The other morning, I sat down to drink my coffee and write a bit before work. It was one of those sessions that come along when you least expect it, when you are in the midst of stress and chaos, with noise and distraction all around, and you struggle to hear yourself think. The words just seemed to flow from my fingers that morning. It was almost like I couldn't find the keys quickly enough to capture the train of thought that was carrying me on some journey to a destination that I always wanted to travel to, but never thought that I could afford the ticket. I hit a good stopping point, and looked up at the clock. Nearly thirty minutes had passed and I had not even thought of eating breakfast yet. Typically, my writing sessions are 10 -15 minutes long, with breakfast at some point during that period of time. However, the thought of eating did not even cross my mind. I was focused on being nourished in an entirely different, albeit just as important, way.
Have you ever found yourself so focused on something that you forget to do something that is a basic human need? Like eating? Maybe drinking? Sleeping? If the answer is yes, then you too have had the opportunity to glimpse into the life that is calling you into what you have been designed and created for. If your answer is no, then it is my hope that you will be divinely distracted to the point that food looses its flavor, that sleeping makes you uneasy, and that you find yourself so lost in what you are doing that you lose track of time.
December 16, 2008
December 15, 2008
Recruiting Leaders
Your mission is not as important to everyone as you might think that it is.
The trouble is, not many people understand or acknowledge that they have a mission of their own either. Find out what makes people come alive, that activity that they get so wrapped up in that hours go by, yet they don't even realize that time has elapsed. Find out what it is that stirs deeply passionate emotions in them. Help people to find out what their mission is, what they have been created to put everything on the line for, and then use that as a catalyst for the fulfillment of the mission that you have been designed for. In doing this, you will be gaining the most momentum for your cause, and will be ensuring that you are empowering new leaders with bold ideas, burdens, and passion to become committed to the cause that you are fighting for.
If you are not fighting for a cause, then why are you here? If you haven't yet identified who you are willing to sacrifice everything for, then I will would say that you probably haven't identified your mission yet.
Leaders are needed now. Step up, take some ground, become missional, and empower others.
The trouble is, not many people understand or acknowledge that they have a mission of their own either. Find out what makes people come alive, that activity that they get so wrapped up in that hours go by, yet they don't even realize that time has elapsed. Find out what it is that stirs deeply passionate emotions in them. Help people to find out what their mission is, what they have been created to put everything on the line for, and then use that as a catalyst for the fulfillment of the mission that you have been designed for. In doing this, you will be gaining the most momentum for your cause, and will be ensuring that you are empowering new leaders with bold ideas, burdens, and passion to become committed to the cause that you are fighting for.
If you are not fighting for a cause, then why are you here? If you haven't yet identified who you are willing to sacrifice everything for, then I will would say that you probably haven't identified your mission yet.
Leaders are needed now. Step up, take some ground, become missional, and empower others.
December 12, 2008
Non-Conformity in Our Organizations
What do you do with the non-conformity in your organization?
While hanging out with my family last night, we watched a classic Christmas movie, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The snowman, voiced by Burl Ives, stated that Rudolph's father attempted to hide his "non-conformity." His father, Donner, attempted to hide his bright shining nose from the world, rather than accepting it for it was. Even when he demonstrated that he had potentially superior flying ability, the arrogance and intolerance to his non-conformity made him the focal point of ridicule, and prevented him from being able to contribute to the efforts of the team.
This got me to thinking about how our organizations and tribes tend to treat non-conformity. Do we hide it, in an attempt to be more successful, or do we realize that the talents and gifts that each individual has been designed with will help us to achieve the strategic mission and goals that we have set out to achieve? Do we ridicule it and treat it as a hindrance, forcing it farther away, or do we cultivate and encourage people to have bold ideas that challenge the status quo, understanding that in so doing, we can possibly move farther faster than we could have otherwise? Finally, do our tribes and organizations attempt to break the non-conformity through the use of annual reviews, training initiatives, and growth plans, forcing each individual to break until they are tightly crammed into the box of our perception?
What would happen if our organizations, rather than breaking and molding our internal customers (remember, the people that get a paycheck from us are our customers too), took the time to identify their non-conformity and natural strengths and invested in developing and refining these unique gifts? What would happen if we actually allowed and encouraged the gifts of non-conformity and natural strengths to be used in our organizations for the benefit of tackling the mountainous goals and challenges (your organization has these I assume) that we have set out to take on?
When the stormy times arrive we may just count on this non-conformity to pull us through. It might be the one thing that we need in order to continue delivering on our mission and vision despite the clouds and darkness. However, if we have pushed it away, or have broken it to fit our own narrow view or focus, we might just find that the success and viability of our cause is cancelled after all, just as Christmas would have been if Rudolph hadn't been around to light up the night sky that night.
Identify the natural strengths and non-conformity in your organization. Encourage people to use the gifts and talents that they have given, and you will survive even in the most difficult of times.
While hanging out with my family last night, we watched a classic Christmas movie, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. The snowman, voiced by Burl Ives, stated that Rudolph's father attempted to hide his "non-conformity." His father, Donner, attempted to hide his bright shining nose from the world, rather than accepting it for it was. Even when he demonstrated that he had potentially superior flying ability, the arrogance and intolerance to his non-conformity made him the focal point of ridicule, and prevented him from being able to contribute to the efforts of the team.
This got me to thinking about how our organizations and tribes tend to treat non-conformity. Do we hide it, in an attempt to be more successful, or do we realize that the talents and gifts that each individual has been designed with will help us to achieve the strategic mission and goals that we have set out to achieve? Do we ridicule it and treat it as a hindrance, forcing it farther away, or do we cultivate and encourage people to have bold ideas that challenge the status quo, understanding that in so doing, we can possibly move farther faster than we could have otherwise? Finally, do our tribes and organizations attempt to break the non-conformity through the use of annual reviews, training initiatives, and growth plans, forcing each individual to break until they are tightly crammed into the box of our perception?
What would happen if our organizations, rather than breaking and molding our internal customers (remember, the people that get a paycheck from us are our customers too), took the time to identify their non-conformity and natural strengths and invested in developing and refining these unique gifts? What would happen if we actually allowed and encouraged the gifts of non-conformity and natural strengths to be used in our organizations for the benefit of tackling the mountainous goals and challenges (your organization has these I assume) that we have set out to take on?
When the stormy times arrive we may just count on this non-conformity to pull us through. It might be the one thing that we need in order to continue delivering on our mission and vision despite the clouds and darkness. However, if we have pushed it away, or have broken it to fit our own narrow view or focus, we might just find that the success and viability of our cause is cancelled after all, just as Christmas would have been if Rudolph hadn't been around to light up the night sky that night.
Identify the natural strengths and non-conformity in your organization. Encourage people to use the gifts and talents that they have given, and you will survive even in the most difficult of times.
December 11, 2008
Consider The Whole Customer
You can't please everyone all of the time, and you can't be all things to all people. Not if you are growing that is.
We could choose to attempt to deliver on each and every one of the unique expectations of all of our customers, modifying and tailoring each facet of our organization to accommodate their divergent needs. Of course, this would be ideal, if there were endless resources available. The truth of the matter is that we are faced with limited time, limited money, limited staff, even limited energy. The moment that we take this approach, inconsistency in what we have been established for is introduced. Our mission and vision become watered down, and the very thing that drew our customers to us in the first place becomes nothing like it was at the beginning, and is often times, sadly not what we intended for it to be.
We want to deliver tremendous, out of this world customer experiences on a daily basis. We need the people that we serve to come through the doors again and again. Most of us desire to cultivate experiences for our customers where they feel as though the service that they receive is tailored to fit them perfectly. However, this should come naturally. Our services and products should be vanilla enough that they fit the divergent needs of many while also being unique enough that each customer feels that their own independent needs are met.
What we can do is connect customers with a similar mission and vision together into Tribes and let them have a collective voice that represents the needs of their community. As a result, your customer base will grow organically, your customers will be engaged, passionate, and alive, and you will be better able to respond to the needs of the whole customer.
Establish your mission, tell the story of your vision, and let others connect.
We could choose to attempt to deliver on each and every one of the unique expectations of all of our customers, modifying and tailoring each facet of our organization to accommodate their divergent needs. Of course, this would be ideal, if there were endless resources available. The truth of the matter is that we are faced with limited time, limited money, limited staff, even limited energy. The moment that we take this approach, inconsistency in what we have been established for is introduced. Our mission and vision become watered down, and the very thing that drew our customers to us in the first place becomes nothing like it was at the beginning, and is often times, sadly not what we intended for it to be.
We want to deliver tremendous, out of this world customer experiences on a daily basis. We need the people that we serve to come through the doors again and again. Most of us desire to cultivate experiences for our customers where they feel as though the service that they receive is tailored to fit them perfectly. However, this should come naturally. Our services and products should be vanilla enough that they fit the divergent needs of many while also being unique enough that each customer feels that their own independent needs are met.
What we can do is connect customers with a similar mission and vision together into Tribes and let them have a collective voice that represents the needs of their community. As a result, your customer base will grow organically, your customers will be engaged, passionate, and alive, and you will be better able to respond to the needs of the whole customer.
Establish your mission, tell the story of your vision, and let others connect.
December 10, 2008
Why We Have Ears
Sometimes, people simply want the opportunity to be heard.
Most people at some point during their lives, although it may not be apparent, have had big ideas and dreams. I would dare to say that there are probably cures for rare diseases that remain uncured. There are probably a lot of ideas that employees from a number of automobile manufacturers have had that could have resulted in either greater income or a reduction in expenses. Yet, these businesses are today relying on the U.S. government to keep them afloat, so that the other companies that have people with big ideas and dreams can stay afloat. Perhaps, there are even ideas that you have had that could have dramatically changed the world had they been put into action.
What must be noted is that all of these examples are past tense. They could have done great things, had they taken a shot at it. Of course, this comes down to personal responsibility. If I see something that could be done which could positively impact the world, or even more narrowly thinking, myself, then I should take action and responsibility for sharing these ideas and dreams with others. However, there are some people who have tried to share an idea or dream. They have even gone as far as doing their homework, coming up with a solid business plan and justification of how their ideas will substantially and positively impact the world. Where the failure often comes, is when they attempt to share the idea and see no return. Try this a number of times, and you simply stop sharing. At least, they stop sharing with those who do not listen. Those that realize that they have something that could be of real value and pursue putting it into action will find someone who is willing to listen. They will tell their story, and will pursue the idea.
As leaders, it is important to listen to the ideas from the people that we interact with on a daily basis. Regardless of position, there are people that have awesome ideas. Ideas that have been born out of their own experiences and observations. Dreams that stem from who they have been uniquely designed to be. We must encourage them to share the ideas that they have. We must be willing to listen with intent, weighing each idea independently and also putting it against other ideas. Or, better still, taking idea after idea and compiling them into something far greater than anyone would have imagined independently. Sometimes, the best idea is the one that is built from a couple of good ideas.
Most people at some point during their lives, although it may not be apparent, have had big ideas and dreams. I would dare to say that there are probably cures for rare diseases that remain uncured. There are probably a lot of ideas that employees from a number of automobile manufacturers have had that could have resulted in either greater income or a reduction in expenses. Yet, these businesses are today relying on the U.S. government to keep them afloat, so that the other companies that have people with big ideas and dreams can stay afloat. Perhaps, there are even ideas that you have had that could have dramatically changed the world had they been put into action.
What must be noted is that all of these examples are past tense. They could have done great things, had they taken a shot at it. Of course, this comes down to personal responsibility. If I see something that could be done which could positively impact the world, or even more narrowly thinking, myself, then I should take action and responsibility for sharing these ideas and dreams with others. However, there are some people who have tried to share an idea or dream. They have even gone as far as doing their homework, coming up with a solid business plan and justification of how their ideas will substantially and positively impact the world. Where the failure often comes, is when they attempt to share the idea and see no return. Try this a number of times, and you simply stop sharing. At least, they stop sharing with those who do not listen. Those that realize that they have something that could be of real value and pursue putting it into action will find someone who is willing to listen. They will tell their story, and will pursue the idea.
As leaders, it is important to listen to the ideas from the people that we interact with on a daily basis. Regardless of position, there are people that have awesome ideas. Ideas that have been born out of their own experiences and observations. Dreams that stem from who they have been uniquely designed to be. We must encourage them to share the ideas that they have. We must be willing to listen with intent, weighing each idea independently and also putting it against other ideas. Or, better still, taking idea after idea and compiling them into something far greater than anyone would have imagined independently. Sometimes, the best idea is the one that is built from a couple of good ideas.
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