Misc

Dave Gibbons stops by for a question (or two)

I am a big fan of Dave Gibbons. I don't know Dave well, but am really excited about him speaking during the Origins Day at Catalyst West, and also speaking during Labs at Catalyst in October in Atlanta. He is doing some great things, is a great leader, and has incredible respect among his peers. He has some really fresh insight on leadership and culture. 

His recent release Monkey and the Fish is the buzz right now among church leaders. And rightly so. I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book.

Dave was gracious enough recently to answer a couple of questions I sent over to him regarding the book. Today he is virtually "touring" the blogosphere by answering questions from 13 other bloggers. You can see the entire list of bloggers tied to the tour. 

BL: "Is there a difference between a third culture church and a third culture Christian? Should there be?”   DG: "There isn’t a difference when it comes to the basic mindset, ethos, knowledge and skills. However, when it comes to the sacrificial extent of our (those who follow Jesus) extravagant love, faith and hope there should be a difference especially as it relates to how we engage the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed.  Those who know Christ, take third culture to the next level. They take it from adaptation to Painful adaptation with a willingness to die and choose obedience over passion. BL: "It seems that this principle of third culture leadership can also apply into the business world. Can you give an example or two of businesses or business leaders that are putting these principles into practice?”   DG: "Definitely. We just launched a consultancy with several global leaders who have worked or are working with groups like Deloitte, Mckinsey, Bain and Accenture. They said that global companies are actually looking for third culture leaders. The East is trying to find leaders in the West who can run companies in North America. The West is trying to find third culture leaders for their companies in the East. Companies or Business leaders  who are putting these principles into practice are Tesco/Lotus; TacoBell/KFC/YUM; Toyota; President Obama; Sam Oh, executive with Tesco; Atul Tandon, former Executive wth Citibank Global and currently Exec. VP of World Vision; Paul Kim, One of the best commodity traders in the world; and Mike Wang, CEO of Venquest. The most successful future global and local leaders will have these third culture adaptive skills."

The greatest connector I Know

Had dinner last night with Peb Jackson. Peb has been a friend for the last 10 years, and has had a major impact on me during that time. He is a networker of networkers, but has an amazing mix of the Likability Factor, WOO (Winnings Other Over), and connector. 

Thought I would provide a "top reasons Peb Jackson is the greatest connector I know." 

1. Willing to help build a bridge- back when I was involved with Life@Work Magazine in the late 90's, Peb opened up his rolodex and generously connected me to hundreds of his friends around the country, all influentials in their fields and VERY willing to meet a young mid 20's nobody like myself solely based on Peb's endorsement. 

2. Incredible influence and credibility- when Peb connects you, it is strategic, and well received. He has a platform of respect and admiration that few ever attain. And this respect and admiration is with the TOP influencers in every cultural category- business, entertainment, politics, education, family, church, etc. 

3. Listens firsts, and asks questions relentlessly- the greatest asset for being a great connector with and of people is the ability to listen, learn, and ask. Peb asks questions as good as anyone I know. He is a constant learner. Always reading new books, magazines, and periodicals. When he asks questions, you can tell he is genuinely interested. 

4. Knows when to push for action- Peb has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for a variety of organizations, including Young Life, Focus on the Family, and a number of other organizations. He has helped business deals happen, connected major players in the political arena, been in the middle of international relief, and always made sure people were well AWARE of the agenda and the ask if he was about to make one. Basically being upfront with people and not trying to incorrectly leverage relationships for gain. Strategic friendships that are always seen with the best for that person. 

5. Connects on your turf and with your agenda and interests, not necessarily his. He has an amazing ability to connect with people based on their agenda, their interests, and their hobbies. 

6. Hunts, fishes, golfs, and everything in between- He is an avid climber. An avid mountain and rode biker. A marksman hunter, golfer, outdoor enthusiast, and adventurer in general. Pretty much any hobby that someone has Peb is able to join them in the pursuit of that hobby. I literally have never known anyone who could maintain this level of connection with people around their hobbies. 

The great thing is, we can all learn from each of these items, in terms of connecting with our customers, vendors, partners, team members and network of friends. Thanks Peb for being a great mentor and friend!

It's Theme Week

Last week we incorporated three official "themed" days at the Catalyst office to mix it up a bit and turn up the energy. The first day was team outfit day, the second day was competition day, and the third day was potluck day. Fun stuff. Here are a few videos from Team Outfit Day and Competition Day. Always trying to stir things up a bit to keep everyone sharp! [vimeo 3414390]

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Catalyst One Day in Atlanta

Been away from the blog for several days. Earlier this week, we had 2,000 leaders assembled at North Point for Catalyst One Day Atlanta. You can see some of the tweets and blog posts at Catalyst Backstage. Will have some pics posted in a couple of days.  Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley were phenomenal. Steve Fee, Eddie Kirkland and Todd Fields led worship, along with Pat Malone, Reid Greven, and Ashley Appling as part of the band. David McDaniel joined Andy for an interview regarding North Point's strategy in regards to campus extension and expansion. Overall, a great day. And then on Thursday evening we hosted Off the Blogs in Buckhead. Very unique and authentic gathering. More on it later. 

Looking forward to the next Catalyst One Day in Dallas on May 18. And the first ever Catalyst West Coast event on April 22-24 in LA.

Create an Experience

It's been a while since I last read Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore's book The Experience Economy. If you haven't read this book, trust me. Go buy it and start reading it right now. If you have a product or service that you offer (we all do, whether in business, church, or the non profit arena), it is imperative that you grasp the context of the Experience Economy.

I am reminded of it because in a conversation yesterday someone asked me how I would recommend they keep their product from becoming a commodity. From just being lumped in with all the other similar products in their space, and being seen as just an option instead of the only option. Where price determines what the consumer chooses vs. other factors like emotion, connection, and memories. 

In the book, Pine and Gilmore lay out the four levels of economic value : commodities, goods, services, and experiences. Progression happens by moving from commodity to experience. Think about coffee. Coffee beans are a commodity, ground coffee is a good, a cup of coffee at dinner is a service, and a latte at a trendy cafe is an experience. 

Or about birthday parties for kids- a cake is a commodity, a customized cake is a good, a birthday party with friends is a service, and a full fledged laser tag birthday celebration is an experience. Think about Apple stores. Disney World. You get the point. 

The question is how are you creating an experience with the product or service that you offer? How are you allowing your customer to be so engaged with your product that they connect emotionally? Does your product or service creates memories for your customer? Do they want to tell their friends?

There is also a fifth level of economic value, which is transformation. Incredibly hard to reach this level, but our goal should be to get there.

Innovation Experts

I am sure many of you have seen the most recent issue of Fast Company that highlights what they consider to be the 5o most innovative companies. 

At #1, team Obama, particularly as it relates to the campaign and utilizing innovative ways to get the word out, the vote on, and the election won. Pretty impressive list. It's worth a look through the entire list of companies. 

Interestingly, only 3 out of the 50 were from states in the southeast part of the US. The deep South. What is going on down here? Have we lost our groove?

20 National Bloggers United for One Free Book

A brand new project. An e-book that is free. Leadership Learnings from Bloggers. The best leadership blog posts of 2008 from 20 national leaders/bloggers, such as Craig Groeschel, Perry Noble, Tony Morgan, Ed Stetzer, Seth Godin, Dave Ferguson, Mike Hyatt, Mark Batterson, Alan Hirsch, Tim Stevens, and many others. Including several posts from yours truly as well.  You can access the e-book here. Check it out. Download it. And pass on to friends. It's free.

Thanks to Exponential Network for putting this great resource together.

Catalyst One Day and Off the Blogs

Really excited about next Thursday February 26th here in Atlanta. One week from Today. Two great things happening- Catalyst One Day and Off the Blogs. Catalyst One Day is a day of practical leadership teaching, dialogue and Q and A with Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. Held at North Point. Still seats left if you can make it.  Then, on Thursday evening, the first ever Off the Blogs evening with Carlos Whittaker, Anne Jackson, and Jon Acuff. Leading the discussion will be Pete Wilson. And worship led by Aaron Keyes. Tickets are $10 or free if you are attending Catalyst One Day. Location is the Buckhead Christian Church in the heart of Atlanta. Begins at 7 pm. 

Carlos was here in our office yesterday with the team discussing Off the Blogs and also our upcoming West Coast event in April in LA. Really appreciate Carlos' heart and vision for ministry and for leaders. He is someone who has his pulse on where things are heading. We talked for a while about the future of churches working together in collaboration with each other. Buckhead Church recently hosted a creative meeting via mogulus that included around 60 other leaders from churches around the country. They were all in a "virtual" creative meeting planning and talking around their Easter services. Learning from each other, sharing ideas, concepting, benchmarking. 

What a novel idea, huh? The idea of churches collaborating and working together. Seems really simple, but when you hear about it, it is a surprise. But the tide is definitely turning, and Carlos is helping lead the charge in this area along with many other areas where he is creating conversations. If you get a chance, take some time and come to Atlanta and hang with the team at Buckhead Church. They are the real deal.

Catalyst Speaker for October event revealed

Not revealing the entire speaker roster yet. Still working to finalize. Will be revealing the full speaker lineup with a special webcast in March. Stay tuned for that. But for now, one confirmed speaker for Catalyst in October I want to highlight is Jessica Jackley, founder of Kiva. Kiva is an amazing organization. If you are not aware of Kiva and their work, visit their website and check it out. It is the most innovative approach to connecting people to projects and donors to causes that we have run across. It allows for individuals all over the world to connect directly with entrepreneurs in third world countries and provide them small loans- loans that go a long way in helping lift them out of poverty. Over 60 million dollars have been "loaned" over the last year through the microfinancing system that Kiva has set up. 

Jessica is a young leader making a difference for hundreds of thousands of people around the world. She is a Catalyst. We've been inspired by her and her story, and can't wait to introduce her to the Catalyst community in October in Atlanta. 

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Big Decisions

As leaders, we make hundreds and hundreds of normal decisions throughout the day. Many of them unconscious and seemingly by habit. We also make big decisions. Important decisions. Decisions that alter the course of a business, change the landscape of a team, create revenue, cut expenses, push projects to next year, etc. Big decisions are part of the job of a leader. Normal and ordinary. But I recommend to always sleep on a big decision. It can wait until the next day. Always. And the extra time will allow your decision to be one without the emotion of a spontaneous response. 

Just a small step in the process of decision making, but one that is worth it.

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