Are you a seagull leader?
Seagull leaders tend to be strong visionaries who often remove themselves from the day-to-day team interaction. Then from time to time they swoop in, crap all over everyone with ideas, vision, new products or correction and then fly out not to be seen again for a few weeks.
Don’t be this kind of leader.
At the beginning of 2013 I decided to set some goals for the year. I knew it needed to be crafted in such a way that I stayed motived and was able to reach the goals. To make a long post short, I themed each month. January was tuned to the theme of discipline.
My wife and I had just gotten over being sick with the flu for almost three weeks in December so we were anxious to start strong. Everything started out like gangbusters. We hired a personal trainer, changed our diet and had really settled into a rhythm for about 9-10 days…
Then my body relapsed back into sickness only this time to be diagnosed with bronchitis. We spent the rest of January being sick. This was SUPER frustrating.
Here are a few quick thoughts on the “Discipline” month of January
Did you do any better on your goals in January than I did?
We all know that winning the Heisman Trophy is a huge individual accomplishment. Universities covet having one of their players win this prestigious award. But how much is the award worth to the university? How much marketing value did Texas A&M gain? According to Joyce Julies & Associates about $37 million in media exposure for Texas A&M. Here are the full study results from the AggieAthletics.com
“We’ve long known that winning the most coveted trophy in sports attracts a great deal of media coverage, but this study gives us a much better understanding of the extent of the impact of the accomplishments of Coach Kevin Sumlin, Johnny Manziel and the entire team during the memorable season we just completed,” says Eric Hyman, Texas A&M’s athletic director. “The study validates how winning the Heisman Trophy truly does capture the national spotlight, and it’s a great way to start our membership in the SEC, which provides unparalleled visibility for our university.”
I wonder how much Auburn got out of Cam Newton?
Every year I set goals for the year. It is usually a mixture of simple, hard, short and long goals for that year. This year, I wanted to do it differently. I am really excited about the formatting and think it would work well for anyone. I decided to theme each month. Each month my goals will go along with the theme.
If you haven’t made a goal list for 2013, I encourage you to do so using this format. Use themes that are relevant to your life and go from there.
You can also view my entire reading list HERE
JANUARY – DISCIPLINE
Read Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Participate in 21 day Daniel Fast
Lose 20 lbs in 30 Days
Workout everyday
Blog about lessons learned on Discipline at end of month
Create plan for Spiritual Disciplines
FEBRUARY – MARRIAGE
Read the Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller
Write love letters to my wife
Find creative ways to honor my wife
Take my wife on a date in a unique location
MARCH – BUSINESS
Read Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey
Read the Education of Millionaires by Michael Ellsberg
Attend Business Workshop/Webinar
Interview 3 Successful Entrepreneurs
APRIL – TEAM
Read The Advantage by Patrick M. Lencioni
Read Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
Participate in 2 team building activities this month
MAY – LEADERSHIP
Attend Catalyst Conference in Dallas, TX
Read The Powell Principles by Oren Harari
Interview 3 pastors on leadership
Write eBook on my personal thoughts on leadership
JUNE – COMMUNITY
Read Creating Community by Andy Stanley
Organize community investment event
Help a local business for a day
Take 4 local pastors to lunch
JULY – GIVING
Read Love Does by Bob Goff
Work with 3 non profit organizations on various projects
Go to Haiti with non profit
Give sacrificially to someone who needs it
Give to someone who doesn’t need it
AUGUST – COMMUNICATION
Read Resonate by Nancy Duarte
Select people to evaluate my public speaking
Interview Communication expert
SEPTEMBER – GROWTH
Read The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John Maxwell
Read Storyline by Donald Miller
Experience a new food every week
Interview my wife my on her view of my personal growth
OCTOBER -INNOVATION
Read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Create a product that solves a current problem in the world.
Research and write post about innovators from the past and present
Visit the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, CA
NOVEMBER – SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Read Perspectives on Spirit Baptism by Chad Brand
Write Summary Report on a book of the Bible
Take a 2 day trip to spend in prayer and meditation
DECEMBER – EVALUATION
Look back to this post and see how many of my goals were completed.
Read 3 Ways to find the Truth – About Yourself by LaRae Quy
Evaluate current Goals model
Evaluate Finance Budget for 2013
Set New goals for 2014
Forbes Magazine recently published an article of their Top 100 Quotes on Leadership. Here are some of my favorites from the article:
#2 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” —Proverbs 29:18
#9 – “A leader is a dealer in hope.” —Napoleon Bonaparte
#20 – “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” —Ralph Nader
#28 – “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” —Harry S. Truman
#62 – “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” —Thomas Jefferson
CLICK HERE for the full list.
Be rich. Be rich toward others. Thats what Northpoint Community Church did with their holiday giving campaign. They raised $1.5 million to help the various community organizations and under-resourced. Most of the time when a church is in the news it is not a good thing. All the more reason to celebrate a church putting their money where their mouth is (pun intended) and impacting their community.
Check out the special from the local news:
Facebook is a very powerful platform for organizations wanting to establish and promote their brand online. In a noisy web world it can be hard to get noticed. Here are a few quick tips to help your organization become more effective on Facebook:
1. ASK QUESTIONS
This helps boost interaction between you and your followers. Use What, When, Where and Who for your questions. Avoid How and Why. A lot of people are interacting on their mobile device and they really dont want to take the time to answer why or how. Generally these types of answers are longer and people like me with fat thumbs avoid these.
2. KNOW WHEN TO POST
Sometimes when you post is just as important as what you post. For example, Wednesdays at 3pm is the absolute highest average for click-throughs. However, unless its BREAKING NEWS avoid Friday after 3pm at all costs. CLICK HERE for a cool info-graphic on best times to post.
3. KNOW WHAT TO POST
Most organizations utilize social media in order to build their brand. The trap that some organizations fall into is only posting when they are trying to sell something (product or service). Coca-Cola are masters at promoting their brand without pushing a product. They have said that they want the happiest times in peoples lives to be associated with Coca-Cola. Thats why they advertise so heavily at Christmas and the Olympics. When you watch their commercials, they are usually promoting happiness, emotion and life moments. It just so happens they get to be a part of that happy moment in your life. CNBC did a fascinating piece on Coca-Cola and how they have become the most recognizable brand in the world. You can watch the video HERE.
Take a lesson from Coke. Post about other things than just your products and services.
What do you look for when hiring a staff member?
Bill Hybels says that you should look for the “Three C’s” in a person: Competency, Character and Chemistry. Of course all of these are important traits to look for. However, I believe one of them is often overlooked.
In a corporate world dominated by performance reviews and deadlines, chemistry often takes a back seat to competency and character. Obviously to do a job well, one must have competency. To keep said job, one must display a certain amount of character to gain the trust of their superiors and respect from peers. The reality is, it doesn’t matter how well a person performs or how much integrity they have. If they are constantly going against the DNA of the organization, it affects everyone starting with team morale. Wayne Hedlund says,
“When you have a team player that is high in chemistry with you and your organization, you will very likely have little relational conflict. Conversely, when chemistry is low, conflict will likely abound.”
This is not a dig at a person’s competence or character. In fact, we see people who do mediocre in one organization and yet at the next, they succeed incredibly. It’s same person with the same character and competency. The difference is chemistry. While a person may be a C+ on your team, they are an A+ for another.
Ultimately it starts with having a good process in place when interviewing team members to avoid the chemistry fail. Here are a few things to remember:
Have you ever had doubts about God?
I have.
We all have doubts about God.
Various things cause us to doubt. It could have been that college professor or a negative experience at church or the internal conflict one has after a tsunami devastates hundreds of thousands of people. Whatever the reason, we all have that dark whisper in the back of our minds from time to time.
The question isn’t “Will you have doubts?”, it’s what do you do with those doubts.
In the book of Matthew we see someone who you would think would never doubt Jesus. John the Baptist is in prison and he finds himself having second thoughts. One thing you have to remember is that John is one of the main reasons why so many people believed in Christ. John was a pillar of the Christian faith. His life fulfilled prophecy “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” to the fact that John and Jesus were related.
So for John to have second thoughts was a big deal. As the story goes, John sent some of his guys to ask Jesus “Are you the One who is to come, or should we wait for someone else?”
John is asking Jesus if he really is the Son of God. Which is probably a huge shock to the guys sent to ask Jesus since they most likely believed in Jesus because of John the Baptist.
I love Jesus’ response. It is so simple and practical for you and I. Jesus said, “Go tell John what you hear and see: 5 The blind can see, the crippled can walk, and people with skin diseases are healed. The deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.”
What Jesus is saying is that he wants John’s faith fastened not what’s happening to him, but what’s happening around him. He is wanting John to look outside his current circumstances and take courage that He is at work in the lives of everyone around him. And then to top it off, Jesus tells everyone “John the Baptist is greater than any other person ever born.” The guy just expressed his doubts and Jesus is saying that He is the greatest of all men. I have to be honest, that encourages me.
A few things I heard one time when faced with doubt:
1. Look back and remember how God saved you, answered your prayers, and made financial provisions for you or your family. Take comfort in God at work in your past. Take your eyes off the here and now.
2. Look out and realize that you are 1 grain of sand in a sea of christians that spans thousands of years. There are millions and millions of people that have placed their trust in God and have seen God work across the ages.
3. Look ahead and remember that sometimes it is our vision of what could and should be, that allows us to maintain faith, in spite of what is. Sometimes in the middle of my bad experiences, it’s that vision of what could and should be that allows me to find my faith in spite of what is.
So if you find yourself wondering what to do with your doubt let me offer this simple thought. You carry them with you like the rest of us. Remember to look out at what God is doing in the lives of the people around you and your faith will be strengthened. Over time, those dark whispers will begin to fade away.
Read this passage here for yourself: Matthew 11
Justin empowers organizations to communicate strategically and create brand awareness for their organization.
