"The Jesus Mobile"

As I'm "in between" vehicles right now, we've been fortunate to be able to have 3 vehicles with 4 drivers in one neighborhood to get by thanks to my in-laws....

Today I'm sporting a Honda Civic from my parents appropriately called "The Jesus Mobile"- (See Pic). This had become a trademark with my parents- growing up we had a Ford escort called "T.J.M" as it was adorned with a PTL bumper sticker and others... I feel like I'm 16 again...

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law's Tracker had a bright orange "Exotic Feline Rescue Center" bumper sticker on it.... I wondered what thoughts go through one's mind watching a dude getting out of a vehicle like that... As a bonus, that also comes with a nice, leopard print shoulder strap- I just hope people got past the word "Exotic"....

All that being said... I'm thankful for the faith I was brought up in, the family (on both sides) I get to do life with, and my trip down memory lane in "The Jesus Mobile" today...

Hopefully my new ride will be provided for in the next few weeks- until then, I'm off to the revival!

"Finish + 1"

This weekend at Granger we showed a video where two of us were transplanted into the video game Halo... you should be able to watch it here on May 5th and beyond...

Ben (the cool young dude in the pics played my son) and I had had about seven hours of video shoot time most of which was done in the green room- our video guys are amazing.

My great friend Jeff Petersen runs point for the GCC video/arts team and I've been honored to be able to work with him on several projects over the years. He spent over three weeks tallying up over 150 hours of time in writing, shooting, editing and anything else that has to do with getting this project done all for a five minute video. Jeff's a Finisher + 1.

Leader's like Jeff know:

• Great ideas are overrated... getting something done is much more difficult


• A lot of projects, businesses, and ministries can function can be average and even good taking a vision to 80-90% of completion....


• But, the reality in most endeavors, 80-90% of something is really nothing so we risk having it be a complete waste of time..
  
• However, greatness comes when someone or some team takes the vision to the finish line... The final edits are made with minor improvements to the small details in a video, a good message is rehearsed a few more times to be sharp, or some final adjustments are made to a web-site to make the user experience a little easier...

The final thought is about the +1. Jeff and I have talked about how one extra hour in any drama, video edit, or any endeavor can add just that little extra "something" to the art.

I know when I cut corners. I know when I think to myself, "if I just had more time, that could have been so much better"... I know when I'm spread thin and kicking out a bunch of mediocrity...

What will it take to focus on finishing + 1? What project or vision are you working on that is getting diluted or is mired in the "it's good enough" stage?

Jeff's a great finisher. There aren't too many people out there like him. It was inspiring to see him work... (for the record, I didn't intentionally shoot a pic of him bending over...... dude....)

Time Management Tip

OK... I'm a geek, but this is how I roll...

After being gone from vacation, it took me a few days to get my feet under me again and I felt overwhelmed by the volume of emails, tasks, and unknowns in my to-do list. After spinning for a few days, I decided to map out some time chunks of the most important items in that day.

I have a lot questions asked of me throughout the day, meetings, quick emails that need responses that currently are simply part of my job. However, my "task work" would start piling up and when I'm not getting enough sleep, I feel buried and very little gets done. I took a stab at my typical day, I guessed I had four hours a day for the most important tasks I had to get done and listed them in 15 min chunks:

Example:

Update Vision/Technology Plan for ARI 30 min

Project Meeting and Update to ABC Inc 15 min


Get initial notes together for Fri Conf call 30 min


Follow up on billing issues with DEF Inc. 15 min

Update and send Sr Manager Update 30 min


Work on 12-month Communication plan 45 min


Review Proposal for Billy Bob Hot Dogs 15 min


Update Vision/Tech plan for Badabing 30 min

Update Help Desk next steps and goals 30 min


Throughout the day I crossed these off as the emails and conversations would take place as time clipped away... Over the last four days, I averaged just over 3 hours of real task time per day actually completed, my email total went down 40%, and I feel more on top on my duties than ever over the past few months... Measuring what I actually do helps me plan for what I actually want to get done...

What works for you?

"Leading from the Middle"

In my company, we have two partners/owners, three Senior Division Managers, a Sales Manager, four admin, three sales people, a customer service manager, 36 consultants, and me... an Operations/Project Manager. I'm somewhere muddled with the Senior Managers/Sales Manager in a "loose" management team (working on that) and find myself working to lead down, lead across, and lead up everyday...

Yesterday I invited everyone to a local restaurant to celebrate my one year anniversary at the new job... To have a party? No. Because I love hanging out with big groups of people and socializing? No. My goal was simply to get to know my team, let them know in any way that I could that they matter, they contribute, to get to know more about them, their families, and to have some "real" conversations.... it was a great night.

I got home. The life was sucked out of me. I was grumpy to my wife. I just wanted to go to bed. I am not energized by people.

It made me think about leading from the middle... what if we decided one day to "flip the switch" and simply turn off our leadership responsibility? After all.... it's hard. What would that look like?

• I could close my office door most of the time
• I wouldn't have to be around people or talk to them near as much
• I wouldn't look for opportunities to take on more responsibility
• I could look for someone else to blame
• I wouldn't have to work to find ways to encourage people
• I wouldn't have to coach people in their roles and how to communicate with their team
• I could simply focus on me, making sure I keep my job, do as little as possible, and let someone else worry about the things broke in the company... after all, it's not in my job description!

Who would notice? What impact would that have on the organization?

If you flipped the switch on your leadership where you're at.... would it be missed?

Leading from the middle often goes unrecognized. It's not easy. It's the harder path.

However, when we choose to lead and engage:

• We build trust, overlap, and relationships with those around us
• We will have more opportunities to have "real" conversations
• Something will be "different" about us that people will be drawn to.. (it's not normal)
• We are honoring God by modeling Christ in the workplace
• We make it about others and not ourselves

And if we look over our shoulders....there just may be some people taking notice... I want to lead well. How about you? Are you in the middle?