Lots of folks have asked for this, so wanted to provide my top ten musicians/artists picks right now. In no particular order: 1. Seryn
6. Satellite
10. Paper Tongues
Bonus: Aaron Keyes- new album releases later this month. You can get the pre-release EP now. It's great!
A few links and things of interest on this Memorial Day Weekend. - Please consider donating to my good friends from First Response Team and the amazing work they are doing in Joplin and other parts of the country helping tornado victims. They respond for FREE to help victims in areas all over the country. Tad Agoglia and his team need our help!!
- Great article in Fast Company about employee empowerment and corporate culture, featuring the CEO's of Hulu and Groupon.
- The 100 Most Creative People in Business List. Jack Dorsey from Twitter and Square is #4, and Bobby Gruenewald of LifeChurch and YouVersion is #97
- New Catalyst Podcast features Jud Wilhite and Jeremie Kubicek. You can subscribe for FREE at itunes.
- Memorial Day means remembering. My dad served in Vietnam, my grandfather in World War II, and other grandfather in the Korean War. Thankful for them and all Veterans, along with current troops serving around the world protecting our freedom. They are the true heroes!
- Scotty, the winner of American Idol, seems like a good dude. He's been sporting an I am Second bracelet all season, and was very humble in his victory this past week.
- Great song just recently discovered from One Republic- Marchin On. It's on their album from last summer, but still a great find. You'll like it.
- My good friend Peb Jackson has a book out called Danger Calling. It's a great read. Highly recommend it. Telling stories of adventure, risk, and daring faith.
- Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, wrote a great article for Catalyst on the topic of authentic faith. Good thoughts. Thanks Jim!
I'm going on a RANT!!!!! I've talked before on the Blog about some simple common sense rules for flying, but thought I would bring this issue up again. It's too important not too.....
Reality is, most people shouldn't fly on airplanes because they simply lack airplane etiquette. I have flown in the last 15 years around 750,000 miles, on basically every carrier, and visited 12 countries and almost every US state. Many of you have flown much, much more than me, and have way more experience and insight, so feel free to add your own points to this ever evolving list. Power to the flying people on this one. Will make a good coffee table book in the future.....
First: The TEN (actually Twelve) people I try and avoid when flying......
1. The middle armrest hog- here's the deal, middle seat boy always gets first right of refusal on armchair left and armchair right of their seat. If someone is sitting in the middle, the least you can do is allow them to have elbow space. Leaner Larry sitting in the aisle seat has no right to invade your space, nor does Window Wally.
2. Quick draw cellphone man- seriously, this annoys me to no end. Wheels down and cellphone on. Can you wait at least a few minutes before getting on your cell phone and talking as loud as possible so that you seem somewhat important to those around you, when we all know that all you did was just call the person most likely to answer so that you could act like something was incredibly important and couldn't wait. Give me a break. How about 5 minutes of downtime before you jump back into cell phone land- and start making calls once you are off the plane.
3. Can't quit chatting Cathy- is it really necessary that you talk on your phone until the flight attendant has to tell you to turn it off, at which moment you act like you are done and then jump right back on the same phone call. You are such a rebel.... Stop it. Whatever it is can wait. Stop it now.
4. Move forward 1 or 2 rows when you are in the back Marvin- there is an unwritten rule in airplane etiquette- upon arriving at the gate, you cannot advance more than one row past where you were sitting, unless previously allowed through announcement or special circumstances authorized only by the senior flight attendant or captain. Otherwise, stay in your row, and beyond that, just stay in your seat. Is it really that important that you save 7 seconds by moving forward and hacking everyone off? Foreigners are the typical culprits on this one.... there needs to be an international handbook on etiquette written immediately, if not sooner.
5. Nothing to read, write, or do Danny- honestly, you are on a three hour flight and brought nothing with you to work on, watch, read, write, or listen to. Are you serious? So the entire flight you try to sleep, but can't, so instead you just annoy everyone around you. Buy an ipod, or a walkman, or at least a newspaper.
6. Tommy Turnaround- the guy in front of me on a number of occasions actually turned around and sat on his armchair facing me, sitting high and looking over the back of his chair. He was reading a book, but it was still creepy.
7. Larry the shoulder Leaner- Larry is in the middle, I am in the aisle, and he leans on me as he falls asleep. All over my shoulder. Actually all over me in general. Multiple elbows, throat clears, and side swipes don’t seem to alleviate the issue.
8. Wrong Way Wes- so you know how everybody stands up when the plane gets to the gate, even though you still have 5 minutes before you are even thinking of exiting the plane. So Wes decides to stand up, and then instead of facing towards the front of the plane like everyone else, he decides to stand and look in my direction, towards the back of the plane. Multiple minutes of trying to avoid eye contact at close range is a difficult task!
9. Pulls on my seat to get up Paul- this guy kills me. The headrest part of my seat is not designed for you to grab when you are getting up out of your seat behind me. And it's also not meant to grab when you are walking down the aisle to the bathroom.
10. Butt in my face Barry and Carry on Carrie- Usually they are together, or even the same person. Can you please be conscious of where your rear end and other parts are being placed when you are lifting that 100 lb carry on bag up into the luggage bins. And while I'm at it, your carry on is supposed to fit neatly in the bins above, not fitting by spending 15 minutes cramming it in using all possible means necessary, along with two flight attendants with hammers and wrenches.... And finally, your carry on luggage is not meant to be rolled down the aisle like you are in the Airport lobby. Pick it up and carry it. You hit everyone in the knees and the feet on the way down the aisle and also catch the carry on bag strap 13 times on the arm rests.
11. My kids are your kids Kelly- you know this one, right? The parent who changes the dirty diaper right next to you, as well as naturally feeds their children in clear sight, and also allows them to basically make your flight a complete living hell for 3-4 hours because of screaming, crying, crawling, grasping, and sucking all life out of you.
12. No touch Norm- a simple problem. Norm thinks that by pushing much harder on the monitor display (on the back of your seat) with his fingers, that somehow the channels will change quicker and the volume will adjust easier. He also fails to show any sense of touch when readjusting his trayback table into the back of your seat.
And now.... Here is my TOP TEN list of rules for flights over 3 hours in length.
1. On any flights over 3 hours, airlines must use a plane with two aisles. This should be implemented by the FAA, FCC, CNN, ABC, and all major airlines and organizations. Seriously.
2. Has to be tv screens for every person on the flight in the back of the seat in front of you. Please. No more of the middle screen that only shows one thing that everybody has to watch.
3. On on that note, No LAME movies. Give us something that is worth at least watching if there is absolutely nothing else to do. Can't somebody screen these?? If they were horrible at the box office, that doesn't mean they are going to be blockbusters on a plane.
4. On a flight over 3 hrs, don’t make me pay $2 for a freakin set of cheap headphones, and $8 for a freakin bag of sunchips. That is ridiculous. And at least give me something to snack on besides customized biscoff cookies. Come on.
5. Every hour, there must be mandatory stretching for certain sections of the plane. This should be coordinated by the flight attendants. With exercises that are easily implemented – such as toe curling, neck rubs and firm handshakes.
6. There HAS to be a game coordinated by the pilot that incorporates everyone on the plane, provides entertainment, and takes up at least 30 minutes of time. Could be a mystery game, trivia, or if you are single, a dating game.
7. Random prizes must be given away every 30 minutes. You might call it door prizes or raffles or whatever, but this would really make the experience better.
8. Mandatory baby sections on flights over three hours. All in the same segment of seats, in the back of the plane, where they can scream together. Maybe white noise through the air filtration system to drown out the screaming if possible. Or a noise canceling wall of some sort.
9. No flight attendants over 250 lbs. If you are wider than the aisle at your widest point, then you cannot work a flight of more than 3 hrs. I have bruises on my right shoulder from being run into by the flight attendant at least 10 times.
10. How about a snack/beverage cart that doesn’t have steel reinforcement on the sides that breaks bones and cuts like a butcher knife and causes major knee injuries? Is that a possibility?
Here you go, the May edition of the Young Influencers List. See all the past editions here. 1. Seryn- great new band out of Denton, TX. Had them at Catalyst Dallas. Amazing musicians and harmonies.
2. Aaron Niequist- songwriter and worship leader at Willow Creek Community Church.
3. Iris Liang- founder of Videre, an organization fighting global poverty through business development and entrepreneurship.
4. James Lee- part of the Hello Somebody team. Dreamer and visionary.
5. Scotty and Tiffany Smiley- amazing couple. Scotty is the author of Hope Unseen and the first blind officer in the US Army, & winner of the 2008 ESPY for best outdoor athlete. Read this book!!
6. Jeff Slobotski- Founder of Silicon Prairie News and the Big Omaha Conference.
7. Bryan Carter- Senior Pastor of Concord Church in Dallas.
We get asked all the time about how we come up with new and fresh ideas for Catalyst. It’s a pretty simple process that has proven to be pretty effective over the years. This can be useful in any organization or scenario, whether you are launching ideas, or just looking to make sound decisions. Here you go:
1. Create- we spend a ton of time just brainstorming, which is obviously a very important part of the process. The more ideas on the board, the more opportunities for one of those to make it through the process. For example, we have probably 300-350 programming ideas every year for our October conference. And creative meetings are “yes and” meetings, not “but or”. Important!
2. Criticize – every idea, in order to stay in the process, has to be critiqued and criticized significantly. This is key in order to make sure you don’t spend tons of time chasing too many rabbits and driving everyone crazy with lots of good ideas but nothing ever happening. And make sure everyone doesn’t take things personal- criticizing an idea is much different than criticizing the person who came up with the idea. It’s not personal.
3. Optimize- anything that makes it pass the criticize phase has to be built on. In some ways, this is a second and third wave of innovation. Most of the time the original idea will turn into something that looks totally different. This is really the essence of putting icing on the cake. If you are the leader, at this point in the process your idea may be totally changed and enhanced from what it was originally. You have to be OK with this!
4. Validate- every idea has to be validated- financially, operationally, personnel wise, and direction/vision related. Lots of big ideas appropriately get held up in this phase, either to be released later or put on the shelf for good. Conversely, lots of bad ideas make it through this phase because of bad systems and/or leaders who aren’t willing to say no.
5. Execute- it all comes down to getting things done. Hard work is time consuming and tiring. And actually putting ideas into action is tremendously difficult and draining. We take tremendous pride in execution on ideas. If it has gone through the entire process and made it to this point, the idea deserves the attention and focus to make sure it happens. And if every level of the Idea process grid was correctly put in motion, the idea is probably going to be good!
The brand new Catalyst Podcast episode features an interview with Tony Romo, starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. Tony stopped by our Catalyst Dallas event last week and had some fun with Tripp and Tyler on stage, then joined Matt Chandler for an interview on stage. The interview on the podcast is from backstage with Ken Coleman, talking leadership, faith, and football. This podcast episode also includes a feature interview with Jon Acuff, best-selling author of Stuff Christians Like and the brand new book Quitter.
You can listen to the interviews here, or better yet, subscribe for FREE on itunes.
A few pics so far from the Compassion trip to Ecuador. More tomorrow. [gallery]
So what do you think is the most difficult thing in Leadership today? Casting Vision in a compelling way.
Trusting your team.
Planning for the future.
Motivating your staff.
Saying no.
Saying yes.
Building long-lasting strategic relationships with partners and vendors.
Delegation.
Hiring new talent.
Firing someone.
Confrontation.
Making things happen.
Growing the organization.
Investing in the personal and professional growth of your team/organization.
And on and on and on.
In my opinion, one of the most difficult things in leadership is balancing the tension of being friends with your team, while also being their boss and demanding excellence and execution. My theory has always been hire the best, and if they happen to be your friends, that's great.
To me, having your friends on your team is the best scenario. I would much rather have my friends on my team than not. But it creates a constant tension that has to be managed.
What about you? What for you is the most difficult thing in your Leadership realities these days?
I've been in Dallas all week with our first time Catalyst three day event there. It was amazing! Wow. Blown away. More on that in the next couple of days. In the meantime, wanted to share some interviews from Catalyst West backstage back in March that I think are worth watching- with Michael Hyatt, Randall Wallace, and Matt Chandler. If you are not familiar with these three, Michael Hyatt is the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, and the top leadership blogger in the country. Randall Wallace has written, produced and directed films like Braveheart, We Were Soldiers, and Secretariat. And Matt Chandler is the pastor of The Village Church outside of Dallas and an amazing Bible teacher and communicator, and frequent speaker at Catalyst.
A few things related to Catalyst Dallas this week: - PLEASE bring the following items for our friends from CitySquare to help those in need - including adult socks, granola bars, wet wipes, and gift cards (Wal-Mart, grocery stores, restaurants, etc). We want to have a collective impact on the city of Dallas while we are here, so please bring these items with you on Thursday and Friday and drop off in bins outside the main doors.
- Check out the most recent Catalyst Podcast featuring an interview with Judah Smith, plus we talk Catalyst Dallas right after the interview with Judah, with some helpful hints and information. Download here and listen as you drive into Dallas tomorrow.
- The TOP TEN Things to Know (actually 8) regarding Catalyst Dallas is on the Catalyst Blog. Check those out. Very helpful stuff.
- Still time to attend LAB SESSIONS on Wednesday afternoon. These are smaller breakout sessions around pertinent topics. There will be a limited # of walk up tickets available onsite. Registration for LABS begins at 11 am on Wednesday (tomorrow morning), and the opening LAB session starts at noon.
- There are also a LIMITED number of tickets still available for the Main Sessions on Thursday and Friday. Registration begins at 7 am on Thursday morning and you can register onsite then.
- If you are not able to attend, please join us in prayer for this time together with 3,000 leaders.
- Make sure you arrive early on Thursday morning for the Catalyst Pre-show that starts at 7:00 am. The first session begins right at 8:30, and you want to make sure you are in your seats!
- Chick-fil-A will be available for purchase onsite for lunch on both Thursday and Friday. Grab some Chick-fil-A and hang out on campus with your team during lunch!
- Follow Catalyst on Twitter, and join the Catalyst Facebook group to keep up with everything happening this week. You can also text "CATALYST" to 68398 and join the Catalyst mobile community. We'll be providing some free goodies throughout the event to our Twitter followers and our Mobile community!
Getting things done is one of the most important characteristics of Leaders today.
We all have things in front of us that are undone. Projects that need to be completed. Goals that need to be hit. Relationships that need to be mended. Priorities that need to be re-ordered. Books that need to be written. Blogs that need to be started. One last task to finally push to 100% on the latest initiative. The final 5 yards to get to the finish line and into the end zone.
Unfortunately, most ideas and projects and initiatives end up 90% complete. For some reason the quitting points overwhelm us, and we instead move on to the next project, and so goes the cycle.
So what is holding you back? For many of us, nothing specific necessarily stands in our way, other than ourselves. We need to crash through the quitting points.
We may be exhausted, but we need to keep up the pursuit and finish. Finishing is just as important as starting, and even more important as a leader. I know lots of idea folks who have 10, 15, 20 projects that are still not completed. It's imperative that you break through the barriers that have somehow been put in front of you that are now holding you back. Keep up the pursuit and get to the finish line. Completion.
Crash through your quitting points.
- my good friend Tad Agoglia and The First Response Team of America were featured earlier this week once again by CNN. Check out the story here. They need help financially to continue to serve victims of the recent tornadoes in Alabama and Georgia. Please help. - Here are several ways to get involved in helping the victims of the tornadoes last week on the Catalyst blog.
- good thoughts from Perry Noble- 10 Leadership Convictions he has. Check it out.
- if you are a social entrepreneur, then check out Praxis. The Praxis Accelerator Program allows social entrepreneurs to go through a mentorship process to help them build world class organizations. You can apply to be a part of this brand new experience, and receive up to $100,000 in funding to help launch your idea.
- a preview of Catalyst Atlanta 2011, October 5-7 at Gwinnett Arena. Really, really excited about this fall and the conference!
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/22853288[/vimeo]
- this is really funny. reminds me of myself in 5th grade....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MUVNuD3MiU[/youtube]
Here are some reminders on being a great staff/team member. Sometimes we are so worried about being great leaders that we forget to be great team members. Remember, great followers make great leaders. 1. under promise and over deliver- over deliverers are rare. be one.
2. let your yes be yes, and your no be no- if you say you will take care of it, take care of it.
3. anticipate- understand what needs to be done next and get it done.
4. understand what the team leader appreciates- if the team leader values being on time, then be on time. If the team leader strongly values collaboration, then be a collaboration expert. This is not brown-nosing, it's just common sense.
5. proactive- take initiative, even if you don't have permission. Every leader I know wants people on their team who are willing to make a decision and move a project forward, vs. someone who constantly waits for permission on everything before moving forward.
6. make it happen, constantly. If you get things done, you will be highly valued. Period.
7. be an expert. Be GREAT at what you do. Practice. Learn. Read. Just because you are not in charge right now doesn't mean you can't live/lead like you are. Those who you consider to be great at what they do didn't just become great overnight. They worked at it.
8. encourage and elevate. Leaders want team members who actually help them elevate their game. Figure out ways to encourage your leader and the entire team.
What’s your tag? Your tagline? When people ask, “do you know so and so?” and someone says about you, “yeah, he/she is the ______?” What is the fill in the blank?
I have a tagline.... "the Catalyst guy who's always connecting people." Connector. Catalyst. Convener. These are some of the things I love to do, and hopefully things that describe me that add value to those around me. I could probably argue the actual phrasing, but it's generally the tag that most people use who know me well, as well as those who are simply acquaintances.
Let me give a few other examples, strictly based on my opinion:
John Maxwell- leadership; 21 Laws
Don Miller- blue like jazz
Seth Godin- marketing
Michael Hyatt- leadership blogger
Darlene Zschech- Hillsong worship
Beth Moore- women’s bible studies
Rick Warren- Purpose Driven
Mark Batterson- DC coffee shop
Marcus Buckingham- strengths
Ryan Seacrest- American Idol host
Oprah Winfrey- interviewer
Jim Collins- Good to Great
Michael W Smith- Friends are friends forever
You may argue with some of the “tags” I’ve given to these folks, but the point is, whether you like it or not, we all have a tag. And your "TAGLINE" is being created whether you like it or not. Tagging is more about what I do. A tag is the subtitle of your book, if you were writing a biography. A tag is what comes to mind first when people think of you, that split second chance for someone to properly pull your file from their short or long term memory. A tag is no more than 10 words- a quick and concise snapshot of what someone sees you doing in their mind when they think about you.
A Personal Tag is important, both from the standpoint of understanding who the people around you think you are, as well as who you think you are.
So are you creating your own tag, or is someone else creating it for you? What is your TAG?
14 Things Older Leaders Should Know about Younger Leaders. Sorry for the secondary link, but this is an article I put together for ChurchLeaders.com. So head on over to their site and check out the article.
Also, check out the most recent episode of the Catalyst Podcast, featuring an interview with best-selling author Tim Sanders, as well as an interview with Jason Locy and Tim Willard, authors of one of my new favorite books, Veneer. Listen/subscribe from itunes for free.
And, just a reminder, Catalyst in Dallas is next week. May 11-13. Still time to register. Visit the website for info and to get signed up!
Here's a few churches with lots of influence in their communities, and definitely worth checking out in terms of the way they are doing ministry and reaching their cities. But may not be as well known to other leaders around the country. 1. Summit Church- Orlando
2. The Oaks Fellowship- Dallas
3. Eastlake Community Church- Seattle
4. People's Church- Oklahoma City
5. The MET (Metropolitan Baptist)- Houston
6. Trinity Grace Church- NYC
7. Quest Community Church- Lexington
8. West Ridge Church- Atlanta (metro)
I’ve had several great mentors in my life, But I’ll tell you about one from a few years ago. It’s 1995, and I’m graduating from the University of Oklahoma, ready to conquer the world and go to law school. But before that, I’m taking the summer off and headed out to Colorado to be a cowboy and work on a guest ranch for the summer - a place called Lost Valley Ranch. A place started in 1962 as a western guest ranch for families. I’m thinking this will be a summer job. A break before the real grind begins. When I get there, I meet the founder and owner. Bob Foster. Who is 75 years old, has a huge 15 gallon cowboy hat and a smile a mile wide. My first assignment literally as a staff member is to drive Bob, the founder and owner, to the airport, along with his wife Miriam, who are heading to London for the 50th wedding anniversary. Miriam is suffering from Alzhehmers, and I remember being so impressed with the way Bob took care of his wife. In sickness and in health. This is my first impression of Bob- taking care of the woman he married 50 years earlier, now requiring his complete time and attention. Again, I’m 22, and working on a guest ranch. In the middle of Colorado. But now, 15 years later, my friendship with Bob Foster is one of the most impacting mentoring relationships I’ve ever had. Over the course of 5 years while I was at Lost Valley, we spent lots of time together. 5 years meeting every Friday morning over coffee and eggs and bacon, on the south porch of the dining room. We met weekly to for Bible Study, scripture memory, and life coaching, as he called it. He poured into me. All the things he had learned over his life.
We studied Scripture. He taught me how to not just study scripture, but to Love Scripture. We went through the Navigators scripture memory system, and he built into me the idea that lay leaders need to be just as knowledgeable in the Word and in their walk and life with Jesus and prepared as pastors and full time ministry leaders.
I became part of an amazing line of generation mentors. Bob was mentored by Dawson Trautman, the founder of the Navigators. Bob was a “social entrepreneur” for his generation. He was part of a circle of friends that included the legends- folks like Howard Hendricks, Billy Graham, Cliff Barrows, and others.
We talked about teamwork, management, and leadership. He helped me understand the idea of “building bridges of friendship” and doing work with excellence.
At Lost Valley Ranch, I looked and acted like a cowboy. Wore the hat and the spurs and the boots. Rode horses 3-4 hours a days. And we scooped a lot of poop. Great preparation for what I’m doing now…..! Many in my life were wondering “how does this set you up for the next season of life”. I was wondering that actually. I’m literally a poop scooper at that time!!! But Bob helped me understand that career paths don’t always look the same for everyone. And that spending your 20’s working on a guest ranch in Colorado was as much of an investment in the future as any other regular office job. He gave me permission to build my legacy in a different way. Because ultimately, as I learned from Bob, legacy not determined by what you DO as you get older, but more determined by who you ARE. And serving guests and creating an unbelievable ranch experience for them was great for my soul. It helped me establish in my 20’s the kind of person and leader I wanted to be.
And Bob taught me the power of a testimony though your work, with few or no words spoken. He poured into me the incredible testimony you can have just by loving and serving someone without any expectations or requirements in return. The idea of "building bridges of friendship until people ask why." Serving someone so well that they have no choice but to HAVE to demand an explanation.
He taught me that laughter at yourself is a great way to make sure you never outgrow who you are. We traveled together, we prayed together, We laughed together. We cried together.
We traveled internationally together to Asia. We traveled across the country together in an RV, from Colorado to Florida, with stories and lessons all along the way.
But the greatest lesson I learned from Bob was to create your legacy now. In your teens and in your 20’s. Finishing well means starting well. I watched him finish well. In his life, With his wife of 53 years, with his ranch, with his personal walk with Christ. One of the things he told me which still sticks with me is “your 20’s establish your 70’s.” And being a 70-80 year man or women of God is determined by the early years. The man or woman of God you are in your 20’s determines the kind of man or women of God you will be in your 70’s.
He simply passed on what he had learned about life over 80 years – to me. The power of our relationship was not in what we had in common necessarily, but in what we had in uncommon. Generational mentoring is crucial. 75 to 25 works. It did for me. I hope to invest in 25 year olds when I’m 75 to help pass on the legacy Bob passed on to me.
He mentored and invested in hundreds of young leaders over the course of his life, and continues to do so today. I’m glad he took time with me over coffee and bacon to help me become a better man, a better leader, and a more devoted follower of Jesus.
Remember, Create your legacy now.
Two great friends of mine (and two contributors to the Catalyst world over the last 8 years), Tim Willard and Jason Locy, have a new book out called Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society. It’s a great book that I have enjoyed reading, and so I decided to sit down with them and ask them a couple of questions about the book.
First, tell us a little bit about the book. Where did the idea come from?
T&J: When we first started working on the book a lot of “unusual” things were going on in culture. Enron and Tyco were in the news for corporate fraud. We were both looking for houses at the time and the prices seemed outrageous. Credit card offers were filling our mailboxes and "McMansions" were popping up everywhere. The whole world just seemed “off” and we just couldn't shake it.
So, all of that was happening and then, over in the church world, the relevance movement began taking off as churches tried to look more and more like culture. We couldn't resolve this idea, it was odd that culture appeared so messed up yet the church wanted to adapt to it versus countering it with something different. Society seemed to be influencing the church instead of the church influencing society.
Everything felt upside down to us, but we knew there was a different way—a different way for us (as people) and for culture and the church and Christians.
What is veneer?
T&J: In the book we talk about wood veneer, which is a thin surface level coating that manufacturers apply over an inferior product. So, you have this nice and shiny coating that sits over top of something not so nice.
But, there is a twist. People have a veneer too. We all struggle with things that we think are “inferior.” Our inferiority comes from the scars and scrapes and dings of life. Things like failed relationships or lost jobs or problems with kids—things that often embarrass us. So we try to cover it all. We veneer our scars with a version of ourselves that is shiner and brighter.
In the book you refer to “the language of culture.” Could you explain that idea?
T&J: Yeah, when we evaluated and studied the ways in which culture was expressing elements of veneer we noticed that culture celebrates and elevates certain things. That is to say, the culture speaks a certain language. In today’s society the language of culture can be defined as celebrity, consumption, and technology (or progress).
We see the language of culture affect our lives as we buy into what this language communicates. In celebrity, a certain lifestyle is elevated as the epitome of success. Through consumption, we believe we can find meaning, and express meaning, through our purchases. And in technology we have found ways to present ourselves in a particular way that may or may not be totally true.
So, the language of culture affords us plenty of ways to veneer and we’ve taken the bait.
What unexpected lessons did you learn while you worked on the book?
The book started out as a critique of culture. But, what we discovered was that the problem of veneer was a problem with humanity. This was a “people problem,” if you will. So, we started addressing the issue from that standpoint.
I don’t know that, from the beginning, we could have imagined the book going this route. But, looking back now, I don’t know that it could have gone any other way.
How does the idea of veneer affect us as leaders?
T&J: In the world of veneer the focus is on the promotion of self and “How can I get ahead?” Of course this is the complete opposite of what it means to be a leader (and the opposite of how we were meant to live in general). Deep down we recognize this but there is a tension that exists as we try to fit in with a culture that says, “To be a leader we need to be relevant and savvy and have a platform.”
So, we have to move past that type of thinking. We have to realize that what is successful in the eyes of the world is not always the right choice. This begins with some introspective work as we evaluate our motives.
There is a great quote by Henri Nouwen that touches on this idea: "The leader of the future will be the one who dares to claim his irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows him or her to enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish underlying the glitter of success and to bring the light of Jesus there."
Thanks Tim and Jason for a great book, and a great reminder to leaders!
By the way, a bit about the authors.... Jason Locy owns a design firm called Fivestone, has three kids (one adopted), has designed/created lots of stuff for Catalyst, is incredibly offended by pickles, eats way too much Waffle House, and is an average basketball player. Tim Willard is a writer, storyteller, and has served as the editor of the Catalyst GroupZine for the last several years. He used to play in a band, grew up in Pennsylvania, has really cool rock star hair, is the father of two beautiful young girls, makes great chocolate chip cookies (I'm not kidding), wears lots of plaid, and is annoying in his love of the Florida Gators.
Are you a Kinetic Leader? Remember from science class in 9th grade? Kinetic energy is energy in motion. The energy created by forward motion.
The opposite of Kinetic energy is Potential energy. Potential Energy is energy that is stationary and not moving. Actually Potential energy is defined as "stored energy of position." Basically energy that's not accomplishing anything. Huh, know anyone with "stored energy of position???"
Water in a glass is Potential energy. Water being poured out of a glass is Kinetic energy.
A car parked is potential energy. A car going down the road is kinetic energy.
Leaders are either kinetic or potential.
Lots of leaders I know have Potential Leadership. Plenty of opportunity, plenty of talent, plenty of talk, but no action. No movement. No accomplishment. No completed projects. Just lots of hype.
But Kinetic Leadership is all about moving things forward. Getting things done. Leadership in motion. Action. Making it happen. Moving the ball across the finish line.
I want to be a Kinetic Leader.
1. The brand new episode of the Catalyst Podcast features an in-depth interview with Jack Dorsey, creator, co-founder and Chairman of Twitter. Jack is one of the leading voices in technology and business, and we're honored to have the chance to sit down with him and have a conversation on a number of topics.
You can listen here, or better yet, download for free from itunes.
2. You can still register for Catalyst in Dallas, coming up on May 11-13.
3. Great post from Seth Godin on the realization of now. Practical and timely advice on what's really happening with the economy.
4. This is pretty cool. From OK Go, the incredibly creative band, who created an Etch a Sketch sort of moment with their march around the streets of LA.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vjz7rC2Z-k[/youtube]
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