15 Organizations worth a Year End Gift

It's end of the year, and lots of us wait until the last week of the year to give to churches, ministries and non profit organizations. 

Knowing that, I wanted to recommend a few organizations that I think are worth a year end gift. All of these organizations are ones that I'm invested in- both in terms of giving gifts and supporting them, as well as knowing the staff and the people behind these organizations. So as you think about year-end giving, I would recommend any of these organizations as a great place to invest.

Here are some organizations I can give my five star rubber stamp approval on: 

1. Convoy of Hope - they brought their trucks to Catalyst for several years, sponsored the Present: Hope Bike Tour a couple of years ago, and are now feeding hundreds of thousands of kids around the world. I've seen their work up close the last several years on several trips to Haiti and Nicaragua. Their feeding programs and disaster response and relief is amazing.

2. Red Eye Inc. - my friend Justin Mayo heads up this "under the radar" community of young influencers and creatives in some of the leading global cities (LA, NYC, Sydney, London) that are using their talents to make a difference in a positive way.

3. Compassion- go sponsor a child. I sponsor several. I've seen their work up close in Rwanda, Guatemala and Ecuador. Your money is being stewarded well.

4. Young Life- been involved with Young Life since college. No one creates better experiences for teenagers and introduces the Gospel in such a compelling and loving way.

5. Plywood People - leading a community of startups "doing good." Run by longtime friend Jeff Shinabarger. I have served on the board for several years, so I'm a bit biased. Initiatives such as Plywood Presents, Gift Card Giver, and coaching of young social innovators is part of the Plywood People mission.

6. San Francisco City Impact - a rescue mission run by Christian Huang, doing incredible work in the tenderloin district in downtown San Francisco, meeting spiritual and physical needs of the inner city. Including community outreach, homeless shelters, feeding program, and church. 

7. International Justice Mission- Gary Haugen and the team at IJM have been fighting sex trafficking and human slavery for the last 20 years. Rescuing victims as well as bringing justice to areas where no justice exists.

8. HOPE International- run by good friend Peter Greer, HOPE provides micro-finance loans all over the world, helping give dignity and lift people out of poverty. A $100 gift goes a long way.

9. charity: water- perhaps my favorite non-profit organization in the world. Scott Harrison and team have revolutionized the concept of providing clean water globally, and are only getting started.

10. One Days Wages- Eugene Cho makes it easy to see the impact of giving up one day of your salary. And he leads by example.

11. First Response Team of America- good friend Tad Agoglia and his team provide help and hope at times when communities need just that- following disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods.

12. Atlanta Mission- an amazing organization focused on ending homelessness in the city of Atlanta. One of the best run homeless missions in the country.

13. A21 Campaign- headed up by Nick and Christine Caine, rescuing those trapped in human trafficking and modern day slavery all around the world. Their goal is to end injustice in the 21st century.

14. Word Made Flesh- I love what they do in serving the poorest of the poor around the world.

15. Bearings Bike Shop - run by friends Tim and Becky O'Mara, providing hope through bicycles for kids in the city of Atlanta, building community one bike at a time. 

and most importantly- invest in Your Local Church! Make sure you are giving regularly to your local church body. That is the place to start! Mine is Passion City Church, and feel free to give there if you don't have a local church! 

8 Key Leadership Questions to ask in Reviewing 2015

As leaders- it's critical we stop and review the year. 

It's important we take time as leaders to reflect and look back over the last 12 months, as well as looking forward to the next 12 months and beyond.

So here are some helpful Year End Review Questions:

1. What are the 2-3 themes that personally defined 2015 for me?

2. What people, books, accomplishments, or special moments created highlights in 2015?

3. Give yourself a grade from 1-10 in the following areas of focus for 2015: vocationally, spiritually, family, relationally, emotionally, financially, physically, recreationally.

4. What am i working on that is BIG for 2016 and beyond?

5. As I move into 2016, is a majority of my energy being spent on things that drain me or things that energize me?

6. How am I preparing for 10 years from now? 20 years from now?

7. What 2-3 things have I been putting off that I need to execute on before the end of the year, or the first week of January 2016?

8. Is my family closer at the end of this year? Am I a better friend at the end of this year? If not, what needs to change immediately?

7 Ways to Live out "Stick-with-it-ness" Leadership

Leaders today need some stick-with-it-ness. 

Here are a few thoughts on the idea of stick-with-it-ness leadership. You could also call it "hang in there" leadership! 

1. Start strong. Come out of the gates with a commitment to excellence. Finishing well means starting well. . 

2. Move the needle daily. Small daily innovations and improvements turn into game changing and paradigm shifting contributions. 

3. Find joy in the journey. Allow joy to bubble up in the everyday. Joy and happiness finds life in hope and faith, which leads to passion for moving the needle and making it happen. 

4. Push through the mundane middle. The middle is the hardest. My 5 mile daily run is always the toughest at the mid mark. Stay disciplined and focused in the minutia and mundane of the middle. 

5. Trust the process. The process will and should define you. So allow the process to be your friend and ally, not an enemy you're trying to avoid. 

6. Keep your eyes on the prize. Take the long view! Mountain climbers don't just climb to climb, they climb to reach the summit. 

7. Faithfulness matters. Faithfulness is the true measure of success. Your scorecard is based on what you did with what you were given. 

One Thing Leaders Must Do and Not Do

There are lots of things that leaders should do, but what about the things leaders SHOULDN'T do?

From my perspective, here is ONE thing leaders shouldn't do, and then the reverse that answers the ONE thing leaders should do question.

Leaders- DON'T become so insulated from reality that you lose connection to what is actually happening around you and within you. 

Leaders- DO set up a system that allows for honesty, vulnerability, accountability and transparency. 

Power corrupts if left unchecked. This can happen to any of us. If we don't have accountability, then we are setting ourselves up for failure. At some point it will catch up to us. We should all strive for realness, authenticity, vulnerability and transparency.

Given to your own perspective, your own situation, your own motivations and goals, power will end up leading to isolation, which leads to insulation, and then towards idolization, and ultimately towards decay, dysfunction, and failure. 

Ambition, drive and success is great, but without context it can be a deadly poison.

9 Ways to Treat Your Customers Like Celebrities

How you treat your customers is crucial to the success of your organization. They really really matter! 

It's important you treat your customers, your tribe, your clients, those you do business with like celebrities and VIP's. What do I mean by this?

If Tom Hanks, or Denzel Washington, or Will Ferrell, or Beyonce or Oprah showed up at your office, what would you do? How would you talk to them? What would be your body language? Would you be too busy with other things to say hi to them???....

A few thoughts:

1. Make your customers feel important. Shower them with encouragement and act like they are the only person in the room. Listen to them, and look them in the eye.

2. Show an amazing attention to details. Remember their names, their kids names, their favorite color, where they went to college, favorite movies, favorite snack, etc. And when they request something, even if very small, make it happen and execute.

3. Create a "customer rider." Celebrities have riders, that provide demands on quirky stuff. Same with customers. Allow your best customers to create a "rider," thus providing a way for you to get to know them better. A form they can fill out that will allow you to serve them well.

4. Truly be interested in what they are interested in. If they like the ballet, then learn about ballet. If they like sports, take them to a game. If they like art, give them a painting for their birthday.

5. Be eager to serve them. Your mindset should be to drop everything you are doing to take care of them. If Denzel or Beyonce walked in your house or your office, you would get them a diet coke and not be worried about the spreadsheet you are working on.....

6. Provide them swag. Celebrities get swag all the time. So should your customers.

7. Refer them to your friends and make connections for them that are win/win. Celebrities get tons of opportunities many times because people are always willing to introduce them to their friends. Make those same connections for your customers.

8. Respond immediately. Call them back the same day, return their emails in 24 hours, those kinds of things.

9. Make yourself available and accessible. Provide them with your cell #, email address, Twitter DM, Facebook friend message access, home #, and whatever else might make sense. Accessibility reveals trust, and trust is what keeps customers around for the long term.