Leadership

Another excerpt from the review of "The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs" at Leading Blog. Say No to 1,000 Things. Simplify. Think differently about design. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, according to Jobs. From the designs of the iPod to the iPhone, from the packaging of Apple’s products to the functionality of the Apple website, innovation means eliminating the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. Jobs: "I'm as proud of what we don't do as I am of what we do." I've met many pastors who struggle to say no.  No to meetings, no to appointments, no to people.  By not saying no, they overstretch and over-commit.  Eventually they might even burnout. The same is true in our approach to ministry, be it evangelism, education, or worship.  We sometimes say yes to too many things.  We try to fit everything into a calendar, or shoe-horn multiple elements into a…

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.

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.

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.

In his book, You Already Know How to be Great, author Alan Fine describes the three elements that enable us to use the knowledge we already possess: Faith: Our beliefs about ourselves and our beliefs about others. High performance is more likely when we believe that we can learn and do better. The absence of Faith could be described as insecurity. Fire: Our energy, passion, motivation, and commitment. High performance is more likely when we are excited about learning and doing. The absence of Fire could be described as indifference. Focus: What we pay attention to and how we pay attention to it. High performance is more likely when we pay attention in a way that will quiet our minds. The absence of Focus could be described as inconsistency. Click here to read a good blog post about it.