Win a Free Flip video camera.... and other stuff

Just want to keep everyone in the loop on what is happening on the Catalyst front, specifically relating to our big Ten Year Anniversary Celebration on October 7-9 in Atlanta. Make sure you are there: 1. Win a Free FLIP video camera- winners are chosen every 100 hours leading up to Catalyst in October. Go here to enter to win. 

2. Catalyst Gives Back- on the same registration page, you can choose one of 10 organizations who will receive a donation from Catalyst on your behalf. It's easy. No strings. Help out some great causes. Includes International Justice Mission, Gift Card Giver, Rwanda Clean Water, Deadly Viper, TWLOHA, and many others. 

3. Make Your Mark and leave your story- On the Catalyst Conference website, go to the "Make Your Mark" section and leave your story. Your story and your "mark" will be featured on the home page of the site, and you will also receive a unique URL that can be emailed out to your friends and will allow them to read your story upon entering the site. 

4. Catalyst Treasure Hunt- We've hid over 120 treasures all over the US, and it is your job to find them. Go to the site and click on "X Marks the Spot." Find a treasure capsule hidden in your area and call us to claim your prize. 

5. Best Rates to attend by next Thursday, June 25- If you are planning on joining us in October in Atlanta, make sure to register by next Thursday to get the best rates. After that, the prices go up.

Bottom Shelf vs. Top Shelf

Top Shelf is prime real estate in the book/publishing business. Eye level. Easily reached. No extra effort to find what you are looking for. The current hot sellers. New releases. Buzzworthy books. Retail chains like Barnes and Noble and Borders are incredibly picky and very intentional with who gets placed in a top shelf area. They not only choose wisely, but will charge publishers top dollar for the right for their authors to be placed "top shelf."  Grocery stores and consumer goods focused retail stores are the same way. They put their best items on the eye level, top shelf area. Best-selling items deserve top shelf status. 

Bottom shelf is for the laggards. Items on the bottom shelf are cumbersome to find, and you have to work to get to it. You can quickly go from a top shelf item to a bottom shelf item within one inventory cycle. Relax for a second, or one bad week of publicity, or a publicity nightmare like bad peanut butter or poisonous pills, and you are immediately but on the bottom shelf, or even worse, taken off the retail space all together. 

Same goes with your company, brand or not for profit campaign. Staying "Top Shelf" requires constant innovation, improvement, quality control, and hard work. Bottom Shelf is easy, requires little effort, and becomes status quo. Second place vs. First place. 

The question is, where is your company or church or brand currently? Top Shelf or bottom shelf?

Interview with Louie Giglio

Check out a recent interview I did with Louie Giglio at the Passion House in Alpharetta, just across the north Atlanta suburbs from our offices. We talk about Passion City Church, the issue of calling and purpose, the One Million Can Campaign, Passion 2010, and a number of other topics. So much that we are making two episodes out of this interview. 

You can stream here or listen on itunes.

Who Says You can't have fun at work?

Wednesday of this week we had a little celebration here at the office. Great barbecue cooked by Craig Canfield, and games led by our very own athletic director/social chairman Mr. Chad "Squeaky" Johnson.  Well, as you will see below, a dunk tank showed up in the parking lot, and the line for throwing was pretty long when I got up on the ole chair. If I would have charged for throwing at me, I could have raised a couple of hundred dollars for charity......

[vimeo 5116176]

Update on Rudy Vaughn and Hard Rock Battle of the Bands

The people have spoken..... and Rudy Vaughn and his band are the official winners! Great news. Congrats to Rudy and everyone involved. And thanks to everyone who voted. Winning the Hard Rock Cafe Battle of the Bands means they will be playing in London at Hyde Park with Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, The Killers, and many other bands. Amazing. I am trying to sneak my way onto the trip..... but it ain't gonna happen.

Did I accomplish anything today?

Here was my day- not sure a typical day, but thought I would share nonetheless. The important thing to note- only 4 of the "items" below were scheduled. Everything else was spontaneous or general "getting work done" items. Too many meetings planned will equal very few things actually getting accomplished. Here you go: - 6 am wake up

- at the office by 6:45

- some time for prayer, reading, singing, reflecting, scripture

- 7:15 am catch up on blogs, twitter, and other interesting links

- 7:30 am final listening, editing to the next issue of the Catalyst podcast with Louie Giglio

- 8 am speaker contracts sent out for next event in October 

- 8:30 am new ideas/initiatives for 2010 

- 9 am email and texts 

- 9:30 am meeting regarding some website changes and program/production stuff 

- 10 am marketing budgets review 

- 10:30 am pick on the interns a bit (and give Chad Johnson a hard time)

- 10:40 am work on an endorsement for a friend's book

- 10:55 am Creative review/edit for ads

- 11:10 am talk through Facebook group and other social media issues 

- 11:30 am call with Ed Stetzer regarding Catalyst October

- noon email 

- 12:30 pm  meet with Lunch n Learn group and talk about systems 

- 1:30 pm work on partnership emails and new marketing channels

- 2:30 pm walk around the office and bother everyone else- waste time; pick on the interns and Melissa Kruse 

- 3:00 pm email; lots of responding to emails and also working on a few deals 

- 4:00 pm watch some of the behind the scenes/backstage footage from Catalyst West Coast 

- 4:30 pm review/edit creative design and copy for tickets and rave cards and new email skins 

- 5:00 pm call with Buddy Stone from Stand in the Gap 

- 5:30 pm work on To Do list 

- 6:00 pm two games of Cornhole with Catalyst team (1-1 by the way) 

- 6:30 pm catch up on voicemails, texts and people to call

- 7:00 pm Dinner with Jon Acuff 

There you have it. Not sure if that is normal or not. Got several things done, but I am not sure I would give today a satisfactory score in the area of accomplishing anything. More moving the ball down the field.

Who I want to meet in the next year

I know, I know, most of these are a total stretch, and might even be considered random. But just putting it out there. If you believe it, you can achieve it!  1. Denzel Washington

2. John Lasseter (Pixar)

3. Bill Gates

4. Bono

5. Paul Kigame (President of Rwanda)

6. Chris Anderson (TED Conference) 

7. Tony Dungy (Catalyst baby!)

8. Will Smith

9. JJ Abrams 

10. Tony Hawk 

The reason to meet all of these folks- I believe they are the best in the world at what they do, whether acting, performing, directing, coaching, leading, or singing. People at the top of their game who are incredibly excellent at their craft or profession have learned something about greatness, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are. And I love to learn from those outside of my "normal circle" of influence.

What Happens When someone drops the Ball

Kevin Myers at 12 Stone Church recently did an incredible talk on the issue of "NO Excuses," and the power of accountability. We all have experienced this as leaders. You give a big assignment or project to someone on your team, and they lay an egg- totally drop the ball and don't get it done. We've all been there. Both as the goat as well as the one in charge trying to figure out how to handle the situation. 

Let's look at this situation from both sides, both the own who dropped the ball and the one in charge. 

As the one who dropped the ball, just own up to it. Don't make excuses. Be self-policing. Be accountable. And be mature. And realize that your leader or your boss or the person in charge is trying to figure out how to deal with your mistake or lack of action- lean into that and bring it up first and tell them it won't happen again. Don't wait on them to have to confront you. 

Own up. Grow Up. Shut up. And don't be the goat again. 

As the leader, four things: 1. confrontation; 2. conversation; 3. restoration; 4. affirmation. The key on this- get through the confrontation and onto to the conversation and restoration as quick as possible. If you have the right kind of person on your team, they feel terrible anyway, so spend very little time confronting, and way more time on restoration and affirmation. 

Reality is, a majority of accountability, both with individuals and with teams, should be built around affirmation. This is not just telling people they are great. That's part of it. But instead, affirming this person and your team about where you are going as a team, how you are going to get there, and how you are winning. Vision. As a leader, DO NOT withhold affirmation.

Assuming you've established trust, a strong level of commitment, and a proper corporate culture, then ultimately affirmation is the greatest power and source of strength for team accountability.

The Essence of Teamwork- Philippians 2

I love the book of Philippians in the New Testament. The entire book is one of Paul's greatest letters.  Specifically, chapter 2 is a gem. Paul lays out some strong language regarding teamwork and working together.

Verse 2-5: "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 interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus." (New American Standard)

1. Be like-minded.

2. Be loving

3. Be united

4. Be focused (on one purpose)

5. Be selfless

6. Be humble

7. Look out for others before yourself

8. Be Christ-like

Teamwork 101.

Your network- it's changing

I consider myself a networker. On the Strengths Finder assessment, one of my top five is WOO (winning others over). I am a major E on the Myers Briggs. So I tend to spend time thinking through how best to manage the network of friends, associates, partners, and business relationships that have been cultivated over the years. In high school, I knew all of my classmates by first and last name. In college, I had friends in virtually every fraternity house, sorority house, club, association, and dorm. When I first started my "career" just after college, I was keeping names on a yellow notebook pad, and occasionally putting business cards in a drawer. Amazing that was only 14 years ago.

At that point in the mid 90's, my network (and probably yours as well) was really defined by a rolodex of business cards of people I had met in person. Then along came email and database management and so your network became defined by your outlook contacts or by a spreadsheet in Excel.

Now, your network is defined by a varied number of relational webs- facebook, linkedin, twitter, blogs, email, myspace, etc. This new phenomenon has allowed our networks to expand exponentially beyond people we actually MEET or KNOW or TALK to in person. And maybe even folks we have nothing in common with currently. 

Used to "networking" meant you "worked a room" and were "shaking hands and patting backs." Now, in many ways networking is defined by social media and your ability to win someone over to your digital community at large. 

The reality is, you (and I) have never been more connected, and had the tools to stay connected, but in many ways never so disconnected. 

When's the last time you actually sent a hand written card to someone? When's the last time you spent a significant amount of time on the phone with someone, instead of a quick text or facebook message? Most folks don't email or call their network, but instead send a quick tweet or blog post or facebook message. 

This means we all are being forced to change. Change how we both build a network as well as manage our network. And change is difficult.

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Interview with Joel Houston and Brooke Ligertwood

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A new episode of the Catalyst Podcast is up, and includes an interview that Mike Foster and I did at Catalyst West backstage with Joel Houston and Brooke Ligertwood from Hillsong United. This was one of my favorite interviews so far. 

This episode also includes a "next-gen" profile conversation with Michael Reddish, a great friend from Nashville who works with Dave Ramsey's organization and also is a pastor at Emmaus Church in downtown Nashville. 

You can stream from the Catalyst website or download from itunes.

Young Influencers List- May Edition

The May edition of the Young Influencers List is here! Also take time to check out the archives of past months. Again, no particular order of preference or rank.

1. Eddie Kirkland- singer/songwriter who just released a new album entitled "White Flags." Incredibly talented musician who is also on staff at North Point Community Church.

2. Catherine Claire Larson- freelance writer and staff editor for Prison Fellowship. Catherine's latest work is As We Forgive, one of the best books I've read in the last 5 years, highlighting stories of pain and suffering, but also grace and reconciliation following the Genocide in Rwanda.

3. Jeremy Cowart- mega talented photographer who has done shoots as diverse as Britney Spears, Catalyst, Carrie Underwood, and Prison Break. Jeremy was a co-author on the book Hope in the Dark with Jena Lee.

4. Brittany Merrill- an Atlanta native who is the founder of the Ugandan American Partnership Organization. At age 19, Brittany visited Uganda and was forever changed. Watch a video on CNN to give further context to her story.

5. Erik Lokkesmoe- principal at Different Drummer, and former VP with Walden Media. Before that founded Brewing Culture in DC. Different Drummer works with clients such as My Space, Walt Disney, and Universal.

6. Lisa Sharon Harper- Executive Director of New York Faith and Justice, a fellowship of churches in NY dedicated to uniting to end poverty.

Week Review (or start)- Highlights

A week in review. Highlights. Bullets.  - got to hang with my friends earlier this week from Hillsong United who are currently on a tour in the US. Their new album Across the Earth: Tear Down the Walls has been in the top five on itunes all week. Among all albums! Go buy it now if you haven't already. 

- the Hillsong United concert on Wednesday night was amazing. We took our entire Catalyst team- 15 seats! Thanks for the hook up Luke Webb!! Luke is the incredible Manager for Hillsong. Plus, it seemed like every musician in Atlanta was there. Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Steve Fee, Christy and Nathan Nockels, Carlos Whittaker, and probably tons of others who I didn't see. 

- new Catalyst podcast episode is up, featuring an interview with best-selling author Andy Andrews. Ken and I also talk about my trip to Rwanda. Stream on the Catalyst website or download from itunes. 

- Dustin Ahkuoi and the team at 12 Stone Church did Bohemian Rhapsody during the service this morning. It was off the charts. Dustin can flat out sing. If you haven't seen Dustin perform, check this out. 

- Attended Eddie Kirkland's CD Release party in Buckhead on Thursday night. This album is unique. Very Keane-esque. You might have heard Eddie at Catalyst or North Point or Orange or other events. This album has been on my play list for the last couple of weeks. Buy his album here. 

- Swatch and MTV have teamed up for a unique creative contest being hosted by Behance, the network of creative professionals created by Scott Belsky. Scott is speaking at Catalyst Labs this October. Check out this unique project. 

- Mike Hyatt had a great post last week on "Leadership 2.0" and how the next generation of leaders are different. 

- The Catalyst interns are officially here for the summer. This was their first full week. I need to think of some more pranks to pull on them. 

- Catalyst East programming meeting earlier this week with Lanny, Reggie, Ken, Jeff, Brian, Melissa, and others. We're cooking up some pretty cool stuff for October. Let's just say that "On Your Mark" as a theme offers lots of opportunities for some fun creative elements.....Plus, the best speaker line-up we've ever assembled. Andy, Louie, Ramsey, Tony Dungy, Malcolm Gladwell, Rob Bell, Swindoll, Matt Chandler, Shane Hipps, Francis Chan, and many others.... Are you kidding me????!!!!!!!

Most Creative People in Business

Check out Fast Company's most recent cumulative list highlighting the 100 Most Creative People in Business. This is a good list to check out for several reasons: 1. know who these people are; they are the ones leading conversations and setting trends.

2. call them and ask them if you can learn from them; in some cases, you can hire them to consult with you.

3. read their blogs and tweets and listen to their talks; friend them on facebook; reach out and become a friend.

It's one thing to just read an article or list and be aware. It's another to take action and reach out.

The Next Wave. Wow.

I usually wouldn't post a link to a video that is over one hour in length, but this is monumental and a presentation of a product that will redefine the way we communicate through email, IM, SMS, blogs, and other means. Meet the product known as GOOGLE WAVE, the next big thing. Wow.  The engineers working on this product also developed Google Maps, so they've got some experience in rolling out a major life-changing application. 

If you want to be aware of where online communication is heading, watch this. It will be rolled out in the next several months. 

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

Vote for Rudy Vaughn- Battle of the Bands!

My friend Rudy Vaughn and band (which includes Catalyst's own Dustin Ahkuoi) recently entered Hard Rock Cafe's Ambassadors of Rock Battle of the Bands contest. After 3 rounds the band has made it to the top 5 in the country. There is one final round and it is an online vote. Please vote for Rudy Vaughn! The winning band gets to perform at the Hard Rock Calling Festival in London with Bruce Springsteen, The Killers, Dave Matthews and others. 

Rudy has been a musician the last two years at Catalyst, and also was part of the band at Orange Conference this year. He is a music leader at 12 Stone Church. 

Over 150 bands entered this year's Battle of the Bands at Hard Rock Cafes all over North America. 

Again, please vote for Rudy Vaughn's band. Thanks for helping out! 

Succession: Transitioning Leadership

Succession, simply the transition of leadership or power, is very difficult for most companies or organizations. Whether a Fortune 50 like GE, Wal-Mart, or Apple; a non-profit like the Red Cross, Focus on the Family, or World Vision; a small startup or family held business; in any case this is a tough one to get it right.  Large companies put millions of dollars into making sure succession is smooth and seemless. Look at Apple- succession from Steve Jobs to whoever the next CEO will be could literally cost the company billions of dollars in market capitalization, and even more in brand equity. It is a huge issue for the long term health of the company.

Family held businesses or "founder-driven" organizations are really at risk of bad succession plans. Most founders of organizations can't let go, and drive everyone crazy around them. Especially in companies that are highly missional- founders are great at starting and building, but usually terrible at letting go and allowing the organization to grow without them. 

Here in America, we do a really good job of succession when it comes to our President. It is a civil and democratic process. Not the case in other parts of the world, especially in third world and developing countries. Leaders hold onto power and do everything they can to stay in the seat of President or Prime Minister way long after they should be there. Usually because the power of their position corrupts their realities at the deepest levels. I believe this is one of the major issues for these countries- bad succession leads to internal strife, violence and disruptions in growth. These leaders not only hold onto to their power, but fail to develop any other leaders around them to take over. Paul Kigame, the President of Rwanda, however, is an exception to this. Even though Rwanda is still a developing country, President Kigame has been influenced by western business and governmental leaders, and is building a strong infrastructure around him of young leaders who will be able to step in. 

What about you? Are you currently leading? Whether a team, a company, a non-profit, or a Fortune 50, you should be thinking about succession. How are you replacing yourself? If you are not thinking about this, you are neglecting a core part of your responsibility.

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