Misc

5 points on great service

I've worked on some great teams over the past several years, and seen great customer service in action. One of the places I learned the most about great customer service was Lost Valley Ranch, an incredible guest ranch in Colorado. Serving the guests was part of the DNA of the staff. We took great pride in our ability to create a great experience for our guests through unmatched customer service. Here are a few of the ways we did that: 1. Treat someone like you would want to be treated- the Golden Rule. It really does work. And it makes sense. Common sense. Use it.

2. Remember someone's name. Always. Especially when you've met them before.

3. Let your actions speak way louder than your words. Don't just talk about it. Make it happen. Your work can be a great example of your attitude and commitment to service.

4. Anticipate. Stay a step ahead of your clients or guests. Don't wait for them to ask for something. Figure it out before they even need it.

5. Engage in meaningful conversation. Serving creates opportunity for impact- it builds a bridge. So make sure to connect with your guests or clients through conversation when it's appropriate. Understand who they are by understanding what they read, what they watch, where they travel and what their interests are. And look them in the eye when talking. Little things add up.

Lab sessions you need to attend

If you are planning to attend LABS, here is a list of recommendations for sessions you should consider. This list is based on a conversation with Jeff Shinabarger, creative director for Catalyst.

DISCLAIMER: This doesn't mean I am NOT recommending other LAB Speakers. Just wanted to highlight a few that you may not know about or be aware of. These are under the radar.

Session 1: Bishop John Rucyahana: Hearing him talk about grace and restoration and forgiveness related to the genocide in Rwanda is powerful.

Session 2: Matthew Sleeth: A renowned expert on how Churches can get involved in the Creation Care conversation. His book Serve God, Save the Planet has created some great traction around this topic.

Session 3: Scott Belsky: (According to Jeff Shinabarger: If I could recommend one session for every person that I know to attend, this is the one. I listened to his talk in New York City at The Feast Conference one year ago and it is the most important content I have heard all year. He studies how ideas happen and will share with you how to make your ideas come to life. Brilliant. I will be attending this in the midst of preparation for the next day). Enough said. And I agree.

Session 4: Nicole Baker Fulgham: Teach for America is an important organization to our urban schools. You will learn something from this presentation and be encouraged as church leaders to engage schools in new ways. An important voice to consider.

Session 4: Ian Cron: His book Chasing Francis is a great read. Get ready to be challenged in a fresh way.

And if you are not able to attend LABS or any of Catalyst this year, make sure to check out more on these speakers.

The unofficial top things to know before you come to Catalyst

Put this list together yesterday based on a conversation with Jeff Shinabarger as we were watching the rigging go up in the Arena for Catalyst. Hopefully this is helpful.

1. Go to Labs (see above post for recommendations on "unknown" lab speakers that we think you should consider hearing).

2. Bring Gift Cards, towels, socks, and cleaning supplies for flood victims in Atlanta. Specifically, gift cards to Lowe's or Home Depot.

3. Stay for dinner at the arena on Thursday night. First ever "Catalyst Cookout." You can pay right on site and not have to leave and fight traffic. Entertainment will be provided and then at 8 pm we'll start the session with Francis Chan.

4. Visit the Social Justice tent outside the main arena. 14 amazing organizations in the tent. Take time hearing their stories and invite them to share at your church.

5. Show up early. Otherwise you'll be sitting in the upper deck and by early I mean before 7 am.

6. Make sure to fill up your gas tank before you get here- they'll be long lines at the gas stations.

7. Bring your LUNCH for both days. Tailgate in the parking lot.

8. Sign up for a TWITTER account before you arrive at the event. Trust me- it will enhance your experience.

Online Community - what is our role?

Recently had the chance to interview Chris Anderson, the editor of Wired Magazine and the author of FREE and The Long Tail. Chris said something during our interview that has been shaping my thinking recently regarding how we properly steward online community, networks, or groups that we have assembled. He said this:

"The job of everyone online today is Community Management. Less about talking TO people, and more about organizing conversations FOR people."

Now, I'll paraphrase what that means based on what he said: For leaders, it's not about doing things for people, but instead helping them do things for themselves. No longer is it about Talking to people and one-way communication as an expert, but it's now about Organizing Conversations among people. Creating opportunities for our communities to interact, without us being the focus or the only one speaking.

This is such an important lesson for any of us who have been given a network to steward, whether online or offline. The entire paradigm of creating a tribe has been flipped. Seth wrote about this as well, evidenced by his best-selling book, and spoke about it at Catalyst last year.

A recent Catalyst Creative Meeting

Next week is Catalyst week. But thought we would look back to a recent meeting in early September and get a sneak peek into what the Catalyst Creative team is working on..... The problem is, it has nothing to do with the event, but MUCH more to do with who was the best Sword Drill champion during their childhood! Enjoy.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/6881160[/vimeo]

5 Key Things I learned in my 20's

1. Use your 20's to build a foundation for your 70's. Create deep roots that will give you a foundation for when you are older. Finishing well means starting well. 2. Don't worry about climbing the ladder. There's no longer a ladder anyway. It's more like one of those spiral staircases. And sometimes you are going across or down when you think you might be climbing. So don't worry about it. Spend your 20's learning and having life experiences. Travel, explore the world, take on projects that seem fun.

3. If your "career" path doesn't make sense to anyone except for you, it's okay. My 20's: college at University of Oklahoma, wrangler on a guest ranch in Colorado, management consultant, business development officer, Magazine and media company, strategic business plan developer. WOW. That is all over the map. But God was orchestrating steps very clearly for what was next in my story. And continues to do so.

4. Be diligent and aggressive in developing your friendships and relationships. Create a core group of close friends who you want to do like with. This group may change a bit over the years, but it is imperative to find a circle of trust that you are committed to and they to you.

5. Figure out who you want to be, not what you want to do. Who you are is more important that what you do or where you live. Spiritually, financially, family, emotionally, relationally. Find two or three older, wise "sages" that you can learn from and count on as help.

Tough Man Golf

So I am headed to the Tour Championship on Sunday. Gonna watch Tiger and Phil and Cink and Harrington hitting the long ball on East Lake. These guys are tough. But there is another segment within the golfing world- the Wuss golfers. Wimps. Not going for the green. Hitting irons off of the tee box. Hitting from the ladies tees..... etc.

Thought this video from Kenny Mayne was a great explanation of how important it is for all of us who are golfers to not "be wimps" on the course...... 

Funny stuff from Kenny Mayne to finish off this week. 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr3G50eMvDA]

Slow Down when things Speed Up

I've watched the great athletes over the years in times of great intensity go to their "zone" where everything seems to be in slow motion. In watching interviews and hearing them speak about these great moments, whether it's a 9th inning home run, or 50 yard touchdown pass as time expires, or game winning goal in the last seconds of game 7 of the Stanley Cup, they talk about things slowing down in their mind. Even though there may be chaos and bedlam going on around them, they are, as Stuart Scott says, "cool as the other side of the pillow."  Same thing with Golfers- Tiger Woods always is more precise and takes much more time when the pressure is on, vs the natural tendency to want to speed everything up and get through it. 

So what do we do as leaders during times of great intensity, pressure, or the final hour? A couple of thoughts:

1. always over-communicate.

2. be methodical and calm, not intense and short.

3. list out the priorities so as to not be overwhelmed by the small things that seem to be incredibly urgent, but really aren't.

4. Seek out quiet moments for prayer, reflection and thinking. During times of pressure, that is when we need those quiet moments the most.

5. resist the urge to let things slip or just settle for something average because of the pressure to get it done. Keep your standards and levels of excellence at their highest- don't compromise.

Blogger Meetup at Catalyst

If you are planning to attend Catalyst, and you are a blogger, you'll want to pay attention. Brad Ruggles is coordinating a bloggers meetup for Wednesday night, October 7th, at the event in Atlanta. Feel free to start floating the word around, although space will be limited to 100 people so spots will probably fill up fast. For more information and to sign up go here. 

And as you blog or twitter prior to and at the event, make sure to use #CAT09. 

Give Hope Sunday coming in October

 

I'm a big fan of Hope International. An organization committed to helping provide microfinance loans to worthy entrepreneurs all over the world, helping lift them out of poverty. 

 

A great way for you to get involved is Give Hope Sunday. Give Hope Sunday is a FREE way for you and your church to explore the big impact small loans can make on a community- and ultimately on a life. But it's more than static, bullet point info. It's an opportunity to help communities help themselves. And a chance to forever change your view of charity. 

 

Give Hope Sunday will happen on October 18, a great day for the Church to connect with the poor. It's one day out of the year in which your church can focus on tangible ways to help people living in poverty. By signing up for Give Hope Sunday, your church will receive all the tools needed to effectively platform and discuss the issue of microfinance and poverty. 

 

You'll receive:

- Sermon notes to help you bring a Biblical perspective to the issue of poverty.

- Bulletin inserts that provide your congregation with a summary of what HOPE International does, information on poverty, and ways to get involved.

- A promotional video you can use to introduce the Give Hope Sunday initiative

 

all of this designed to both educate and move your congregation toward action..... giving HOPE. 

 

So get involved today. 

 

 

Farming and Leadership

I'm an Oklahoma boy. Always will be. Grew up in Oklahoma just outside of Tulsa (Bristow- ever been there?) When you grow up in Oklahoma, especially as a boy, you learn about farming at an early age, even if you don't live on a farm. It's just in the DNA of your childhood in small towns in Oklahoma. 

It's hard-wired into my DNA. My grandparents were farmers/ranchers. I learned a lot from them- many things that now are life lessons and have shaped me as a leader, but at the time seemed unimportant. 

Now as I look back, especially when it comes to leadership, there are a number of lessons from Farming that apply to my world as a leader- and I believe are applicable to all of us as leaders. Here are a few: 

1. Farming, just like Leadership, is both an ART and a SCIENCE. If you focus on one over the other, you'll mess it up. 

2. Farming and Leadership require intuitiveness- the right hunches at the right time. Making the right decision is many times not about being "right" but instead just making a decision. 

3. The idea of "seasons" is incredibly important to a farmer; leaders also have to understand the concept of a season, especially as it relates to the season of a project or your team and the rhythm of your year. If you don't allow your team to rest from a season of intensity, you'll burn em out- same with a field; it's called crop rotation. 

4. Cultivating a great harvest takes a lot of work. You don't just plant a seed and it automatically turns into fruit. You have to do the work "under the soil" to get the fruit "above the soil." Patience. 

There are more, but we'll save those for Part II next week.

A father, son, friend and IJM

This is a great story. LV Hanson sits down with some Catalyst friends in the DC area recently as part of the Catalyst National Tour. Pastor T.L. Rogers and his son Pastor Perrin Rogers and Joshua Symonette share a story of their connections, how they got to know each other, and now their connection and involvement with IJM.  [vimeo 6522314]

You can watch part 2 of this video here.

Best College Football Coach of the Decade

So there's been lots of discussion over the past year regarding my Best College Team of the Decade post. After last year's win by Florida over Oklahoma, I would probably have to add Florida to my mix of USC, Oklahoma, and Ohio State. 

But what about the best coach of the Decade? Well, here is my current top five: 

5. Mack Brown- he leads the big rival school at Texas, but he's a heck of a coach. And probably the best recruiter in the country.

4. Jim Tressel- classy, traditional, and a great fit at Ohio State. He's been a winner everywhere he's coached. 

3. Bob Stoops- even though he's having a hard time winning the big games lately, he's still built a great program at Oklahoma. Top Five team consistently since he started. 

2. Pete Carroll- great leader and probably the best program the last 10 years at USC. Players love to play for him, and he's a guy you'd love to hang with. Love his style. 

1. Urban Meyer- this guy's a winner. Built an amazing program at Utah, and has two championships in the last three years at Florida. And plays in the toughest conference in the country. 

Let the conversation begin. Who you got? Who would you put #1?

To Do's and Not to Do's as an author, blogger and thought leader

A couple of months ago, I had dinner with Jon Acuff, the uber popular blogger and soon to be author of Stuff Christians Like. We had a great conversation on several issues, and Jon asked some great questions- one of which was "what should I be aware of as a soon to be first-time author?" 
I really respect Jon's willingness to learn from others, and to seek out folks in his life that can keep him grounded. 
So here were the five big points I gave him on the issue of becoming an author and being a thought leader. But these points I think are applicable to any of us as leaders. Here you go: 

1. Actively Build a Support Network- Beware of CEO disease, the temptation to surround yourself with people who only tell you what you want to hear. Keep honest people in your life so that you can stay grounded in the reality of your experiences.

2. Don't think You've Arrived- Banish the phrase, "I'm done" from your vocabulary. The best leaders never stop learning and see every opportunity, success or failure, as a learning opportunity.

3. Don't take yourself so seriously. You're not a big deal. Seriously. I don't care who you are. Humility is way more attractive than arrogance. 

4. Celebrate Your Rivals- Jealously is natural, but how you respond to it is not. When you find yourself tempted to speak ill about a rival or secretly wrestle with jealousy, flip that emotion on its head. Find ways to celebrate your rivals and when you run into a new one, let the first question you ask yourself be, "How can I help this person win?"

5. Flow between the five stages of creative development, don't get stuck in one. Taken in concert, these five stages can be healthy, important parts of growing any creative endeavor. Isolated and obsessed on, any one of these stages can cripple your best intentions. Focus on moving between them. The key is to not just hang out in the "caretaker" stage, where you protect and defend everything you've developed, instead of returning to the "craft" stage. 

- Craft – You create something out of passion for the art of it.

- Crowd – An audience discovers you're good at your passion.

- Commission – You earn money for the thing you love to do.

- Career – You turn a passion into your profession.

- Caretaker – You protect and nurture the thing you've created, and do everything you can to "defend" your turf. A dangerous phase.

Interview with Andy Stanley

Recently had the chance to sit down with Andy Stanley, founder of North Point Ministries and Senior Pastor of North Point Community Church. As you probably know, Andy has been involved with Catalyst since the very beginning in 2000, and is one of the greatest communicators on the planet, period. And when it comes to leadership, I don't know anyone else better.

In this interview, we discuss at length his own personal leadership process, talk a bit about North Point Online, and also get a glimpse into a typical day/week for Andy. 

You can listen via the Catalyst website or go to itunes and subscribe/download the interview.

Hanging in Grand Rapids today

Meeting with the team at Zondervan today about the Catalyst Publishing imprint. This is a partnership between Catalyst and Zondervan- we'll be developing a number of products over the next couple of years together. Designed specifically for next generation church leaders. Exciting stuff.  What resources would help you as a leader? Let me know. Be part of the process in helping us determine what we create for our Catalyst community.

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