I grew up in East Peoria, IL, and just across the river sat a Pabst Blue Ribbon plant. In the 1890's Pabst brewed the most popular beer in the country; in 2001 it closed its last plant and brewed its last beer. But as you may (or may not) know, Pabst Blue Ribbon is certainly not dead. In fact, for the past several years, it has been experiencing a tremendous comeback -- with almost no advertising. The brand has experienced a resurgence among snowboarders, 20-somethings, urbanites and suburbanites alike. When we lived in San Diego, it was one of two beers on tap at one of our favorite pizza places -- the other was Newcastle. The brand is on Twitter, it has a blog ... but it hasn't had a national advertising campaign in over ten years. Yet it continues to rebound. In 2009, it grew by 33%. Retro cool.…
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Successful leaders, entrepreneurs, or even pastors, are odd mix of two things: hunger and humility. A leader who refuses to settle for the status quo because new ground remains to be gained is hungry. An entrepreneur who is willing to eat Ramen noodles and mac-n-cheese in order to put more money into his business is hungry (in more ways than one!). To be successful, a person must have a hunger for more ... for more growth, more expansion, more quality, more effectiveness, more simplicity. At the same time, they must have a deep humility that recognizes the limits of their own abilities. It takes humility to say, "I don't know" or "I'm sorry." A humble leader will be content to serve in the background while someone else is in the spotlight. Hunger and humility. Do you have what it takes to be successful?
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I came across this blog post by Doug Riddle of the Center for Creative Leadership called "When Intention is Irrelevant." It speaks of the higher standard leaders will be held to. In particular, it reminded me of James's admonition to those who would aspire to be teachers: "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." (James 3:1) Here is the article. ***************** When Intention is Irrelevant I've been interviewing leaders and followers for years about the impact of leaders' behavior on their organizations and their people. I've come to a somewhat disturbing if obvious conclusion: a good deal of their impact is completely unintentional. We spend a lot of our energy thinking about what to say and what not to, how to introduce strategic change, and how to improve morale, for instance. Yet, there are…
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I read this post from Lance Haul at ReHaul: Rethinking how businesses and people interact. It's a good reminder that each of us have a personal responsibility to do our best at whatever we find ourselves doing, especially at work: "We all struggle with politics and roadblocks at work. The good ones find ways around them and get their job done. Sometimes those good ones can push hard enough to make their job a little easier. Others leave, only to find roadblocks awaiting them at their new home. The rest complain and find a way to make them not getting their job done someone else’s problem." Read the entire post here.
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"Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but…
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