Misc

The Essentials of Teamwork

Found in Phillipians Chapter 2. One of my favorite sections of scripture. Paul was writing to the church in Phillipi regarding their inability it seemed to work together. Starting with verse 2: "Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..... who emptied Himself.... the form of a bond-servant.... humbled Himself.... by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

And then, in verse 14, Paul lays the smack down again- "do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent.... children of God."

As leaders, it is our responsibility to model this. Quit griping, grumbling, disputing, and arguing, and start leading, serving, encouraging, and uniting. 

The book of Phillipians has so much great stuff on unity, teamwork, and servant leadership. A good reminder as we lead up to Easter this weekend.

How Much are you Worth?

If you were a stock, would you buy or sell? Would you short sell or tend to stay in for the long term? What truly is your valuation? Has your overall "worth" as an employee, father, son, daughter, wife, child gone up or down in the last year?  A friend asked me this the other day, and it got me thinking. Something to ponder for the weekend.

7 Days of Serving- Servolution

Listen to an interview I recently did with Dino Rizzo, pastor of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA. Dino has become a great friend, and I don't know of another leader around the country who is more intentional about serving and his church serving the community than Dino. It is part of their DNA at Healing Place. They don't just serve to check it off the list- serving is not an event to them, it is an identity. 

If you haven't heard about the 7 Days of Servolution, then check it out. A great cause with over 250 churches participating around the world next week leading up to Easter. Serving together in partnership in their individual communities.

Top Things I am Learning

Here are a few things I am learning right now, over the last month: 1. having a great reputation doesn't mean anything unless you can execute and fulfill the latest "promise" to your customers or network. 

2. No one should ever underestimate the potential of someone who is strongly motivated, for good or for worse.

3. The more and more I seek to understand others, the greater clarity I have in understanding myself.

4. If I don't exercise, I get fat. Duh. If I eat crappy food, I feel crappy. Duh even more. 

5. Busyness is not getting things done. Focus is getting things done. And sometimes getting things done requires me to carve out significant windows of time for thinking, which to most people looks unproductive and not like focus. But as a leader, I crave times to think, and not just respond/execute. 

6. Leaders, by their very positional influence, but also because of their DNA and hard-wired skillsets, are both obligated and expected to make the hard decisions. Deal with it. But don't gloat in it. 

7. When I think of someone or God prompts a memory of someone or a moment that was significant in my life, if I stop and give them a call or write an email or send a text immediately- right at that moment, it always seems to be a great decision and have great outcomes. The key is to act immediately. 

8. Keeping strong relational equity with friends or co-workers more than 10 years is a big deal. Family is expected, but friends of longer than 10 years is rare and a huge blessing.

9. Team members who are highly trustworthy and who can get it done are the most valuable employees in any organization. Someone who I tell something once and then know I don't have to worry about it again- priceless in my book. 

10. Many great companies continue to go out of business during this season because of bad cash flow management. Strong potential, but bad business skills and savvy, are crushing thousands and thousands of people right now.

A book I couldn't put down

I read about 50 books a year, and usually skim about 45 of those. Rarely do I read a book from start to finish. But Chasing Francis by Ian Cron was one I couldn't put down. 

Probably not a book for everyone. And you're not going to get 10 steps to this or the next 3 great leadership principles. But you'll be asking questions, pondering, thinking, and laughing out loud. Ian is a great writer.

Where Have all the Interns Gone

A recent article I wrote that first appeared in REV Magazine. Where Have All the Interns Gone?

You can’t be president until you are 35. You can’t run a company until you are 40. You can’t be a Senior Pastor of a large church until you are at least 45…. You may have talent, but you have to wait your turn…. You have to earn the right to lead. Agree or disagree?.....

read the entire article here.  

Recent Articles worth reading

Two great articles in the most recent issue of Fast Company.  1. Chris Hughes helping launch Facebook and the Obama online campaign- the 25 year old has helped lead two of the most impressive online community projects ever. 

2. Rwanda Rising- a report on the progress in the country of Rwanda, and how business partnerships are fueling the way.

High School Music

No, not High School Musical. Although a fan of the movie, not what this post is about.....

Was thinking back..... what music influenced me most in high school, especially my senior year?

Here are the ten songs that were played over and over in my 1987 Pontiac Sunbird during the year of 1990:

1. My Prerogative- Bobby Brown

2. Poison- Bell Biv Devoe

3. Blame it On the Rain- Milli Vanilli

4. Right Here Waiting- Richard Marx 

5. Every Rose Has its Thorn- Poison

6. I'll Be There for You- Bon Jovi

7. Bust A Move- Young MC

8. Patience- Guns N Roses

9. Groovy Kind of Love- Phil Collins (actually anything from Phil Collins)

10. Never Gonna Give You Up- Rick Astley 

Other favorites from you?

A little Saturday fun

I love to snow ski. Fortunately, I've been able to hit the slopes the last couple of weekends. Last weekend, was with the fam out at Monarch in Colorado. Wanted everyone to see a short highlight of my 7-year old nephew, Jake Lomenick, tearing up the slopes. Make sure to stay tuned until the last part of the video for the best crash of all. He's quite a skier for only being seven. And has no fear of going fast or hitting the jumps or crashing. Enjoy. [vimeo 3790833]

Gaining Credibility

A young friend of mine in his early twenties asked me the other day how I had gained credibility and a platform over the last 10-15 years. The first thing that is important to know about my answers and my perspective: this is a work still in progress. I have not arrived.  But after giving him some thoughts on this, I thought it might be helpful to the community here on the blog. So here you go- my thoughts on gaining credibility:

1. Be Self Aware- first, you have to have an accurate understanding of who you are and where you are in life. A very clear and realistic picture of your self identity and current reality. If you are 24, you have to understand that life experiences and job experience probably aren't something you can hang your hat on. 

2. Listen, Listen, Listen. Ask great questions of those around you, and then LISTEN to the answer. Don't talk until you have something to say. But learn to ask great questions and learn from them. This is especially true in a team environment. 

3. Experience creates expertise- this is obvious, but sometimes we forget. Credibility comes with action- doing, not just thinking or talking. Jump in and get involved. 

4. A platform takes time- it's just a reality. Most of us aren't patient enough to spend adequate TIME at DOING something until we gain a platform or credibility. We usually lose interest, get bored, or just simply move on to something else. The key- stick with it. 

5. Connect with leading organizations, networks and individuals- connect with companies, teams or individuals who are highly respected, and you'll gain respect. But the key on this- connect with them and ask how you can HELP them, not how you can gain from them.

Catalyst March Madness Challenge

We want you to play! Catalyst is hosting an NCAA March Madness Tournament Challenge. Fill out your picks with a chance to win an all expense paid trip to Catalyst West Coast, complimentary tickets to Catalyst East, past Catalyst CD and DVD sets, a Catalyst Filter membership and more. Again, all you have to do to enter is fill out a Tournament bracket by going here. The Catalyst team is entering their picks so you can see how you stack up against the competition, including my own picks.  Let the games begin!

As a bonus, watch Chad Johnson from our team show how to throw down a nasty dunk on the little tike hoop in the Catalyst office. 

[vimeo 3696590]

Final Four Picks

If you're a college basketball fan, this is your favorite time of year: March MADNESS.  Thought I would offer up my picks for the Final Four. 

1. North Carolina- a virtual lock, even thought they lost today to Florida State.

2. Pittsburgh- they are tough and well coached. 

3. Connecticut- Jim Calhoun is always great in the tournament.

4. Memphis- best defensive scheme in the country. and athletic at every position.

Rounding out the great eight- Louisville, Kansas, Duke, and Michigan State. 

I would love to put Oklahoma in there somewhere, but they are fizzing out down the stretch. 

Who you got?

Top Five TV Shows

1. 24- Best show on TV the last five years.

2. 30 Rock- best written show right now.

3. The Office- funny and awkward all at the same time. 

4. The Unit- if you like military secret ops adventure, this is your gig. 

5. Celebrity Apprentice- combines entertainment with business, and a bit of leadership 101. 

Honorable mention: American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

Interesting article on Evangelicals on Drudge

An interesting article on the Evangelical movement from Michael Spencer, who writes the blog Internet Monk. You can see a condensed version of the article here, or go to his blog to read the full 3 part series on "the coming Evangelical collapse."  Drudge also has a link to the article. Thanks to Gabe for the heads up on this.

The Art of Storytelling

I've always been mesmerized by great storytellers. Whether a pastor, a politician, an entertainer, a grandparent, or just a friend, someone who is skilled at spinning the yarn will always keep my attention and almost always inspire me.  Great storytellers are talented and timely orators who can hold audiences of one or 1000 on the edge of their seat while waxing away poetically. Was thinking back through some of the great storytellers I have had the privilege to know: my dad, John Maxwell, Bob Foster, Sr., Ken Coleman, Bill Strickland, Tim Sanders, Steve Graves, Peb Jackson and many others. 

Jesus proved to be a great storyteller during his time on earth. In fact, most of his major points were always substantiated by telling a story so people could easily understand and make application. This should be of major note to us and a reminder- if you want to drive home your point, share a story, and make it personal. 

I am sure you know great storytellers, orators, those you always want at your table at a dinner party.

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