Links, Books I'm Reading, Articles of Interest

1. Latest Catalyst podcast features Judah Smith and Mark Driscoll being interviewed by Andy Stanley, from our Catalyst One Day event in Seattle.

2. Some great interviews are available here from the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, featuring interviews with leaders such as Bill Gates, Tony Blair, Bono, Bill Clinton and others. Many of the interviews conducted by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who does a great job.

3. Books I am currently reading: Soulprint by Mark Batterson, Decision Points by George W. Bush, Game Change by John Heilemann, Radical by David Platt (our team is going through this book)

4. Want to stay up with the latest news/happenings/latest releases in the tech world? Here are the 5 websites I recommend: TechCrunch, Engadget, Mashable, Scobleizer, Gizmodo.

5. I laugh at this video every time I watch it…..

Hope of Collaboration

Attending the Plywood Presents: Hope of Collaboration event today. Really good stuff.

Listening to Charles Lee talk about collaboration. Charles is a great friend, and knows all about collaboration. He started the Ideation Conference, Idea Camp, and a number of other projects and initiatives that are truly built on the foundation of collaboration.

Here are a few thoughts from Charles on Collaboration (with a bit of paraphrasing from me, but based on several of his key points):

1. always make sure expectations are clearly laid out on the front end. Good contracts make good partnerships. Good fences make good neighbors.

2. stay adaptive. Flexibility is key when it comes to partnerships and collaboration.

3. see collaboration as a need, and not just an option. Collaboration is incredibly important in today’s economy. Success depends on it.

4. choose wisely. everything today is now recorded and made public. so be careful. it’s much easier to say no on the front end to a potential partnership or collaborative project, than it is to try and unravel a partnership gone bad.

5. be accessible and build everything on trust. Being human and approachable makes collaboration much easier.

6. be a great listener, and figure out ways to serve. Most of us are great talkers and end up asking for way more, vs. listening and figuring out how to add value.

7. creativity comes from collaboration. it’s messy, but can work. The more people involved, the more complicated. But also probably more creative at the end of the day.

Creating Healthy Organizational Culture

The new Catalyst One Day 2011 tour, featuring Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel, will focus around the topic of Creating a Healthy Organizational Culture. This is an incredibly important issue for leaders.

The first stop for the 2011 One Day Tour is in ORLANDO on Thursday, Feb 17th, at Northland Church. Joel Hunter and the entire team at Northland are great to work with, and we can’t wait to be there.

Make plans to attend. Register NOW to get the best rates, as prices go up to full price after tomorrow, January 27th. In fact, if you use the RATE CODE FOB when registering, you can save even more on the ticket prices.

This is one of those events to bring your entire team! Hope to see you there.

How to Follow Well

As Leaders, it’s equally important for us to know how to FOLLOW as it is how to LEAD. In fact, many believe to be a good leader, you must first be a great follower. And I would suggest that great leaders are equally in tune with how to follow well, as how to lead well.

So here are a few thoughts on following:

1. Good followers are great finishers. They get the job done. Take projects across the finish line.

2. Good followers anticipate. They understand what needs to be done next before others, and are always looking for ways to make the process better.

3. Good followers criticize in private, and praise in public. Enough said on that.

4. Good followers are trustworthy. When given an assignment, a leader can be assured that it will get done. This is incredibly important.

5. Good followers are vision copycats. They take on, embody and live out the vision and mission of their leader, and of the organization.

6. Good followers make their leader better. They push their leader, and know how to lead up appropriately and intentionally.

7. Good followers lead themselves. They don’t need to be managed, and aren’t needy. They don’t need all the attention from the leader.

Start with the End in Mind

New products. New events. New experiences. New staff. New corporate culture. New organizational chart. New reporting structure. New service. New campus.

Start with the end in mind. So many of us as leaders start by looking at what is directly in front of us. The big barriers for getting to phase 2, or the hard work of launching, The sweat and strain and long hours and frustration that go along with getting the flywheel started can many times leave us empty, disappointed, and unmotivated.

The newness wears off fast, so make sure you have a clear sense of where you are going long-term, before bowing out in the short term.

Why I'm excited about the next wave of leaders

I love leaders. And especially next generation leaders. Specifically those leaders who are currently in their 20′s and 30′s. And I’m incredibly hopeful regarding this next wave of leaders. Incredibly excited and hopeful and expectant. Expectant that they are going to take the reins and move things forward like no other generation before them.

Here’s a few reasons why I’ve got great confidence in the next generation of leaders:

1. Passion for God. Everyone seems to think we’ve lost a generation of Christ followers in our country, but after seeing the 23,000 college students gathered at Passion a few weeks ago, and the 20,000 + who gather at Urbana every other year, and the 20,000 who were just in Kansas City for the IHOP One Thing gathering- this instills confidence that the next generation of leaders love Jesus and are passionate about serving Him and making Him known for their generation. Read Gabe Lyons’ latest book The Next Christians for further explanation and clarity.

2. Willing to work together. 20 and 30 somethings are more willing to collaborate than any other generation before. They trust each other. Really. And see collaboration as the starting point, not some grandiose vision of teamwork that is far off in the distance. Collaboration is now the norm.

3. Don’t care who gets the credit.. For the next generation- it’s Way less about who, and way more about what.

4. Generosity and sharing are the new currencies of our culture. In business, relationships, networks, platforms, technology, distribution, content delivery, etc- Open source is the new standard. This new wave of leaders has tools/resources such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram, and tons more social media tools that make influencing much more readily available.

5. Understand the holistic responsibility of influence- willing to connect all of life together- faith, compassion, charity, work, career, church, family, friends. It’s all connected. There is way less compartmentalizing of life among the next generation of leaders. .

6. Authenticity wins. Trust is incredibly important. Leaders won’t have followers going forward unless they trust them and see that they are authentic and real. Authenticity is not only important to the next generation, it’s a requirement.

7. Not willing to wait. Young leaders are ambitious and passionate about making a difference now. Not willing to wait their turn. They want to influence now. Evidence of this is the explosion of church planters in the last 4-5 years.

8. See social justice as the norm. Leaders who care about the poor and lean into causes and see the social gospel as a key ingredient to following Christ are no longer seen as the exception. Young Leaders see taking care of the poor and sharing the Gospel as BOTH crucial to the advancement of the Church and of God’s Kingdom. 20 somethings I believe are and will continue to become more balanced in their pursuit of both. They don’t have to be one or the other.

9. Seeking wisdom and mentors. Overall, I sense that 20 and 30 somethings are highly willing to be mentored, and are hungry for wisdom from older leaders around them. Those of us Gen X’ers tend to think we have it all figured out. Millenials and Gen Y are assumed to have it all figured out because they have so many tools and technology at their fingertips. But from what I’ve experienced, they still are seeking wisdom, just as much as any other generation before them.

Are you excited or scared about the next wave of leaders?