Never Lose Hope (from Harvey Mackay's Nationally Syndicated Weekly Column)

I get an email each week from Harvey Mackay University.  This particular message was something I think everyone needs to hear, read, take to heart, and pass on. We are all blessed to have so much wise counsel and wisdom available to us from those who have gone before.

Never lose hope 

The only survivor of a shipwreck woke up on the beach of a small uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean.  Every day he circled the island, looking for ships on the horizon, and searched the sky for planes, hoping for a rescue.  But none ever came.

So he scrounged around for materials to build a small hut to protect himself from the sun and rain.  His daily schedule included scavenging and hunting for food.  He kept a small fire going so he could cook whatever he found.

After his walk around the island one day, he returned to find his hut in flames.  A gust of wind had blown some embers from his fire that ignited the hut.  Black smoke billowed in the air and try as he might, he couldn’t douse the fire.  He collapsed, exhausted and dejected.  He had lost all hope.

But the next day he awoke to find a ship anchored off the island.  A life raft was headed his way!  He would be rescued at last!

When he reached the ship, he asked the captain, “What made you stop here?  I have been looking for a ship for months and saw none.”

The captain replied, “We saw the smoke from the fire you built.  It led us right to you.”

What had seemed hopeless was what saved him.

Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.  In short, hope changes everything.

My dear friend Lou Holtz always says you need four things in your life, otherwise you are going to have a tremendous void.  Number one, everyone needs something to do.  Number two, everyone needs someone to love.  Number three, everyone needs someone to believe in.  And number four, everyone needs something in their life to hope for.

What do you want to do?  You have to have hope, ambition and dreams.


         
My wish, dream and hope, aside from being a professional golfer, was to own my own factory.  I didn’t know what I would manufacture, but I always hoped to be able to walk the factory floor and be able to have my employees look up to me.

But I didn’t wait for it to fall in my lap.  I acted on that hope and made my dreams come true.

President Dwight Eisenhower, a highly accomplished man by any standard, told this story about his hopes and dreams:  “When I was a small boy in Kansas, a friend of mine and I went fishing and as we sat there in the warmth of the summer afternoon on a river bank, we talked about what we wanted to do when we grew up.

“I told him that I wanted to be a real major league baseball player, a genuine professional like Honus Wagner.  My friend said that he'd like to be president of the United States.  Neither of us got our wish.”

The dictionary defines hope as “wanting something to happen and thinking that it could happen.”

Just because something isn’t happening for you right now doesn’t mean it will never happen.  Hope is the little voice you hear whisper “maybe” when it seems the entire world is shouting “no.”

Believing in the future helps us to have hope.  “Hope is greater than history,” said American businessman and diplomat Dwight Morrow – more than a century ago.  Don’t let the idea that history repeats itself discourage you.  You can shape your own history if you have hope.

Consider these words from naturalist Jane Goodall:  “I carry a few symbols with me because sometimes you get a bit depressed, and these symbols remind me of the hope that there is in the world.  Without hope, we all fall into apathy; without hope, there is no hope.  I carry symbols that represent four reasons for hope:  the human brain, with the technology that we are now working to try to live in greater harmony with the environment; the resilience of nature – give nature a chance and it’s amazing how places that we’ve destroyed can bloom again; the tremendous energy, commitment, excitement and dedication of young people once they know what the problems are, and we empower them to act to do something about it.  And finally, the indomitable human spirit, those people who tackle impossible tasks and won’t give in, those people who overcome tremendous physical disabilities and lead lives that are shining inspiration to those around them.”


Mackay’s Moral:  Hope is what allows us to remember yesterday’s disappointments and still look forward to tomorrow.

What Will You Do Differently On Monday?

I've just started reading Linchpin by Seth Godin and am LOVING IT! I love the way this man thinks - so unconventional and real world. In just the first few pages gems like the following pop out:

• All of us are geniuses sometimes.
• You have brillance in you, your contribution is valuable, and the art you create is precious.
• If you've got something to say, say it, and think well of yourself while you're learning to say it better." - David Mamet

Then I put the book down and login to Twitter. I follow the Harvard Busines Review [HarvardBiz] and while scrolling through tweets, I see a tweet from HRB titled Drucker's Question: What Will You Do Differently on Monday?. In the article, Drucker is quoted as saying "Don't tell me you had a wonderful meeting with me. Tell me what you're going to do on Monday that is different." The article goes on to discuss how attendees of one particular leadership event, the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University's CEO Forum held in October 2009, DID go out and do something different because of what they'd heard at the forum.

So, what about you? What about me? When you "learn, hear, experience" something new, what do you do with it?

The past three months have held a lot of "new" for me. Development of a new business model, rededication to actively growing my faith, and taking my physical well being to a new level. So what will Monday look like for me?

• Taking the new model and adapting it to two more clients [one is up and running - and going well!].
• Taking my newly Bible [new testament] loaded MP3 player to the gym with me.
• Continue with my training [which I started on Thursday] for my first triathlon [sprint] June 6, 2010.

What will Monday look like for you?

Here's to learning and growing. J

Bono

When I first heard Bono speak at the 2006 Leadership Summit, I was blown away. His intensity, passion, conviction was ... surprising and inspiring. I took notes and put them in my daughters baby book. I want her to incorporate his words as life lessons. And from a rock star. Who'd have thought?


This is what I wrote in 'E's' baby book in August 2006:


"One of the speakers was Bono, the lead singer of the Band U2 and Time Magazine's 2005 Person of the Year. He was a taped interview conducted by Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. I was so impressed by Bono that I took some notes to share with you [E]."

• Always reserve the right to be ridiculous.
• He finds Christians difficult - very judgmental and only looking at surface issues.
• He likes to be in the middle of conflict - he actually said "in the middle of a conflict is a great place to be. It allows duality. I see his point here and agree with the concept - be able to see all sides / perspectives. But, be prepared. Sometimes you have to chose a side.
• Celebrity is currency.
• Great ideas have the same power as a great melody.
• The church is historically behind the curve.
• Love thy neighbor - who is our neighbor?
• Stop asking God to bless the things you are doing. Find what God is doing. It's already blessed.
• It's not a burden, a duty. It's an opportunity, an adventure.

So here it is 2009 and Bono was back at the Leadership Summit to report on what he was seeing in the fight to end extreme poverty. Again, this was a taped interview conducted by Bill Hybels.

• Only love can leave such a mark.
• Love thy neighbor" is a command, not advice.
• Intuition is greater than intellect.
• There's always resistance on the ongoing journey of equality.
• If you lead anything do something.

For more information on the fight to end extreme poverty and the One Campaign, go to www.One.org.


Here's to learning and growing. J

Eye Witness to Power

David Gergen was great [I really haven't heard anyone I didn't like - a lot]. His bio reads:

Editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report and political analyst for CNN and PBS, David Gergen has served as a White House adviser to four presidents; Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton. He is also a professor at Harvard’s School of Public Leadership. An active participant in American national life for 30 years, Gergen has a lifetime of experience in observing and participating in high-capacity leadership, which he’s distilled into seven vital elements needed for future leaders. The author of Eyewitness to Power, he firmly believes that by identifying the traits of other leaders (and learning from their mistakes), we can increase our own effectiveness and leadership potential.

• “A leader's role is to raise people's aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there.” David Gergen
• A teacher of leadership can't make you a leader. They can point you in the/a direction.
• There's a difference between learning and doing.
• You have to learn to get better ... reflective practice = you learn in the doing (in the arena) and the reading [of books by other leaders].
• "Not every reader is a leader, but every leader is a reader." Harry S. Truman
• Reflection - what worked, what didn't, what will we do differently.
• "There's confusion between motion and progress." Peter Drucker
• Look at life/TO DO list in six (6) week increments. Review at the end of the six weeks.

Admirable qualities of former presidents:

• Nixon: Best strategist .. able to see the way history could unfold.
• Ford: A decent man.
• Clinton: Resilient - he'd always get back up.
• Reagan: Best leader since President Roosevelt. A principled man; a contagious optimist (not pollyannaish). A sense of common sacrifice and a sense of humor.

"Inspect is as important as respect."

Weaknesses of each:

• Nixon: Demons he couldn't control [author of his own tragedy].
• Ford: Naive
• Reagan: Detachment [entrusted too far]. Let others have control of the wheel(s).
• Clinton: Cracks in his character. No moral compass.

"Learn to keep your flaws in check so as not to hurt others." ... There needs to be alignment between private behavior and public life. ... Martin Luther King was a great moral leader. He never claimed to be a saint.

"Get up every day and try to be better." Nelson Mandela

• We should be more forgiving and less invasive.
• Leadership doesn't have to be lonely. Lone leadership is over. The best leaders have a team of leaders. Learn how to partner, collaborate, build things together.
• If you want to go fast, go alone. But, if you want to go far, go with others.
• Leadership is persuasion.

Gergen on speeches ...

• Who the speaker "is" speaks as loudly as what they say. Trust? Authentic? Expert? Clear? Simple?
• A speech should be 15-20 minutes - max!

Personal habits of leaders matter a lot. Self discipline:

• Control over your life
• Physically fit - endurance
• Daily reflection
• Daily time with people you cherish. Loving relationships are very important.

"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi


If we only picked three of these gems to incorporate into our daily lives, can you imagine the magnitude of change?
Here's to learning and growing. J

Catching the Future (The Leadership Challenge)

The next speaker was Gary Hamel. His bio alone was exciting ...

Gary Hamel was ranked as the #1 Business Thinker of 2008 by The Wall Street Journal and called "the world's leading expert on business strategy" by Fortune. An author, speaker, professor, and innovative management consultant, he is most widely known for originating concepts such as "strategic intent" and "core competencies." The founder of Strategos, a worldwide strategic consulting company, his vision for the workplace revolves around releasing human potential and creativity. Hamel will address the paradigm shift needed to fully engage the potential of people and explain how tomorrow's most successful companies will be organized. He is the author of Leading the Revolution and The Future of Management.

His presentation was FANTASTIC. It was so good I was mesmerized and missed some of what he was saying in my notes, but I captured enough. Gary spoke to his audience of church leaders, but like most of the Summit, the message applies to any organization.

• Are you [your organization] changing as fast as the world around you?
• Are we all walking the talk as Christians?
• A church [organization] needs to be: ... a nurturing environment for new believers, not just a place for existing christians ... a place to grow ... a place that is relevant.
• The world is changing so fast. It's becoming more turbulent faster than organizations are becoming more resilient.
• Conquer denial
• Face the facts
• Questions your beliefs [practices].
• Listen to and learn from the renegades/dissidents/outliers

"The future has already happened, it's just unequally distributed."

"We clutch the current because we can't see alternatives."

• It takes 1000 ideas to have 100 experiments that turn into 10 projects that become one [1] winner!
• Ask your people [audiences, teams, etc.] "how to __________."
• Look at what you do and identify what hasn't changed.
• Compare your [self, organization, etc.] to others and ask "what is identical?"
• A leaders job is to mobilize, connect, and support. It's about being part of a community vs. a hierarchy.
• The facebook generation doesn't want organized religion OR big business. They want "cause".
• Shoot for being spiritual powerful and institutionally weak. Be vibrant .. resilient .. flexible ..

"We won't get better at changing lives until we get better at changing our churches."

"Humility is a survival mechanism."

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

Gary has provided more information and an interactive blog on the Summit's Next Steps section.

Here's to learning and growing. J

Hiring, Firing and Board Meltdowns

The second session of the Leadership Summit (08/06/09) was a different take on hirings, firings and board meltdowns. A three +/- minute drama was done showing a hiring for a key position within the organization, a firing, and board that completely breaks down. Obviously, there were things during each of the dramas that were not the "best" way to approach the depicted scenario. After the drama, a panel of experts - Bill Hybels, Carly Fiorina, Dr. Henry Cloud, Patrick Lencioni, and Dr. David Ireland - all discussed the good [not much], the bad [a lot], and the ugly of the drama depiction.

In all of this, it's important to understand that the leader's role is to honor people. The people you work with and lead, the people who may come into the organization, the people who will leave the organization. Jack Welch was quoted as saying "the kindest form of management is the truth."

Hiring. Scenes were shown of a person reviewing a resume, talking to someone on the phone about the candidate, and then the face-to-face meeting and subsequent offer. Some of the gems I got out of the session included:

• Your candidate must fit in with your culture. That means you have to first understand your culture.
• You must be clear on why you are hiring and what you want to achieve.
• Hiring out of desperation is a big NO-NO and rarely [if ever] works out!
• Identify [in advance] 2-3 behavioral traits you most want to see in your candidate.
• Spend time with the candidate out of the interview environment.
• Ask the same questions [worded differently] three times.
• Ask questions about their answers to your questions.

Questions to ask them include:

• What would other people say about you?
• What are ways that are challenging in dealing with you?

In a best case scenario, your organization would have such a strong [and defineable] culture, people could self select themselves into the organization - or out of it.

Firing. The video showed the steps that led up to a person being fired, obviously badly. The gems were:

• A firing should NEVER be a surprise. Don't let the firing/layoff be the first conversation.
• Regular feedback is imperative.
• Very few people like to have [or be on the receiving end of] hard conversations. Have a process in place for having dialog along the way.
• Retrain first or re-position. Look for a different fit.
• Clarity and care is key for down sizing.

Board Meltdown. A board meltdown can be avoided during the board creation process. Creating a board of directors [fyi 15-20 board members is unmanageable] should be a strategic and planned endeavor.

• Board members must have influence, affluence and skill sets that are needed by the board and the organization.
• Board members must have limited terms.
• Time and energy should be put into defining what is needed and the ideal mix of styles, talents, etc. for a board.
• A board is a team and as such should figure out how to work together as a team.
• They must trust each other, be vulnerable and open to each other.
• As a board, they must have a culture, a philosophy, and direction on how to behave.

Here's to learning and growing. J

The Second Day - continued

The third thing Bill Hybels and his team are learning from these tough economic times is Relationally.

Habakkuk 3:2 says "... I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; ..." We read and hear about the amazing things God has done in the past. But, what about now? What about in our time? According to Bill, God's great work comes through his people who are fully devoted to Him. Questions to ask include:

• Are we attracting fully devoted people?
• Are we growing them?
• Are we feeding [training] and mentoring them?

What if you are not a church? What if you are a business organization? Are your people devoted to the work your organization does? Are you growing them? Feeding [training] them? Mentoring them? Here's an exercise for you and your team:

• How many key seats are there in the organization?
• What percentage of those key seats are filled with the right [devoted] people?
• What is our plan to get and/or grow the right people?
• Are we developing backup people for each key seat?

Personal. Romans 8:6 says "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Many of us are at our best when we are rested, surrounded by talented and motivated people and doing work we love. We are at peace. But, what happens when that's not the case - when we're not at peace? As a leader, it is imperative to know yourself and monitor your "tank". Drops in your reserves require self leadership. Yes, that's right you have to lead yourself. Be diligent about figuring out what fills your bucket and do what it takes. And here's a thought - maybe you need to spend more time with God.

If you are interested in learning more about Bill Hybels or his presentation on 'Leading in a New Reality', check out Summit Next Steps [catchy title] and scroll down to 'Speaker Links and More.'

Here's to learning and growing! J

The Second Day ...

Though the title is slightly misleading, the first day of the WCA Leadership Summit (08/06/09) was nothing short of amazing! Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church kicked the summit off with Leading in a New Reality. Romans 12:6 says "We have different gifts ..." Romans 12:8 "... if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; ..." The very toughest economic times, like a rogue wave [like we are in now], forces all of us to investigate and use new ways, new creativity, new leadership. God has given all of us the gifts we have "for such a time as this." Bill went on to describe four things that he and his team are learning.

Philisophical. Be the church, no matter what. Love one another, help one another. If you are hurting/struggling, seek help. If you are not hurting or have opportunities to reach out, step it up - step up your serving, sowing, etc. For everyone, use these times to stretch intellectually.

Kingdom Economics. Cash is king [really, Christ is King, but you get the idea]. You must have healthy cash reserves [which buys time]. Saving is key. Have six months in reserve. For many of us, nothing new here. But, while you're saving, pay attention to the costs.

Part of remaining relevant in challenging economic times is to stay laser focused on what it is you are "tasked" with doing. One way to do this [with your team as a group exercise] is to group activities, tasks, expenditures, etc. into three categories: A - you will NEVER stop doing; B - if revenues drop 50%, it has to go; and C - if revenues drop 75%, it has to go. Do this exercise periodically to make sure you stay on track.

For those who utilize volunteers in getting things done, here's another exercise. Break your expenditures down into five categories: Staff/benefits, donations (give it away), ministry budgets, overhead/facilities, and "whims" of the spirit - those things you just get a sense about. Most of us don't have a "whims" of the spirit budget. You may not even have a "give it away" budget. What this will force you to do is look for opportunities to identify, equip, and mobilize volunteers in your organization.

But 'what if' your organization [business] doesn't have the option of volunteers? How could you incorporate these two ideas into your organization. Staying laser focused is a skill we all can use and improve on. What about trimming the budget and creating room for donations and/or "whims" of the spirit. What would that look like for your organization? Just some thoughts.

Stay tuned for the final two take aways for Leading in a New Reality.

Here's to learning and growing. J

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

For the past six years, I've attended the Willow Creek Association (WCA) Leadership Summit. This is two days (formerly 2 1/2 days) that I get to sit and hear some of the greatest minds in church, business, NGO, politics, etc. talk about and educate on leadership. These two days feed my soul and the very fiber of my being. But, there's a problem. I'm always at a loss for what to "do" with all this information (fyi, I'm a doer struggling to be a human being). Of course I incorporate some of what I learn into my personal and professional life, I share my notes with friends and those who are interested, but I've never "strategically" utilized the information - until now.

Compiled in the posts that will follow are my notes, available information, insights, questions, etc. My hope is that in doing this, I'll become a better professional and a better person. My prayer is that you will find this information helpful and that we can share ideas and thoughts as we live this thing called life - together.

Here's to learning and growing! J