I then turned into a small book (Lead Like Moses: Ten Characteristics of Good Leaders). Although the royalties have only amounted to a good cup of coffee, the principles themselves are invaluable. In preparing for a staff meeting, I recently revisited the story of Moses and the burning bush. If you're not familiar with it, it's found in Exodus 3. It's the story of God calling Moses to return to Egypt - where he was born and raised, and also murdered someone! In fact, Moses had fled Egypt 40 years earlier. For the last four decades, he had been carving out a new life in a new land. After 40 years, he had to be feeling comfortable. Plus, he was 80 years old! But God's plans didn't include retiring in Midian. The Hebrew…
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Let's admit it: we want growth, health, and success to be easy. It's why many people are drawn to the message of infomercials. "Here's your problem. This easy solution solves your problem. Buy now and we'll double your order." That's not how it happens. When it comes to growth, health, or success, it takes work. Nearly every overnight success took years to accomplish. Why do we look for the easy way? Well, because it is ... easy. Easy is comfortable and we like to be comfortable. We like our comfort zones, safe and well-defined, predictable. Study any accomplished person who is making a difference, whether that's a mom, coach, scientist, or volunteer at a local shelter. Look for what sets them apart from people who have the same level of natural talent or ability, but who are sitting on the sidelines. How did they become successful? At some point, they…
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As a leader, one of my most important responsibilities is being a good steward of the resources entrusted to me. While we most often think in terms of financial resources, I would argue that our most valuable assets are the people we lead. In the last two posts, I talked about two ways to help people feel valued: pay attention to them and give compliments. Here's tip number three: #3 Be Honest How does it feel when someone lies to you? If you're like me (and most everybody else), it doesn't feel too good. Depending on the lie, it might range from annoyance to anger. Why does lying bother us so much? Would we have a different reaction if it was a "nice lie," one intended to make us feel better about ourselves? Probably not. In fact, that might even be worse. Lying bothers us because it communicates this: I…
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